Thank you all for the information! I'm off to shop :)

Doing the happy dance. Got software loaded and using it right now. You guys and gals are the best. Thanks for all your help.

This is one of my favorite topics. I have learned so much from all of the postings.

My next embroidery project will be the Ooh la la quilt/embroidery by Lunchbox quilts. Has anyone made it? I am not a great quilter or all that good with the embroidery machine so am a bit timid to begin.

I did it in a retreat a couple months ago. It looks really good. The main thing is that on the Eifel Tower, when you are placing the design on it make sure its going in the right direction. It's done in multiple blocks and then you sew them together to make the tower. Several put a least a few together the wrong way. It is really pretty. They had ran out of the last French fabric so now I have to go back to store and pick it up so that I can put it together. Pattern is really easy to follow

Judy, I have the templates for the blocks along with design package. Do you think that will help on the Eiffel Tower?

I assume you went on a machine embroidery retreat. I had no idea there was such. I live a bit south of the middle of the USA. Where was the retreat?

New to embroidery. Got the Pfaff Creative Pro. Which brand of embroidery thread do you find works best?

Mary568,
I have used Sulky in the past due to the prices I could find at Joanns when on sale. However I am a huge fan and do own Floriani thread. The sheen is smooth and I do not have any breakage when embroidering. Sometimes my machine is testy when it comes to certain threads but I found that Floriani for me is the best as well as their stabilizers. You will find many of us here have at one point used different brands and would prefer one over the other. I have used Madeira in the past but for some reason my machine doesn't like it (yes my machine has feelings too :D). Hope this helps a bit, I"m sure there are many here that have a preference of their own.

I second the Floriani thread I just LOVE it. In fact I am working
to get all the colors (which I only have about 110 left).

I was new to embroidery a few months ago (and still think I am new).
One thing I've discovered from reading online and practice is that you really need to try out various threads to see what your machine likes and dislikes. I ordered different brands from Discount Embroidery Supply. You will find that the spools are different and may have an impact on how you view the thread. For example, my dealer strongly recommended Robison-Anton. When my thread arrived I was in love with the shine of the Floriani and the spools (they have a larger area underneath that can sit over a bobbin (hope that's clear). I wasn't so impressed with the Robison-Anton spools. I ordered various other thread such as Maderia, Isacord (kind of flat shine-wise), Superior Threads brand, and some from a company called Fil-tec which I haven't used yet (they are a great source for bobbin thread). Anyway, as it turned out, I did like the Robison-Anton the best as the spools just seem to work best with my machine (Janome). I had shredded threads with the Floriani. But I only have one spool of it so I wouldn't say that would always be the case.
I've had little problem with the various thread but due to the difference in the thread spools, some have to be put on the machine with a large cap, small cap, some on vertical pin- so that's a pain to remember and to do when you are changing colors. You will most likely want to find your brand and stick with it.
You will get many different opinions on thread just as you'll get different opinions on machines. So just as you tried out different machines before deciding on the one that was best for you, you should use that process with thread in my opinion.

Quilty Louise totally agree on the Floriani! And you have 110 left to go?! WOW! I have 210 of their threads in their floriani storage thread box. Their colors are just gorgeous. GrandmaSewandSew, I totally agree with you. Every machine has its own temperament. My first one Babylock Ellure was good with Madeira but not Sulky. I traded that one in for the Ellure Plus and it liked Sulky better than Maidera...go figure...Then I got the Babylock Spirit (traded the ellure plus) and it doesn't like the Maidera, some of the Sulky and totally the Floriani. Also if possible only buy mostly used colors like black, red or white to test. It will help out with the density and tightness of the stitches with these colors.