I bought Pfaff's Creative Sensation in December in Tucson from my great Tucson dealer. I told the gals there that I was going to spend the next 4 months (before I left Tucson for CT) making as many mistakes as possible so they could show me the RIGHT way to use the machine. It worked! Plus we were able to work out a few kinks in the machine. A few times I was ready to throw in the towel - burn-out from spending so much time learning the machine - but it was worth it. Here in CT, the nearest dealer is about 45 minutes away, so if I have a problem, I'll be calling Tucson!

I LOVE this machine. It embroiders beautifully AND it has a HUGE throat for quilting. I've even started taking baby steps to FMQ. There are a lot of quilting designs built in AND it's very easy to re-size any design right in this machine. I can re-size a commercial embroidery design, too. Piece of cake. I bought the Grand Dream hoop, 340 x 350 (I think - hoop is upstairs) - which is a hoop on which you can split designs. Amazing. You start sewing on one side, take the hoop off the machine, turn it around and reattach, and sew the other side. Next, I'm going to buy the continuous hoop. I have that for my 2170 Pfaff, and it was the hoop I used the most - and not just for continuous designs. I found it to be the easiest one to line up designs - my least favorite part of embroidery.

Oh boy if any of you are into the "antique" themed things go
see what Embroidery Library has on sale this week.

So many designs so little money.

LOL
Enjoy!!!

I love Embroidery Library! It's addictive! When you look at how much other sites charge, you just have to go back to those great deals. And they all stitch out so pretty!

Nice all three, you do great work.

Love Embroidery Library - but I also love Oregon Patchworks. Lots of beauties there, too.

Thank you. The silk thread looks great. Do you use a large embroidery needle so the thread doesn't shred?

Louise-
I love the Floriani software. They offer so much help with videos and webinars. They have an online forum that offers great information as well.

Good luck with your software. I'm glad to know you are out there.

I too have the Floriani software. I haven't digitized anything from scratch yet, but I've used it to edit purchased designs - through which I've become pretty comfortable with the software and how designs are constructed. I have had a few issues that I've reported - not always 100% satisfied with the response,

But lonestar, could I ask you a question:

In the help guide, it says that the menus should operate using the ALT key. For example, Alt F brings up the File menu, then pressing S saves a file. Does that work for you? It doesn't for me and I reported it but did not get any kind of satisfactory response. I prefer it since I try to limit use of the mouse due to issues with my hand. Just wondering.

Thanks,
Cathy

I have a Janome 10001 and love it. This is my 3rd Janome, having upgraded from an 8000 to a 9000 and to the 10001 4 or 5 years ago. Now that I've retired, I hope to put it to much more use than before!

After taking a stabilizer class with Floriani, I found that the general rule of thumb is that you need one layer of stabilizer for every 10,000 stitches. Since I started following that rule, my embroidery is much better. You don't necessarily have to spray a floated stabilizer with adhesive, I never have and don't have a problem with it moving once you start stitching.