Rhonda K

Snooze,

Love that type of satin stitch and then the cross hatch stitch too.

stitch678

Yes, you Can learn to do the satin ( and other ) stitches very nicely with your regular machine.... I have. But the problem is time. You must sit and guide it every bit of the way! With my pe770 Brother, and a 5 x7" hoop, l can set the machine into action, and stay nearby at my Janome piecing while keeping an ear tuned to the embroidery machine for stops/ colour changes.

Rose_P

I think the topic has been covered by others, but wanted to add that if you go to some embroidery sites such as embroiderydesigns.com you can sign up with profile information about your machine and then restrict your searches to designs that fit what you have available. This should reduce the frustration level some. You could, for example, use 3" designs in the cornerstones of a quilt, and that might be all that quilt needs in the way of applique.

To get something larger, it might be possible to do some designs in multiple hoopings if you're determined. For example, a single leaf done over repeatedly in a circle could be a flower. This might not be fun if you need many of them, but for a center design with only one or a few, it would be doable. If you can print your single leaf in exact size and cut it out, you could use it to help in placing each element precisely. Or you could stitch one and trace it while it's still in the hoop, adding marks for where the hoop is precisely.

Snooze, Thanks for mentioning Stitch Delight! I'm amazed I haven't stumbled onto that site before. It looks like a gold mine.

PamelaOry

I did it the other way around and bought a machine that I could grow into. I’m not rich by any means but I do make a monthly payment on my machine. I got it on a deal with no interest. I’m really glad I did, I love my dream machine!

Sharonquilts

This is what I truly like about this board. I can always count on learning from others' experience, advice and encouragement. As I mentioned earlier, I made an impluse purchase because the machine was on sale and thought it would be an inexpensive way to see if I would enjoy embroidery. From that perspective, it worked out so not a total waste and it's a great little machine with beautiful stitch quality and easy to use. I'm sure I'll continue to use it while I research and save up for something with larger hoops.

Thank you so much.