What you need is some classes or someone willing to help you along at home. The software won't get you going, the more you do the more you'll want to do and that's how you do it. Start off with practice pieces and don't worry if they don't turn out just start doing them. I also have 5D Pro and don't plan on upgrading mainly because I haven't learned how to do alot in 5 so why upgrade yet. It doesn't have to be at a viking shop, there are some places that will accept any machine. My viking shop does, so does our Sew n Vac store, just look around and see if you can find someone to help you get over your fear and then you'll be off and won't be able to learn as fast as you want. Good luck

I have a super important question, at least it is to me. I am looking to buy a new embroidery machine. Or at least new to me. I already have a Bernina 650 Deco and a Viking +1. Both work fine, but only have a small field and I have to go through the hassle of downloading designs to floppy then to the little memory thing with a magic box, then to the machine. It is such a pain. So I want something newer and modern.

I have been looking at the Janome MC 11000 SE and think that is what I want. But then I read bad reviews about them. So now what? I would love to spend the thousands it would cost to get a new Bernina top of the line, but I just can not do it. Maybe if I win the lotto or even a jackpot on a slot machine, but not right now. And I do not want payments. So something new or used between 2 and 3000, is my budget.

I need opinions and ideas. It seems the more I look the more confused I get. The reason I like the Janome is the Acufil system and the ability to quilt in the hoop. I think that would be great. So let me have it. What do you all think?

I don't know about the acufil system but just about all emb machines should be able to quilt in the hoop, depending on how large the hoop is. I have the Viking Diamond Deluxe and previously had the Ruby and also the Viking +1, I love my machine and it has one of the largest hoops around. I have nothing bad to say about Jamone and I know there are lots who love their machines as with all brands. I'd suggest to search around to see what's in your area but also know you need good support from your store, that is key. Most stores that sell gently used machines offer some kind of warranty along with classes. Good luck on your search. You can find really great prices on the newer slightly used models though

I have this one. I am still learning. I love mine. Only drawback I see is that it only uses a 4x4 hoop. But that still works for what I need.

Katia check out the brother machines. They seem to have what you are looking for at your price range.

Thanks, they work if I right click to open them. This is my favorite site as well.

I just read this on the Bernina site and had not heard this before. Just wondering if this applies to all emb machines. I am thinking it makes sense but am not absolutely sure.

Push the inner ring down ever so slightly so that
is sits just a hair lower than the outer ring. This
tightens the fabric just slightly and prevents the
plastic on the outer hoop from rubbing against the
machine bed.

I decided to do what I have read here several times and have also been told by others as well, and that was to go and actually look at the machines in person. I did that yesterday and didn't have to look long before I found something I hope I will love. So much of what I wanted was way too expensive. And I kept thinking how I could get them cheaper on Ebay. But then I started talking to people at the store about the warranty, and all of the sudden that seemed really important to me. I realized that most of the stuff on Ebay did not come with any sort of warranty and with a computer sort of sewing machine that might be really important down the road.

So I ended up buying a brand new Janome 9900. It is so pretty. It is also intimidating. I watched the dvd and turned it on last night, but that is as far as I got. I got a good warranty I think, from the guy there. Three years on everything as well as a one year chance to upgrade if I want with all I paid for this machine going towards a new one. Plus the usual Janome warranty. The upgrade is a big jump to that top of the line 15000, but he even offered me that one at a generous discount.

The lady that did his classes just had to quit because of health problems so no classes, but he did offer me the job. I am thinking about it, but it would mean a long commute so it would depend on if it was just for scheduled classes or what. I don't want to be a salesperson, but it might be fun to teach people. He said it would include factory training too. Something to think about.

So wish me luck. It is fun to learn new things. I hope so anyway.

Katia, congrats on your new machine! I hope you have many years of happiness with it. I do like the Janome embroidery machines; they do some beautiful work. I think you will love it.

I just bought a Brother DreamCreator VM5100 last Friday and I am LOVING it. I have done a couple of embroidery designs on it but they are not well digitized. However, I have 11 more of them to do, as they are for a quilt I'm making my SIL. Tonight, I'm going to try one of the designs that came on the machine just to assure myself that the problem I'm having is with the digitizing and not the machine.

I obviously haven't read all 260 pages of this thread, so don't kill me if it's already here, but is there a chart of stabilizers that I can use? I had an embroidery machine up until this time two years ago and sold it - it's amazing how much one can forget in that time frame. I seriously need a refresher course on some of this stuff.

I just went online & googled embroidery stabilizers and found a list there, printed it out & stuck it in my book of reference for everything embroidery.

Katia, congrats on your smart purchase! I bought the Janome 9900 in November and I love it!! I upgraded from my Janome 9700. I am BACK using the embroidery! If you have any questions about yourmachine, ask!

I purchased Embrilliance software with Alpha Tricks.i have been playing with "in the hoop" projects for months....something I never did with my 9700. Love my 9900. It is priced right and is feature rich IMHO and experience.

the big question.....red or teal faceplate??

sandy

Funny---I did the opposite of you---had Pfaff 2170 until it blew up on me & had motherboard replaced, I had not used it very much either! Then traded for the Ellageo and love love that machine!

I got a new janome 350e, it works well till I change a thread, and then the upper thread gets tingle in the bobbin case....I rethread few times, changed tentions, open the plate and clean everything, change fabric....nothj g seems to help...any suggestions??? Thank

Do you always stop the machine after first stitch & pull up the bobbin thread? I had to do that with my 350, that keeps it from getting tangled.

Thanks....May be this is the problem....I though that since It does cut the thread outomatically, it shouldn,t be a problem since it stays on the surface of the plate ( under the hoop ).... I will try to follow your advice...Thanks

Just about every machine's website has a stabilizer list on it but one of the best ones is rnkdistributing.com, its for Floiani and it tells you what to do with each kind, but its not a hard set rule, sometimes you have to play but it's a start. Emblibary.com also has tutorials on it, alot of the different design sites also have tutorial, I check them all out for different ideas

I have a Brother and was having the same problem. I spent so much time (and frustration) taking apart, putting together, rethreading, etc that I was about ready to quit. What I found is the bobbin, rather the way I fill the bobbins. Put the thread through the little hole in the bobbin, put it on the filling mechanism and hold the tail while the bobbin spins. When it's full, then cut the tail as close to the bobbin as possible. If the little tail happens to fall through the hole while it's filling I will end up with a birds nest while stitching. I hope this makes sense. Watching my bobbins has made a world of difference for me.

I had a Pfaff 7550 many years ago, and then upgraded to the Pfaff 7570 as soon as it was released. For several years I did lots and lots of embroidery, but I haven't done much at all in the last four years or so. One problem is that the Pfaff designs software doesn't run on the new versions of Windows. I did get an external floppy drive and loaded the software, but it would not run, even when I tried everything the techies suggested.

So a couple of years ago I did some more research and then bought a Vikant Ultimate Box II from allbrands.com. It is supposed to be a work-around for my inability to run the old Pfaff software. I put it in the closet and have never tried it out, as I was then taking up quilting.

Actually, I only started learning to quilt because I wanted to make the Rebecca quilt, which is an embroidered and quilted wall hanging. Pictures of it are here: http://www.angies.co.nz/rebecca_quilt_project.php The creator is Angie Spong of New Zealand.

So all of this getting the Vikant Box II, etc., was done so I could export Angie's Rebecca quilt embroidery designs from my computer to my Pfaff 7570.

So, since I have learned to quilt sufficiently enough (I hope) to do the Rebecca quilt, it's time to get my embroidery unit in gear.

So, I don't know if photos are welcome in this thread; if they aren't let me know and I'll remove it. But I wanted to illustrate why I will never be without an embroidery machine again. I have tried to learn to FMQ. I've taken classes, I've practiced, I've even done it on a couple of quilts. But this is one skill I have not been able to master. Back when I had my Brother 2500D (sweet machine, btw. I was an idiot to sell it) I would use it to do embroidery to "tie" quilts. People loved it, and it made quilting a LOT easier for me. After I sold that machine, I thought I'd learn to FMQ; it just wasn't happening. And now I'm tired of SITD, straight line quilting, and the like.

I'm making a quilt using the Green Eggs & Ham fabric from the Dr Seuss line, and when it came to the quilting part, I was totally stumped. It's not a kid's quilt - it's a nostalgia quilt. I didn't want anything too childish and I didn't want to modify an existing embroidery design. So after a bit of searching, I found a border at emblibrary.com that employs stars, and thought it would be perfect.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]469286[/ATTACH]

Now, at least, when I present this quilt to the recipient, I won't be terrified of what they'll think about the quilting! I don't care if others think it's cheating; I never claim to have FMQ'd it.

Skratchie, I love the embroidery machine quilting border. That is wonderful. How did you make them come out even with one another?

I used the large hoop and put two designs in each hooping. Then I am just aligning along the seam!

I think it's a great border and love the picture. I think that everyone enjoys pictures as it makes things clearer. Trying to explain somethings without them doesn't make sense to me.

Well I brought home my Janome 15000 and am having fun but would have a lot more fun if I actually had the supplies I need to do some embroidery! So far I have a roll of Ultra Solvy which is 12 inches by 8 yards. Would people be interested in helping me come up with a shopping list of supplies that I'll "need"?

GrandmaSewNSew;6650324]Well I brought home my Janome 15000 and am having fun but would have a lot more fun if I actually had the supplies I need to do some embroidery! So far I have a roll of Ultra Solvy which is 12 inches by 8 yards. Would people be interested in helping me come up with a shopping list of supplies that I'll "need"?
I'll start the list but it will be very basic....others can add: extra needles, colored threads, bobbin thread, various stabilizers in sizes to fit your hoops, small scissors, thread stand if is best to use one for your machine, designs, designs, designs. something to embroider...as I said very basic so look for others suggestions.

Be sure the thread is 40 wt. embroidery (I buy online) and bobbin thread is 60 wt. Just dont go overboard in the beginning. Especially with the thread

Skratchie, this is terrific! Thanks for posting the picture. The picture makes it entirely different from what I envisioned. I have seen some great designs, including the one you used. It looks great.

Do you use an extra-strong hoop, or do you deal with the bulk by using some method like adhesive paper to hold the quilt sandwich to the hoop?

Snipforfun,
What brand thread do you use? The spool of bottom thread that came with the machine is 100 weight but I'm hoping it won't need that weight and I can use a more readily available 60.

I pretty much use Isacord but Robison Anton sometimes. Both are quality polyester embroidery thread. I get it from discountembroiderysupply.com. Free shipping!

Thread- I'd start with some basic colors of polyester. I've used Isacord for about 16 years and never had a problem. Their palette of colors is the largest I've seen. After sometime you might want to invest in some nylon , the sheen is nice but not as practical. Stabilizers- Floriani has a good assortment. Depends on what type of embroidery you want to do. I like to use an iron on mesh for knits , etc. use a sticky a lot for items I don't hoop.
Tools- pair of long nose tweezers, scissors with curved tips for nipping thread ends, lots of bobbins-- I like bottom line pre-wounds in neutral colors: black,navy,beige,white,grey,red.. Keep a notebook of your projects with the designs used, where you have them filed, thread changes you made, any problems you may have encountered.
That's a start. I've been doing machine embroidery for almost 20 years, have thousands of designs and have learned much by just doing it. If you would like some titles of books that are good resources let me know, think I have everyone that's been published.
Diane

When you start to emb, hold the top thread up and it normally will pull the bobbin thread up. I do this and don't worry about the bobbin and my machine will automatically cut the thread that is there if it is pulled up. If I don't pull it up it'll get sucked to the bottom of fabric.

I would love to see the books you think are the good ones if you have the time.

I spray basted the sandwich; I never have had any shift when embroidering on my quilts. I just make sure the hoop is tight; it works great!

cheating? No way!! Love your border and thanks for posting the photo!
Sandy

Skratchie photos are always welcomed here! I'm a Floriani thread girl. It works well with my machine. On a budget though I still have sulky which is just good for the Floriani thread has a beautiful sheen. IMOP...I've been using Frixion pens for the placement of designs since they are easily removed with an iron. You'll need stabilizers, bobbin thread I use 60wt) and lots and lots of embroidery designs.

Last week I seen a post on facebook with some boots with embroidery on
the side.

I shared the picture with the comment "If I still wore boots like this I would
so be adding embroidery to them".

Than I made the comment about searching goodwill and other thrift stores
to find old use boots to practice on. Next thing I know 2 friends are offering
to send me their old boots for practice KNOWING full well that I have never
done this yet and I could end up messing them up.

One friend said "if they mess up that's fine I will cover them with my pants
leg, if not then I get a snazzy cool pair of boots".

The other friend said" Not a problem. I haven't worn them in a while and they
are old. If it works out great for you and I get pretty new boots".

So with that said come summertime I will be venturing into embroidery on
boots. Now to research was of getting that done. I had seen the technique
demonstrated at a show, but there was so many people there standing in
the way that I couldn't see all the steps and details involved.

I will post pictures when I get them done.

Quilty Louise that definitely sounds like a challenge, one I know you will succeed! Show us pics when you're done.

Quilty-Louise, I am looking forward to seeing your embroidered boots and what you do to actually embroider on them.

Embroidery supplies
 

To whomever posted the note about discount embroidery supply - thank you so very much.
I went there and had to order the thread I need to finish a project. I was about to head to JoAnn since I had a 40% off coupon, but that still didn't bring the price to what I got on line. Ordered a bunch of needles too since I'm always running out.
Thank you again.

I am the one who posted. They have great products and really good customer. I love free shipping!