decision on new machine.
12-03-2009, 12:43 PM
#11
Member
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: South Carolina
Posts: 36
I have a Brother 8500 sewing/embroidery machine which I dearly love. I take it to the dealer who sold it about once every other year to clean it and check it, and it is a real workhorse, and I bought it new years ago!
Lulie
Lulie
12-03-2009, 10:15 PM
#12
Super Member
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Douglas County, GA
Posts: 1,722
You might not like doing machine embroidery. I will try to give you some food for thought that may help you to decide whether to invest in a machine that embroiders.
Some people take to it like a duck to water; for some it takes getting used to. I am not an avid machine embroiderer. I only use it for quilt blocks and to decorate a sweatshirt every once in a while. People with young children or grandchildren (which I do not have) have a much greater use for their embroidery machines. A lot of machine embroiderers love frou-frou stuff ... doilies, free standing bowls and boxes, framed pictures, etc. No frou frou for me -- ever!
You should know that the machine itself is just the beginning of your investment. Quality embroidery thread is expensive, good stabilizers are expensive and come in a wide variety of weights and types for specific uses. You will be on the lookout for sales on both stabilizers and quality M.E. thread. I've gotten to where I often buy a whole bolt of stabilizer at Joann's, using a 40 or 50% off coupon. You will need special needles, special bobbin thread and possibly more hoops than come as standard accessories, and also software, which can be pricey, depending on what you want to do with it. You should have a computer capable of hooking up to your machine. I have all my embroidery designs stored on my computer, with backup on USB sticks. The embroidery design filing system itself can be quite cumbersome, depending on how organized you are.
I have no problem with the fact that if I'm embroidering, I can't be sewing, because I keep a close eye and ear on my machine when it's embroidering. It is a bad idea to leave the machine alone while its stitching; it's an invitation for disaster. I don't mind that my machine is a combined embroidery/sewing machine, but, knowing what I know now, if I had it to do over again, I'd buy 2 machines I think, one just a dedicated embroidery machine and the other for quilt piecing, etc.
For me, the bottom line is that I really like my machine and am happy that I have it available to me to embroider things when I want to. My machine is a top-of-the-line Janome and I don't know anything about the inexpensive ones ... whether they are a good investment or a poor one.
Hope this helps and that I haven't wasted both your and my time.
Some people take to it like a duck to water; for some it takes getting used to. I am not an avid machine embroiderer. I only use it for quilt blocks and to decorate a sweatshirt every once in a while. People with young children or grandchildren (which I do not have) have a much greater use for their embroidery machines. A lot of machine embroiderers love frou-frou stuff ... doilies, free standing bowls and boxes, framed pictures, etc. No frou frou for me -- ever!
You should know that the machine itself is just the beginning of your investment. Quality embroidery thread is expensive, good stabilizers are expensive and come in a wide variety of weights and types for specific uses. You will be on the lookout for sales on both stabilizers and quality M.E. thread. I've gotten to where I often buy a whole bolt of stabilizer at Joann's, using a 40 or 50% off coupon. You will need special needles, special bobbin thread and possibly more hoops than come as standard accessories, and also software, which can be pricey, depending on what you want to do with it. You should have a computer capable of hooking up to your machine. I have all my embroidery designs stored on my computer, with backup on USB sticks. The embroidery design filing system itself can be quite cumbersome, depending on how organized you are.
I have no problem with the fact that if I'm embroidering, I can't be sewing, because I keep a close eye and ear on my machine when it's embroidering. It is a bad idea to leave the machine alone while its stitching; it's an invitation for disaster. I don't mind that my machine is a combined embroidery/sewing machine, but, knowing what I know now, if I had it to do over again, I'd buy 2 machines I think, one just a dedicated embroidery machine and the other for quilt piecing, etc.
For me, the bottom line is that I really like my machine and am happy that I have it available to me to embroider things when I want to. My machine is a top-of-the-line Janome and I don't know anything about the inexpensive ones ... whether they are a good investment or a poor one.
Hope this helps and that I haven't wasted both your and my time.
12-04-2009, 06:02 PM
#13
Junior Member
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Frederick, Maryland
Posts: 240
Wow. 50 plus. You make it sound like age puts an end to the types of sewing you do. I am 50 plus, too, and am in the prime of my sewing with two sewing machines, 2 sergers, computer, and software. I can take photos and turn them into embroideries. For me it is fun and fantastic. At 50 plus, I am just getting started!!!!!!! I admire the projects that the people do on this website and am amazed at the turnout that even lesser machines can accomplish and such skill of their operators. Please don't let you age hold you back...money maybe...but not age!/Lissa
12-04-2009, 06:06 PM
#14
Junior Member
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Frederick, Maryland
Posts: 240
Wow. 50 plus. You make it sound like age puts an end to the types of sewing you do. I am 50 plus, too, and am in the prime of my sewing with two sewing machines, 2 sergers, computer, and software. I can take photos and turn them into embroideries. For me it is fun and fantastic. At 50 plus, I am just getting started!!!!!!! I admire the projects that the people do on this website and am amazed at the turnout that even lesser machines can accomplish and such skill of their operators. Please don't let you age hold you back...money maybe...but not age!/Lissa
12-09-2009, 09:09 AM
#15
Super Member
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Douglas County, GA
Posts: 1,722
Happy Sewer, are you still wondering whether to invest in an embroidery machine? If so, this may be a worthwhile tip for you. Go to www.emblibrary.com home page. In the far right corner is a square that you can click on; I don't know exactly what it says, but it's all to do with projects. When you click on it, it takes you to a page with an option at the top to watch videos (free). There is a huge variety of videos and PDFs to choose from; they might give you a better idea whether or not you would like and would use an embroidery machine.
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