August is always such an exciting time in our industry. It’s when the big reveal on new product occurs. Right now, I’m in warm and muggy Nashville at Brother Back to Business and pretty much in awe of the new toys you are getting to enjoy. If you’ve noticed the trend towards embroidery really transforming into artwork, well have no doubt. The trend has come full circle.
Brother is introducing toys and tools that will make us all Monets, Picassos or at least John Hancocks. Just attach the tablet to the Quattro, draw, trace or write a message and watch the Quattro digitize your artwork or signature right on the screen. Personalize anything in seconds and then save it to use again and again.
If you’re a Laura Ashley fan, you’ll fall in love with the Isodore’s understated elegance. Named for Laura Ashley’s beloved floral pattern, the Limited Edition IsodoreTM Innov-is 5000 is engineered for the discriminating sewer, avid quilter and accomplished embroiderer who wants it all in one state-of-the art machine. The first member of the Laura Ashley family with embroidery capabilities, the Isodore offers premier embroidery, quilting and sewing features all in one beautiful, precise, high-performance machine. But how is it different from other embroidery machines? Start with the 50 built-in embroidery designs designed by the Laura Ashley company.
The designs are breathtaking—full blown flowers, border designs, accent motifs and more. You’ll find tons of uses for these designs – shams, throw pillows, high-end linens, towels, and wearables. Wearables, you say? You betcha! Laura Ashley designs are the perfect addition to a feminine wardrobe. Scatter them across the hem of a skirt, down the front of a jacket or rest one on a sleeve.
And if you’re already a Brother owner, those same gorgeous Laura Ashley designs are available for your machine via iBroidery.com. With the click of a mouse, you can stitch them this afternoon.
Since I’m writing this post during a classroom break I have to make it short. But trust me; it’s been nothing but entertaining and educational. Over 150 dealers are in attendance and eager to share these new products with you. You’ll see new software (Monogramming – oh wow!), hoops, embroidery designs, precision alignment features on the machines and more. If you thought it couldn’t get any better, it just did!
What embroidery machine features do you fantasize about? What is your favorite feature on your current machine? Leave a comment to be entered to win a $25.00 shopping spree at www.dzgns.com.
Last week we asked you about time saving tips. The winner of 30 Favorite Embroidery Tips and Techniqueswith Nancy Zieman and Eileen Roche is…Darlene Jacolik!
“I love machine applique and set up my projects ahead of time by cutting all of the fabric I will need for each section and keeping in labeled in plastic zip bags. Eileen, I use most of the tips you mentioned, but have to admit, I have not made a note of any settings I changed. That is really a great tip! Thanks for all of your ideas.”
Congratulations, Darlene!
56 COMMENTS
sharon
13 years agoI am new to ME. My favorite feature on my machine is the thread cutter. I dream about one day having a machine that cuts the jump stitches and has on=screen editing! Doesn’t cost anything to dream!!
Sylvia
13 years agoI love the needle threader on my 300E Janome – my eyes just aren’t what they used to be and this is a great feature!
Sheila Wagner
13 years agoI dream about a larger hoop, expecially for in the hoop quilting.
My favorite feature on my Babylock Ellegante is the needle threader. Works everytime and I love it since I am 67 now and have a difficult time threading without one.
I also fantasize about better lighting from under the machine head. I use a light attached to the side of the machine at home, but when I go to class or guild I don’t
have that availability.
Maria
13 years agoMy favorite feature on my Designer Topaz has to be the ESS Exclusive Sensor System. It raises and lowers the pressure foot automaticly. I didn’t realize how spoiled I was by it until I got my Deco 340 and realized I had to flip the lever for every color change ! It is constantly beeping at me to raise or lower !
Auto trim and jump stitch trims are at the top of the list also.
What I would like to see are better hoops that do not just tighten on the corners and then let fabric and stabilizer pull in on the sides causing puckers.
Susan Lawrence
13 years agoJust get a Magna Hoop or Snap Hoop for your machine.
Peggy Johns
13 years agoI would like to spring hoops like the old ones for hand emb. Janome had one but my Baby Lock doesn’t.
Peggy Johns
13 years agoAnother thing I would like is for dealers to do trade-ins. I would love to get a new machine but selling the old one is not that easy & my husband won’t let be get a new one if I can’t sell the old one.
Edith
13 years agoMy local Pfaff dealer takes trade ins…
Susan Maddox
13 years agoWhay kind of machine are you wanting to sell? I am looking for an upgraded machine from what I have but need a good deal. 🙂
Gail Beam
13 years agoMy favorite feature on my D1 is the fix stitch. I dream about having a newer machine with much bigger hoops, automatic threading, and usb port cabability.
Gail
Edith
13 years agoI love my precise positioning feature! It let’s me get things much more accurately than I would be able to by eye!
Beth Rowan
13 years agoI love having the design positioning on the Viking Diamond – when I need to line up something on a design or stitch it in sections, that can be done with precision.
Phyllis (label Lady)
13 years agoWhat I like the most about my current machines are the needle threaders. What I wish I had is easy positioning, for split and continuous designs, and direct machine and computer connection. And let the manufacturers Know that machines are high enough in price that upgrades should be included or at least not so outrageous in price. The two I own are very old and second hand, but I love them still and would like to upgrade someday.
Anne Marie Reilly
13 years agoI love the threader on my Designer 1, especially since it’s not as easy to thread a needle anymore. I dream about a machine that will rotate a design in one degree increments.
Martha Hubbard
13 years agoI have an Esante ESE2 that I bought used. My favorite feature is the needle threading mechanism. I dream of an automatic jump-stitch trim feature. Also would be great if there were an email-like feature to send embroidery files directly to the sewing machine or “blue-tooth” for wireless design transfer between my computer and sewing machine.
Debby Gallagher
13 years agoI just love my new Babylock Ellisimo! What I adore about this machine is the camera that aligns my designs and helps me keep my stitching straight by letting me check the needle location in the screen. I can also connect my computer to the machine and that really saves time! I dream of someday having a 10 needle (and know how to use it!)
Susan Lawrence
13 years agoI love my new Viking Diamond but I need to get a smaller hoop. The ones that came with it are large.
I hope to one day have a 10 needle machine also. Don’t know where I would put it though.
Brenda Cline
13 years agoI will sell you my 6 needle Babylock. It is in perfect condition. I just don’t want to do it anymore. It is 2 years old. $6999. Will give instructions.
Pam
13 years agoThe favorite item I like on my new Quattro is the snowman and the way he helps me to place my designs perfectly!
Desiree Kumpf
13 years agoI love the snowman on my PR1000! It’s so much easier to get the placement just right now. A big difference from my Janome 300e!
I fantasize about being able to get Disney designs just like the Quattro people. I understand that Brother considers the PR1000 a commercial machine, but if I sold a Disney design, I’d get in trouble the same as a Quattro owner.
Debbie St. Germain
13 years agoI have a Pfaff creative vision and if I could figure it out, I would be happier, lol. I do love how it runs and love the free motion and I got a couching foot. I would love to see more primitive designs, like the ones I do by hand, so I can make more gifts for people, faster.
Debbie
Susan Constantine
13 years agoI love my Bernina 830 and it is hard to pick a favorite feature, so I’ll have to name two. First, the save settings. This stays until you reset or change them again, even if you turn your machine off. Second, the clock with an alarm system. It let’s me know, more or less, that it is time to eat, or get ready for an appointment, class, etc. Oh, I forgot, if you are in the middle of embroidery, you can turn your machine off, and when you return, you are right back where you need to be. You know, we are all pretty spoiled. But don’t stop……..
Mary Haggenmaker
13 years agoMost of the things I read above are what I have in my Designer Diamond. It would be impossible for me to think of anything this machine doen’t do except the automatic threader that I understand Baby Lock has. That can result in one more area you have to clean the lint from though. My friend has one and she uses compressed air to accomplish this. I personally like a vacuum cleaner so I don’t end up blowing lint into places that will end up giving me a problem later.
Greta
13 years agoI would love to have the attachment that takes a picture of your item to be embroidered and makes it easier to place your design!!
Greta
Alice Hook
13 years agoI fantasize about owning a Babylock Ellisimo that has the camera feature.
I currently own a Babylock Ellegante II and I’d have to say my favorite feature is the automatic cutting of jump stitches. Saves so much time!
Jan C
13 years agoWell I WAS fantasizing about having a 14″ throat on my machine….but now you have my imagination working overtime with being about to draw right to the machine on a tablet….wow! Might be time for me to start thinking about moving away from my machine and investigating other brands…
Patty
13 years agoI love my Brother Ultra 2003 (I know it’s old but it does what I need to do right now). My favorite feature is being able to do free motion at a steady speed by removing the foot pedal. I dream of larger hoops and multi needles.
Judith
13 years agoI love the scanning feature of my Brother Quattro for precise embroidery placement – EVERY TIME. It is outrageous how far ME has come in the past 10 yrs! I love it! And, I understand it is just about to get even better with the new Brother upgrades. I hope to never “buy” gifts again.
Kathi
13 years agoI love my Bernina 830LE. Had one of the original 830s and upgraded to the Limited Edition when it came out 6-8 months ago. Favorite feature is probably the dual feed but also love the larger-capacity bobbin, hover feature for the feet, ability to store favorite stitches, memory when machine is turned off….oh, too many to list. And the Bernina Stitch Regulator (BSR) lets me free motion quilt like a pro! Really can’t think of any other features I would like other than perhaps having 830 accept wireless feeds from my laptop.
Shirley Neumann
13 years agoI too love the needle threader. I would love an automatic jump stitch cutter, but now the tablet that can attach to the machine and automatically digitize what I drew… Oh my heart is a flutter!
Nancy Hewitt
13 years agoI love my Diamond but would love it to be Bluetooth but having USB sure beats the old cards!
Love thread cutter, auto needle threader, and that it can sew out any format
Paule-Marie
13 years agoWhat don’t I love about the Ellisimo? That’s an easier question to answer. There isn’t anything I don’t love. The lighting is great, the automatic needle threader. I especially love that I can set a stitch for the settings I want, turn off the machine and when I come back to it, I don’t have to redo the settings I want to use (this is really useful with the straight stitch since I like a 2.0 not 2.5 mm for my piecing).
What would I want? The tablet sounds interesting even if I can’t draw worth beans. What I really want though is the room to have a Koala table to drop the machine into with an electric lift.
Margaret Pepper
13 years agoI have a Duetta and I really love the jump stitch trim and the automatic needle threading.
The tablet sounds awsome! Having that feature would be fantastic!
Lyn
13 years agoI have a Bernina 830, and I love the automatic needle threading and foot-lowering. I also love that I can bring my machine’s sewing stitches over into the embroidery part.
and I love the touch-screen editing and positioning. The clock and alarm are great too. I guess my only wish is for more hoops with the twist knob, like the Jumbo hoop.
karin
13 years agoI love my Babylock Ellegante’s auto-threader (like everyone else, the eyeballs just ain’t what they used to be!), the jump-stitch cutter, all the pre-programmed stitches and the ability to recover from a power failure. The USB slot is handy too!! I think I’d like it to modify the density as the size changes, right on the machine. I know it does it for the pre-programmed lettering – I’d like it to do the same on designs as I resize them.
Katrina H
13 years agoI would love to have an embroidery machine with some serious speed. I love the machine I have and enjoy great results but would love to have one that could stitch out much faster.
Gina Milano
13 years agoFantasy wish… that the REVERSE button would really un-sew a stitching mistake. Why is it that it takes significantly longer to use a stitch ripper than it took to sew?
Susan J
13 years agoI have the Quattro 1 which I love! My favorite feature this week is that I can upgrade again and get all the new features of the Quattro 2 including the tablet and the color shuffle! I added the first upgrade last summer and loved the camera scan and placement additions. Can’t wait for the new upgrade to ship to stores.
Susie Mackenberg
13 years agoMy Janome 4 needle and I are friends for most of my embroidering, but it is so stinking hard to see the eye of the needle to thread. My dream would be to have a multi-needle threader…and more time to spend with my embroidery machine. Dust bunnies, quiet down; husband, get your own dinner!
Jen B
13 years agoI’m new to quilting and fancy machines. Anything that embroiders easily and is easy to use is on my list of wants! 🙂
Carol
13 years agoRight now….I’m still dreaming about one day I will have a machine! 🙂
marilyn r
13 years agoLove the needle threader on my machine, and the fact that I can embroider & quilt.. thanks
Monica Bauschard
13 years agoI love my Brothers machine it does everything I want it to – threads and cuts the thread, it embroiders and sews so easy and smooth – BUT – I want a new one that will embroider larger designs, will let me position it anywhere I want in any size I want – but until we win the lottery I shall continue with my machine and dream, dream and dream some more. Glad I am alive and in good heath to do that.
Jessica Einspahr
13 years agoI love my needle threader.
Kamala
13 years agoI love the Brother SE400 which was all I could afford at the time. But I wish I could embroider larger designs.
Mary Vukusich
13 years agoI have a janome 300E and it has been a great machine to start learning embroidery. I have so much to learn but hope one day I can get a larger machine that does so much more.
JoAnn DeSantis
13 years agoI have a ULT2001 and my favorite machine feature is the stitch count. If I have to stop the machine for some reason, like breaking a needle, I can go right back to the last stitch and continue on.
Kathy H
13 years agoI have the Brother Quattro and just love the InnovEye for placement of designs. I have used this feature many times and have not had any problems with crooked designs since this upgrade came out for this machine. I also love the needle thread that works without failure time and time again. I have a hard time threading machines in the evening and this feature has helped me a lot and so has the jump stitch cutter! I really love this machine!
Michele McLean
13 years agoI have a Viking D1, what I like about my machine is it’s mine LOL!!! No but really my favorite feature in my machine is speed control when I am using special threads it is nice to slow down my machine.
My dream machine would take a full spool of thread for a bobbin, I hate hearing that beep saying bobbin is empty.
Sandi Copeland-Buswell
13 years agoI currently have a Babylock Elegante2 and love the numerous features! My dream machine will be able to handle more “special” threads through the needle instead of having to resort to bobbinwork.Instead of trying to increase the size of the screens built into the machine, why not add a direct video port so I could hang a larger flat screen monitor on the wall behind it and be able to easily see all of the design details & colors !
Dennis
13 years agoI would love to get a new machine I have 2 but I want one for embroidery I don’t care right now how big I just want one. I will never be able to afford another machine.
Anna Gregoriades
13 years agoPlease make a snap hoop 5×7 for Viking Designer SE Please’ please
thousand times. I cannot effort to buy a more expensive machine
for bigger hoops. Thank you Anna
Bonnie
13 years agoEvery machine should come with 3 hoops 4 x 4, 5 X 7(??), and a large square hoop, at least 10 X 10 or 12 X 12 would even be better. The question marks by 5 x 7, means maybe that’s not large enough for the medium. Maybe you can tell that I would like to do more quilting in the hoop and sometimes feel very limited due to hoop size.
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