eMotions: Marathon Thread

I just bought the "starter kit" of Marathon polyester embroidery thread from Terradon Embroidery and couldn't be happier! It worked great in my eMotions machine, and the color selection for the kit is great--a very good assortment of light, medium, and dark basics. (I hate when you look at the corporate Marathon sites and have no idea where to even start with the hundreds of colors that are available!) Honestly, I couldn't tell a difference in quality between the Marathon thread and the expensive Isacord thread--I had no thread breaks and the sheen of the finished designs is great. Besides Terradon's great prices and free shipping if you spend over $50, they're super nice to work with--always a plus. Highly recommended if you need a good starter kit of thread for your new machine.

Explorations Software Update

So last night I took the plunge and upgraded my Explorations Lite software to the standard version. I highly recommend it if you have an eMotions embroidery machine! Besides all of the new designs and fonts that are included, there are a lot more text and editing features. The best way to see what "goodies" you get when you upgrade to the standard version is to go on the OESD site and do their tutorials. I finally feel like I have the tools necessary to really do something with my machine!

eMotions Show and Tell

Okay, here's my very first project I did on my machine--a stomacher for a colonial dress I wore for Halloween this year. This was done with the plain ol' rayon Sulky in an ivory color, and embroidered onto a quilter's cotton that matched my petticoat. I used Sulky fusible stabilizer underneath but I don't know that I would again--it seemed too papery and stiff after it was done. The design took two hoopings--one for the top half and one for the bottom half. All of the designs I used came with my machine.

eMotions: The Positives

Lest you think I'm unhappy with my little embroidery machine, here are a few of the things I really like about it:

• First, the hoop attaches to the embroidery arm very securely. Two different posts spaced over an inch apart in the middle of the hoop snap into it. I've heard with other machines (like the Deco 330) the hoop only attaches at one point at the top, making accuracy a problem when you're embroidering in the lower portion of the hoop.
  
• Which brings me to another positive--so far, this machine does super accurate and clean embroidery!
• The Explorations Lite software, while it doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles, does let you rescale, rotate, and mirror designs very easily.
• There's an alarm that lets you know when you have a thread break.
• When a thread breaks, it's very easy to back the machine up to exactly where you need to start embroidering again (either on the machine itself, or from within the software).
• I love that it connects to my PC with a USB connection--no messing with cards! (Although it does have a card slot that you can use.)
  

eMotions Explorations Lite Software Upgrade

The file format annoyance continues. . .

If you want to be able to use grade B files (I bought a design from OESD that turned out to be grade B) you have to update your Explorations Lite software to version 1.3j. Contact OESD software support about getting the update (they have to mail it out to you) or contact your Bernina dealer if they're super nice and will help you out.

eMotions Embroidery File Limitations

Probably my number one annoyance with this machine--the file format limitations! It can only use grade A or B Artista files--and after doing a whole lot of digging, I've discovered what that means. A grade A or B file is one that was digitized in the Artista software. If the design was originally in .PES or some other format and someone has just converted it to the Artista format, it will be a grade C. And your eMotions machine will not be able to use it. You can pull it up in the Explorations software, but when you try to send it to your machine, no go.

What does this mean for you? Well, all of those nifty (and probably pirated) CDs of designs available on eBay for cheap, even though they claim to be Artista files, will not work with your machine. When in doubt, always ask the file grade. So, you are basically limited to buying your designs from Bernina, or from someone who is digitizing using Artista software.

eMotions Thread Trick

After tearing my hair out over trying to use metallic thread (this machine does not like Sulky metallics, BTW) I learned a tip from my Bernina dealer--apparently the thread post on the top of the machine is causing problems and they're working on a fix. Until then, don't use it! Just set your thread spool on your countertop behind the machine and let it unwind your thread from there. Tried this and haven't had a problem since with regular thread on a cone. I'm not quite brave enough to attempt the metallics again!

Marie eMotions Embroidery Machine

One of the main features of my blog will be embroidery tips and tricks for the new Marie EM-1 eMotions embroidery machine that was seen on QVC and is being sold through Bernina stores. It's a great little machine, a great deal, but will give you a great many headaches unless you know about some workarounds! There's not much on the web yet, so I thought I'd post some advice for current and potential users of this machine--please, learn from my mistakes! =)