eMotions: Au Revoir, Marie!

Sorry for the long hiatus--I've had little time for sewing lately, but am finally getting back into the swing of things.

Things really didn't improve with my eMotions machine. My machine started breaking needles, and I started getting major thread nests in the bobbin case on occasion--the machine makes a very distinctive knocking noise when it starts happening so I'd know to run for the machine to stop it. (Then I'd be picking out thread of the bobbin case for the next half hour. . .) So long story short, when it was working it was a fabulous machine--when it was unhappy, it seemed like nothing in the world could get it working again.

And yes, I'm using the past tense--this last Saturday I traded mine in towards a new Bernina Aurora 440QEE. I was going to hang on to the eMotions machine for a bit longer and add the embroidery module in a few months, but my dealer offered a $400 trade-in for it so I jumped at it. (I think my dealer was relieved to see it come back so they wouldn't have to hear me griping about it anymore.) =)

I don't regret buying my little eMotions machine at all though--I still think it's a great starter machine and I successfully embroidered dozens and dozens of projects on it. My plan all along was to see if I got hooked on embroidery enough to justify splurging on a "real" machine, so if someone is in that boat I think it's a great way to try it out for a minimal investment. I just ended up using mine a little too much than I think it was designed for so I noticed more of its quirks, and started getting frustrated with its limitations. But I loved the eMotion's USB interface that lets you control your machine from your computer, and it's one of the reasons I decided on the Aurora.

Stay posted for reviews as I try out my new toy, and some photo comparisons between embroidery done on the Emotions machine and my new Bernina to see if it's really worth the investment!

eMotions: Recommended Accessories

These are my completely biased, non-scientific recommendations on what's worked well with my eMotions machine--I hope it helps you get the most out of your embroidery. =)

• Marathon Thread: you've already heard me rave about this stuff. Everytime I've had problems with thread breaks, it was because I was trying to use a thread other than my Marathon. Those little Sulky spools wind the thread so tight that I think the eMotion's really tricky tension can't take the curlyness as it unwinds.
  
• YLI Lingerie & Bobbin Thread: I only bought this because it was on sale at Hancock Fabrics, but it's really worked well. (What didn't work well? Those pre-filled bobbins with the cardboard sides. I never finished using the ones that came with the machine because they kept causing thread jams.)
  
• HR5 Spray & Stick adhesive from Helmar (bought it at my Bernina dealer--it's an OESD product, I think): fabulous stuff for sticking your stabilizer to your fabric before hooping. I never had a problem with my needle getting gunky from it, and you can reposition things easily.
• OESD AquaFilm Wash-Away Topping: comes in a little roll, but it lasts forever! (Since you're only using enough to cover your design, not hooping it.) Spray a little adhesive on it and put it on top of fleece before embroidering your design--it keeps your stitches from disappearing into all of the fluff. Tears away pretty well, and you can put some water on any film left behind to dissolve it (beware, it may leave the fabric a bit sticky, because of the adhesive).
• Super Solvy Water Soluble Stabilizer: love, love, love this stuff. It tears away cleanly and anything left can be dabbed away with a little water.
• Sulky Cut-Away Plus Stabilizer: great for knits--provides a firm background when you're embroidering but washes up quite soft.

(These last two are sold at JoAnn's--I just always use a 40% off coupon on a new roll so it's much cheaper.)

eMotions: Status Update

I've been absent for a bit, but squeezed a few more projects out of my embroidery machine. I phrase it that way because it's been having some tension problems lately. I have had to set the upper tension very high (7) to get it to work, but even then, it will not stay consistent (one side of a stitch will look okay, the other will be off). I've decided to take it into my Bernina dealer to be looked at, but have not had time to do it. That said, I have discovered that the tension can be thrown off for just about any tiny reason--most recently, the thread was running over the USB cord on the back of the machine, and just that was enough to produce enough drag to really make it unhappy.

Artista Auto-Designer

Well, I took the plunge and purchased Artista Auto-Designer, since Bernina was offering a rebate if you already owned Explorations. I have a long learning curve ahead of me, but it's nice to finally have the capability of doing my own designs. If you want step-stitched embroidery, the magic wand or auto-digitizing tool is a breeze--satin stitches take a bit more tweaking because you have to make sure that the stitches are angled in a logical way. (And it REALLY doesn't like it when two lines intersect--I've been doing a lot of swirled clip art designs and they take some prep work beforehand.)

Stay tuned for some pictures of my digitizing efforts, and news on CDs I'll be making with designs for costuming in mind! (All the cutesy animal ones on eBay are nice if you're doing kids' clothes, but I'm going to be concentrating on creating designs you can use for embellishing clothing.)

(My next project, now that I finally have the tools to do it? Padme's picnic dress from Star Wars: Attack of the Clones. . .well, at least I've bought the material for the cape!)

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! =)