My new BFF arrives!!

There's nothing like a text message to motivate you now is there?  I woke up to a message - your machine will be delivered between 10:26 and 11:26 am!  Cue housework completed in record time and craft room finally sorted - I was having the maximum time possible to play!!  learn how to use the machine!!  As it so happened the DPD driver turned up at just past 10:30am - cue action!




Once unpacked and in prime position, I curbed my enthusiasm to just plug in and go - let's read the manual (yawn yawn).  So I did - and then messed up my bobbin filling!  Once sorted I placed the bobbin as per instructions, threaded the machine as instructed and then set to sewing a heart.  Er -why is the bobbin thread coming through?  My thinking was perhaps I had left too much of a tail on the thread and it was coming through.  So then I tried a couple of tiny birds - they should have been blue but were still the grey bobbin thread.  Bobbin out and replaced - again following the book - and now it worked!  Two tiny but blue birds!  By now the pooches had given up all hope of life today so I decided to walk away and take them for a walk - this had all taken over 2 hours!!

Having mastered some basics I decided to turn to the software next and see if I can load up a design, add some writing and then save it to a USB which can be plugged into the machine.  After a couple of false starts I managed to come up with this - the grey birds in the middle of the designs were the original mistakes.  I was advised to cut up some old pillowcases and use these for my experiments as I learnt -its a good job that I have a pile from Mum!








The machine tells you how many stitches are involved in each design and how long it will take to embroider -just as well, really, since, in-between "learning" I made some weetabix muffins for WI tonight and wrapped the presents for the birthday gifts - even making this iced doughnut for my bra design (really - don't ask!).







My final challenge for the day - and I was beginning to run out of time by now - was to try a multicolour design. I decided to choose a preloaded design in the machine and follow the colours they suggest.  Of course, when each colour is finished, you have to change the thread - lots of practice threading the machine then!