Wow! A while back I spent the weekend bonding with my BERNINA 1150MDA serger. I have always been the type of person who uses a serger to finish seams during construction and stitch the occasional rolled edge. I learned so much while bonding with my new "baby." You know what the coolest thing is? The MTC (Micro Thread Control) knob.

You know when you're trying to balance tension on the loopers of your serger and no matter how hard you try, you can never find tune the stitches? Well, MTC takes care of that for you! One you have the tension close to being balanced, you can use the Micro Thread Control knob to fine tune the seam. It's super easy to use and makes those tension headaches go away. I think I'll have to use my serger more for decorative things from now on!

Ed. Learn more about Paula's serging adventures in BERNINA of America's Through the Needle issue #33 - "Jacket x 3."

A note from Li Hertzi, designer, illustrator, doll maker, fiber artist:

Over the last three months I have developed an overwhelming appetite for craft books from my local library. "Li honey, did you know you have over 70 books out?" asked the librarian (don't even get me started on libary cutbacks!). "Uh, um, well, my mother gets a lot of these" I say as I am thinking "Can she see how tall that pile of hogwash is, oh dear...." They are all, of course, for me... Tho' to be fair, my mother DOES get one or two large printers out at a time.

Why in the world does someone who has rooms of books need more? And I don't just get reading material on all kinds of different sewing and crafts; I get several on each subject. For instance, I fell in love with Kaleidoscope quilts recently. So off to the library I went. I sat on the floor and started leafing here and there. "Wow, they are all so lovely, but lets see, maybe I should limit myself to 2, yes... oh, but look at this! And this, oh, art quilts, ummmm now, that really IS my thing." How many? Six! And I am not even a quilter!

As luck would have it, a woman standing innocently in the knitting section was watching my pile grow with slight amusement. She asked, "Are you a quilter?" Ah, big mistake, I LOVE talking to strangers, especially ones that have sought ME out! Off I went, explaining how little "real quilting" I have done, what I had in mind for this quilt, the story of my life interspersed with commentary on making dolls, art and science. Finally she said, "I just happen to be president of The Northeast Ohio Regional Quilt Council." Nice, huh? (Of course, she uses a BERNINA!) Starting right at the top! She suggested several other books and mentioned the stack-n-whack method as well as the work of Paula Nadelstern - the lioness of Stacking and Whacking. WOW! Off I went again, this time on-line... read, read, read, think, think, ponder, think...

But (listen up, fellow bookies), have I DONE a quilt? Have I even started stacking? Have I explored whacking? No. Is there a lesson here? Yes indeedy-do!

When I have a beautiful, color-filled, rich, new book in hand, it seems like there are possibilities galore and my apparently limited time will infinitely expand the moment I open it - Magic will burst forth and my house of creative blocks will tumble! This is a wonderful feeling... It lasts at least as long as the book is open and in my hands, but it doesn't see to push the needle into the fabric or turn on the machine. I have to do that.

And... So do you.

SO, get to it! Grab a book, grab some fabric, grab some time and don't let yourself be distracted by the pictures, or the dishes or the kids. Once we get started, we will wonder why we ever dilly-dallied with our snoots in the books for so long! I know this is true, yes, here I go...

A note from Karen Spector, textile artist:

BERNINA National Artisan, Karen Spector, recently hosted boy scouts from Troop 321 and taught basic sewing techniques on the BERNINA aurora 440QE. The scouts created a dozen fleece-lined dog and cat beds for Pets in Need, a local animal shelter!

Step 1 - Pinning, Step 2 - Cutting.

Step 3 - Sewing on the lines!

Finished!

Happiness is a warm puppy!

something about cats

Here's a note from Peggy Johnston, BERNINA dealer and teacher, Sew Creative, Peoria Heights, IL:

My first attempt with the CutWork Tool was a bit shakeeee! But I had success after Amanda Whitlatch gave me some pointers; I watched the CutWork Webinar and that was a big help also. I have experience with embroidery of all kinds.

Much to my surprise, the Cutwork Tool likes crisp stabilizer instead of soft. I usually pick soft. I ironed Trans-Web fusible web to the back of my applique fabric - Trans-Web has a removeable paper backing. Before taking off the backing I hooped the stabilized fabric - fabric side up and paper side down - much as I would hoop for regular machine embroidery.

After I followed the directions on the CutWork Webinar and in the manual, I used the CutWork tool to cut the applique shape. Then I peeled the paper off - the applique fabric now had the iron-on material on the back.

I followed the instructions and created the embroidery applique stitches. I hooped the fabric that the applique was to be placed on. Since the applique stitch was a blanket stitch, not a dense satin stitch, I used no stabilizer under the fabric and batting. I put thread in the machine to match the fabric and stitched the applique placement lines. 

When I placed the applique shape inside the placement lines, the Trans-Web was already in place on the back. I took the hoop off the machine and to the ironing board where I pressed the applique to fuse it in place. Then I put the hoop back on the machine and finished stitching the tack-down and applique stitches.

I trimmed the appliqued piece to 9.5" square and added a 3.5" border around the sides. I used a new product on the borders - Texture Magic - which shrinks the fabric and creates a textured surface.

I layered the pillow front with batting and free-motion quilted the layers with the BERNINA Stitch Regulator.

I cut a 15" square for the pillow back. I cut this in the center and inserted an invisible zipper with Invisible Zipper Foot #35. Open the zipper before you put this square the the pillow front right sides together.

Put the pillow front and back right sides together, then sew them together around the outer edge with a 1/4" to 1/2" seam allowance. Then turn right side out and fill with a 14" pillow form.

Quick and easy - I'm off to my next CutWork project!

One cold snowy day while attending college in northern lower Michigan I decided to venture out among the white mounds that towered the streets and visit the local card shop. As with most co-eds, money, cash, and even coins were scarce and shopping usually was only done peering through a beautifully dressed window. There was always something to tempt the opening of my sparsely housed wallet but, on this trip, I spotted a wallhanging that jumped out (not literally) and spoke to my soul. You know, those life-changing, introspective kinds of things that you hold onto like the Northern Star, pointing you in the right direction, keeping your life perspective on track. The "walk before me" passage on this wall-hanging was it for me! I have kept it through the years (too many to admit to) and it lives on the wall of my sewing room.

Well, when I received my new BERNINA 830 sewing machine, I began to embroider like wildfire - enough to melt that snow in Michigan. The Jumbo Hoop is so liberating because of the size. I can now produce with ease large-scaled embroidery that used to require multiple hoopings. With the creative juices flowing and maybe even a hot chocolate to keep me warm, I was inspired to "refashion" the wall-hanging. Using the BERNINA 830 teamed up with BERNINA V6 Embroidery Software made this project a snap. So grab yourself a hot cocoa and start creating your own leading light!

(Instructions for this project are included in BERNINA of America's Through the Needle magazine, Issue #33, available in BERNINA stores in January 2010.)