Being a BERNINA employee, I can't enter the My Label Software Challenge, but it'd be great if some of our bloggers did - and won! You have just over three months to create your entry. There are several categories and two sets of prizes - Viewers' Choice, decided by visitors to the My Label website (winners receive a $100 gift box or gift certificate), and Best in Category, decided by a panel of judges (prizes include aurora sewing machines, BERNINA Embroidery Software, and a 1300MDC serger).

The trainings were amazing with over 1400 dealers, teachers, salespeople and technicians attending.

Two days of product training were taught with one evening just on embroidery - we called it our "Embroidery Evening" and we embroidered denim panels for a great-looking tote bag.

Two days of technicial training were taught as well and it was so interesting to see the machines taken apart and impressive to see the legendary Swiss quality.

The dealers were as excited as we were to finally get to work on and spend lots of time with the Big BERNINA Baby!

We also gave them instructions for a couple of wonderful projects to teach you when they return to their stores to set up classes on the 830 and to begin to plan Mastery Classes for the machine. It was also great to tell them that the jumbo hoop, many of the Dual Feed feet, the single needle and 5.5mm stitch plates, and the external Multiple Spool Holder are now available or will be available soon in dealers' stores.

The fun is just beginning - be sure to visit your dealer this week to ask how the training went and to take a look at the amazing BERNINA 830. Happy Thanksgiving!

My first choice would be Clear Foot #34. I use it for all of my "regular" sewing - garments, home dec, crafts - usually with one of the seam guides attached to the back. It's very similar to Reverse Motion Foot #1, but clear plastic with a red center line.

Second would be Edgestitch Foot #10 - it does so many things! Edgestitching, topstitching, stitch-in-the-ditch, embellishing. The short toes make it great for going around curves, and it can be used with any stitch.

Since I don't get to take my serger :( my next selection would be Overlock Foot #2. It doesn't do anything flashy, but it's a real workhorse, keeping all my edges from ravelling. And the little pin in the sole keeps the edges from pulling and tunneling. Overcasting by sewing machine isn't as fast as serging, but this foot combined with the overlock stitch does a super job.

My fourth foot would be my Walking Foot #50. I don't use it on every project, but when I need it I really need it. It's not just for quilts, either - any time I'm working with fabrics that don't want to stay under the foot I get out my Walking Foot #50 to "pinch" them into submission.

Now I have a dilemna...would I rather embellish with decorative stitches (Clear Embroidery Foot #39) or freemotion stitching (Bernina Stitch Regulator #42). I'll have to take the BSR - I've been doing lots of small projects with it lately, including darning a tear in one of my favorite shirts. I can use the open toe sole of my Walking Foot #50 for decorative stitches - I won't be able to stitch as quickly, but I haven't been doing a lot of satin decorative stitching lately.

I'm going to miss some of my other favorites - Patchwork Foot #37, Bulky Overlock Foot #12, Binder #84...no zipper or buttonhole feet, no fun embellishment accessories like Freemotion Cording Foot #43 or the Decorative Needle Punch Attachment! Good thing I'm not really stranded without my big box of presser feet!

Which feet would YOU take along?

First, let's look at the 830 gown which is the foundation of the advertising campaign. The gorgeous embroidery motifs are built into the 830. The gown is silk dupioni and is double-lined in silk and stitched with silk thread. Bernina Dual Feed was used to insert the zipper and the Jumbo Hoop was used to easily embroidery those wonderful motifs. The speed (1000 stitches per minute) really helped meet the photography deadlines. Jet black crystals were added to the motifs to make them sparkle!

The red tote is a project that showcases the excellent stitch quality of the BERNINA 830. Lots of fun ribbons and trims were added to the tote and the Bernina Dual Feed handled the application with ease, in addition to stitching the faux leather trim you find on the tote.

With 1162 stitches (261 brand new stitches) you will find more than enough inspiration for your creative needs. Plus using functions like Long Stitch, Pattern Elongation, Stitch Combinations and Connecting Stitches create a variety of new possibilities for stitch patterns. And remember, you can bring your sewing stitches into embroidery with the BERNINA 830.

And speaking of embroidery, the 830 Quilt is an embroidery masterpiece. Built-in motifs, including Jumbo Hoop designs and quilt designs from Diane Gaudynski make this quilt a vision for the eyes. The quilt, made completely from silk, makes great use of the Bernina Stitch Regulator which is standard with the 830 and the remarkable Bernina Walking Foot for stitching in the ditch machine quilting. The quilt binding was applied with the Bernina Dual Feed. Embroidery and Quilting - go together like peanut butter and jelly - and are just as yummy!

More on the Create with 8 projects next week! And check out the 830 on YouTube by clicking HERE.

First, I found a plate in my cupboard just about the same size as the template in the book. My pillow form is a little smaller than the one called for, so it won't matter that my plate is a smidge smaller than 8" in diameter. I used the plate to draw circles on one side of the Steam-A-Seam 2 - so much faster and easier than tracing a pattern!

Then I rough cut the circles, leaving about 1/2" all the way around. I peeled the unmarked paper from the other side of each circle, exposing the sticky adhesive, then placed the circles on the wrong sides of the patchwork. Since the sticky adhesive only forms a temporary bond I was able to reposition the circles until I liked the layout of the stripes in each one. I rough cut the patchwork around the adhesive just to make it easier to work with each one. Then a trip to the ironing board to fuse the fabric and adhesive.

Next I cut out each circle, following the lines on the paper backing. When I'm ready to position them on the pillow front all I have to do is peel off the remaining paper backing and stick them on the pillow. I'll be able to reposition them until I like the layout, and then tweak the placement until all of the spaces between circles are even. Tip - Use a digital camera to take pictures of your favorite layouts so you'll have a record of each one; use the photo as a guide to recreating the one you like best.

The front of the bib overalls became this apron, and I used Benartex City Girl fabric for the ties and extras. The embroidery design on the pocket is an OESD design from the Go Retro! collection. I love all the pockets on this apron, small scissors, seam rippers, and seam guages fit perfectly in the nooks and crannies of the top pockets - all the tools I could ever need while working on a project!

The back of the bib overalls made this apron, and I used an Alexander Henry's Tatsu fabric for the ties, the trim, and the dragon applique.

I used a piece of plain red fabric underneath the dragon applique, and used the Bernina Stitch Regulator to stitch all around the shape. Then, I cut away more of the dragon fabric to leave some of the red to show all the way around, and left the edges raw. I used the Button Sew On Stitch on my artista 730 to attach the decorative buttons at the top of the apron and pockets.

These projects were a lot of fun to finish, especially since I salvaged the bib overalls from going into the trash!

The bag I'm making - the Miranda Day Bag from Lazy Girl Designs - is about 10" x 12" x 6", with lots of pockets for keeping me organized. If you've never used Lazy Girl patterns, give them a try. The instructions are great! Each step has illustrations AND well-written text instructions - perfect for those of us who are visual learners. Of course, I never make anything exactly according to the instructions...

Assembling Materials: When I finally located the perfect batiks in my stash I found that I didn't have enough of my favorite - the little triangles - for the cover. A trip to my local quilt yielded a few more coordinating pieces - including Benartex Triple Dye Bali batiks - and their monthly Stitch & B**** night was the perfect time to cut out all the pieces.

Machine Quilting: I found the perfect embellishing thread - Oliver Twists hand-dyed thread in the same colors as my triangle batik - which I used for machine quilting using the BERNINA Stitch Regulator.

Seam Cover Pieces Together: I wanted to bring more of the triangle colors out, so I added teeny tiny mini piping between the panels - a red clay batik on the vertical seams, blue/green on the horizontal seams. It's easy to make - cut fabric strips the twice the width of the seam allowance and place a strand of gimp or other fine cord in the center. Sew right next to the cord. I stitched mine using Piping Foot #38; Clear Applique Foot #23 also works well. When stitching to the second hald of the cover, follow the previous stitching line on the wrong side. For the topstitching I used the Oliver Twists again.

Finished Cover Pieces: More on my progress in a few days!

I love scrap quilts - each piece of fabric has its own story. Some of the squares in this quilt are from my mother's and grandmother's and aunts' fabric stashes, some from garments I'd sewn. The blue & black plaid in the corner is from a pair of shorts I made, the olive green from a top my mother wore in the '60s, the sheeting from my father's aunts...it's fun to sit down and go through them all one by one.

I stitched this together the summer before I started college. I'd been sewing my own clothes for years, but I didn't know much about how to put together a quilt. I had no idea how to apply the binding - it's still attached, so I guess it's doing its job, but I'm glad you can't see it up close! Binding a quilt isn't hard; you just need to know what to do. The Binding Basics Online Class at http://www.berninausa.com/home.jsp has instructions for several binding methods. My four-patch quilt uses - sort of - the single binding technique, using purchased binding. These days I cut my own bias strips and use the double binding method; I like to repeat fabrics from the blocks around the edges, and the two layers of fabric over the edge provide more protection than a single layer. (My quilts get used and loved and laundered a lot; if they were hanging on a wall a single fold binding would be fine.)

There are so many tools now that make assembling a quilt easier - rotary cutters/mats/rulers, 1/4" presser feet (BERNINA Patchwork Foot #37 and Patchwork Foot with Guide #57), edgestitching feet (BERNINA Edgestitch Foot #10/10C), needle stop up/down features, adjustable needle position - so much easier than scissors, cardboard templates, and a single "all-purpose" foot!

I don't think I'd even heard of machine-quilting when I made this quilt, and I knew I didn't want to stitch it by hand, so I tied it with lengths of acrylic yarn (which has tangled and pilled over the years - I'd use embroidery floss or topstitching thread today). I come from a long line of hand-quilters, and I can hand-stitch when I have to, but I much prefer machine quilting. I've always liked to draw, and machine quilting is very much like drawing a line with a sewing machine needle instead of a pencil or pen. I can machine quilt just about as quickly as I can draw, so it doesn't take me long to complete a quilt once I get it set up. And it's soooo relaxing! Next week I'll show you some of my more recent pieces - which reflect some of the things I've learned through classes and books and looking at hundreds (maybe thousands?) of quilts.

Begin with a new, blank design in the software. To figure out where to place your lines, you can measure the project carefully and follow the grid in the software as you draw, or you can scan the project and import the image directly into the software to trace around.

In this picture, I am measuring my ribbon with the gridded template for the large oval hoop. The ribbon measures four squares across.

And in this picture, I scanned the ribbon and imported the image into the software. The ribbon fits into four squares across on the grid.

To draw the placement lines, I select the Open Object tool, making sure that the Single stitch is selected. Then, using left mouse clicks, I draw a line on each side of the ribbon, making sure to stay inside the hoop, and press the Enter key after each line that I draw. Pressing the Enter key is like telling the software, "Okay, I've finished drawing this line, you can turn it into stitches now!" When I've finished drawing, there are stitching outlines on each side of the ribbon inside the hoop.

(You will notice in these pictures that I removed the grid on the screen so you can see better; in the software, right click on the Show Grid button to take the grid away or bring it back.)

Next, I import the other design elements, using the placement lines as a guide to arrange the designs. I make sure that the designs are exactly where I want them inside those placement lines, keeping in mind that they represent my actual project.

The final step in the software is to make sure that the placement lines stitch out very first thing in your design. Use the Slow Redraw tool to watch how the design will stitch out in the software. If your placement lines are not stitching out first, move them to the beginning of the design by selecting the placement lines, and choosing Sequence to Start from the Arrange menu.

And that's all there is too it! Don't forget to use a practice stitch out with your placement lines to see how the design fits within the lines. Also, you can hold your project up to the stitch out to see how your placement lines match up to your project. Make any adjustments needed before stitching out the real thing. Check back with my last post to see how I hooped and stitched out this project with the placement lines.

Placement lines are used with the un-hooped method of hooping, and create guide lines to help you in placing your project down in the hoop. I used this method to make this embroidered bookmark.

Here's an example of how it works. First, only the stabilizer is hooped and set on the machine. The placement line stitches out first, in this case I am embroidering a design on a piece of ribbon, and the lines show me where to line up the ribbon.

Once the placement line has been stitched, I remove the hoop and can easily lay down my project, lining it up exactly with the lines, using either temporary spray adhesive to hold the project down, or OESD's Stabil Stick stabilizer.

The hoop, project and all, goes back into the machine to finish stitching.

And look - it stitched PERFECTLY! Now how cool is that?

Not only does this method work for embroidery on ribbon, but it really helps with things like collars, cuffs, corners, pockets, and anything else that needs perfect placement.

Okay, so you're probably wondering how those placement lines got there, right? It's easier than you might think, and my next blog will have a quick description of making placement lines using the drawing tools in the Designer Plus V5 software.

Wing needles can be used with embroidery, too. The stitching shown here forms the background for a monogram in Nina McVeigh's Monogrammed Dresser Scarf. This project also has great instructions for stitching a mitered drawn threadwork hem.

Wing needle stitching is a quick and easy embellishment for purchased items - linen and/or cotton shirts, tablecloths & napkins - anywhere you want a subtle decorative touch. For additional tips on hemstitching, see the article I wrote for the Basic Training section of www.berninausa.com.

The center square of this block is the perfect place to feature your favorite embroidery design; this one is the Redwork Cardinal from www.embroideryonline.com.

All sorts of variations are possible: create your own fabric for the star using some of the Stitch Recipes at www.berninausa.com, substitute applique for embroidery, make the block into a tote bag instead of a pillow, make several blocks and create a small grouping - three single block mini-quilts hung side by side, nine blocks joined to form a square, etc.

For larger items a simple solution is to make fabric gift bags, like this embroidered wine bottle bag from www.embroideryonline.com. This also makes a nice gift sack for a collection of small items in an empty Pringles container - cover the can with fabric or paper, fill, recap, insert into bag, tie to seal. You can embellish your bags with embroidery or decorative stitching and/or use a seasonal fabrics. Not only do both of these items make a nice gift presentation, but they're recyclable as well. I have some that I rescue from the recipients after the holidays, then pack away to use again the next year - our own little holiday tradition!

Someone also asked about the cord Nina uses with Free Motion Couching Foot #43. She's using one of my favorite cords for freehand couching, Hilos La Espiga #18, a 2mm nylon cord usually used for macrame and other knotting crafts. If your local shop doesn't carry it, your BERNINA dealer can order it for you from Quilters Resource, Inc.

To see how these techniques are done, check out the Free Motion Machine Beading and Free Motion Couching BERNINA videos at www.TheQuiltShow.com. Then use them to embellish your projects - quilts, clothes, crafts, everything can use a little adornment!

The smart, well-prepared folks have already done their gift shopping, and are smugly putting labels on their already wrapped and beribboned gifts. (And, of course, they dropped off stacks of cards at the Post Office right after Halloween.) The rest of us are frantically writing our lists, trying to remember what we gave the twins last year, wondering if we can regift those watermelon scented candles, and wishing the days were 36 hours long for the next four weeks!

While you're out shopping this weekend, braving the crowds at the mall, pick up a little something extra to drop off at your local BERNINA store for Toys for Tots. (Click here for a list of participating stores.) BERNINA of America, Inc. is an official sponsor this year. For those of us who do our shopping online (my office is so much less crowded than the mall!), donations can be made online.

I won't be joining you at the malls, but you might see me at my local thrift stores. While I haven't taken the Homemade Pledge, nearly all of my gifts will be things I've made or bought from local or online artists and crafters, or items I've recycled/repurposed. Over the next few weeks I'll be posting and linking to some simple, quick-to-sew projects, like the card at right. Just trace two circles, cut them out, place cheery fabric on the wrong side and stitch it in place. Then use crayons and markers to draw a branch and ornament hooks; better yet, glue snippets from your shrubs in place and use real hooks.

I'll be showing you some of the things I did over the next few weeks, starting with this one - a needle felted scarf. First we laid out several layers of fibers and ran them under the felting needles...

I was going for colorations somewhere between gray winter skies and gray/pink granite. This is what it looked like before I rinsed out all the stabilizer...

...and here's what it looks like finished. Just in time for winter! It's getting chilly out here in the mountains :)