The holidays are fast approaching and I've been busy traveling. I now can take a few minutes to reflect on all the gifts that I plan to make for my family and friends. I found a great pattern at the Quilt Festival and plan to make small purses for gifts. I can't wait to try the new decorative stitches on the 830. I may even take time to embroider them! But first, I need to de-clutter my sewing room. Does anyone have great storage tips to share for our sewing spaces????

The bear party in Billings, MT was a hit. The customers loved it! Doris and crew are all ready to schedule more and tie them to a charity event to donate the bears to the pediatric unit of the local hospital. The day of the party was a winter wonderland in Billings. I think that it had snowed at least 12-14 inches by the time I left - new, not accumulated - I wasn't quite ready for that much winter! Judy

Dear Readers, the news you have all been waiting for has finally arrived! We have just finished two weeks of intensive dealer trainings in 16 locations around the good old USA and the dealers are taking the machines back to the stores so they can make them available to you!

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!

Last week I packed up my BERNINA needle punch set, took a vacation, and spent 4 days needle felting with Paula Scaffidi, aka Fiberella. What a great workshop! Check them out HERE. Be sure to check out the rest of Paula's website, too - there are great galleries and tutorials!

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 :)

If you weren't able to attend the Houston Show, you'll find lots of videos at www.quilterstv.com, including one starring our own Jeanne Delpit and the new BERNINA 830! Just click on the Browse Video List button, select BERNINA 830, then click on the Play button. Check out the other videos, too!