"Rainy days and Mondays always get me down" - unless I am at home sewing. This week I have been embroidering a border for a dress I am currently making. My new BERNINA 830 has a great feature called Absolute Check that makes it even easier to be precise when aligning my embroidery designs - all I have to do is touch a point on the screen and the embroidery hoop moves so that the needle rests at just that point on my design. I am using the Endless Embroidery feature to create this linear border. Once I have embroidered the length, I will layout my pattern piece and cut out the border.

Many times during my embroidery sessions I find myself reaching for a hoop template. These thin plastic tools, while they are small and can easily be misplaced (ask me how I know), I find that they are an extremely helpful tool. Not only are the center markings visible, but there is also a grid to come to my aid whenever I find the need. Lining up and placement are simple when I use my hoop templates.

You may have to look in the box to find these little wonder helpers, but once you start using them you will agree that they are a must for embroidery. If you agree, please leave a comment below. Let me know how you've used your templates!

What do you find most difficult about embroidering on a garment? Is it placement? How to multi-hoop? Choice of thread colors? Well, for me, it is deciding on a design. Where do I begin to look? The great selection of designs in the "Best of Fashion" Design Collection makes the decision easier. The best of the best - all in one place!

The collar and cuffs of the Ikina Jacket and caribbean blue linen from Project Sewing Workshop are the ideal canvas for embroidery.

The embroidery design (originally in a collection called "Quirky Swirls") was combined in BERNINA Embroidery Software 6, arranged to be multi-hooped, and stitched using the Endless Embroidery feature of the BERNINA 830. Endless Embroidery can line up embroidery motifs, and the BERNINA 830 indicates placement for re-hooping. Absolute Check makes multi-hooping so easy, the results are perfection. To use Absolute Check simply touch any point on the embroidery design on the BERNINA 830 screen and the needle will be positioned over that location in the hoop.

The Magna-Quilts & Borders Hoop helps to further simplify the process of multiple hoopings. Fabric can be stitched and then easily repositioned without removing the hoop from the machine.

With the "Best of Fashion" Design Collection, my biggest embroidery problem is solved. Now I need to get sewing on other items for my summer wardrobe. The winter snows have melted but the winter pounds have not!

Absolute check is an embroidery feature that 'checks' the position of the design as you touch the image of the design on the screen. For example, if you are placing a design on a project and you want to know exactly where each part of the design will sew out on the project, you touch the screen with your finger or touch pen and the needle moves to that position. There is no more check box. Absolute Check is amazing, it is accurate and it is fast.

So, for example, if I were embroidering a clown on a child's shirt and wanted to make sure that the big red nose exactly covered the dime-size grape juice stain, I'd use Absolute Check to move the needle around the outline of the nose and see if the entire stain were covered. Or, if I were stitching a delicate heirloom design on purchased eyelet, I could easily check to make sure all the stitching landed on fabric rather than over eyelet holes. I can see why everyone loves this feature so much!

btw - Here's a screen capture from the 830 Emulator CD. It's just like playing on the real machine, except all the stitching is virtual. A great way to learn about the machine without actually having one in front of you! Visit your local BERNINA shop for details.

"Having the opportunity to test the BERNINA 830 at the factory in Steckborn gave me a new appreciation for the ingenuity, workmanship and pride that goes into the development of every BERNINA product. Every feature has been carefully thought through to develop a machine that puts the creative sewer first, whether it be the ease of Automatic Threading, the Jumbo Bobbin or Absolute Check.

Absolute Check is hands down my favorite new feature. For new and experienced embroiderers alike, accurate placement of embroidery designs on a project can be a challenge. Absolute Check makes it so easy to ensure the design will end up exactly where I want it-every time."

Jennifer Gigas, Director of Education and Training

"To watch the Swiss team and the US team come together to make the 830 the best machine possible was amazing to me. In testing, you write a lot of bug reports - the best part was to be able to explain and show the bug to the specific engineer responsible for that area - and hearing them say - oh I know what I need to fix - and then to see it happen. It was also a unique experience to work with the engineers who developed the new technologies on the 830 and learn from that engineer the attributes of that feature - to see in detail what makes each Bernina so special.

My favorite feature: Absolute Check in embroidery. I design 'as I go' much of the time, and to be able to know 'absolutely' where each part of the design will sew out is an incredible time saver plus the precision is exact. Absolute check is not an approximation - it is exact."

Susan Fears, BERNINA Educator

"Being in the factory and working along side of the Swiss engineers was a true honor. The pride in workmanship and attention to quality and detail is clear in everything they do. Testing the BERNINA 830 was a once in a lifetime experience! My favorite feature of the 830 is: My freedom to choose and make the machine MY OWN! But I love the automatic needle threader."

Jeanne Delpit, Director of National Events

Visit your BERNINA dealer to see the BERNINA 8 Series machine software demo and learn about the features of these machines. This week we host 365 US dealers and staff in the factory to show them more about the 8 Series machines. More on that next week!