Sewing machines are a bit like cars - not only are they both useful machines, but they're both constantly being updated with new features. Think about cars from the 1950s - automatic transmission had just been introduced, and air-conditioning was available only in a few models. 60 years later we have airbags, keyless entry, hybrid engines, even GPS systems that talk! The history of sewing machines runs a similar course. In the 1950s zigzag stitches, automatic buttonholes, and a free arm were relatively new features. All of these were part of the BERNINA 530 model shown here. Nearly 60 years later, sewing machines like the BERNINA artistas have touch screens, built in consultants and tutorials, more stitches than anyone in 1954 could imagine, controls for manipulating those stitches, and even a device that reads the movement of the fabric to improve your freemotion stitching! 

If you've taken a peek at the BERNINA 8 Series machines - the 820 and 830 - you know that the designers and engineers included every feature a seamster could dream of having. BERNINA collected feature requests for years and years, then incorporated all that information in the design of the 8 Series machines. Okay, they didn't include the espresso machine I asked for, but other than that I can't think of anything they missed. There's even an alarm clock to remind me when it's time to feed my dog! If you haven't seen the 8 Series machines, you can take one for a virtual tour by downloading the BERNINA 820 and 830 Simulators from the 8 Series website. Just look at all those buttons! One for securing seams, one for presser foot pressure, one that remembers all the stitches you've been using, one for stitching in 16 directions 720 directions in half degree increments (what was I thinking!), one for adjusting tension,... there's even one for setting up your screen exactly the way you want it!

But the contest isn't about the old 530 or the new 8 Series machines - it's about sewing machine features. Which feature on your sewing machine do you absolutely love? If you could design your own machine, what feature would you be sure to include? I learned to sew on a straight stitch machine, and later sewed on a machine that had a extra stitches for techniques like blindhemming and overcasting, but no decorative stitches. So when I bought my first machine, one of the features I really wanted was a feather stitch. That was a long time ago - before I knew about BERNINA's Free Hand System. Now I can't live without having that FHS lever for raising and lowering the presser foot without using my hands!

So tell us what your favorite sewing machine feature is, or think of something new and exciting that you'd like to have on your machine. To enter the contest, just leave a comment to this blog posting before midnight EST, April 11, 2010. The winner gets a box of fun stuff from BERNINA, OESD, Benartex, and Brewer!

Here's a note from one of our readers, Randi Thekan:

Here's why I bought my 830! I created each block using DesignerPlus software and Elly Sienkiewiez's Studio BERNINA Exclusive Embroidery Collection, Baltimore Elegance designs. I used the Jumbo hoop and cut the blocks down to 10 1/2" squares and the rest is history. Sooo... when asked the question "Why did we buy the 830, for embroidery or quilting?" I had to answer "Both!" I hope now you understand why. Enjoy!

Here's a note from Bernina National Artisan, Lezette Thomason, from The Children's Corner:

Where have the last two months gone, but WOW! What a great time we had at the Bernina Artisan Retreat in Chicago. How about that 8 (Bernina 830)?!! Impressed is not the word! I'm sure it's programmed to fly to the moon. I want! I want! I want!

Teaching? Have I been teaching? I had a great trip to the SAGA guild in Fayetteville, Arkansas. They "wined and dined" me each night after great classes. Lots of Bernina gals there!

Another first sewing project, this one from Kristie Smith, Educator with BERNINA of America.

"I was thinking about my first project and how far I've come with my sewing. I was 19 years old when I took my first sewing class at Jacksonville State University. Sewing was not remotely related to my major, but I had an internal desire to create and signed up for a basic clothing construction class. I had wanted to sew since I was a little girl and was elated at the prospect of unleashing my creativity.

"Many of us call college the "lean" years. I seldom had extra money for a potato, much less fabric. I remember getting just enough fabric for the project and praying it wouldn't go over budget. The project was a classic button down shirt, topstitched with precision on a Bernina 830 (a machine in the school's sewing lab). Every seam was carefully constructed and finished with an overlock stitch on the serger. An edgestitch foot was used to topstitch around the edges. Wearing the shirt was a huge highlight, especially when someone found out that I made it (what a self-esteem booster!). I keep the shirt in my closet and occasionally slip it on to remember the excitement of my first class and what I learned from a basic shirt. I'm so thankful that my school had Bernina machines because I know the superior machine contributed to my success and promoted my love of sewing."