By Amanda Whitlatch, Educator for BERNINA of America, Inc.

This week I needed a quick bridal shower gift. After researching the traditions of the bridal handkerchief I fired up my BERNINA Embroidery Software 6 and got to work. The OESD Platinum Design Collection #61001, Love and Lace, was perfect! I brought in multiple designs from the collection and combined them with lettering from the software to create a one-of-a-kind heirloom keepsake.

The scallop border was created using Pattern Run for a perfect finish. Then I stitched out the handkerchief in the Jumbo Hoop on the BERNINA 830.

I printed the History of Bridal Handkerchiefs, adding embroidered embellishment to my document -- all in v6 Art Canvas -- to complete the gift.

A note from Elaine Emmons, blogger and BERNINA sewing machine owner:

Everything is a little better with a cherry on top! With my BERNINA Embroidery Software 6 I embroidered the cherry outlines, the chocolate chips, the modern flowers (even the stitching designs on some of the flowers!) for that extra touch on these Ice Cream Cone Purses! There is NO END to what you can create with V6!

Here's a note from Kim Thomas, The Quilt Sampler, Inc.

I recently enjoyed seeing some darling nieces at a family gathering whose ages ranged from infant to pre-teen. Kay Hickman's Sewing Room blog using the Zenspirations embroidery collection proved to be the perfect idea for my next project. My BERNINA Embroidery Software 6 easily took me from "idea" to "stitch-ready" in about 30 minutes. Starting with a new page in the software, I inserted each letter in my quilt, enlarging the large 6" L by 20% using the Rescale tool. The remaining letters were the smaller 3" letters in the collection, and I reduced ROOM to 70% in the Object Properties box.

With just a couple of clicks of the Open Objects tool, I quickly digitized the apostrophe for Lilly's name. All I had to do was recolor it and move it into position.

I wanted to stitch the large design in the new BERNINA 830 Jumbo Hoop, and I used the Multi-Hooping feature of the software to split the design into two pieces and add registration points for a precise stitch-out of my embroidery.

I consider myself a beginner when it comes to machine quilting. The BERNINA Stitch Regulator kept my stitch length consistent for my free-motion quilting between the letters. The ever-practical Triple Straight and Triple Zigzag stitches frame the quilt with a simple but pronounced border.

With creative embroidery collections, and fantastic BERNINA software and embroidery machines, it's never been easier to create beautiful, personal gifts for family and friends.

By Amanda Whitlatch, BERNINA Educator

When using BERNINA Embroidery Software 6 you can use Auto Scroll to scroll the design automatically while you are digitizing. This can be more convenient than using panning or the scroll bars.

This feature can be toggled off if you find it interfering with a particular activity such as freehand drawing.  To change the settings and turn OFF the Auto Scroll feature select Settings > Options, and select the Auto Scroll tab. De-select the Auto Scroll check box and click OK to close the dialog box and save the setting.

Create a shamrock using your BERNINA Embroidery Software - EditorPlus or DesignerPlus.

Open Art Canvas, select Basic Vector Shapes, and draw a "long" heart shape. Change the Fill Color to green and the Outline to "none."

Copy the heart and Paste to create a second heart shape. Change the angle to 90 degrees. Move this heart into place beneath and to the left of the first heart.

Copy and Paste another heart shape and change the angle to 270 degrees. Move this herat into place beneath and to the right of the first heart.

Select Basic Vector Shapes and add a trapezoid shape for the shamrock stem.

Select Arrange > Shaping, and the "weld" option. Select Convert to Embroidery.

Change fills and outline stitches to create your own unique shamrocks!