WOW, I remember when my first machine arrived.  What a great day.  There was so much fun and frustration!!

You have come to the right place.  People who love to make beautiful things and share the information are right at your fingertips.

Ask a lot of questions, play with your machine. Work with the forum information on the PE700, the info applies to any machine, newer or older. 

Do practice projects before you get into something you want to share or sell.  Use scrap items to do things and keep them so that they can remind you of past successes and failures.  Keep notes.  I have a 3 ring binder with all sorts of information, including things I did 8 years ago (I cannot believe it has only been 8 years).

Check out some of the blogs as well.  I am the proud and humble writer of The Avid Embroiderer.  You can see my latest blog which has tips in it.  I am no expert but I love to share the information that I learn along the way. 

We hope to see you in the forum often and with photos of your first projects.  WE LOVE NEWBIES!  We remember our first attempts and understand where you are coming from.  In the bar (when you are writing a forum thought) there is the 'film strip' icon (left of the 'happy face').  Select it when you want to upload a photo of your projects.  We all want to see them and help in anyway we can.  Instructions - Select film strip, select browse, select Galleries, select Embroidery Projects and select a category that your photo fits into.  Click on that file name and select upload.  Browse among your photos and place in the file.  It is in your forum thoughts.  Select the photo and use the 'handles' on the corner to resize it.  It takes just a second to do it!

You can find many great designs in the "Download Designs" area, including a lovely rose outline.  Check it out.

Best wishes to you and yours, Pat, The Avid Embroiderer

I love your icon!!

Each machine has a mind of its own.  Some are more and/or less picky.  Select the best that is available in your area.  I have a blog on that subject and there are many ways of looking at thread.  That blog is one of them.

I personally use Madeira and appreciate the fact that it is consistently excellent and the colors are great.  I know that many like Marathon thread due to its price.  Rayon is generally the thread of choice but polyester is closing the gap. 

I don't mean to be evasive, but some of us have favorites and differences abound.  Understand that you need other items as well.  Stabilizers are a close second in being confusing and widely differing in quality.  I do use mostly the AnnTheGran stabilizers with a couple of exceptions.  I do suggest that you start out with a medium cutaway which is all purpose.  Add other items as needed.  You will need a tearaway, washaway and adhesives as well. 

Have fun, play with old fabric or clothes and keep reading and asking questions.  You are on a wonderful journey that can take you to some interesting places.  I started out for fun and now have an excellent business on the Internet.  It is picking up and I am able to help my kids who are having a hard time.  I have an autistic grandson - beautiful child - who needs and benefits from therapy which the state of Arizona is trying not to pay for.

This is Mason and his sister Addison.  They are so sweet!!!

Thank you and best wishes to you and yours, Pat, The Avid Embroiderer

Before you get too involved, check back and tell us what 'delicate' fabric you will be using.

There are tips that will help you avoid a ruined project - - who wants that?

I remember making the kids' costumes. What a delightful time for bonding with excited children.  Their faces all aglow with thoughts of candy and treats. 

Keep everything simple in the beginning and true satisfaction and joy awaits you.  I cannot sew but I can create something really beautiful.  Here is a sample of the hankie that I do for brides - it is a best seller!

Through all the work, I get to participate in a bride's special day and that is a true reward for me.

I was able to try out the machine yesterday and it is really great! It's taken me a while to try it out, because I had other projects that needed to get finished first.

Also I must confess I was a little afraid. But the embroidery machine was in fact very easy to use.

I think I need some other stabilzer, though... Maybe the wash away kind? That cut away stabilizer may be too labor intensive for the pattern I picked out. Maybe some more back up threads in a few favorite colors, too. Those spools look like they may run out quickly. 

As with many issues of embroidery, some embroiderers have good results and some bad with the same stabilizers.  We may have a consensus on some things, but disagree on somethings as well.

The water soluble stabilizers you can find in your local store is not suitable for anything, IMHO.  You may want to see the photo in my blog concerning the store bought versus the professional Badgemaster.

You can get small packages of Badgemaster on Ebay so that you can try it.  However, I believe we should buy where you learn, patronize AnnTheGran and support a helpful site.  That has always been my personal philosophy. 

Badgemaster is made in England, so when you consider all of that tariff and shipping, it is a bargain.  It is actually cheaper than its store bought counterpart. 

I did a cost survey for one of my blogs.  I worked very hard at being as accurate and unbiased as possible and this is what I found.

Water Soluble Stabilizer  - Badgemaster cost per yard $3.709 and comparable (I will tell you the exact name if you send me a message in my profile) $10.472.

I have used Badgemaster for any time when I was out of a needed stabilizer as well.  Never had a failure.

Pat, The Avid Embroiderer

A good sewing machine dealer is my first choice.  USB compatibility and embroidery area larger than 4" x 4" come next.

Brother was the first to offer home embroidery machines and BabyLock is the "city cousin", so to speak.

My first EM was the Brother PE150 - 4" x 4" field and require a memory card.  It stitched beautifully, but importing designs required the purchase of additional software, namely a reader/writer unit and rewritable memory card.

My next and probably final purchase was the Baby Lock Ellegante (replaced by the Ellisimo).  It has all the bells and whistles - xlg embroidery area and USB or memory card capability.  It also came with free Designer's Gallery software to sweeten the deal.  It did not matter to me that this model was being replaced by the Ellegante 2 and now the Ellisimo - it never seems to end - I have what I like.

Bottom line, shop several sewing machine dealers with your own wish list.  Include lessons on that list.  Buy what YOU like.

I love the first few things that we do on our machines.  Even when I upgraded to a new machine, the 'new' is still exciting!!

On your machine you have to write a line, sew it, leave the item in the hoop, and then write the next line and sew it.  Use the grid lines and the spacing arrows to show where you are at.

Practice will help you a lot and be sure to have fun.  Use old clothing to learn how to place things and play.  I do recommend (not just because it is mine) doing the forum to do a simple project.  The guidelines there are for any project and you will learn from it.

This is the BEST FORUM on the Net!  Not because of anything I have done but because it is more organized and it is quick to find answers and ask questions.  I have been doing machine embroidery for 10 years and I still have questions and need to refer back because I forget things. . . .

Ask a lot of questions, read a few of the blogs that appeal to you.  One of my blogs that is a favorite of mine is the one on Free Standing Lace (FSL).  It is easy and you will find it simple to follow.

Thank you and best wishes to you and yours, Pat, The Avid Embroiderer

If you click on Links at the bottom right of any ATG screen you will find many embroidery and sewing links.