A question for all of you sewing and embroidery enthusiasts...?

How about a fun book, complete with software? http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-images/0...

You could also pick one project from the book and give her the supplies for it, to round out your $50.00 - or give her a book and a gift card to her favorite embroidery supply shop.

.

If you get a new machine that boasts embroidery features for less than 1,000, you're setting yourself up for a lot of frustration. I spent a small fortune for a Bernina artista 180 about five years ago. This machine has done everything I've wanted, and handled big heavy sports bags (with lots of careful handling) as well as delicate embroidery on blouses. But, I have done production work on it, and doing a t-shirt one at a time will put me in the poor house. I can't compete with the commercial machines for speed. Some people will keep a machine like this for fine work - monograms on shirts and things like that - and use one of the big commercial monsters for their main production work. If you want something you'll love to use and make things for your family and friends for the next few decades, then I'd go with a Bernina or maybe a Brother. Both are very user-friendly. You can do lovely built-in designs without even thinking about it, and nice combinations are easy to program. I've been sewing for 35 years on all kinds of machines. Now that I've used a Bernina, I won't buy any other brand (I do all my sewing on it, not just embroidery). I use the digitizing software almost exclusively, rather than the designs on the machine, because my first love is creating the designs themselves. The artista software is very highly regarded - but you will have to be sure to ask specifics about the software that comes with the machine. The lower end software can be used to edit and combine designs, but not create new ones. So anyway, I wanted to increase my production rate, so I went shopping for the less expensive embroidery-only machines, since I already had the great software and a heavy duty sewing machine. I tried and returned a model that ran for about $800 from a local fabric store. The machine looked sturdy enough, but the way the embroidery module was done made for sloppy stitching, and after the first motif, the bar that held the hoop quit working. I'd tell you the brand if I remembered it. I tried another machine - one of the less expensive Janome embroidery-only machines - and was fairly pleased with it. It did good work, and was easy to use. Then, the excess folds of a t-shirt got stuck in the presser foot, the gears in the embroidery arm seemed to get pulled out of place, and now the whole thing is out of alignment by about a quarter inch. I've had to adjust the hooping of every design to accommodate for it. Since I've quit doing production work, it's sitting in my closet. I'll get it fixed when I scrape up the money for it - maybe. It would make a good starter machine, and is still great for everyday embroidery on clothes and household items, but there's just no comparison with the Bernina. It's just not as heavy-duty (though I'm sure the more expensive Janome models would be much more comparable - it's apples and oranges). If you want to spend less money, go someplace reputable and find a used high-end machine like the Bernina. A lot of people who use these will trade up as new models come out, so you're not getting a worn-out machine, just an older model with fewer features. Be sure they give you the software, hoops, etc., that should go with it, and angle for some free lessons to get you started. Developing a relationship with a reputable dealer will be a big help - they can explain the ins and outs of design formats, conversion software, and other things, depending on how deeply you want to delve into this arena. Whatever you decide, there are thousands of free embroidery designs out there. I put some links below for some of my favorite free and for-sale sites. Shoot - if you'll pay for shipping and want to see about getting it fixed, I'll send you my Janome for a minimal price. It shouldn't cost much to fix it - and it's usable without being fixed. I'll even throw in the extras I bought so I could convert my designs to the Janome format.

Go to to your mom's favourite sewing store and explain your problem. They will probably have lots of ideas to show you. Something like a selection of threads for the embroidery machine, they might have a holiday set or something. A craft store might be a good place to get ideas too. You could always get a gift certificate from one of those places.

Gift certificate for her favorite store... almost always welcome -- or a gift certificate for some of the "new" threads that are available, like the shrinking thread that gives you a poufy surface texture when sewn on lightweight fabrics and washed (Viking dealers carry it -- it's Japanese and comes in a very small box), or some ofthe new embroidery threads: e.g.:

http://www.thesewphisticatedstitcher.com/thread2.h...

http://www.redrockthreads.com/

Or consider a book -- if she doesn't have Carol Ahles' Fine Machine Sewing book, that's an excellent one to push you towards more precision in sewing (and some great techniques)

Or a subscription to a magazine like Burda or Piecework or Belle Armoire or FiberArts or Creative Machine Embroidery or Australian Stitches or.... or... or...

Hi, I was just recently to ebay to the embroidery software area. You could get your mom a new software design for her embroidery machine. They have some fabulous deal there!

Hope this helps!

Lizzie

There are a lot of need gems and studs you could find for her bedazzler.

Or what about a book that has projects and a cd with the designs she will need?

A gift card to her favorite craft/fabric store. My family knows, that's the perfect gift for me. I can make it last a long time, when I wait for the sales.

A pair of Weiss shears is nice.

One of those cutting wheels is also handy.