I just spent two days in a machine embroidery seminar hosted by Anita Goodesign (http://www.anita-goodesign.com/) and Brother sewing machines. Going into it I had a pretty good notion that a lot of selling would be going on but I was really looking forward to seeing what is available for my new machine. Yes there was a lot a selling, which seemed to cut into our learning time, but I also learned more than I expected about what kind of projects I can expect to complete without growing a third brain. The selling time was well used by me to do some shopping and I came home very much poorer. I think it was money well spent but only time will tell.
There is a whole new class of projects that are completed within the embroidery hoop ... even down to applying zippers! We made a snail design with two kinds of applique fabric, a lady bug sun visor, three pieces of lace joined by a couching stitch, feather stitched multiple quilt squares joined with ribbon, faux cutwork on linen (very clever!) and a neat calico note pad holder. I want to try out all the techniques on my own as we shared one machine among 5 or 6 of us. My biggest issue with this seminar, which is probably the same for all similar seminars, is that a lot of time is spent just doing the embroidery. Once you know how to embroider one design, the act of embroiderng becomes as exciting as watching paint dry. The interesting techniques that make an embroidery machine so versatile could have taken an hour or two without having to create the embroiery.
I will try out the techniques I learned over the next few days and let you know how successful I am in recreating what I saw in class. Then we will see how good a student I am and how good Steve Wilson and Kinda Winzeler are at teaching.
Let the sewing begin!
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