Thursday, April 26, 2012

TNT Thursday - My Big New Thing!!!


So I have actually been trying my new thing for a while now but didn't want to post about it until I really got a feel for it.  What is my new thing I have been trying??   I'll give you a hint . . .


Did you guess it??  Yup, I got a new sewing machine!!!!  Well, new to me that is.  Obviously they don't sell the Artista new anymore.  My husband gave me this wonderful surprise for our anniversary.  He knew I had been wanting to upgrade from my little Bernette but it still worked great so I couldn't justify just ditching it.  So, being the great guy he is, he got rid of all the excuses I came up with and just set aside a nice allotment for me to choose a new machine.

So I choose and have been trying it out for a little bit and I love it!!!!!!  I love it, I love it, I love it!!!!!!!!   What do I love about it . . . .
     So much faster than my old machine.
     Has a perfect straight stitch
     Sews a whole heck of a lot quieter than my old machine.
     Has a larger bobbin so I can go a lot longer before changing my bobbin.
     Makes a perfect tension FMQ stitch.  (Seriously, I have done 3 quilts on it and it is a million times better)
     Has lots of fun stitches to play with, still needing to explore all these options ;)
     Can breeze through multiple layers, I so love this!!!  No more pulling fabric through for me.

 Now, I know some of you are going to ask Why this machine and why Bernina??  Well, first off . . . Why Bernina, well basically, I really didn't look at anything else.    My Mom always used Bernina, my MIL always used Bernina, I guess Bernina is in my blood.

Why this machine.  Well I was looking for a machine that had a larger harp space for when I am doing FMQ and was a bit more of a work horse.  That was the main focus.  The newer Bernina's with the larger harp space have all been upgraded to the BSR system (and I really wasn't looking to spend that much) so I immediately started looking at used machines that fit my 2 basic needs.  Quickly it was down to an Artista or an Aurora.  The Artista won out basically on price :)


And the cool thing about buying a used machine is all the extra little goodies that come with it.  Like this awesome Sew Steady Table.  This is one of those things that I wonder how I ever got on without it.  It makes quilting so much easier.  You just don't have to deal with near the tug and pull issues.   I also love that I can line up pieces on the table and they stay lined up!

It also has the super nice Bernina Walking Foot.  Now I had a walking foot on my old machine but this one puts it to shame.  I love how heavy duty it is, and I love having the measuring bars that attach to it!!

Lastly, and this might be my ultimate favorite thing about it, which is probably silly, but true!!   The 1/4" foot!!!!  Oh my goodness, does this make piecing so much more accurate!!!  You know before when you were trying to pay attention to a tiny line on your foot (I didn't even have one on my machine).  Now I just feed my fabric through keeping it even with the edge of the foot!!!   Heaven!!!!  My seams have never been so perfect!!  I love it!!!

And of course, there is lots more that I haven't had time to explore.   I really liked that this machine came with the embroidery unit as well.  When I have a few seconds I am going to sit down and figure that out.  I already have a project I want to embroider.  Guess that will be a future TNT :)

And just in case you are wondering, yes, she has a name.  This is Abby the Artista ;)

So that is what I have been trying (for the last month or so :)  What have you been up to :)  Link on up!!!



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26 comments:

  1. Congrats on your new to you TOY! You will love it! I have a Bernina and the Sew Steady table too. I took DH to the store and showed the sew steady table to him and said he could get it for me for my b-day. He asked how much? and then said "Why don't you already have it?" Guess it is true, I'm hard to buy for, cause I usually buy it for myself.

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  2. How wonderful, a new (to you) machine! Enjoy! :)

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  3. Oooh, have fun with your new toy! When I upgraded last October, it was the walking foot and table I fell in love with on mine, plus the larger throat and the multi layers thing. The only thin I don't like is my 1/4" foot as it seems to be more of a 3/8" foot, and I can adjust the needle position with it to make it any better. C'est la vie, I just eyeball it!

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  4. Amazing new machine. So fun. Got to love those husbands that support our habit. Mine does too!
    I have just added you to my list of bloggers. I love the TNT idea. I have learned so much from peoples quilt blogs.
    Looking forward to visiting again!
    Donna

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  5. Congratulations on your new machine. There is nothing like getting a new machine that you just love. Have fun creating all those new projects.

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  6. Oh, yea!!! What a lovely machine!! Congratulations!!

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  7. Hooray for new sewing machines!!! A better machine really does make all the difference. My new Janome is so wonderful and easy to use - I really had been fighting my old machine. Getting a new machine was like upgrading from a rusty old Pinto to a brand new Corvette! :)

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  8. How exciting!! I got a snazzy new machine several Christmases ago and I still remember that great feeling!

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  9. So happy for you! It'll just mean "Happier Quilting"!

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  10. Wow how great is that!! I LOVE my Bernina. I have a Virtuosa 155 that my sweet hubby surprised me with for Christmas 8 years ago. Nothing sews like a Bernina, nothing ;-)

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  11. I have a Sew Steady table and I love it! It does make SUCH a difference when quilting. Congrats on your new machine, that's awesome!

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  12. Congratulations on the new machine. I don't have a Bernina but would love to have one especially after getting a chance to tryout the Limited Edition 830 which is way beyond my budget. I have the embroidery unit on the machine that I have and it is so much fun.

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  13. Congrats Melissa!!!! You are one HAPPY QUILTER!!! I am so happy for you! Enjoy! ♥♥♥

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  14. So I tried 2 new things this week, one was making a drawstring bag and it worked! Yay for great tutorials. 2 is I tried the threader tool on my sewing machine. Didn't care for it, I am faster on my own. But I tried it! ;)

    Congrats on the new baby(machine)! How fun! What's her name?

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  15. Congratulations on your new Bernina. I'm also on my second Bernina and am also very happy with mine. May you have many productive years of sewing with it.

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  16. Thank you for explaining all the things you love about this machine. I've been looking at Bernina's for about a year now, but still using my ancient "Vogue Stitch" machine...pulling fabric along as it were. I just might have to get more serious about my search now!

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  17. Wow that is a great looking machine. Great that you've been having fun using it =D

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  18. Congratulations on the new machine! I have a Bernina and the embroidery attachment as well and really love it! I use my Bernina primarily for machine-quilting, as I have a BSR (Bernina Stitch Regulator) attachment that is so sweet! Enjoy your new machine!

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  19. Congratulations! Looks like you got a great deal!

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  20. Good for you! I got a Bernina in March and I love it. It's just a simple model, but I got a great price, so won't complain.

    I have the #57 Patchwork with the guide...and that's even better...something you might want to look around for.

    Thanks for sharing your joy with us!

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  21. Congratulations on the new machine. I have a question and feel free to laugh - how do you find a used machine? I guess I should add that you can trust the source? I honestly would have no idea. Thanks and happy sewing!

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  22. There is just nothing like a new machine....

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  23. Praying you have better luck with your Bernina than I had with my Futura Embroidery machine.

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  24. Congratulations on your Bernina! I too am a loyal Bernina gal. I have a QE153 that has served me well for years and before that I had a used Bernina minimatic which I regret giving away! I have the clear lucite table too and find the space under the table to be so useful for laying out blocks, etc.

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  25. Melissa, I just want to say I absolutely love your blog. I came on it because of the 100 block contest but I have had so much fun on here. I have spents an hour just looking around. I have so many things I want to try. Guess I will try posting them to your TNT site after. Thanks for making them available to us. congrats on your machine. My husband just bought me a Jonome 7700. I love it. I have only been doing basic stuff on it right now. Trying to finish up several projects I have going. I can't wait to try several of the other many features this machine has to offer. Happy Quilting Lisa

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Thank you so much for your sweet comments. I just love hearing from you!!
Have a Happy Quilting Day :)

Melissa