[HNW] embroidery machines

[Carolyn Kayta Barrows]

>I don't have one of these either and because I only do historical sewing and
>doing the hand embroidery is part of the fun for me, I probably won't be
>getting
>one in the future.

It's not like I want a machine like that, I just think I can get one to do
a kind of embroidery I am not very good at.  Since I do know two people
with machines like this, the project suddenly became possible.  I do
counted thread embroidery for fun, and for historicals wherever I can.

However I have seen some machines being demonstrated.  My
>understanding is that the top of the line machines allow you to scan a design,
>and they supply some sort of software package that allows you to convert it
>to a
>format the machine can use.  Part of this formatting is establishing which
>areas
>are fill-ins and which are outlines.

Thank you for the information.

>These are very expensive machines
>however.

One of these two friends got a not-top-of-the-line machine second-hand,
which is how she could afford it.  But she likes Macs and it uses PC
software.  So I think her machine is in storage somewhere.  She does a lot
of historical hand sewing, embroidery, and other things.

The other friend has a loving and indulgent husband who makes a lot of
money, so when she told him she wanted one he got it for her.  Her machine
is top-of-the-line and brand new, not that she can use it for anything but
seams yet.  She said I could play with it when her husband gets the scanner
up.  Her husband, a Silicon Valley professional (guy geek), should be able
to figure out how it works, but he's an engineer, not a needleworker or a
teacher.

>Two friends of mine did a theatrical costume with lots of machine embroidery,
>but they used a specialist embroidery service who did the scanning and
>embroidery on her commercial machine.  Expensive but very gorgeous.

I'd like to try for inexpensive but very gorgeous.  If I can't get either
machine to do what I want for me, I will go with crochet for this project -
a petticoat for over a hoop skirt, requiring 5+ yards of some fancy edging.

Kayta
   //// \\\
  ////-@@\\\
 ((((   7 )))
  (((  <> ))))
     )   ((((((
/----\   /---\))