– LONG POST – ASKING FOR YOUR EXPERTISE _
My name is actually Viki. DBA – VIKIDIDIT. I am in the reproductions lamp shade era of my long life – 65 years. I have been embellishing fabric for many, many years. Also did wedding cakes and entire weddings among other things.
Making these shades is the most fun I have had in a long time. I use vintage and new fabrics, trims, etc. My website is only at a beginning stage but you can look at some of them here: www.lampsbyvikididit.com
I just don’t have the time to make a nice site and do lamps too. Where does the time go?
I am writing today for information about the newest embroidery sewing machines. I have owned several and am in the market for a new one. I had an upsetting and discouraging episode involving my local sewing machine dealer so I have decided to do some homework before making the plunge again.
I actually bougft a Bernina embroidery machine, model 185, I believe, and returned it within less than a week. The dealer forgot to tell me this model does not interface with a Gateway computer!!! Duh!
Since I was not in the market for a new computer, nor could I afford both pieces of equipment at the same time I backed out of that deal in a hurry. He told me we or they could do all sorts of things to “ugrade” the machine some of which involved going to Gateway to get the instructions and know how and then working with Oklahoma Embroidery. Any of you that have attempted to follow instructions and get good results while talking to a tech person over the phone know exactly why I was so concerned. Plus I felt that there was a good chance that any changes made to the machine could void the original warranty. The thing is – the first thing I said to the dealer when I walked in his store was “I want a machine that interfaces with the net so I can download images”. Why he didn’t tell me about the computer restrictions beats me. He certainly lost a valuable customer
Since I have been burned by my latest attempt to move up and get the best embroider machine I can afford, I am also stuck. I am leaning toward the top of the line Viking simply because the first computerized machine I had was a Viking and I loved it. I have used a Janome 900 for the last several years. I liked it fine till the need for repairs started coming up far too often. By the way, I have probably a thousand dollars worth of disks. Can they be used on the new Janome? I am not certain I want to go with a Bernina since I think they are over hyped. He also told me Bernina likes it’s own embroidery – Oklahoma Embroidery – thread and will not operate smoothly with the other brands – anyone know about this? I have a LOT of embroider thread that I certaily want to use.
So will some of you help me? Tell me what you know about which machines interface with all computers. Which ones have the best repair record and stuff like that.
Can’t you all visulaize my lamps with scrumptious embroider desings as the focal point.
I can, so please help me.
Sincerely,
Viki Teague
dba VIKIDIDI
Conway, Arkansas
Replies
Hi Viki
I don't have an answer to your questions but I did visit your site (there's an extra space in your shortcut in your message post so the link you provided doesn't work unless you take out that extra space) - cool lamps ! Your work is outstanding. I did notice though and I'm not sure if you did this on purpose when you designed your site, that the only way to find out how much the lamp costs is to put it in the shopping cart.
Google Patternreview.com. There is extensive info on these machines as well as personal reviews.
Thanks so much. I found it and am filling my coffee cup to sit down and read all of it.
Viki ;>))
Sorry that you've had such a rough time with the embroidery machine issue. I am a happy owner of a Bernina 180E and am baffled as to why you had so many problems. My understanding is that if your machine runs Windows, then it is compatible with the Bernina. I bought mine knowing that it wasn't compatible with my Mac and eventually purchased a laptop running Windows XP. Was software or hardware the issue? This is something you will encounter regardless of the sewing machine brand....all the machines are Windows compatible, so you need to be checking that your operating system meets the minimum requirements.
Also, in reference to the thread brand comment by your dealer....that's a load of bunk. He's just trying to get sales. I've used all kinds of thread with my machine, all of it successfully.
The treatment you received from this dealer baffles me. I've heard it said many, many times that the dealer is almost as important as the sewing machine....you need to shop around for both. Good luck with this.
Thanks for replying. About the thread. That is interesting!!! Just adds to my doubts about this dealer. Boy they really had me snowed. I thought I was sooo savy in my experience and dealing with sewing machine experts. Ha, Ha.
I am running XP too. Have plenty of space on the hard drive. So do not know why I ran into trouble. Anyway, I am so leary of spending that kind of money on a machine tht I am just not going to take any chances - especially with a dealer like this one. He Blew it with me!!
I'll keep you all posted.
Viki
Hi,
I have a janome 9000 that I bought used from a friend, but I don't have any embroidery discs. If your interested in selling any of yours please let me know.
sue
I sure will sell them to you. I am going to have them copied to work on my new Janoe 1100 and then I will send you a list of what I have.
Thanks,
Viki
Thamks, I look forward to seeing what you have to sell
Sue
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