If you could add an hour to your day and spend it doing whatever you want, what would you do with it? I would sew. I can sit in my sewing space for hours and feel like only 20 minutes went by. I attribute a lot of that to having great tools to work with such as my Brother Innov-is NX-2000 Laura Ashley Edition Sewing and Quilting Machine and my Brother 5234PRW Project Runway Edition Serger.
My most recent project I am working on is a knit dress. Now I have never worked with a double knit stretch fabric so I am flying by the seat of my pants here. I have probably taken every seam apart 3-4 times because of my own error and poor instruction interpretation. And did I mention the bodice is fully lined??!! It has been a bit of a flustering project to say the least. The only light at the end of the tunnel for me has been that my NX-2000 can perform every task with ease that I put it through. After a bit of experimenting I learned that if I increase my basic straight stitch from 2.5 to a 4.0 stitch length the stretch fabric sews beautifully. The double knit is slippery and I was worried that it would not feed evenly but it has fed beautifully.
I just started on the bottom part of the dress and I will be heavily utilizing my 5234PRW Serger for this part. I love how I can choose between a 2, 3 or 4 thread stitch. I do have the ability to overcast with my NX-2000 and it actually does a wonderful job but there is nothing like the edge you get from a Serger. It is a work of art. One thing I really like is the tension adjustments I can make on my 5234PRW Serger. Knits stretch, everyone knows that. The tension for a woven is going to be different from what my stretch knit needs. I love how I can tweak the dials so my serged edge will look perfect no matter what type of fabric or how many layers I have.
I love the options that my machines give me. I feel that both my NX-2000 and my 5234PRW are necessity items in my sewing space. My next want is definitly a machine for Embroidery. Ultimatly I would love to have a multi-needle embroidery machine such as the Entrepreneur Pro PR1000e or the PR650e. My other option is to upgrade my best friend, my Innov-is NX-2000, to a machine that has all the great sewing and quilting features of my NX-2000 but adds the option for Embroidery such as the Quatro 2 670oD, Isodore Innov-is 5000 or the new DreamWeaver XE or new Duetta 2. There are so many choices it would be very hard to decide. And very hard to part with my NX-2ooo that I would probably have to add anothr sewing dest and work with 2 machines.
My Brother NX-2000 which I personally purchased through an authorized dealer (The Sewing Studio in Maitland, Florida) and my Brother 5234PRW that I received from Brother earlier this year has yet to disappoint. If you are in the market I would highly suggest checking out both these machines. Also be sure to check out their new 2013 line up including an entirely new series of machines called the V Series that will be available through your local authorized dealer September 2012. The V-Series has options for Sewing and Quilting, Embroidery Only and a machine with a trifecta of awesomeness that does all 3. The V Serie shas revolutionary features never seen before that will blow your socks off. There is really too much to tell so check out this promo video to learn more http://youtu.be/5hLW0uTIY4c or just watch the video above.
Happy Sewing!!
Karen you are so right. My Baby Lock dealer gave me a Baby Lock book which compares different models. He stocks mostly the higher end machines. When I ordered my Quilter’s Choice 2, he didn’t have a clue it had multi-directional feed. I went on the website and it is not emphasized there either. You’d think they’d make it a salesman pitch. Since then he has ordered a few BLQC2 and Decorator’s Choice machines. He is realizing not everyone has thousands of dollars to spend on a sewing machine. If he would sell say 3 of the BLQC2 in a day, it would be like he sold one of the higher end machines. Also, he gives a year to upgrade, so he may sell the higher end in the long run anyway. IMHO it’s a win win situation.