I began the day with a determination to move forward and get to grips with a simple project I’d seen in one of the Bernina publications, issue #19 of Through the Needle.  It was a straightforward looking project using the software and though it was based on an earlier version, I thought it’d be fairly easy to follow on version 7, too.  But before I did anything else on my computer, I had to do as we all do – check my email!

I found a lovely surprise there in the form of a Bernina Embroidery file from my guru Ros.  I kept everything crossed as I opened the software and loaded the stitch she sent me.

 

 

Ros had created a test design using one of the Bernina tassel stitches for me to play with and so, with a clear purpose in mind, I set about stitching it out.  First though, I had to transfer it to my machine on a USB stick.  Simple!

Sadly not!  For some reason, my machine didn’t see the design.  Though I’d loaded two stitches on the stick – a freebie from Bernina for registering the software and the stitch Ros sent me, only the Bernina pattern showed up.  I tried saving in a different file format, to an earlier version, moving to and fro from computer to sewing machine and getting more and more frustrated.  What was going on? 

Eventually, I spotted a format/file extension I’d not noticed before – .exp “Bernina USB stick” (I know…) and thankfully, this was the one.  In no time at all, I’d stitched out the pattern Ros sent me in a couple of different threads.

 

 

Cute isn’t it?

 

 

Quite good in a variegated thread as well, though I’d need to tweak those stitching marks in the fabric if I were to use it on a project, I think.  Still, I was away, on a roll!

 

 

Now to tackle the software.  I had no problem opening a new file and following the steps given in the magazine article to create this design and now I’d sussed the USB bit as well, it was soon on my machine.

 

 

After another false start involving several broken threads (well, self inflicted…I should know better than to use Natesh threads without using every trick in the book to make it behave, shouldn’t I?)  I returned to the Robison Anton I had been using and sat back and watched my first masterpiece develop.

 

 

I was pretty pleased with that, I’ll admit and felt that I ended the day feeling a little less incompetent than I started.

When I went to open a new file, however:

 

 

Another day, another challenge!