Master Craftster

I can finally tell you the secret I've been keeping to myself for the past six weeks: I was chosen to be a "Master Craftster" on my favorite craft site, Craftster!   Along with four other talented women, I was given the loan of a brand new Bernina sewing machine!  We got to sew whatever projects we wanted, and then we wrote about them (and wrote tutorials for most of them).   During the next couple of weeks I will re-post my projects here.   I hope you will visit the Bernina 3-Series Master Craftsters page on Craftster; each one of us posted five or more projects, so there are a lot of great posts to read. You might just find a project you want to try yourself!

To be considered to be a Master Craftster, I had to submit links to the four best projects I've posted on Craftster. I sent in OctoBear, Embellished Fabric Baskets, Patchwork Heart Christmas Ornaments, and Cutest Critters Ever. Within a week I heard back that I had been chosen to participate! That was so exciting!  I was given access to a "secret" board on Craftster, where all of us "Bernina Ladies" could talk about the machines, and our plans for what we wanted to sew. 

About 10 days later the Bernina 380 showed up at my front door, and I could hardly wait to get started.  I quickly shoved my old sewing machine in the closet and gave the Bernina the place of honor on my sewing table!!  (Sadly, I am expected to return the Bernina when the 6-month loan is up--we'll see about that...)  I already knew some of the things I would sew, and others occurred to me once I saw what this sewing machine was capable of.  It was easy to learn, and after quickly reading through the instruction manual, I was sewing!

 I will leave you now with the introduction I wrote about myself for the Master Craftsters series:


I Love the Bernina 380!
Hi, I'm Leslie, and I am so excited to have been given the opportunity to test out the BERNINA 380!

  
I learned to sew in junior high school, when I took a Home Economics class. A couple of years later I saw a handmade quilt, up close, and I became obsessed with quilting--I taught myself to quilt from a book, and I started collecting fabric scraps from my friends' mothers! I was 14 when I made my first quilt, and I sewed nothing but quilts or quilted things (like pillows and wall hangings) until about ten years ago, when I suddenly wanted to make a purse. Since then I've made over 2000 purses (!), and a lot of other things, too. I just love to sew!

I was thrilled to hear I had been chosen as a Master Craftster, and to learn that I would be given the loan of a BERNINA 380 for six months! I have never used a BERNINA before, and it is SO much better than the cheap-o sewing machines I have been using (I think I know what I'm going to ask for, for Christmas this year!).

The BERNINA 380 comes with everything you need to get started sewing right away, including eight presser feet, extra needles, two spools of thread, and a pre-wound bobbin. The accessories case holds all the presser feet and small things like oil, a seam ripper, and a tiny brush for cleaning; there is space left over for extra presser feet that you might want to purchase.

  
I prefer not to read instructions, but I felt that I might be missing something if I didn't read the instruction book that comes with the machine. It really was helpful as I got started, and it was essential for learning to program the stitches and to spell out words with the alphabet stitches.

     
The BERNINA 380 also comes with this wide, slide-on table, which I love because the fabric doesn't slide off the back or start pulling off to the side. The bar coming out of the lower right corner of the machine one of my favorite features: the "Free-Hand System", which is the fancy term for what I call the "knee-lifter"--you push the bar with your knee, and the presser foot is raised, so you don't have to take your hands off your project to turn a corner while you are sewing! Sweet!

I am a perfectionist, so I really appreciate the beautiful, even stitches this machine produces, as well as the powerful motor that doesn't balk when sewing over bulky seams. I was hoping for a lot when I got this machine, and it has surpassed my expectations. I'm looking forward to sewing everything I can think of on this BERNINA 380!