A method to the madness

I have looked at the fabric and the embroidery design a hundred times and keep thinking they have the right vibe for each other, like they will be a good couple if I can just pick the right pieces to compliment each other.



So because I always do, I thought about test stitching the entire design. But only in one color - because that would be slightly faster. It gives me a real size sample to work with and I get to know the design a little better. Get a better feeling for the textures, the order the components stitch in, that sort of thing.



Then I realized - I will never use the entire design for this particular project. It would be a waste of time and effort and my madness can be better used elsewhere. Like editing.



When I bought my machine it came with a basic organizer program for the embroidery designs. I quickly learned that was not enough and have been tinkering around with the Husqvarna Viking 4D Professional. And I really do mean tinkering. There is so much to learn and so many possibilities.



But just selecting what I want, copying it into a new design? That is cake! Which means I can take this:



And systemically select, copy and paste each component I want to play with into something like this:


And while that lonely little leaf doesn't look like much all by itself, the ability to pull it out this easily - that is power and potential.

For anyone who enjoys machine embroidery you understand that this opens a gigantic door for my creative side to run through at top speed. This means I'm only limited by my imagination and

my sewing supplies.