Woo-hoo!

I’m excited to announce that I’m now a BERNINA Ambassador! I’ve loved piecing, free-motion quilting, thread sketching and basic garment sewing on my two BERNINAs – the VIRTUOSA 153 QE and the AURORA 440 QE – for almost 15 years. 

With my mom, sewing on her 1958 Singer Slant Needle 404 in 1995.

My mother bought me my first BERNINA, the 153, at a time when I couldn’t afford a good, modern machine. (I was working on her 1958 Singer Slant Needle 404.) My mom was a home economics major in college, and taught in public schools for about six years, before she had me, and devoted herself to being a mother and wife. She was an excellent seamstress, and a really great quilter. I made my first patchwork quilt with her when I was 10. She recognized quality in the BERNINA machines, and had purchased a 153 for herself when she had to replace her 1980s-era Kenmore.   

It’s not an exaggeration to say that the new BERNINA totally changed my life. I was able to do things, like thread sketching, that I had never been able to do on her 1958 machine. It took me in new directions, into art quilting, and eventually to teaching classes nationally and internationally, to writing books and doing videos, and to becoming the host of Quilting Arts TV. After my mother died suddenly in 2011, I inherited her AURORA 440 QE. It was wonderful having a second machine as a backup, when my other machine was in for service. And I think of her every time I use it. 

Soon, I’ll get to play on the BERNINA 770 QE! This is one of the versatile machines we have on the set of Quilting Arts TV, and I’m thrilled that I’ll now have the time to get to know its features intimately. Stay tuned; throughout the next year, I’ll be blogging about my experiences and progress, and I’ll share some projects and tips on WeAllSew.com, BERNINA USA’s blog.