Aligning Your Designs

From Embroidery Designs

Apparently I can't take a picture today.  I discovered that my dealer carries Floriani fusible fleece and bought a package on Friday.  I fused the fleece yesterday and started on the first "Aquamarine Ambience" block.  I only have part of the corners done but it lies flat and is beautifully stitched out.  The machine goes through the fleece and the sticky back stabilizer with ease.

When I read through "Vintage Garden" Jenny gives COMPLETE instructions on how to do her quilts and then everything made more sense.  I hate when authors give instructions in one book and assume you know everything in another book.  

My only problem is aligning the designs with the machine using sticky back stabilizer.  In this method you put the project on top of the hoop instead of hooping it.  The first time I drew lines and lined up the white lines on the ones I drew.  I was off.  I repositioned.  I was off.  Come on.  It's NOT that hard.  After several attempts I went into Embird and had the program draw alignment lines and saved the design.  When I stitched out the lines I could see where I was off and it left holes in the stabilizer.  Line up the white lines with the perforated holes and it worked.

Now, why can't a very expensive machine do this for you?  I don't even think the Diamond does this either as I was reading how people were having problems aligning up designs with the really big hoop.  Mine will baste and I think will outline in the air a square around the hoop where the design is.  You can "jog" the needle over to where something is at, but it can't check that the design is aligned completely with the lines.  It would be so awesome if it would give you the option to do an alignment stitch.

I don't even think my way overpriced 4D Extra does this either.  No wonder I love Embird.  I do love the features of my Topaz.  I just think this should be a standard thing on medium to TOL priced embroidery machines.  Now to go back into my embroidery design CD and put in alignment stitches.  Jenny could do that too when she does her designs.  That would be awesome.