Monday, August 20, 2012

We May Joke About It, But Size Really Does Matter!

Today is the day when I can officially talk about the latest machine that I am working with and start telling you about the new and creative features that will help us piece, applique and quilt better!  You can probably do a lot of other things, too, but those are totally outside my bandwidth....for instance, they include things like a zipper foot -- what would a quilter do with that?  Oh, wait a minute -- I saw that very cool quilt that was all put together with exposed zippers!

But I digress.....

I've been sitting on all this big news for almost a month and just have to tell somebody...so let's take off the cover and see what we've got!

First of all, the name:  Dreamweaver -- love it!  Of course, we had to listen to the song for three days during the convention and I still can't get it out of my head.

There are three machines available using the same basic frame setup: one sews, one embroiders and one does both.  I have the one that does both, (happy, happy girl!) so I'll be able to show you quite a bit, feature-wise.

This was the BIG deal, so to speak, at convention -- 11-1/4" from needle to arm (what I call "creative space")!  It's also 6-1/2" high, so there's a lot of room there.

Who is that going to matter to?  Well, quilters!  Yes, I can fluff & stuff a king size quilt through a standard domestic machine's 7-1/2" by 4" space, but if I don't have to?  Oh, yeah -- I can definitely see some possibilities here!  Like you, I have some quilts that are all ready to be quilted, but I just wasn't ready to tackle a big project.  This BIG space is going to make the process easier and faster!

I haven't unpacked the embroidery module yet because I will get to those reviews most likely next week, but I took this picture at convention to give you an idea of the size of this guy.  The machine itself measures 21", side to side, before the module is attached.

This is Dreamweaver happily resting in my cabinet at home.  It fits nicely and I have already contacted DreamWorld to get an acrylic insert that will fill in the cutout.  Having my machine set into a cabinet makes a big difference in how easy it is to quilt the larger quilts -- the ones I call the "land behemoths"!  My cabinet is made by Unique Sewing Furniture; I've been using their sewing room furniture for over 15 years and been very happy with the quality and durability.

What I would like you to notice in the above photo, though, is the reflection of the various lights on the wood at the front of my cabinet.  Brother gave us size and they added excellent lighting in that big space --  not only is there light at the needle, but also lights in the harp area.

I often see people bring Ott lights and other auxiliary lights to retreats and workshops.  Depending on how they are angled, they can really irritate the eyes of other people in the room, particularly the teacher as she walks around the room checking students' work; I can't count the number of days I've left with a migraine because of direct light hitting my eyes during the day.

I think the lighting on this machine will eliminate the extra lighting requirement for most people in a normal workshop/classroom situation.  Of course, there will always be that retreat at the beach house with the dungeon ambience.....

Tomorrow I'm going to talk about another kind of light on Dreamweaver -- an industry first!

Brother has provided me with the DreamWeaverTM XE, but all opinions expressed are entirely my own....

3 comments:

  1. I am struggling so hard with this machine because I just got my Innovis 5000 in November. But this thing is just... wow! I'm not going to spoil any of your surprises but I have a decision to make! :O)
    HAVE FUN with it, Paula!

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  2. Thanks, Lisa! I also have the 5000 and like it very much. I travel a lot with a machine when I teach or go on retreats here in CA, so the 5000 will live in its trolley, always ready to go, and Dreamweaver will stay comfy in the cabinet.

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    Replies
    1. I was thinking about it more just this morning. Doing some more samples of one of my projects and thinking about that dang needle to throat space. Sigh!!! I told June she should send me one too! :)

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