BERNINA Ambassador’s Reunion-2016
I just got in last night from Trip # 2 in 3 weeks-the BERNINA Ambassador’s Reunion in Aurora, Ill, outside of Chicago. Between Nov 28 and Dec 18 I will have been home 6 days, days filled with deadlines and Dr. appointments and catching up on the minutia of life. But it’s all good travel!
The Reunion is held annually at the BERNINA Creative Center. The purpose of the Reunion is to educate and to create and foster relationships between the Ambassadors and BERNINA. And it was a blast! Our 2 1/2 days started at 7:20AM and were jam packed with fun, food and education. I didn’t really know what to expect and it was so FUN to geek out about BERNINA, sewing, machines, needles, thread, etc-I learned so much!
Because the Reunion is in the Chicago area, I decided to arrive a day early to visit my son and DIL. I had booked a hotel room but when Catherine Redford heard that, she invited me to stay a night at her home-what a treat! Catherine is super busy with her travels and teaching so I was pleased to spend time with her. Her studio is quite organized, light and lovely and her home is filled with her quilts and other creations. She is quite the knitter also and even finished a scarf before the Reunion. It was all such fun getting to know her better.
Unfortunately snow arrived with my flight which made it impossible to see my son, sniff. But it was a beautiful snow, heavy and mounding on all the plants and trees. The first snow is always so pretty…April snow not so much!
BERNINA transported us back and forth in a big limo. On our first night, the limo happened to be one with the party lights and the, um, “exercise pole”. Funny though, no one actually used the pole. I just had to take a selfie with Catherine and Linda Faires!
I arrived at the first event and here’s the name tag table-just pinch me would ya? It was so fun to meet all these Big Names and get to know them. Everyone was so friendly! As we progress through this post you will read the word “adorable” many times. I make no excuses for overusing the word because everyone was so, well, adorable.
Jeanne Delpit was our leader and guide throughout the Reunion. Is there a more positive and encouraging person on the planet? Not sure. And of course she is also, adorable.
My photo is not out of focus-that is double needle work on the Q24 longarm-it made you dizzy to look at it!
The Ambassadors were randomly split into 3 groups and we each experienced sergers, machine embroidery, long arms and ruler work on a sit down long arm (Q20), a high-end domestic 780 as well as on the Q24 long arm. For some of us, it was the first time to experience a longarm or machine embroidery or sergers. It was a great learning experience to be clueless students as well as to learn about each type of machine. We all want to have some knowledge of the whole BERNINA line.
They wisely kept us in chocolate….
And even had a special cookie made for us. Sweeeeet!
Look-the Holly girls-Pat Holly and Sue Nickels! Sue has always been so helpful and supportive to me. I had not met Pat so it was a treat to meet her. Both are adorable.
Karen LePage calls herself a “garment evangelist” and indeed she is! Karen creates heirloom-quality garments with a modern feel but timeless design. Of course she wore some of her creations and I forgot to take photos-my bad. I looooved her garments and they are very approachable and she was so, well, adorable.
Had to get a selfie with Catherine. I apologize to all my friends in advance-I’m terrible at selfies! And you know I’m going to say that Catherine is adorable!
I got to hang out with these fabulous ladies-Debra Rutledge who coordinated the Reunion for BERNINA, Lisa Calle and Claudia Dinnell. Lisa and I almost flunked the serger class-I was clueless and so inept! We had fun being clueless together.
My serger bag is a little rickety but it was great fun to play with the serger. I actually threaded the serger, all on my own (with some instruction). I was impressed that the 460 was actually easy and almost intuitive. I never thought I would say that about a serger.
Oh and the swag! I am excited to try Alex Anderson’s new Quilters Select mats and rulers. I know you think you don’t need new rulers and mats, but they really do help simplify cutting and are worth a look. It’s better explained here why they are worth it. And Jill Finley of Jillily Studios gave me some of her Appli-Glue to try-I’ll write about it once I get a chance to play with it.
We ended the Reunion with Hans Ueltschi, son of the BERNINA owner, who talked to us about the future of BERNINA and trends in the industry. There is a new separate line of entry-level machines called “EverSewn”-you will begin to see them at your dealers. I played on them at QuiltCon and they are great machines for the entry-level sewist, much better than similarly priced machines in big box stores.
And here we are, all 28 of us. Recognize some familiar faces in there? I totally enjoyed learning more about BERNINA-I really am passionate about my machines. We all look happy because we had such a great time. I know I can count on these Ambassadors to help and advise me and I am so thankful to have been able to attend. Hopefully I’ll be there next year!
I’ll end with my BERNINA story. In the mid-70’s I had an Aunt pass who left me $900. I knew what I wanted to do with that money-get a decent sewing machine! I chose a dealer that had a huge array of machines from all the major companies. I took my time and played with each one, long enough to really get a feel for it. I happened to play with the BERNINA last and it was like the heavens opened up, light shone down and angels began to sing. I loved that machine! It was so sturdy and could sew through 10 layers of denim! I loved the feet, the little details like how the tools were stored…
Until recently, when I went to purchase a new machine I would try the major brands with an open mind, and each time ended up BERNINA. And I have had only BERNINA’s except a brief fling with a straight-stitch only machine. I really do love my BERNINA’s and I am truly passionate about the brand. “Nothing sews like a BERNINA. Nothing.” so goes the ad.
I’ll be linking up with the party at Nina-Marie’s Off the Wall Friday!
How fun for you, despite the snow! Like you, I am a confirmed Bernina lover. How great that you were able to try out different types of machines. Glad to know about the EverSewn machines. I had read blog posts about them, but did not know Bernina was behind them.
Thank you for the comment Mrs. Plum! I played with the EverSewn machines at QuiltCon and I was impressed for the price point. They have useful features and I think are well designed. They are made to compete with the inexpensive machines you see at Big Box stores.
So what did you think about the Q20 mid arm? You know I’m thinking of buying one to replace the Handi Quilter.
Oh I LOVE that thing! It’s so well designed, the way the cabinet parts and you have all your stuff there, the edited head makes for 0% learning curve, it runs all BERNINA feet, normal needles including double needles-what a dream! So many people I know with mid-arms are selling them and getting the Q20. I would get one if I hadn’t spent waaay too much money already and also, my studio was not designed to accommodate a mid-arm:-( We couched, double needled and worked on cork fabric while at BERNINA Ambassador’s Reunion.
I love my Bernina, too. Sounds like you had loads of fun starting with that limo. Lucky you to try out all the different machines in one place.
Oh it was fun Regina! I learned so much and appreciate more the different types of sewists.
I totally love Bernina too, Jenny! How wonderful that you got to spend some special time with all those Ambassadors! Sorry the snow kept you from your son and DIL. Enjoy the holiday season!
Thank you judy. I hope your holidays are fabulous! It was a blast to go all BERNINA geeky.