That's one BIG embroidery hoop

 Wow -- my head is exploding with all the new stuff! 

Let's say that the hotel was kind to me yesterday, as there were no issues. My key works; I have figured out (thanks to Claire) how to turn up the "volume" on the desk light - it's still very dim. And I've been sleeping with zero issues. I think a train could go through the room and I wouldn't hear it as we are so tired at the end of the day! 

I spent the day in a room full of Designer EPIC 3s. I was a helper in case the class of dealers ran into trouble. Despite the interface being so new,  they all did very well. Except for one or two who were a bit snippy as they didn't want to be reminded they were doing something incorrect. I was pretty polite! But everyone warmed up by the end of the day, and all was good. 

A room of Designer EPIC 3s

So many exciting things, and I don't even get to see it all. I'm in a different room today, and from what I heard yesterday, this will be a fun class! And it's all about sergers! Who knew that a couple of years ago, I knew very little about sergers and today, I'm a helper!

It was fun catching up with the Canadian dealers, many of whom I have met through previous conventions or meetings in Canada or running an event at their store. We had a great dinner with some of them last evening. 

There are so many exciting new features on the Designer EPIC 3 that it's hard to even know where to start. I'll be doing some blog posts on QUILTsocial, so watch for that. Let me say that when I first saw the specs many months ago, I was totally blown away by the new FREE ARM embroidery unit. The new machine comes with FOUR hoops. Plus, there are some specialty hoops - one of them being the MEGA turnable hoop with the largest stitchable area in the market. 

This thing is enormous, as you can see in the picture below. I CANNOT wait to get my hands on it and start creating textured fabric with embroidery stitches! Oh yes --- I love doing that, and it will be loads of fun. 

The MEGA turnable hoop

The current turnable hoop actually fits INSIDE that hoop. Even better news is that all hoops have been reinforced for more stability during embroidery. More stability, less shifting of fabric. Oh yes --- this is a good thing. 

I tell DH he's fortunate I work with the company because I'd buy one now. I will buy one, but a bit later on. 

I popped out for a walk very early (6 AM). I walked into the gated community beside the golf course. The sky is beautiful at that time of the day. And YES -- you can see the stars. I can't remember the last time I saw stars in the sky. How sad is that?

The predawn sky

I have to say that I took that picture around 6:30 AM. So the sky was dark, and I used my cell phone. Yep -- the cell phone cameras today are amazing!!!!!

There is a sidewalk that goes along the main road into this community, which seems to be HUGE. 

This is where I walk

I started at the Marriott (on the right) and took this picture when I was at the blue dot. Shoot -- I almost made it to the other side but ran out of time! 

I'm heading out this morning. Even though it's dark, there are just enough light posts to keep it lit to walk on the sidewalk without tripping over anything. I've not encountered any issues (knock on wood), and I'll be out there shortly. 

After our dinner, I needed to make up a couple of km for the day, so I headed back out to the gated community, and this was the moon. 

The night sky

The light in the picture is from the CAMERA, NOT the lighting in the area. It was DARK. 

On that note, I'm out of here. Not much exciting happened during the day as we were in the classroom all day (out for snacks and lunch). But the engineers are here, and I have a list that I want to share with them. Some of these suggestions have already been made. Yeah!!! I discovered a new stitch that I wanted, and I spoke to the "Stitch Witch" (she's the one who designs all the new stitches), and she showed me exactly what I was looking for!! How cool is that! I'll be sharing that one with you!

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!