The Elna 680

I have had my Husqvarna Rose sewing and embroidery machine since 1997. That is a long time. As my machine started to age which I only noticed each time I had to bring it in for repair, I started to look at other machines. That is an overwhelming thing. There are so many machines that offer so many different features that I realized I needed to pay attention to the things I like about my machines as well as the things I didn't like. It's been two years since I started that process. I also started a wish list of the things I would like my next machine to have. The funny thing is my wish list wasn't all that long. I wanted a bigger throat space and the knee lifter. That's it.

My Rose is an embroidery machine. It has the hoops and the software for making various embroidery designs. I used it twice. Yes, twice in 18 years. That is not a good return on the investment. I hope my husband doesn't read this; he bought me the machine and it was not cheap. I did use the many embroidery stitches on the machine when the kids were growing up and I made their clothes and the girl's dolls' clothes. But after I quit garment sewing there was no need for all that.

Lately my Rose requires more intervention. In order to make it work smoothly, I have to let the machine warm up. If I don't, the thread sensor beeps constantly driving me crazy. I could take it in for repair again but it's starting to get costly. It is time to get a new machine.

Introducing the Elna 680. It is a machine designed for quilting. It has a larger throat space and the knee lifter for the presser foot. If you ask me it still has too many stitches but that's not the end of the world. The machine was reasonably priced, unlike my Rose so it won't take me long to get the return on my investment.

I can't wait to get started on my next free motion quilting project to try it out.