Rabbit Tales - Threads Meet Machines

Chapter One

In the winter of 2011, Rabbit heard the tragic news that her final living grandparent had passed away. It was a tragic time, but also a passing the family had known was coming.

It would be a year later that the family would be gathered physically and digitally together for Christmas of 2012 that Rabbit’s mother would explain that the grandparents estate was sold and the funds dispursed. Rabbit’s mother gifted every sibling a small sum from that funding with one rule:

We were not allowed to use the money to pay off a debt and what we did must be in the name of our grandparents as the money was due to them.

Lion and Rabbit went home after the family gathering and spent several days bouncing ideas off each other on what to do that Rabbit’s grandparents would consider worthwhile.

Rabbit’s grandparents were incredible creators. Rabbit’s grandfather was a wood crafter and painter. Her grandmother was a seamstress, painter, textile artist, threadworker, and more. Crafting is genetic is a joke in Rabbit’s family.

After a month of discussions, Rabbit brought up the idea of purchasing an embroidery machine, the supplies for embroidery, and a digitizing program. After several more days of talking, the decision was made and they ordered a Brother SE400, Embird Digitizing, 100 colors of threads, a stack of stablizers, bobbins, bobbin thread, and extra needles.

It would take them another month to fully understand the machine and start playing with creating their own files and designs.

Several months later in the same year, Lion and Rabbit ordered 2 more embroidery machines: Brother PE500 and Brother PE770. So in their first year of getting embroidery, Rabbit and Lion found themselves with 3 embroidery machines for the business.

The machines ended up being more of Rabbit’s passion as she learned more about making the embroidery files, where to order embroidery files, and what people enjoyed in the craft.

It would be several years later when a friend would reach out and offer their Brother PE770 to Rabbit as they hadn’t used the machine as often as they thought they would. Their family of machines had hit 4.

In 2018, Rabbit’s mother reached out to her and informed Rabbit that she had an opportunity to get an eight-needle industrial embroidery machine. No cost. She just needed to get the machine home. A brief conversation with Lion, and they quickly rented a truck, picked up the machine, and a 2004 industrial eight-needle embroidery machine is now sitting in their garage as they look into the correct programing to be able to use this machine in the future. The family hit 5.

In March of 2019, Rabbit’s mother once again reached out to Rabbit with another offer of another machine. This time, it was for a Babylock Elegante that was from a friend of the family that had never been used for years. A few visits to the repair shop and the family is now at 6 embroidery machines.

Each machine has their own name, quirks, and attitudes that Rabbit has learned to work with and around:

Logan – The first machine. Named after he fixed himself a few times from minor hiccups that should have been repair visits.

Marie-Bell – Named after Rabbit’s grandmother. She’s been durable and long lasting after all these years.

Horse Thief and Liar – Named after Rabbit’s grandfather who would answer the phone with “This is Joseph F Sharp, horse thief and liar. Who am I speaking with?” He was the first 5×7 machine and has traveled to several conventions for the display and as a means to open conversations with people visiting our table.

Newbie – The second 5×7 machine and the one gifted by a friend. This was the longest new machine in the family and never recieved a name passed Newbie. After years later, it still is known as Newbie.

The Beast – The industrial 8 needle embroidery machine that currently sits in the garage, waiting to be tamed. Lion and Rabbit are in the process of hunting for the correct program needed to have a computer speak to the machine.

Nergigante – The newest machine, the Babylock Elegante, named because Lion kept hearing Rabbit say Nergigante instead of Elegante and the name stuck. Nergigante has a 7×12 size which will allow several ideas and thoughts to come to fruitition faster than originally expected.