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How to use the exciting technology of mySewnet file sharing

How to use the exciting technology of mySewnet file sharing

by Elaine Theriault

What do you think of the bobbin work from yesterday’s post? It’s a super way to embellish your projects and I can’t wait to do some more.

Today, I’m looking at a couple of things as I finish off the week of playing with the Husqvarna Viking Opal 690Q. I’ll be sharing advice on sewing with small things, getting creative with leftover bits, and best of all is how you can access the Square in a Square project file.

Let’s check it out.

Time-saving tip

Earlier this week, we chatted about getting and staying organized. Here’s another time-saving tip. A good many of my presser feet are in this plastic container. When I want a particular presser foot, it’s easy to pull out this container and find the appropriate foot. I also keep a small screwdriver in the box for the odd time I need to remove the presser foot ankle.

This kind of organization saves so much time.

Storage box for presser feet

Excellent stitch quality

In this photo, I’m sewing a quilt backing. I’m using a much larger than ¼” seam allowance which is easy to achieve by following the guidelines on the stitch plate. This is a good example of where that optional extension table comes in very handy. The extension table will hold the bulk of the fabric so it doesn’t slide off the edge of the sewing machine ensuring that I’m getting a much straighter seam.

For the experienced sewists, we take this for granted. But if you’re new to the sewing world, that extension table will help to keep things under control.

Using the guidelines on the stitch plates to sew a larger than ¼” seam.

What I want to show you is the quality of the stitch. The seam was stitched with a 50wt thread. Based on the settings I indicated, the Exclusive Sewing Advisor set all the parameters such as stitch length, stitch width, tension, etc.

The quality of that stitch can’t be beaten. I used white thread on that dark fabric. No white thread shows through even after a good press.

I’ve seen many tension issues over the years. If you can see your piecing thread on the outside of your work, your tension is off. That needs to be fixed or go the easy way and get the Opal 690Q which gives you a perfect stitch without you doing any of the work to make that happen. Ta-da!

The quality of the stitch is perfect

How small is too small?

We often talk about how large of a project you can work with on the sewing machine, but we rarely chat about how small you can go.

I was piecing this the other day and thought I’d share it with you. This block will be 3½” unfinished when it’s together.

I made all those little half-square triangles on the Opal 690Q. Each of those little squares measures 1¼”. I had no issues sewing them – it’s a matter of keeping control of your work.

A small block laid out ready to sew.

Don’t you love it when you think you’re done only to realize that you sewed half the block upside down?

Half of the quilt block got turned upside down.

Because of the small size, it’s very hard to hold the pieces straight under the presser foot and there are a lot of lumps and bumps with all those points.

I sewed slowly and used the quilter’s awl (stiletto) to help hold the fabrics in place as they were so small. The Exclusive Sensor System helps to keep all those points where they should be. I’m using the Quilter’s ¼” Piecing foot to achieve standard ¼” seams.

Use the quilter’s awl to assist with holding small pieces.

Here’s the completed block (measuring 3½”). I don’t pin and I think the accuracy is pretty good. I rely on the standard technology in the Opal 690Q such as the Exclusive Sensor System to assist with sewing and the Exclusive Sewing Advisor to set all the settings. All I had to do was guide the fabrics.

Even when working on a small scale, the piecing thread doesn’t show. That is such an important thing for me.

A small scale (3½”) block

What to do when you’re bored

I’m not sure that I’m ever bored when I’m in my sewing studios. I do know that I love to work with cast-off scraps and make things from them.

Somewhere along the way, I acquired this stack of left and right-angled triangles. I had passed over them on several occasions and what the heck was I to do with them?

Scraps of black and white fabrics

I started by sorting the pieces into four different piles.

The scraps have been sorted into four different piles.

Then I matched them up – a dark and a light and I chain pieced them.

Chain piecing the fabric scraps.

I ended up with these very cool blocks. I’m not sure what I’ll do with them yet, but I love them. I think a nice pop of color – brilliant blue or green or red will make these blocks pop. You’ll have to wait until next time to see what I create with the blocks.

What fun to use up scraps and come up with something different. I get so much satisfaction from that.

Did you notice the potential bulky seams at the intersections? The Opal 690Q had no issues sewing over those points using the Exclusive Sensor System.

Blocks made with cast-off fabric scraps.

Sharing a project

Husqvarna Viking has some amazing apps for your smartphone or tablet. These apps are free to anyone who wants to download them from the appropriate app store.

The one that I’m talking about today is called the JoyOS Advisor. You may also find it under Husqvarna Viking JoyOS Advisor. Regardless of your sewing machine brand, you can access the app. There’s a great guide to stabilizers and numerous projects and sewing instructions.

The app is even more useful when connected to a Wi-Fi enabled sewing machine, but remember that this week, I’m working with the Opal 690Q which is not Wi-Fi enabled.

Imagine having your project shopping list on your phone or being in the shop and needing to buy a stabilizer and after consulting the Joy OS Advisor, you have the correct information. It’s a handy little tool.

Today, I will use that app to share my Square in a square project with you.

Here’s another free tool that you can get access to. It’s a cloud-based storage area that allows you to share project files and embroidery designs with friends. Please note that copyright needs to be respected here so what you share should be your original creations.

The mySewnet Cloud provides you with 100 MG of free storage space. You can access this cloud storage from the JoyOS Advisor app on your phone or tablet, or on your Wi-Fi enabled sewing machine. Seriously?? Wait! You’ll love what I’m about to do.

Within mySewnet, there’s a program called Project Creator. This is where I’ll create the instructions for the Square in a Square wall hanging that I sewed the other day.

The home screen for Project Creator

I started by creating a New Project. I uploaded the SAME pictures of the project that I shared on my Wednesday post. I included the fabric requirements, the cutting instructions, and finally the steps to making the project.

Once I was happy with the completed file, I wanted to preview the file to see what it looked like.

I opened the JoyOS Advisor app on my phone and logged in to mySewnet account. Noway!!!!  There’s my square in a square wall hanging project, along with two other projects that had been shared with myself.

I’m so amazed by what technology can do. Husqvarna Viking is on the cutting edge of getting information out there. This is truly amazing and imagine the possibilities.

My Square in a square project is now available in my JoyOS Advisor app.

Here’s a screenshot of the description of the project. That is just so much fun. You know technology and me – sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. This was pretty simple to figure out. I will share the project with you all. The instructions will be posted later in this post.

A huge thank you to Ronda for being my product tester as I figured this out and to Emily for her guidance.

The description for the Square in a square wall hanging as it appears in the JoyOS Advisor app.

Then I got super excited and needed to test this file sharing on a Wi-Fi-enabled sewing machine. I turned on the Husqvarna Viking Designer Epic (which is WiFi-enabled) so I could see what happened with the file.

I logged into mySewnet on the Designer Epic and it started to synchronize my files with the mySewnet cloud.

Synchronizing files with mySewnet Cloud on the Husqvarna Viking Designer Epic.

Once the files were synchronized, I was looking at the app and saw this function. What is this? I pushed the button and got this message on the Designer Epic. Whoa – what’s going on?

Turns out I can connect the smartphone and the Wi-Fi enabled sewing machine so I can view the same project at the same time on both screens.

Wow!! This is incredible.

I can view the project on my smartphone and the Wi-FI enabled machine at the same time.

I opened the mySewnet Cloud on the Designer Epic and there was my Square in a Square file.

That is just the most amazing thing. If there was an embroidery design or a video I wanted to share, I can also embed those details into the project file. This opens up a huge range of possibilities.

The Square in a square project file as it appears on the Husqvarna Viking Designer Epic.

Now it’s your turn. There are FIVE easy steps for you to have access to this file.

  1. You need to download the Husqvarna Viking JoyOS Advisor app to your smartphone or tablet. It’s a free app for anyone to download.
  2. Go to HusqvarnaViking.com and create a mySewnet account. This is free and you do NOT need a Husqvarna Viking sewing machine, although why wouldn’t you want one with this cool technology. To create the mySewnet account, there’s a mySewnet tab in the top right of the screen.
  3. Log into your mySewnet account on your smartphone by opening the JoyOS Advisor app and click on the last item in the list of items that appear. It’s called mySewnet.
  4. Click on this link (easier if you’re on your device which has the app) which will take you to a web page in Project Creator. At the bottom of the page, there’ll be a command to save the file to your mySewnet Cloud. Save the file which is called Square in a square.
  5. Now go back to the Husqvarna Viking JoyOS Advisor app on your phone. Make sure you’re signed into mySewnet. Click on mySewnet which is the last item on the list of items. You should see the project file with the pictures and instructions.

Isn’t that just the best?

That was a very exciting week spent with the Husqvarna Viking OPAL 690Q. We spent a bit of time tidying up so there’d be more time to sew, an easy project to sew together, some creative ideas with the bobbin work and scraps and some extra exciting technology to boot.

I don’t know about you, but my head is spinning with the possibilities. I’ve got to get to the sewing machine!

Have a great day!

Ciao!

This is part 5 of 5 in this series.
Go back to part 4: 10 tips to successful bobbin work

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1 comment

Kathy h July 27, 2019 - 7:12 am

I had never heard about that ap before. I will have to look into it. Thanks.

Reply

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