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This is the best kind of software upgrade. At first glance, nothing has changed, but further explorations revealed a whole new range of stitches. An enhanced range of 'step' or filling stitches and a new set of textured fillings termed 'fancy' increase the options considerably. These fillings look fantastic stitched in metallic threads, especially when used in small areas of the design where just a suggestion of the pattern is shown.
Outline stitches now include blanket stitch and I found that this was enhanced by hand-whipping with a contrasting thread. Other more cosmetic changes, such as the option of showing a fabric background, don't interest me much (there doesn't seem to be an option for textured, burned and generally hacked-about fabrics) but others may enjoy them. A good move from Bernina but not a cheap option at £149.
For further information, contact Bogod Machine Company, 50-52 Great Sutton Street, London EC1V 0DJ, tel. +44 (0)20 7253 1198, fax. +44 (0)20 7250 0016, www.bernina.co.uk.
The latest version of this popular paint program is a real winner and very well priced. It is easy for beginners to use but has lots of depth for those who are more experienced, and comes with a good choice of paint brushes. The usual shapes are all there, plus some special ones and lots of paper textures that look particularly textile-like. The special effects are good. The illustration uses 'Hot wax coating' and 'Sculpture' for metal effects. For the technically minded, the program also includes vector drawing tools, channels and layers, and the object editing facilities are more than adequate. The fact that text is now fully editable and can be floated over a path makes this a good, all-round package. There is support for over 120 digital cameras; this feature makes full use of the Browse option which allows a quick look at thumbnail images. As I can never remember what I have named mine, this is so useful.
The price should be about £70 at PC World or Dixons but a trial version can be downloaded from http://www.digitalworkshop.co.uk.
highlights from January 2000 issue