Free Embroidery Designs

And are there new technological advancements in terms of embroidery?

In the early eighties, designs where still being hand punched and the stitched out in factories By the late eighties some where switching to computerized machines.

Few individuals are talented enough to do elaborate free hand embroidery with a sewing machine.http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/3833/video-manuels-free-motion-embroidery-technique

New technologies would include downloading designs from the Internet, software for the home embroidered to digitized their own art work and editing of commercial designs and the USB flash drive which provides large amount of storage space, and connectivity from the Internet to the embroidery machine.

The home embroidery machine has been around since the nineties.

I bought my first one early in the current century.

I need to buy a sewing machine for art based work but it needs all the usual functions too, I’m quite experienced on the machine but there is so much choice out there I’m getting a little confused what is the best and value for money

Please hep!

Thanks
K

Bernina and then Babylock.