talking about wax for a moment. i used to do native american beading and i found the wax you use to bead with works well for sewing to. its bees wax and its wonderful! you can buy it in little cakes that cost anywhere from 1 to 2 dollars. 
          nall

Oh yes... waxing your thread (hmmm that sounds a bit odd) is a big help when hand sewing!

To follow up on this I over looked the question "What does an embroidery Arm for sewing machine look like?"  Here is a picture in case people in the future find this chat and want to know.....Mine looks similar except it is a clear plastic oval part at the bottom.....


Daryl

As always, thanks for the help everyone!