Ann The Gran Community

Keeping it Simple - Puppy Love and The Gingerbread Man

db1921 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:00:00 GMT

I have to tell you a story of love at first sight. I have to tell you the story of Keiko. She is one of the newest members of the family (kind of). We have two dogs at our house - a sixteen year old Pomeranian mix and an almost two year old Papillon. So do we need another dog - most certainly not! Cosmo is about as energetic as a young dog can be and Nikki requires a lot of extra care. But I tell you I fell in love with Keiko the very instant that I saw her. My neighbor is very involved in Shih Tzu rescue. She asked me to walk Keiko along with Cosmo and in less than five minutes I lost my heart. No kidding. I walked home saying to myself "I just have to have her." And then reason kicked in and I knew there was no way that I could handle THREE dogs. Knowing this but not wanting to let her go I decided to take her to see my mother. Wouldn't you know she fell in love in less than five minutes as well! She insisted that she had to keep her right then and there. No lie - in less than five minutes! Well, needless to say this was a great solution for everyone. Little Keiko found a home the second day after her arrival at the foster home, my mom has a new best friend and I get to see Keiko any time I like.

Another thing I love is the gingerbread man. Here is a quick project using one that you can download. My granddaughter loves tea parties so I am planning a gingerbread one. Everything should be quick and simple and these just fit the bill. But this guy would look great on a snack bag (coming in my next blog) or a kitchen towel as well.

What you need for each coaster:

The gingerbread man design -Click here to download
Light color Background fabric to be cut after embroidery.
Brown Fabric for the gingerbread man (approximately 6" tall by 5" wide).
Brown Embroidery thread.
Another color embroidery thread for the first two outlines and the face.
Tear-away stabilizer.
6" square of very thin batting.
Brown sewing thread.
Temporary adhesive spray if desired.

What you do:

Step 1

Cut a rectangle of background fabric large enough to hoop in the 5x7 hoop remembering that the finished cut after embroidery will be 6"x6".

Cut a piece of stabilizer larger than the 5x7 hoop.

Hoop the stabilizer and the fabric.

Wind a bobbin with the brown thread (you want this color for both bobbin and top thread)

Step 2

Embroider the first color to place an outline of the gingerbread man on the fabric.

Place the brown rectangle of fabric on top covering all the outline.

(use a little adhesive spray around the edges if desired)

Embroider the second color (you do not have to change the thread for this)

Using small sharp embroidery scissors closely cut around the outside of the second color outline.

Embroider the third color.

Embroider the last color.

Step 3

Remove the fabric from the hoop. Remove the stabilizer. Press

Cut the embroidered rectangle down to 6"x6"

Step 4

Cut another piece of the background fabric 6"x6".

Place on the table face up. Place the embroidered piece on top face down. Place the batting on top of this.

Using ¼" seam sew all the way around the sandwich square leaving an opening to turn.

Trim the corners and any excess batting. Turn right side out so that the batting is in the middle. Whip stitch the opening shut.

Step 5

Sew across the corners with plain or decorative stitches or sew around the edge about 1/8" in.

Repeat to make as many as you need.

As you can see I have not finished all mine. I will try to post a picture of the tea party when it is all set up sometime in December. In the meantime have fun sewing for the holidays and stay warm.

Take care,

PS. This is Keiko the sweetest little dog you will ever meet. Now don't fall in love - she's taken.

LaRueSews-Quilts-Be Your Own Judge

LaRueJ — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:00:00 GMT

This has been a busy month. We recently went to Nashville again to sign a contract on a Motor Home that we saw last month. It’s like new, though used, and really beautiful. We will get it the first week of December.

Also, my sewing machine has been back to the factory, or wherever disobedient sewing machines go. It has had ongoing problems for a long time. It is only a year and a half old, so it shouldn’t have given me so much trouble. It was gone for three or four weeks. I haven’t used it yet, but I hope it is OK now.

I have been thinking that I should talk about hand stitching and finishing a quilt. Some time ago, I had a lesson on the things that judges look for when they are judging a quilt show. It was really interesting and taught me how to finish my own quilt to make them the best I know how. A few months ago, I found a list of rules on a forum. A member of the Colorado Quilt Commission posted it. It was helpful to me, I hope it is helpful to you.

- Piecing: Precise general construction; comers and points match; stitches do not show; thread color is appropriate - Applique: Securely attached without puckers; curves are smooth and points are sharp; stitching is even; dark fabrics don't shadow under light

- Hand quilting: Stitches are even and consistent, front and back; no visible knots or backstitches; no pleats or bubbles on front or back - Machine quilting: Tension is balanced; stitches are even and consistent; stops and starts are not obvious; no pleats or bubbles or distortion of top

- Amount of quilting: Sufficient and appropriate for design of top and batting type; consistency maintained throughout.

- Borders: Construction well executed with straight seams; no ripples, puckers, or stretching; comers precise.

- Finishing: Binding is well executed and consistent width; stitching is secure; comers are square; edges are straight; batting extends to outer edge of binding - Special techniques: (Embroidery, tying, embellishments, beading, overlays, trapunto, photos, etc.) Secure, neat, and effectively executed - Visual impact: Line, shape, color, texture, and value effectively used to produce an interesting, balanced, and well-proportioned design.

- Quilting pattern: Complements the top design, fills the spaces well.

- General appearance: Neat and clean; no visible markings, lint, soil, pet hair, odor, or stains; no obvious distortion or sewing problems.

In learning what judges are interested in finding while judging, it has made me more aware of the things that I do with my quilts. It is especially important to me to see that my hand stitching is done well. In applying the binding, it is also important to make the seam allowance big enough that it fills the space of the binding, not leaving a dead space at the edge of the binding. Not everyone wants to enter a quilt show, but it's nice to know the rules, so you can make your own quilts that will please you now and others for years to come.

One thing that is a bit hard to learn is how to make the binding fit the quilt so that the quilt lays flat and doesn’t’ have rippley edges. The amount of tension of the binding strip while you apply the binding is the secret. If you apply a slight tension to the binding as you sew it along the edge of the quilt, the binding and the edge of the quilt will lie flat. After applying the binding, it is a good idea to pin the binding before stitching and then lay the quilt out on the floor or other flat surface. If the edges are bumpy or rippley, it is not too late to go back and correct the problem. I know, I know, you are saying “THAT MEANS FROG STITCHES!” Yup, Frog Stitches are those little buggers that just have to be RIPPED OUT and replaced. ”Rip-it, rip-it". It’s worthwhile in the long run, when it’s all finished and you know you have Done it well. Be your OWN judge. If your quilt pleases you, it will please anyone who sees it.

Now, on to the continuing saga of LaRueSews, Block of the Month this time the block is the Log Cabin Block. I am giving you the patterns with very little instruction. Just be sure that each of your blocks measure 12 ½ inches, each. In the finished quilt, each block will measure 12 inches, because of the construction of the quilt.

This picture is another of the finished blocks from my current project, Not anywhere Near Baltimore, A Prairie Version.

I just thought of a question to get you commenting on LaRueSews. Just a little curiosity on my part. If you have been following LaRueSews-Quilts for some time, what keeps you coming back for more.

Happy Thanksgiving

Stitches To You,

LaRue

Needles and Thread .. best recommendations

RMacali — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:00:00 GMT

Hello everyone. Had some spare time in my new married life and wanted to touch base with this great community!!

I have been emailing my customer base about needles and thread and how my experience may help those that are either new, or, just have never given these two important tools much thought. So, please read and enjoy this post and let me know your thoughts.

If you would like to catch up on past emails that I send to my 1800+ registered users of our digitizing service, you can follow me on Twitter (www.twitter.com) as Rick Macali (www.twitter.com/RMacali)

Needle size

Todays high-speed embroidery machines are asked to do quite a few different tasks than they were just 15 years ago. As a digitizing firm, In House Digitizing sees its fair share of our customers creativity. Having the luxury of working with one of the top retailers in the country, and now they have expanded to Europe, they have made us change the way we look at things .. we have turned the uncommon into common. The majority of our customers are contract and retail embroiderers. Their shop ranges are from one head to over 200 heads. These customers usually look for the common embroidery techniques used to create stunning corporate logos and decorative embroidery.

Proper thread usage

After the needle email that went out last week, I had more than 20 replies asking about the best thread to use. I will let everyone know that we use Madeira Classic Rayon 40, but, that doesn't mean that is the best choice for everyone; it is the best choice for us. As a digitizer, and a long time machine-operator, the thread that is used can make or break your design, and sometimes your day.

Generally, I'm sure that all 'good' sewing threads have a good sewability and have aesthetic appeal. I'm not going to detail a z-twist versus an s-twist thread, you can research that yourself, but, commercial and home embroidery machines use Z-TWIST threads. I hear many stories about production facilities that get great deals on thread from overseas factories, get it in and it won't sew for anything .. the thread is usually old, or more common s-twist thread.

The two common embroidery thread types are RAYON and POLYESTER, and they usually come in weights of 30#, 40# and 60#. The higher number, the finer the thread.

What to watch for in your thread choice

Elongation: All thread has a stretch to it before it breaks; polyester will stretch more than rayon, which has little stretch to it. The longer a thread stretches, the more chance you have looping on your embroidery.

Reliability: Some threads are made better than others. Some threads can be thinner in spots making the thread weaker in that area. Also, depending on the brand you use, it can have an abnormal amount of knots in the cone that can hinder productivity. It's not just that the knot can't make it's way through the needle's eye, but, thread coming off the cone can catch on the knot still in the cone.

Strength: Its breakability can be measured in your embroidery production. Continuous filament thread like polyester and rayon have a greater tenacity, or strength.

Proper twist: There is a definitive twist to the 2-ply embroidery thread. A thread with too much or too little twists can cause many problems with your embroidery. Commercial embroidery machines, by their nature, will ADD twists to thread during sewing. This will add twists to a z-twist thread and actually untwist an s-twist thread.

Common Thread Type Comparison

RAYON
Brilliant color
More colors
Runs smooth

POLYESTER
Stronger
Colorfast - harsh washing
Less expensive

Z-twist versus S-twist

Thread breaks
Wrong thread for job
Wrong or damaged needle
Thread defects
Bruised cones (dropped)
Excessive elongation
Too much tension
Worn machine parts
- thread path disks
- take up lever
- all guides
- burr on hook
- needle plate

Needle parts

Notice the NEEDLE POINT starts at the top of the needle's eye. A light weight ball point is the best needle to use for knits. Stay away from sharp points on knits as you can cut the knit your are embroidering. Also, if you find you are cutting alot of knit material while you are embroidering, start by replacing your needle(s). Probably the MOST common cause of this is a burr somewhere on the needles point; many times, undetectable by sight or even touch.

Best regards,

Rick Macali
In House Digitizing
407-509-2400
http://www.inhousedigitizing.com

People I meet and why they are hip to the possibilities of sewing…

JuneMellinger — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:00:00 GMT

In today's office environment the more popular method of communication is email but when my phone rings I can almost guarantee that I will be hearing from someone who is completely enthralled by sewing and wants to tell more people about what is happening in the world of sewing in their neck of the woods. It is a good thing that so many people are thinking about lots of new ways to tell their friends about what some people think is a lost art. To think of sewing as a lost art all I can say is "bologna."

Recently I heard from Sophie Uliano. As an avid reader of the New York Times Book Review, I happened to know who she was because she has a best seller, "Gorgeously Green". Honest. Sophie has a web site called www.gorgeouslygreen.com and suffice it to say....she likes to think about the environment, doing yoga and being a parent.

Sophie had done her research and she wanted to let me know that she was going to feature the Brother CS6000i in her next book about ecofriendly crafts and tools to make them. It was a happy moment for me when Sophie told me that all the research that she had done pointed to this machine as a great model for people who want to get into or back to sewing. Having used this machine on an appearance on the Home Shopping Network, I couldn't agree more. Great machine, great value. If you would like to buy this machine for yourself or as a gift for someone this holiday season, you can buying it online when you visit the Brother product list.

Not long after I heard from Sophie, I was hearing about Wendy Berglass, owner of Sew Fun Parties. A friend from the thread industry happened by Wendy's store in the Charlotte, NC suburb of Matthews and then emailed me to show me this photo of a class full of Brother sewing machines. It is such a great photo that I just had to share it with you.

The next thing you know Wendy called me. Wendy is so excited about how popular her sewing parties are that she is coming to visit me at Thanksgiving to show me photos and tell me more about how she runs her shop and what projects the students make with the Brother CS6000i machine. It seems that Wendy has bought all of these machines from a popular on-line retailer and in turn many of her students have also bought the same machines. Another nice compliment for Brother and great sewing machine.

Adina Levin calls herself an "ideator."

Adina is the co-owner of a "idea loft" in New York City. In this unique spot folks and teachers are gathering to share new ideas for old items. Adina recently told my friend George about how she will be partnering the highly successful robotic team at Stuyvesant High School in NYC with adult students at her lab in the first part of 2010. An exercise in what most people would see as role reversal, the adult students were learning from the teenage teachers. To see more about her concept you can visit www.collab-orators.com. Adina gathers students of all ages who want to learn more about sewing and up cycling for fun workshops. For those of you who clicked on the hyperlink for Collab-orators you had to have noticed the intriguing look of the huge loft that holds this think tank in NYC. The wood was up cycled barn wood brought down from a farm in upstate New York. Adina is a social networker and all I can say is that her enthusiasm for sewing is exciting. Adina also particpates in webinars on www.thedailygreen.com. Adina and I will be meeting at her loft in the near future.

Next week I will be headed to St. Louis, Missouri to work with Allyce King of DIY-Style. I can't wait to see how this recent fashion school grad is teaching other people how much fun it can be to sew.

Just had to share this photo of Halloween at our son's home in Aurora, Co. A week later the other son visited with his family and they were wearing shorts in 80 degree weather.

By for now!

June

How to Work in a Paperless World

jsdigitizing — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:00:00 GMT

Did you ever wonder what it would be like to actually see the top of your desk through all those bills, notes, orders ...... and the list goes on. I know that feeling of "where did I just put that!" I know it's within arms reach because it was just in my hand and I haven't moved!

Hello, I am Scott Phillips and welcome to my corner.

We took our company paperless in 2003. It was one of the best business decisions I have made. It has made my job of managing paperwork and running my business so, much easier. The end result is a more productive atmosphere.

You will find yourself creating new ways to utilize the system for Order Taking, Inventory, Production, Accounting, Taxes, Bills and the list goes on.

And best of all there will be more time for other projects, family, friends, etc.

My first personal experience gave me a glimpse of how much stress this new system relieves. This became evident one day when the bank called and said they were missing last month's payment for a loan our company had with them and that it was now showing past due. (I knew this payment was made because I took it to the bank myself. ) I told the person on the phone that I made that payment! She told me that their computer systems show that the payment has not been received and is now past due with a $45 dollar late fee needed in addition to the normal installment. She asked me if I had my receipt for the payment that I was claiming to have made. The magic words "Where is your Receipt?"!!

I don't know about you, but in the past I would have had my receipt, You Bet! I know I have it ..... Now where is it? The search would begin.... Did I put it where I was supposed to? Or maybe I got sidetracked (we all know how that happens) and didn't get it there. Is it in the car, my office, home, the fridge.... LOL.

That wasn't going to happen today! While I still had her on the phone I accessed the files on my computer and found my image of the receipt. I asked the person on the phone if they have access to email, she said yes. I got her email address and emailed a copy of our receipt straight from my computer to hers while she was still on the phone. The problem was solved and they found it was a mistake on her side.

This was the first moment I realized how much benefit this paperless system has. Some of us are very organized and sure you may say that I would know right where it is. Sure, that maybe true, but now you have to add that extra to do item, to your already long list of things to do and most important, not to forget to do it.

I realized how many times in the past the accountant called asking for this or that. Today I say sure and can even send documents from my PDA.

This example is only the tip of the Iceberg.

Getting started can be the biggest leap for all of us. "Where do I START"!?!?!?!?

The biggest hurdle in going paperless is the transition from where you are now to where you want to be.

There is always a learning curve with software and the new process. You will need to gather all the past documentation and paperwork that will become part of your paperless life.

The most effort will be spent getting past information into the system, but believe me, the first time you are asked to pull a receipt or bill from 3 years ago and you have it at your fingertips you will feel the stress free experience of having a paperless life.

First thing needed to do any project, paint a car, make a chair, take your life paperless, are the correct tools! Join me on Friday November 20th at 4pm EST to learn how you can also work in a paperless world. I look forward to seeing you all there and thank you for joining me for today's experience in Scotts Corner.

Reserve your seat (https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/976105009)

Holiday Travel, Needles & African Folklore Embroidery

lraikin — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:00:00 GMT

I used to be a really nervous flyer, every bump, thump, or noise would startle me. Reading just would not relax me and chatting to the passenger next to me would not succeed in calming me.

Things began changing for me once I started bringing my African Folklore Embroidery kit on board the airplane. The kit includes the design (pre-drawn on black fabric), needle and African threads. There are many items you are not allowed to bring on an airplane, in fact the list sometimes seems endless, but needles for sewing are ALLOWED. The minute I know I am going on to a trip to lecture or teach in another city or state, i decide which project i am going to work on.

I just returned this weekend from a trip to New York and almost completed the entire poppy flower design on the flight from JFK to Los Angeles. My trip to Minnesota a few months ago allowed me to complete the elephant kettle design and I am already planning what I am going to stitch on my flight to Phoenix, AZ in December where i will be teaching three days of classes at Bernina Connection, including a special class for children, called teaching the next generation to stitch through African Folklore Embroidery.

Given the holiday season coming up and that many people travel, whether by plane, train or road to visit family and friends, this is the perfect time to get started on one of our beautiful African Folklore Embroidery designs. With this in mind we are offering FREE SHIPPING on all order from now till November 30th.

It is amazing, how many people do not know that you are allowed to bring needles on an airplane. This allows me (guilt free) time to pursue one of my favorite pleasures and has even resulted in me looking forward to my flying time.

Remember there is still time to enter your completed African Folklore Embroidery design in a special exhibition at the Road to California Quilt show, Ontario, CA , Jan 14-17th, 2010. Entry forms are online and we are offering cash prizes for first, second and third place. There is also a separate children's category. You can find the entry form here.

The Computerist: Understanding Standby and Hibernate and Airline Seat Selecting

TheComputerist — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:00:00 GMT

These tips can be used for Windows XP and Vista -

Operating systems vary, if in doubt, check with your provider and/or technical support.

Among the things that are really great about a computer, being available and handy are just two of the important issues. When I sent to school, we had to go to the library and go through mountains of information to find what we wanted. Now we have the universe at our fingertips with a computer in nearly every home (and many have multiple units as well).

Many of us are interested in saving money and that includes our utility bills. Over the years, there has been discussion about turning your PC off at night. We are going to discuss that issue, but we are going to go into different methods of powering your PC during the day as well.

My personal opinion, and habit, is to keep the PC on 24/7. My decision was arrived at when I realized how much time issues like downloading ‘updates,' ‘fixes' and ‘anti-virus programs' among other things actually take up. Some updates can be quite frequent and/or lengthy.

For my convenience, I have the adjustments made at night so as not to interfere with my daytime activities. (I really need to play that new game I just got!)

Creating my backups is also a useful item that I do after hours. It is a helpful and prudent way to keep my files safe.

I personally use a laptop, so closing my PC lid is simple. If you are using a desktop, turn off your monitor. Monitors do not wear out, they burn out.

During the day, I have my PC on and use the easy features available for Windows. These are so handy that I cannot imagine life without them. To get to the ‘simple' methods of having my PC ‘sleep,' I start at the Control Panel and select ‘Power Options,' your option names may vary.

At this point, you will be selecting different choices depending on your needs. For instance, I prefer to just close the lid to get my PC to the sleep mode. You may choose the ‘power off' button to do the same thing. To make any changes, you will most likely need to sign in as an administrator.

Beginning in the "Start Button," select "Control Panel," and from there you may select Power Options (or XP - Performance and Maintenance). Select the Power Options Properties which may look like the following: (some will look different)

Here is where I recommend that you select either Standby or Hibernate. Select a method for which you will have your computer set for day or night time use. The differences between standby and hibernation are:

Standby reduces power usage when your computer is not in use by turning off the parts of your computer that use the most energy. It only takes a few seconds to start a computer from standby. I place my pc in standby during the day and can get back on quickly.

Hibernation saves your programs and shuts your computer down completely. Hibernation uses no power, but it takes a few seconds longer to recover from hibernation when you need to use your computer again. Setting shorter delays before standby and hibernation reduces power usage, but waiting for your computer to start may be inconvenient.

Seat Selection on an Airplane

Summer vacationing may be over for 2009, but many of us will be checking into going somewhere for the holidays. Whether you are traveling for business, reunions or pleasure, there is one thing that we have always wanted but could not quite get - a really comfortable seat on the airplane.

All seats on airplanes are not created equally. I am not speaking about the difference between first class and the rest of the plane. If you can afford to travel first class, that is terrific. But most of us cannot do that. So, how do we find a seat that meets our needs?

We could fly with Emirates Airlines, here is their idea of first class:

I will bet those flowers are real and very fresh! But, alas they don't fly in the USA. If they fly in your area, congratulations and welcome to real luxury.

For the rest of us, we can check with http://seatexpert.com - airplane seats with all the information that you will need to select a seat. The caution here is that you need to book your flight really early so that you HAVE a choice of seats.

Here is how it works:

While you can check out any airline's fleet, for more detailed information you will want to have flight and dates already planned. If you don't have a flight number, you will get less information. I have tentatively selected a December 1 flight from San Diego to Chicago (hmmm . . better get bundled up for that one), Flight #1358 on a Boeing 737-800 Jet.

I fill in my information,

and press Enter. It takes me to the specific plane that I will be traveling in. Here is the front plane diagram. I have selected seat #14 DEF to see why they are marked as a ‘good' seat.

Next, I am selecting Seat #28 DEF to see why they determined it to be a ‘poor' selection.

This one will be a poor selection if I am traveling with a small child and I am hoping that they will sleep during a portion of the flight. With people moving around the area, that nap will not be a likely event.

The legend tells you where everything is located. The first one is a Boeing 737 and the second one is an Airbus A320.

Incidentally, Pitch is measured from one point on a seat to the same point on the seat one row behind, and is an indication of how much room is available.

Thank you for reading my blog. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask here in comments or through my profile.

Pat, The Computerist

Learning and Sharing Are Gifts

Contour Print Alphabet and In-the-Hoop Luggage Tags

cabrownbag — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:00:00 GMT

When I offered to make some luggage tags for my brother, Scott, he asked that I use his initials rather than his name and address. I thought that was a very good idea, since the address broadcasts to the world just WHERE a person is not at home.

My brother also requested that the tags be very noticeable from the baggage claim conveyor. So many bags look just the same, and it is not always easy to read the tags from afar. At first I was going to use my Pinstripes alphabet to make the initials, but then thought that a bright fabric would be easier to spot than lettering.

I turned again to my favorite contour fill pattern and digitized his initials. I liked the look of the contour fill in block letters, as did those who saw the tags I made. I decided to digitize the rest of the alphabet and then created the alphabets in five sizes, 20 mm, 30 mm, 40 mm, 60 mm, and 90 mm high. The capital letters are about 2/3 the height of these sizes (13 mm, 20 mm, 26 mm, 39 mm, and 59 mm, respectively. The alphabets are available singly and as a complete set. Click here to see the new alphabets.

You can download a guide to using Contour Print alphabets with more information and also a sample letter in each size on the page with my alphabet collections.

I digitized the design for my brother's luggage tags. He was very pleased with the look and size of his luggage tags. I have not yet heard whether they have traveled and helped him find his bags. Here are the tags I made for my brother.

For fun, I stitched a tag with Contour Script 60. I learned to watch out for prints that include the color of the embroidery thread and am passing on the warning to you. See the samples in the luggage tag instructions offered below for a print that works a lot better
with this lettering.

My friend Mary chose the colors for the following two tags. I love bright colors and strong contrast for myself, but like to keep my friends happy. Now that I see how subtle these tags look, I will definitely consider similar combinations of fabric and thread.

Since some embroidery machines offer only a 100 x 100 mm hoop, I decided to offer another shape of luggage tag for that size of hoop. Here are two tags I made in my small hoop. As you see, there is a single 90 mm letter in one square and two 30 mm letters plus one 40 mm letter in another.

For the sake of comparison, I trimmed the fabric before satin stitching on the first square. Trimming the fabric last, as I did for the second square, is a little quicker, but trimming before satin stitching gives a more finished look. Instructions for both methods of contruction are available here. The oblong and square luggage tag designs can be downloaded as well. Both are stitched entirely in the hoop.

No matter which shape or construction method you choose, you will love how quickly you can embroider these tags. You can even use them for gift tags that will have a second life after the holidays. For attaching your tags to belongings, you can include a cable tie (each costing about a penny), a shower curtain ring, or a small leather strap. Here is a picture of a cable tie.

Can you think of other uses for these tags? Key tags? Bookmarks? Please show us how you use these embroidery designs.

Keeping It Simple - Embroidered Lace Snowflake Ornaments

db1921 — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:00:00 GMT

Each time she visits my granddaughter asks if we can get the manger set out early this year. It is very old and worn but she loves to play with it, taking the figures on the trip to Bethlehem. We make a tradition of getting the house ready for the Christmas holidays the weekend after Thanksgiving. So she must wait until then. Another thing she requested this year was to have embroidered snowflakes for her tree like we have on ours. Now I have had mine for a long time and they were all hand crocheted, then starched to make stiff. Since my crochet skills are pretty basic and she loves to watch the embroidery machine go we decided to make hers the easy way. Not being a traditionalist (at least not yet) she wanted her snowflakes to be blue. We finally decided on blue and white with a shimmer finish. We have finished a dozen or so and have a few more to go to have enough for her tree but we are having a good time making them. I think we will make a few extras to use as bag tag decorations.

We'll be glad to share our snowflakes with you. Click here to download them. Please feel free to make yours all white if you like.

Basic instructions for the layered snowflake follow.

You will need:

Snowflake designs.
Two layers of wash away mesh stabilizer.
Embroidery thread in colors of your choice.
Bobbin thread (we just used white).
Two adhesive pop dots (like they use in scrapbooking).
Glitter or shimmer spray if desired.
Piece of embroidery floss or string.

To make the snowflakes:

Hoop two layers of wash away mesh stabilizer (you could probably use soluble but I like the mesh.) Load the design and embroider the first color directly on the stabilizer.
Embroider the second color. If you want it all white just use white for both colors.
Cut around the design fairly closely leaving about 1/8^th to 1/4^th outside the snowflake.
Using your fingers and warm water dissolve the stabilizer. (You want as much as possible to stay in the threads of the snowflake to keep it stiff so do not rinse it under running water or soak it.) Let Dry.
Repeat with the second snowflake size.
Lay the large snowflake face up. Stack the pop dots on top of each other and place on the front center of the large snowflake. Place the center of the backside of the smaller snowflake on top of the pop dots.

Add glimmer or glitter if desired and string a piece of embroidery floss to create a hanger.

Making ornaments can be lot of fun. These snowflakes were made using Designer's Gallery Christmas Traditions software. Who doesn't love an ornament tag on their gift. These little creative pieces of art can use up scraps, thread, glitter, buttons and whatever else you have on hand. They become something useful as well as well as give that handmade touch. They can be used as tree and wreath decorations, on scrapbook pages, cards, gifts and anything else your imagination can come up with. Get creative and let me see what you do with these little snowflakes or other ornament and tag projects you do. Snowflake Tag ... you're it!

Take care,

PS: I love snowflakes and here are a couple of my favorite snowflake design packs: Musical Snowflakes and Snazzy Snowflakes. Both are perfect for adding hot fix crystals and the possibilities are endless.

What Constitutes Good Embroidery and Digitizing , Webinar Rescheduled

jsdigitizing — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:27:00 GMT

Hello everyone.,

I am sorry we missed many of you at this weeks webinar for "What Constitutes Good Embroidery and Digitizing". There was a technical error with the link posted. We are excited to say the webinar is rescheduled:

Host: Scott Phillips of JS Digitizing

Title: What Constitutes Good Embroidery and Digitizing

Date: Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Time: 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM EST

Space is limited.

Reserve your Webinar seat now at (click the link below or copy it into your web browser):

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/468923128

I look forward to seeing all of you who missed this week's webinar. Have a good weekend and see you all next week, when we will be visiting Text , lettering , editing and digitizing software, What is the good and the bad.

Thanks for visiting Scotts Corner.

No Matter Where I Go People Like to Talk About Sewing!

JuneMellinger — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:00:00 GMT

People who know me know that I love to ask questions that generally lead to "six degrees of separation." Asking those questions usually leads to a discussion of sewing, and you know how much I love that. Recently I was asked to attend St. Louis Fashion week. Shouldn't need to tell you that it was in Missouri but I do not want to forget to tell you that it was great! This event was really organized and full of surprises. Night one was hosted by Jillian Lewis of Project Runway fame. The event began with some very ordinary looking models strolling (not strutting) down the runway. That seemed odd and we quickly learned why....it was actually the intro for an episode of "What Not to Wear" Out came Stacy London and Clinton Kelly and they quickly got busy finding their next fashion failure and plucked her from the audience and made the offer to "do her over" from head to toe. It was fun and I really can't wait to see how the girl looks without her furry boots and acrylic hair extensions. After that it was on with the show. The designers in the first event participated in Project Design, a contest sponsored by Brother International Corporation and hosted by Jillian Lewis of Project Runway fame. It was another exciting moment when I spoke and made the presentation of the Brother Project Runway LB6770 Sewing and Embroidery machine. The winner was Jelek and one of her winning garments is shown below. It was fantastic! Jelek was most deserving of the award!

The event was filled with lots of other fun experiences as well. The vendor area had the usual jewelry designers, clothing creators, make up artists, etc. By far one of the most unique was a couple who created custom bustiers for dress wear or underwear! They were cool!

On Friday the Divas from DIY-Style gave their first fashion show and it was another well prepared for event. The four young ladies who participated gave attendees a wonderful presentation of outfits to commemorate their support of *** cancer research, swim and resort wear, terrific silk cocktail dresses and of course a wedding dress. The model who was lucky enough to model this great gown was caught completely off guard when her fiancé popped the big question from the audience. She accepted his proposal and the wedding plans are underway! DIY-Style is based out of St. Louis and the designers that we met hasd just graduated from a local design school this year. Apparently the newly appointed Dean of their college was so impressed that she is going to host a repeat of this fabulous fashion show at the college in December. She was very proud of her students and wants to use their success to attract new students! On November 20 I will be visiting DIY-STYLE to tape a vod cast so keep posted for that story! If you know any young sewers they will love becoming a free subscriber to their vodcasts. Visit www.diystyle.net to see how much fun the Divas have.

There were plenty of cocktail events as well and trust me, everyone wanted to talk about sewing at those events too! The St. Louis Brother dealer was on hand too. Brother would not have had the great appearance that we did in the vendor area with out the support of Heyde Sewing. Karen and Jim Warren were great!

A few days after I returned home I headed to Panama to meet more people who wanted to talk about sewing. In this country Brother has a wonderful following and lots of people have bought the PR-650 so they can start a business. I got to meet a young gal of 18 who's dad decided that since she has a degree in graphic arts then she should open a business for screenprinting and embroidery. The perfect machine for her was the PR-650 and not long after opening day she had an order to embroider shirts for employees of her dad's spice factory. She will do great I am sure. The following day we met several hundred people who are involved in selling Brother printers but they were totally blown away by our embroidery machines and you could honestly see visitors to our booth think about how they could start their own business with an embroidery machine. They especially liked our Photostitch samples!

Well folks that's is about it for this week. Have a great day!

June

LaRueSews-Quilts-Beads are Fun Too, a 30 minute project

LaRueJ — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:00:00 GMT

Hi there EveryBuddy. Three weeks has come and gone, again. Blogging time is here. I hope that all of you have been diligently making the last block I gave you in LaRueSews BOM. This time it will be a quick one, both BLOG and block.

I have been out of town for a few days. We went to Nashville. My daughter and her family live there. We went to watch our two granddaughters in their marching band. The older one, Lauren plays the French horn and the younger one, Holly, plays the Alto sax. They really looked great in their uniforms and sounded wonderful too. There was also a concert with their community concert band In Mt. Juliet, TN. It’s really enjoyable when adults combine their efforts and keep their music skills “in tune.” The concert was to benefit the Mt. Juliet High School Band Boosters. The whole thing was really great, but it put me in a time crunch for writing this blog.

I’d like to bring you a really quickie little project that makes a pretty and unique gift for someone. It is EASY.

Necklace recipe:
Ingredients:

1 Small strip of multi-color fabric, about 2 ½ inches by width of fabric. (measure the circumference of the marbles and add seam allowance)
About 12 to 14 marbles, 1 1/4 inch circumference
About 15 beads, hole must be large enough to thread your fabric tube.

Measure the circumference of your marbles, add ½ inch for seam allowance. Cut the fabric strip. My strip was 2 1/4" by width of fabric. Sew 1/4" seam the length of the strip, making a long tube. (Stitch twice to reinforce) Trim strip to 1/8", or smallest you can handle. Turn tube to right side. Be sure your tube isn’t too tight to insert marbles, and the holes in beads are large enough for fabric tube. (I don’t do beading, so I am not exact on measurements, you just need to experiment, like I did.) Trim ends of strips to a long angle.

The next step is to insert marbles and add beads. Put a marble inside the tube and push it to the center. Thread a bead and push it next to the marble. Continue, marble bead, marble bead, until you have your desired bead length, add as many marbles and beads as you like. You can work from both ends. I finished the ends of the necklace by folding in thirds and stitching by machine, to make the tube smaller for ties.

Here are three photos. One is a necklace with unfinished ties, the second is a necklace with ties sewn, and the last is a necklace of Christmas fabric that is started, to show the slanted, cut ends of the tube and the insertion of a marble.

Our next BOM quilt block is the Snowball block. It is a very simple block. It can be combined with other blocks in pattern, and it can be used as a focal block for Fussy Cutting to feature a fabric. Later on, I will use this block to show you an applique technique.

As I said in the beginning of this Block of the Month, I am giving you the patterns with very little instruction. Just be sure that each of your blocks measure 12 ½ inches, each. In the finished quilt, each block will measure 12 inches, because of the construction of the quilt.

You can still begin this BOM and work along with us. Go back in my archives, Blog-Your Wish is My Command and follow along with the instructions. If my count is correct. We now have about twenty people in the group. Or, if you wish, you may go to the tags at the bottom of this page, and click on Block of The Month. the previous blocks and BLOGS are there.

Last year about this time, I told you about a quilt that I planned to start. Of course, it is applique. I have five blocks almost finished or in progress. This photo shows the first block in this quilt. I’ll show more when I get them finished.

Since my time is running short, I’ll just say “So long for Now” and “Make Something Quilted This Week”. See y'all next time.

Stitches to you,
LaRue

Volume Control and Help!!

TheComputerist — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:00:00 GMT

These tips can be used for Windows XP and Vista -

Operating systems vary, if in doubt, check with your provider and/or technical support.

The following tip is my absolutely favorite tip that I ever found. I hope you will like it too.

If there is something that aggravates about television and computers is that as you are just going along, being happy and content, someone changes the volume on me. It can be too quiet and, worse yet, much too loud. I cannot do anything about television, but I can fix the volume for your computer, and it is so easy, you are going to love it.

Let me assure you that the sites that I get my information from are always reliable and carefully checked for virus and other mean things that affect your computer.

Go to this site and download the program for volume control. http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/volumouse.html. Here is the information that is a direct quote from Nirsoft:

Description

Volumouse provides you a quick and easy way to control the sound volume on your system - simply by rolling the wheel of your wheel mouse.

It allows you to define a set of rules for determining when the wheel will be used for changing the sound volume. For example: You can configure Volumouse to use your mouse wheel for volume control when the Alt key is hold down, when the left mouse button is down, when the mouse cursor is over the taskbar, and so on...

When the conditions that you define are not satisfied, your mouse wheel will be used for the regular scrolling tasks, exactly as before.

I personally decided on using the "Ctrl - wheel" and changing the sound takes just a second! When I don't use the "Ctrl" key, the wheel advances on the page as it normally will.

Nirsoft has many small programs that you may find to be helpful. You will want to click on the Main Page link and take a look at some of what is available. Some of the items are for programmers, but many can be used by anyone.

Give it a try. When they come out with a volume control for the tv, I will be the first in line for that one!!

Help!!

I get several very good newsletters and one of them recently reminded me that when I get stuck on an issue, it is a good idea to stick to the "15 Minute Rule." That states that when you have spent 15 minutes with a dilemma on your computer (or otherwise), get professional help.

That seems simple enough; don't waste your valuable time. When the going gets tough, get the best help you can find.

When I worked on a Help Desk, I would often find that, by the time a person called for assistance, they were frustrated and not happy campers. Be sure that you call before you are tearing out your hair. There is one simple reason for this: (Memorize this sentence and then destroy the page - it is a well kept secret) Not every problem you experience on a computer has a solution! Huh? Yes, Virginia, there are programmers, but sometimes things go terribly wrong. Microsoft has a very (evasive) clever response for this - they say "You may get unexpected results." That is techie talk for ‘we don't know what happened!'

So, you have been beating your head for nothing! I am going to teach you some tricks to help you find help within the application you are working with. These features are easy to use, but you were likely never taught how to use them.

The following is the Help Page for Microsoft Word, but many of the programs use a similar method.

First of all, you will see two methods of getting information. The first method is the "Search" dialog box. A dialog box is exactly that, it is a written conversation from you to the computer. It is easy to use, but has a drawback, if you don't know what to ask, how are you going to ask the question? An example is the word "Spike." Have you ever heard that term? It is a great feature in Word, but it is almost never found in any tutorials.

Quick definition of Spike: Using ‘Ctrl F3' cuts pieces of information (word, words, sentences, etc.) from several different places in another Word document. When you are ready to paste those pieces of information, use ‘Ctrl-Shift F3' to paste all that you have gathered. This one is a real time saver.

OK, so "Search" is generally used by someone who knows what they are looking for. The user needs to know the correct terminology. "Search" can be used by a Novice, but for best results, the beginning student should use the second mode which is called: Table of Contents (TOC) or Browse Word Help

The TOC and the "Browse Word Help" are exactly the same. I have no idea why they would do that, but they did.

The titles ‘lead' you through the maze. Each title has a subtitle and some have further subtitles. While this matrix is not the easiest to follow, it is something that will give you some ideas of what is available.

For instance, you are looking to create a document to mail to many people, you will find Mail Merge. But while you are there, you will see other items that may just give you some ideas for other projects you do.

You will also see ‘Macros' which may just get you interested in trying a macros - which is a significant time saver but seldom taught to the everyday user. Watch for instructions for macros in my next blog.

Just looking at the general topics will give you some ideas as to what you may want to learn for your computer usage. Get a little nosy and check out topics which are great features.

Just a little FYI, I do sell the "PC's for Embroiderers" here at AnnTheGran. You will find over 70 more tips and tricks there that I will not be repeating here in my blog. The only exception is the 'password' information because it is so important for all of us to have a strong password.

Halloween Costume – A Dancing Princess

db1921 — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:00:00 GMT

This week I finished putting up my Halloween decorations. I made a few new ones this year, since my old ones were simply falling apart. Instead of the scarecrow on the front door I made a wall hanging that is interchangeable for each holiday. But that is a project I will share another day when I can get the instructions written up. Of course if you read my last blog you saw this year's pumpkin masks. For Emma's school party we are making plain pumpkin masks for the kids to decorate and letting them pick little pumpkins to put them on and take home. It should be fun but we will see how it goes.

Halloween is only a few days away and Emma is so excited. She just loves to dress up and has several places to where her costume this year. The first one is on Saturday night with her aunt so we had to scramble to finish her costume earlier than usual (yes, you know that I would have waited until the 29^th to start it). Emma wanted to be one of the 12 dancing princesses this year so we needed some sparkle. She had a leotard so we embroidered a resized design on it (download the original below) and added hot-fix crystals. Then we created the skirt from tulle (which we had) and added more hot-fix crystals. Dancing shoes were needed but they cost a fortune and we have a $10.00 limit on Halloween costumes so we purchased some plain pink slippers added some ribbon and more crystals. The crystals do not show in the picture very well but there are lots on the design and skirt. The tiara was 50 cents from the party favor section at a local discount store. Here is the result:

To download the design click here

Let's see... to date she has been an angel, a white kitten (couldn't be a black one you know), a butterfly fairy and now a dancing princess. Don't even mention anything scary! And I guess Anna will have to be a little dancing girl too since, at not quite two she wants to do whatever her sister is doing. But I think hers will be even simpler (made from some white PJs) and a little purple embroidery. Now, I just have to find time to get it done before the party next week (sigh).

I'm actually looking forward to Halloween this year. I get to go to two parties with my little girls and the holiday is so much more fun with kids around. Since I may not be able to write again until it's over, Happy Halloween to all of you!

Take care.

PS: Here are some photos of past years in case you need an idea for a toddler girl. Maybe someday we'll have a little boy.

The Extinction of the Professional Digitizer

jsdigitizing — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:00:00 GMT

In today's market the true professional digitizer who knows how to create crisp small letters, make your sewing machine sing through a 200k stitch design without a thread break and create some of the best looking embroidery you will see on material are becoming extinct. Those who are becoming digitizers today are learning how to get it done fast with automated tools and systems, without knowing or utilizing techniques that make that cutting edge difference between creating an embroidered give away shirt or making a professional embroidery garment that a person will be proud to wear.

But, is a change on the horizon? If there is a change who will pick up the pieces and bring the industry back.

What am I talking about some of you might ask? This information might help those asking that exact question the most. What I'm talking about here is that the perception of what is "good embroidery" and what isn't "good embroidery" is changing and not for the better. Its very simple, if you do not know what is good, there is no way you can know what is not. Now some may say that they see great embroidery designs at shows and in contests. This is true. Many professional digitizers still spend hours creating embroidery art to help get their names recognized. But, these designs are not from the real world. You and I do not use these designs to sew our customer's shirts, make their hats or sew monograms on gifts. I am referring to the everyday designs that we all use to make a living or grow our business through our customers.

With the professional digitizers falling by the side, many of home and commercial embroiderers rely on overseas digitizers or U.S. companies sending it overseas. Granted, work has improved from really bad to ok. But after a while the ok , becomes accepted as good or excellent, simply because there is no longer a higher level commonly available for comparison. Does this make sense?

I recently had the opportunity to work with a person who owns an embroidery company that brags about how good their work is and how inexpensive they produce their embroidery designs. We met at a show and the owner of the company said that he gets flat rates on any design left chest size for $35, others jumped in that were listening in and bragged about getting the best quality work even cheaper.

Shortly after the show I did some IT work for the same person's company and at their facility. I was taken for a small tour where I watched the machines in production and viewed the finished garments being bagged. I was very surprised and disheartened at how poor the quality of lettering and embroidery was. They truly believed that the work being created here was of the highest quality. My point is that this situation is happening all over making the overall standard of what many view as quality embroidery drop to sub standard levels.

Let me put it another way. Have any of us looked at or called on a used item that was for sale and the seller told us that the Item was in "excellent" or "like new" condition, only to find out later that it was in terrible condition or average at most. The person selling the item may have truly believed that the item was as they described. From their perspective but, you may have known different because you had the opportunity to view, see and experience better!

So, If you were to take the item you looked at in what you would call excellent condition and set it next to one that the original seller was seeing as excellent condition which will bring more money? Yours or theirs......? This illustrates how the perspective of good, quality embroidery can be skewed and lowered by those who have not had the opportunity to experience the difference.

That should make us ask the question; "How did we get here and what can be done about it?"

This is a good question and one not easily answered. Many of the true professional embroidery digitizers have left the industry. But some still remain. We all want to be competitive on price and at the same time provide a professional service with the best quality embroidery available so that our customer comes back. Let's face it your order is only as good as the re-order.

The cost of your embroidery design doesn't stop at the bill you receive from your digitizer. How is that you might ask? Well, let's look down the road a little bit.

I can best illustrate this with a hard lesson I learned recently. I purchased two large screen LCD TV's for use as monitors. One I purchased was rated one of the best for quality of image and was more expensive. The second was a LCD that had the same appearing image and options, but it was four hundred dollars less. I purchased the good one and I chose to get the lower cost second one. Now it's 15 months later and the less expensive LCD went bad. The warranty is up and it will cost as much to fix as it will to buy a new one. But, I saved $400 fifteen months ago.....right! Not really because I lost a lot of money since now it needs to be replaced. The more expensive one is still working today.

Let's look at an embroidery design. What do we need from it? 1) The design must have a clean edge, rich looking appearance that won't pucker or pull the material. 2) Any lettering must sew sharp, even and legible. 3) The design must sew with the minimum amount of trims and color changes to save on labor while sewing the job for our customer. 4) The design must sew without having thread breaks or unthreading the needle causing false thread break stops. 5) The final looking job has to be so good that your customer wants to come back for their next order and finally, 6) the design should be received ready for production with no editing or adjusting necessary by you or your staff.

So....looking down the road, one might have the same choice as I did with the LCD when getting that design for your customer.

You may have the $25-35 flat rate or cheaper choice compared to the $58 dollar design created by a professional digitizer. One might go for the cheaper design and, let's face it, that is $23 or more dollars profit on the order. This is where it becomes fun! The hidden costs associated with that choice. Let's look at what we need from a design. The job may have taken longer to sew then it should have; thread breaks, too many color changes, too many trims etc, as well as your labor time in front of the machine. All this is worth money $$. You may have had to send the design back or spend some time tweaking and editing the design to get it the way you liked. Add more $$ for your time. The re order comes in and it is for a higher end shirt or different garment that is very stretchy material and the original design sews horrible on it. Now I have it digitized again for this material, another $25-$35 dollars. It doesn't take long for that savings to be eaten up does it?

This does not take into account your customer not coming back for that second order because they found a place that can make their shirt look much better! This happens more often than you might think and many times you are not aware of the loss until you see someone from your customer's company wearing a nice embroidered shirt , that you know you didn't do......!

Most of us have a tendency to look at what we are spending now, at this moment and not at how it may affect us down the road. If you are looking at building your business or becoming more profitable this is an area you should look at seriously. I have seen a trend occurring lately. Many companies are beginning to seek out better digitizing and digitizers as the reality of the long term costs compared to the short term savings is counterproductive and "NOT PROFITABLE".

Now here is the opportunity. Seek out the better digitizing company, someone with old school digitizing wisdom. Remember, knowledge is not the same as wisdom. Knowledge is thinking you know how to do something. Wisdom is having actually done it. They will generally be more expensive than your overseas counter parts. But, they want to earn your business also and you can always negotiate with them. The key to successful negotiation is being fair. I am seeing more embroiderers from the home shop to the large companies making a gradual shift.

This is a great opportunity! Remember when I said you always have to have an edge. This may be the best tip to create your edge that is available today. The market has thinned many professionals away from the industry. But, there are still professional digitizing companies out there that have the quality and service to stay strong in this market. Make your company stand out and find one.

Create embroidery that becomes the new quality standard. Raise the bar. Make this new method part of your advertising scheme. Brag about your quality and people will pay a little more for it. I have seen slogans that read " What you think is great embroidery isn't even average. Experience the difference!"

Hey, who doesn't want to work less and make a little more. I will leave you with this thought.

Many have told me that customers in their market are used to paying nothing for the designs and they won't pay the higher prices, I will lose the order, they say..... I say Nonsense! Build a good relationship with your digitizer, let them know when you have a situation that arises where you might lose a job. They will work with you ! Why not offer the best you can when it's possible!

I invite all of you to join me on October 28th at 4pm for a Webinar that will cover "What constitutes good embroidery and digitizing?"

Thank you for joining me here today and I look forward to seeing you all again at Scotts Corner!

I have no idea what this is going to look like?

lraikin — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 18:00:00 GMT

Fall is my favorite season. I love how the weather changes from brutally hot to just perfect! I love being cozy and taking out my current stitching project, curling up on a chair beside the fire and watching how my African Folklore Embroidery design takes on a life of its own. My parents are currently visiting from South Africa and since it was my mom that taught me African Folklore Embroidery it is our best pastime to sit together and stitch. Have you noticed that sometimes when you stitch or knit with someone you love, you don’t even have to talk? It is that sense of quiet peacefulness and togetherness. Fall is the time for Halloween, candy and starting to get ready for the holidays. What could be more fun! With this in mind you will see some of our new designs, such as pumpkins and Christmas trees. In the Christmas tree design you will see that there are four trees and each one can be stitched and then made into a holiday card. The hand dyed threads included in the kits have names such as Christmas green, Salvia, Flame, Harvest and Hellebore. These pearl 8 multi-colored threads change color every two inches.

When it comes to starting an African Folklore Embroidery design, I have no idea what the end result is going to look like, whether I will decide to put in beads or buttons, cut up and appliqué some fabric or use some special silk ribbons. Some times an old necklace or bracelet that I do not wear any more will become part of the project with it being couched into the design. Most people I know have a stash of fabric around that they do not want to throw away, so this is the perfect kind of project to incorporate and recycle.

I realize the idea of starting a project with no idea as to what the final outcome will look like can be foreign and scary. To me African Folklore Embroidery mirrors life, we can spend a lot of time planning, but the end result does not always end up like our initial planned thought. Most needle art projects will give you detailed instruction as to what color to use in every part of a design, what stitch to embroider, where to sew on a bead or button and how to finish it. African Folklore Embroidery is the complete opposite. I think knowing in advance that a design it not meant to be perfect, that life is full of imperfections and surprises, allows us the freedom to explore the creative side and extend ourselves beyond our limits. Knowing in advance that the bright colors against the black fabric are going to look stunning, certainly helps the process.

I recently was the guest teacher at a retreat for the Minnesota Embroidery guild. I was so honored to be amongst these highly talented women. Most have been involved in stitching and needle arts for many years and their work is beautiful. This is an annual retreat at Lake Buffalo, MN and all the stitching, dining and sleeping rooms overlook this beautiful lake with gorgeous sunset. I was one of three guest teachers that taught classes for the four days. I have included some pictures of some of the completed designs or half completed from this workshop. All the women coming into the class had no idea what their completed project was going to look like, but their enthusiasm and bubbly and exuberant comments afterwards were proof as to how much their creative leap of faith had paid off. . Most importantly these women appreciated the freedom which the class gave them to use any colors and fibers that they wished, to not be fixated on the perfection of stitches, to try new techniques, to go “out the box “. Many said that they had learnt more in the 6 hour class than in twenty years of classes and books. Words such as fun, new, and imagination were the concepts thrown around. So don’t be afraid to try one of our kits, there are basic guidelines and stitch diagrams, but I know that each one of you has the ability to complete a really stunning African Folklore Embroidery design.

For the first time ever, there will be an international competition for all our customers to enter their completed African Folklore Embroidery design at the Road to California 2010 Quilt show. Over 25,000 attend the show and will be viewing the entries.

Exhibition - Competition- Win Prizes –Entry Form

You are invited to submit your completed African Folklore Embroidery designs for a SPECIAL EXHBITION AT THE 2010 ROAD TO CALIFORNIA QUILT SHOW from Jan 14th- Jan 17th at the Ontario Convention Center. Winners will be announced Jan 15th and ribbon placed on winning entries. Cash prizes: 1st $150, 2nd $50, 3rd $25. Separate category for children. Entry forms at www.aflembroidery.com

For the holidays I am offering a special sale price on my book, Safari through African Folklore Embroidery ($25.00 www.aflembroidery.com) and it includes a free gift from South Africa.

Wishing you good health and abundant creativity!

Leora Raikin

www.aflembroidery.com

Public Domain-Freeware and Uninstall Programs

TheComputerist — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:00:00 GMT

The following tips can be used for both Windows XP and Vista.

When you think about the amount of money you are spending on your PC and related items, it might make you feel like you have spent more than the benefits warrant. With a PC, buying the initial equipment is just the start. If there were a way to save money, most of us want to do so when and where possible.

Let's begin with your favorite Search Engine. I use Google, but I also use others because what I get from one is not necessarily what I get from another. The Search Engines have different methods of finding information in the great abyss of the Net. Try different ones if you are not getting the results you want.

You can actually search for the words "Search Engine" and get some that you have never heard of!!

OK, now let's talk about saving money.

You need to remember to use just a couple of words. First, let's say that you are seeking some photos, literature, music, or any artistic work for a project you are working on. Rather than just saying "soothing music," this time try "public domain soothing music." The second request will give you links to music for which there is no ‘strings' attached.

Public domain definition: The public domain is generally defined as consisting of works that are either ineligible for copyright protection or with expired copyrights. Public domain refers to the total absence of copyright protection for work. The public domain is a range of abstract materials commonly referred to as intellectual property which are not owned or controlled by anyone. The term indicates that these materials are therefore "public property", and available for anyone to use for any purpose.

I think the definition is clear, but I do want to add that you can use these for commercial purposes as well. That is to say, I could take some wonderful photos, add music and perhaps add some terrific poetry and sell it myself. . . . The possibilities are endless. Do you put together a newsletter for your church or other organization? You now have a nearly endless supply of ideas, information and interesting items to share with your group.

Now, let's save some more money. We are going to do the same thing, at any Search Engine and now we will be seeking software programs. Raise your hand if you have paid too much for software in the past. (I raised both hands). Don't get me wrong, I believe people should be paid for their work. I, myself subscribe to producing and selling things that I believe are useful to others. But some of the programs are so expensive that I often have to pass them up and use something less effective. It is sort of like using a screw driver to pound a nail, it works, but not as well as a hammer.

Here is the ‘magic' word: freeware (open source is another pair of words you can use). The definition of freeware: Like shareware, freeware is software you can download, pass around, and distribute without any initial payment. However, the great part about freeware is that you never have to pay for it. No 30 day limit, no demo versions, no disabled features -- it's totally free. Things like minor program updates and small games are commonly distributed as freeware. Though freeware does not cost anything, it is still copyrighted, so other people can't market the software as their own.

Let me add something to the definition, it is also something that someone is proud to have produced and delighted to know people like it. There is often a place to make a donation; and, when I really like the program, I do give a little to thank them for their efforts.

Be aware that some donation links have a predetermined price. I found one that I wanted to give $15 (all I could pay at the moment) but the donation was $20.00.

The Open Source definition: When a software program is open source, it means the program's source code is freely available to the public. Unlike commercial software, open source programs can be modified and distributed by anyone and are often developed as a community rather than by a single organization. For this reason, the phrase "open source community" is commonly used to describe the developer of open source software development projects.

Since the source code of an open source program can be modified by anyone, it makes sense that the software is also free to download and use. The terms of use are often defined by the GNU General Public License, which serves as the software license agreement (SLA) for many open source programs. Open source software development projects are often funded by donors with an interest in the project, by user donations, or through advertisements. Some developers also generate revenue by selling documentation and help manuals for the software. Other projects are funded by no more than a collective desire of developers to create a great program.

Onward to getting some of this great software. Let's say you need an inventory software program for your home items for insurance or value purposes. (If you are considering starting a business, you need to know how much your assets are worth!)

You will, in this case, probably find this site: http://www.fileguru.com That site is loaded with great software - gosh, I need to get that English to Hindi Dictionary.

Occasionally one program will get slipped in that is a 30 day free trial, but those should be few and far between.

Uninstalling Programs

After we have all those wonderful free programs, now let's talk about uninstalling them.

Since programs are sometimes not useful for our needs, we have to do an uninstall to get them out of our pc. The uninstall, however, leaves behind items that clutter up our equipment. Even the uninstall that is available from the source does not remove everything. That never made sense to me, don't they know what their program does?

Well, there is a freeware (love that word) that removes everything. It does so much more.

I got this tip from a very reliable source. When I saw this, I was stunned by everything that it does.

CNET gave it an excellent recommendation AND, it is available in 42 languages.

CNET Download.com Editor's Rating

I could not even find a place that they take donations!

It speaks for itself. I have no further input to add to what they have already said. Check it out.

http://www.revouninstaller.com

Here is the list of the tools and utilities included in Revo Uninstaller:
Auto Start Manager - Stop programs that start automatically on Windows startup; speed up loading of Windows!
Windows Tools Manager - Handy and useful tools bundled with every version of Windows; easily find useful system tools and options!
Junk Files Cleaner - Find and remove unnecessary files from your computer; free up disk space and delete files you do not need!
Browsers History Cleaner - Erase web browser history, visited pages history and temporary internet files of Internet Explorer, Firefox, Netscape and Opera web browsers; free up a lot of disk space by deleting temporary internet files like temporary saved videos, temporary flash files, temporary pictures etc!
Office History Cleaner - Remove the history of most recently used files in MS Office; remove your tracks by deleting the list of last opened MS Office documents!
Windows History Cleaner - Remove the history of recently opened files, delete temporary files, remove usage tracks and other history items that are saved by Windows; remove your tracks saved by Windows for a lot of operations!
Unrecoverable Delete Tool - Erase files and folders forever; be sure that nobody could recover your files and folders after deleting!
Evidence Remover - Make sure already deleted files, folders and other data are unrecoverable; securely erase your data!

Every effort has been made to be sure this information is free of virus and spyware. Systems may vary, always trust the advise of your provider and technical support.

Scrapbooking Family Traditions

StacyCarlson — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:00:00 GMT

My husband, daughter and I moved back to Nebraska when my daughter was one, which was 6 years ago. The year we moved back, we started a family tradition of visiting the local pumpkin patch near Halloween. The first year we took my husband's parents and my grandmother. Subsequent years have included friends and other family members, but we have always managed to go. This year we went with my father, step mother, my brother and his new wife and baby. This is a tradition that I really enjoy and look forward to each year. This year I kept looking at the clock thinking about how slow time was going, as I really wanted to leave! The kids have grown to understand that this is something we do every year, and they are still young enough to not find it boring and really enjoy the trip. We have many other family traditions, but this is one that we have created ourselves.

Each year I've created a layout of our trip and it's fun to sit down and see how the children have grown through the years. I've created one for each year, each showcasing the photo that I've loved the most out of all the one's I've taken. With my daughter being older now, she has a sense of appreciation of the layouts and photos and will sit on my lap for hours looking at herself as a child.

We have another tradition with taking photos of the children at the local zoo. They have a brass otter statue, and each year that we visit the zoo, I have had the kids stand next to the statue. Having an object that is the same, while the children get bigger, is a wonderful way to see the growth of the children!

What traditions have your family created that you look forward to each year? What techniques have you used to scrapbook your traditions?

LaRueSews-Quilts, Spuds in a Bag

LaRueJ — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 17:00:00 GMT

It’s Chilly here in Alabama today. That is to say, rainy 70 degrees feels cold compared with 90+ degrees. This has been a frustrating day. I have a little project that I wanted to talk about this time. However, I’ve lost the special ruler I need for the project. Let me rephrase that . . . I put that ruler away so well that now, I can’t find it. Besides that, it’s not the only thing I’ve lost. Where is that Misty Fuse I need to start that new quilt? It goes on and on. Seems like every time I want to start or work on a project, I have to spend time finding what I need for the project. Drats! That must mean there’s toooo much STUFF in my little sewing room and stash closet. Does anyone else have this problem? Let me hear from you. I don’t want to be the only one who loses things in the sewing room. Oh well, guess I’ll sit down and write a BLOG instead.

Last month we went to North Carolina. Of course I had to look for a quilt shop with my “travelin’ friend,” Cathy. Yup, we found one. In the little town of Elizabeth City, N.C. The name of the shop is Simply Divine Fabrics and Things. It’s a cute little shop with a sweet and generous owner, Tanaya Ewell. She had a neat little project that I can tell you about. Do you like baked potatoes? These cute bags are just the ticket for baking potatoes in the microwave. They are moist and delicious, just like in the oven, except that the skin is tender, moist and ready to eat. The watermelon print bag came from the Simply Divine shop, and the other bag was given to me at my recent quilt retreat.

The bags are easy to make. Just cut two coordinating fabrics about 16 to 12 inches long and 8 to 10 inches wide, depending on size and amount of potatoes you want to use. Cut one piece of batting the same size as fabrics. (I think cotton batting would be best, not sure) Lay the fabrics, right sides together, with batting on top. Sew across each short end of the fabric and batting. Turn right side out, keeping the batting between the fabrics. Both sides will be open. Now, fold down about two inches to the outside of the fabric pieces to make a cuff. Then fold the fabrics right sides together, with the fold/cuff on the inside. Sew or serge up each side of the fabrics and turn the bag right side out. There will be raw edges on the inside, and a cuff will be on the outside. It works kinda like a fold-over sandwich bag. It’s all done! Pop those little buggers in the bag, and follow the directions.

Potato Baking Bags:
Used to bake russett, red or sweet potatoes.
Wash /rinse potato and pat dry with paper towel.
    DO NOT POTATO
Wrapping the potato in paper towel is optional,
    (keeping it on keeps bag cleaner longer)
Close the flap and place in microwave for 5-8 minutes
     depending on wattage of microwave.
Open bag/ cut open potato, add butter
    the extras, salt and all.

**PLEASE! If you plan to make these potato bags, be sure to use only natural fabrics, thread and batting. The polyester will burn quickly can cause problems in the microwave. Also, be sure to keep an eye on them while cooking, and follow you microwave instruction book for length of time for potatos

Now it’s time for your next quilt block from our LaRueSews BOM. I promised last time that I would get the first three blocks made for you. This is a photo of those blocks, plus the fourth one. The fourth block in our BOM is the Sashed 4-Patch. You will notice that in my blocks, the colors are not as bright as those in the block diagrams I have posted. That is because I am using mostly fabrics from my fat quarter stash. Unfortunately, my fat quarter stash has very little yellow in it. So I used a gold fabric that is darker than I expected it to be. I need to get some yellow when I go to a fabric store.

These are the rotary cutting measurements, in case they are hard to read.
A patch, 3 ½" X 3 ½ “
6-Gold /yellow patches
2-Red patches

B patch, 6-1/2" X 3 ½” Blue patches

If you are reading about LaRueSews Block of the Month for the first time, you may find the first three blocks in my two previous BLOGS. On the left side of this BLOG, there is a box titled, Recent Posts. The BOM is in the two post previous to this one.

By the way, I’d like to tell you about a really good on-line source for fabrics. It is eQuilter.com. http://equilter.com/ They have one of the best selection of fabrics on the net. I have ordered from eQuilter many times and I have never been disappointed. Check it out, it’s worth your time.

That’s about it for this time. I hope you are all keeping up with our BOM. So far, they are easy blocks. In fact, all of the blocks are on the easy side, though they will get a bit more challenging as time goes on. Oh, one more thing, this is just a little treat. It's a photo of an orchid that I have grown from a very small plant in a two inch pot. It is now in a five inch pot and has five blooms, you can see three and a little bit of one more. And IT'S NOT A QUILT!

Stitches to you,
LaRue

P.S. My finger is all healed already!

I have these names on my list. If you are not on the list or do not plan to do the BOM, please let me know so that I can correct the list:

Linda B
Sandra,
Sewchicago
mgravey
65708rjane
nurse7
Sue
mabsy
bonita
Elizabeth
BC
Bonnie
Lavonne
Tanalee
Jeanne
Womack
tmmatas
maggie milner
tuch2nmi
Annamarie
Debbiej

Keeping It Simple – Halloween Masks for My Pumpkins.

db1921 — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 16:00:00 GMT

OK, I admit it. I despise making jack-O-lanterns. The carving is OK but in my mind cleaning out the pumpkin guts has never been fun. Yuck-O! And because it gets so cold here before Halloween these hollowed out orange decorations many times look like little old men by Trick or Treat night. So once our children were no longer interested in this age-old tradition I began devising other ways to decorate my pumpkins. We've painted them, used the Mr. Potato Head pieces, whittled them, wrapped and covered them. This year we decided to make masks. Here is what my pumpkins look like:

I can't decide if we should add a face or not - I kind of like them as they are. What would you do?

To download the mask designs click here. I am happy to share them with you but remember that I am not a professional digitizer and these designs were quickly made just for the pumpkins.

These are so simple that I doubt you need any instructions but, just in care, here they are:

For the Black cat mask

What you need:

Medium weight tear-away stabilizer
Mask embroidery design
Rectangle of black felt 8"x6" or larger
A couple of scraps of pink or tan fleece or felt about 2" square each
Black, pink and white embroidery thread
Bobbin thread
5"x7" or larger hoop
Ribbon or elastic
Medium size pumpkin
A pair of small embroidery snips or very small sharp scissors

What you do:

Hoop the stabilizer.
Load the design.
Embroider the placement run (color 1). Use whatever color thread you like for this.
Place the rectangle of felt so it completely covers the run. You can free float it or use a small amount of adhesive spray if you are more comfortable.
Embroider the tack-down run (color 2) using the same color as in color 1 as long as it is not black.
Remove the hoop. Trim closely around the outside of the cat head and inside of the cat eyes using your snips of sharp scissors. Do not cut the stabilizer.
Put the hoop back. Using black thread embroidery around the head and eyes (color 3).
Place the small pink or tan squares of fabric over and just below ear area on cat head. Embroider the ears (color 4)
Embroider the whiskers (color 5)
Remove the hoop. Clip around the pink stitching of the ears. Remove the design from the hoop and tear away the stabilizer.
Sew the ribbon or elastic to the sides of the mask. (Measure your pumpkin to determine how much you need.)
Place the mask on your pumpkin. If you want to get more creative use colored markers to draw a face.

The Dot Mask is made basically the same way. The Jester Mask needs to be sewn out on felt as you just cut outside the candlewick stitching and add sparkle as desired (Emma loves to put glitter on things so of course we had to do at least one this way).

You could use the cat mask for a person as well. Dress in a black sweat suit. Add a stuffed tail (or a black boa section would work well) and some gloves and voila you are a black cat.

These pumpkins could also make great center pieces for a party. Add whatever embellishments you like to make them eye catching. If you make any masked pumpkins be sure to post them or email them to me so we can see all see what you did.

Take care,

Speed Test & Copyrights

TheComputerist — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:00:00 GMT

The following tips can be used for both Windows XP and Vista.

Speed Testing Your PC

If you are among the more progressive computer users, you may just be using ‘wireless' computing.

There are so many advantages to that networking, not the least of which is the fact that many people can use multiple hardware pieces at the same time without spaghetti all over the place. That includes a secure (you did create a strong password for your network, didn't you?) Internet connection, printer, scanner and other items can be accessed by multiple users as well.

If you want to check your speed, this is the place to do it (free, of course):

http://www.speedtest.net/.

Here are my personal results:

If I want to see how I am comparing with other users, I select:

And I see I am in the top 90 percentile.

If your numbers are not to your liking, I would start by checking in with your provider of Internet service. Occasionally you may find that your connection is not a good one and they can reset you to get a better connection. They can also advise you as to what, if anything, can be done. My connection is via cable and yours could be one of several varieties, including a dial-up because you live in an area without other services.

Trademarks and Copyright Information

Because so much information is on the Internet in various forms, I always suggest that you seek out the ^TM and the © and even the ® marks that may be on a website.

Many times the entire site is covered by a statement, most likely in the bottom section of the page(s) which indicates that the writer has made certain steps to take care of their work. The above are generally applicable to the USA, and International sites are covered by International Treaties and Agreements which are similar in nature.

I like to remind myself that I want to be reasonably paid for my work, and I feel certain you feel much the same way. I may give away lots of free information, but my unique and individual ideas are covered by these rights.

Just as a way to let you know about some of the penalties, one that stands out in my mind is that of Microsoft. As a leader in software/hardware/and a large multitude of other things, Microsoft has taken great pains to protect themselves against pirating. Others such as Disney Corporation and certainly all the recording studios are fighting this battle nearly daily.

Microsoft has a particularly easy to understand violation for its software. Naturally, there are all sorts of legal statements and ‘whereas' and ‘furthermore', but the one that catches the most attention is the fact that they have the right to compensation in the amount of $250,000.00 PER offense.

So, let's say that you have an illegal copy of Word, PowerPoint and Excel on three computers at your company or in your home. Your bill will amount to $2,250,000.00. Or, when you write that check, you will enter: Two Million Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars and no cents. That is 3 software titles on three computers for a total of 9 offenses.

I think it may be cheaper to buy the software. There is an alternative, which I have specified in my "PC Tips and Tricks."

While other copyright rules may not be so harsh, items that are considered to be 'recognizable' fall under this category. For instance, Hello Kitty, Hannah Montana and similar items are protected under the law.

Thanks again for reading my blog. See you in 2 weeks.

Need a push? Ways to be inspired to take more photos.

StacyCarlson — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:00:00 GMT

The last couple months we have talked about creating a digital scrapbook all about you. I hope that you have been inspired to create something that you can pass down to your children or grand children while celebrating a very important person, you!

Recently, my friend and I decided to check out our cities camera club. I've been looking for an outlet to prompt me to make time to take photos, as I've been slacking a lot on this lately. We went to our first meeting and had a blast, and I plan to continue going. I started thinking of ways that I could encourage myself to take even more photos, and started looking on the internet for sites that had weekly or daily challenges for photography.

I started with Flickr. Flickr is an image and video hosting website and online community platform and a popular website for users to share personal photographs. I've had an account with them for a couple years (you can take a peek here), so I figured this would be a good place to start.

Doing some searches, I stumbled across a site called PhotoChallenge.org. This site gives a new theme each day for you to focus on and it's up to you to interpret the theme. I am always captivated when I see how people interpret a theme. On October 1, the theme was "Out of Place" and the photos that were taken were so inspiring. Talk about thinking outside of the box!

One of my all time favorite sites is the DPChallenge site. I have never participated here, mainly because the level of talent these photographers have is so incredibly intimidating, but I have spent countless hours looking at the photos and having my breath taken away. I want to be some of these photographers when I grow up! Even though I don't participate, I have gotten a lot of ideas on how to do the photo myself, and have experimented a lot using the techniques that they talk about and show in their photos.

Photo Friday is one site that I have participated in. Each Friday they post a new theme, and like the others, you have to interpret the theme. This site is fun because the members get to vote on their favorite photo for the theme.

We also have a couple of photography challenges at Gotta Pixel! Photo Scavenger Hunt, Pick A Something Photo Challenge, A-Z Photo Challenge.

My challenge to you is to get out there and challenge yourself to take more photos, and not just photos of your family! Take pictures of things that you wouldn't necessarily think about taking photos of, and interpret life in your own unique way!

Life's a Beach

JuneMellinger — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:00:00 GMT

Well since the last time I wrote I have celebrated my birthday in style and had a nice vacation to boot! My husband worked so hard to give a me a "Surprise Birthday" party and he really succeeded. It was a surprise party with a beach theme at a seashore restaurant. One of my brothers even sponsored having one of our son's come from Colorado to New York with his family to surprise me. I hear from so many of my friends how we are all so busy that we just never have a chance to get together....that is surely the truth. I am glad that I had the birthday so everyone could get together.

As I said, my husband and I also took a week's vacation to the Outer Banks in North Carolina recently. It was the perfect place to go in the "off season." We got to sightsee and hang out on the beach in beautiful weather. One of the things that impressed me in all of the souvenir shops was the monogrammed mugs and towels of course. It was very popular to get one of those mugs from the craft store that you can take apart and insert your favorite picture in. The creative folks inserted a striking piece of fabric like black with white polka dots and then put a hot pink monogram in the center. It was fun and a great gift. The collection also included key rings and luggage tags with an embroidered initial.

I am still keeping up with Project Runway and I have to be honest I now have a Facebook friendship with one of the contestants, Christopher Straub. He is so nice and I do love his creations. I just had to ask him how he made ruffles on his paper evening gown last week and he quickly shot me a link to his Facebook page so that I could have a closer look. He sure does have my curiosity each week for what he is going to create. During my recent trip to the Rachael Ray show, Chris was one of the featured Project Runway participants who got to show his creativity when it came to making a garment out of things found in the kitchen. What he did with a head of cabbage and Chinese food “to go” boxes was just so much fun. At that point Chris did not need to use the Brother machines that were on the show but he did jump right in and help the other gals who were sewing on tin foil and paper napkins to make cute little dresses. Each of the contestants were totally impressed at how easy it is to use the Brother NS-40. The show will have already been broadcast when you read this blog. I was sworn to secrecy and could not tell anyone what was going to happen on Oct. 1. Sorry...! ...Okay the show has now aired and I can tell you that he won the Racheal Ray challenge. Lucky guy!

In the middle of October I will be heading to Fashion Week in St. Louis and I really can't wait to see what that is going to be like. I am supposed to be meeting up with the DIY-Style Chicks. I have known one of the young ladies since she is about 10 years old and now she has her own cool web cast. You can see all that they have at www.diystyle.net The gals love to use the Brother PE-900D on the show as well. It's such a cool little machine I can't blame them. Check out the cool sewing projects on their site as well.

Before I close, I wanted to share a photo that I took at a quilt show recently. As it happened, Brother sponsored a class and that meant that the consumers all used our machines in the Brother classrooms. I was so impressed by one gal who whipped out her handy dandy cutting mat that fit perfectly on the extension table for the Brother QC-1000. All she had to do was slide her fabric over to the mat for quick rotary cutting and measuring. I just thought that was so cool. At lunch today we were saying how impressive the QC-1000 is at quilting and sewing. The oversized extension table makes this machine have one of the largest sewing areas in the industry and when the over-sized thread spool stand is attached...you are ready to quilt for hours. This machine will be featured in the classrooms at the International Quilt Show from Oct. 10-18 in Houston, Texas. There will be a handy Brother drop-in room at the show if you want to sit down and give this machine a test drive!

Take Care folks,

June Mellinger

Be Productive

cabrownbag — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:00:00 GMT

In December of 2008 I blogged about Finished Objects. I shared my idea of keeping track of projects I have completed. I also talked about my plan of at least visiting my sewing room most days of the week so that I will be motivated to start projects. Have any of you followed this plan? Have you seen an increase in your own productivity?

I was away from home for half of July, so really missed my sewing room. However, I more than made up for my absence in August and September. My spreadsheet tells me that I finished 13 items during each of those months, and September isn't over yet. I may be able to sneak in one more project. The list includes 9 eyeglass cases, 2 purses, 2 wall hangings, 2 pillows, 2 neck roll covers, 1 water bottle caddy, a pincushion and some pouches.

Here are just a few of the I projects I completed in September. I tried a new thread for the Lisi eyeglass case. It is a twist of red and black threads, made by Robison-Anton. The red color is a bit toned down compared to a solid red. I sized the Contour Script letters bigger than usual, since Lisi is such a short name.

I used my favorite Superior Rainbows #813 for the eyeglass case for cousin Susan. She saw my tote bag with my name in that thread and really liked it. I was happy to make her an eyeglass case with the design. When I showed my projects at my sewing guild
meeting last week, a Susan at the meeting asked if this eyeglass case was for her. I had to disappoint her, but think I will surprise her with a piece of fabric with her name embroidered just like this. She already knows how to make the eyeglass case since I
taught the project at one of our meetings.

I also offered to make my cousin a fleece neck roll cover. Her bedroom is decorated in cream (which is the color of the fleece) and green and bronze, so I suggested arranging her initials in Contour Cut-Outs with a bigger initial in the middle and the two smaller initials in a different color. I did use a water soluble topper this time. You can see the shine in the picture of the whole neck roll cover. The closeup photo was taken after a trip through the washing machine.

This water bottle caddy is for a friend of my daughter. She asked me to make it and I whipped it up the same day. I used my Fancy Jumbles alphabet in the colors my daughter requested. The friend thanked me for embroidering on the water bottle caddy. He didn't even notice it was home made. That felt very good to me.

I have been playing with a different type of embroidery design lately. I created an angular V shaped outline and repeated it multiple times using the Encore feature in my embroidery software. I then reordered the colors to stitch in color wheel order. A
variegated thread would give much the same look but the six different colors of thread I used this time give a very "orderly" progression of colors. The purse I made with the design is 7" square by 3" deep, just big enough for a night out!

I hope you will all share your tips for starting and finishing projects. We are entering the busy season for sewing, and you never know which idea will help another sewing friend zip through her list of gifts to make.

Growing Your Business

jsdigitizing — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:30:00 GMT

Hi again. Well it has been a great week! Thank you for all your questions and energetic comments regarding frames. The response has been so overwhelming that we have put together a Webinar regarding frames, their Uses and were to get them. Join me as I present "Hooping the Impossible into Profits" on Monday October 12^th at 3:00pm EDT.

Sign up at (https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/377317768 ) and email me if I can help with any questions that might help you grow your business with frames.

Today I want to talk about how we make our businesses grow. My family has been in the embroidery industry for almost 30 years. In that time so many things have changed.

One of the big ones is how you reach out to your existing customers and how you bring new customers to your business. Word-of-mouth has always been one of the best and least expensive available. How do you get word-of-mouth business? You ask. By being personable with your customers, getting to know them and developing a rapport. Building that kind of relationship is just as important as quality of service and excellent product. Ask yourself, when people talk about my company do I want them to say, "they are the cheapest in town and their quality is ok"? Or "the price is right and the quality isn't bad"? How about, "the quality is unmatched and they are great people to work with, give them a call"?

Build your company as a brand name known for quality and friendly, professional service. My families' embroidery business prices are fair but higher than most companies in our area. The philosophy is simple. If your company grosses 100k a year for example and you net 30k. A competitor might have lower pricing than you and gross 200k per year with a net of 35k. Which do you want to be? I want to work less for the money I make. Bottom line is you need to look at the big picture. Build your business with customers that want quality and great service. You will find more loyalty and faster payment from building a business with these types of relationships and that statement comes from almost 30 years of experience.

Now, how do we get those customers in today's market environment? I am glad you asked.

Remember when I said that to be successful you need an edge. Here is where you find your edge. Stay in front of your customers with newsletters, email, mail and fax specials weekly, monthly or seasonally. Build a data base with your customers contact information and use it to keep your company name in front of your customers. The goal is not to sell at the exact moment you contact the customer. But, instead to be the first thought on their mind when they need something. That gives you the edge.

I will be sponsoring another Webinar that shows you on-line technologies for your business and ideas on how to implement those tools easily too grow your business.

Join me for a free "How to Grow in Today's Market" Webinar on Tuesday October 13th at 3:00 pm EDT for a one hour seminar where I will share some secrets of how we created our success stories. Sign up at (https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/325690064)

I look forward to seeing you there. As always, let's find the edge together and have fun doing it. ‘Till next time, this is Scott from Scott's corner.