Your UFOs aren't really aliens, but sometimes it seems they take on that personna. From week to week and month to month they lay quietly in a corner of your sewing room. They never move, they never speak, they just look at you with a blank stare as you walk by. If they could talk they would probably complain about being only partially assembled and not being fully functional or useful. Everyone wants to feel useful, so why should a UFO be any different?

Think about it. Over time each one seems to take on a unique personality and distinctly odd shape that doesn't come close to representing the finished project. Being stuffed in a bag or crammed in a cardboard box may not mean anything to you, but it's a rather cramped and taxing situation for the UFO inside. Wrinkles form where there shouldn't be wrinkes. A thin layer of dust has begun to adhere to the exposed surfaces and perhaps colors have begun to fade from exposure to sunlight.

There is a story behind each one and probably a very good reason it's not complete, but that's no excuse is it? You've got a long winter ahead, so why not do those UFOs a favor and finish putting them together. Help them to finally feel good about themselves.

We have just released five new floral corner designs. Among other things they would be perfect for placemats, tablecloths or napkins. They are available individually or as a set. We're sure you'll love them and there's no better time to buy them. We're having a sale!

Example placemat

To introduce this new set we are offering it at a special sale price. For three days only you can purchase the entire set of five designs for only $4.97. That's $8.00 off the regular set price. Save $14.88 over individual design prices. Hurry, sale ends November 5th.

Floral Corners

A common practice for anchoring hard to hoop items is using a temporary adhesive spray. By hooping the stabilizer only and spraying a thin layer of adhesive you can embroider on items that might otherwise be impossible. The down side to using adhesive spray is it gums up your hoops. Overspray can be minimized by making a template to block it from hitting the inner ring, but the fact is it most likely won't be 100% effective.

No matter what you do you're sure to get a certain amount of gunk on your hoops. There are many products on the market that will disolve and remove this goo, but be careful when selecting a product to use. Since most hoops are made of plastic, the chemical content in these solvents may be harmful to the hoop. Many of these products leave a residue that may wind up on your next project if you aren't careful.

The best and safest product we have found is alcohol. It will remove the stuck on adhesive and not harm your hoop. The alcohol completely evaporates and leaves no residue. Another plus is the cost. Alcohol is very inexpensive and is readily available at most drug stores and supermarkets. Clean them after each use and you should never have a build-up.

Here's a tip: If your hoop is so bad that wiping it with alcohol won't easily remove all the gunk, soak it. Using a zip lock bag, pour in a small amount of alcohol and insert your hoop. Zip the bag closed and lay it flat. Add a more alcohol if necessary to suffciently cover the hoop.

Thanksgiving is only a few weeks away. For those of you searching for new designs to garnish your clothing or holiday linens we've added a few designs to our new Thanksgiving collection. We plan to release a few more designs in this collection soon. We hope you like them.

We've been running a poll on our web site asking embroiderers to tell us what type designs they prefer. So far the results have been quite interesting. To date "Realistic" holds a commanding lead with 32% of the votes. In second place is "Decorative" at 18% with "Applique" close behind with 17% of the votes. In last place is "Red Work" with only 8% of the votes. We were surprised to see such a low percentage of "Red Work" lovers.

Statistics such as these are a tremendous help to us in determining future digitizing projects. Please keep those votes coming. If you haven't voted please do so. You can find the poll on our embroidery design main catalog page.

Vote here...

Our thanks to Linda McConnell for submitting this helpful embroidery tip:

When the sticky back hooping paper is not long enough for my larger hoop, I use the 2 inch wide masking tape to make an extension on the side so that the sticky back paper will fit into the 5x7 hoop. Works great.

Want to win FREE designs? Submit your tip or trick to us. If we publish your tip you will win your choice of any design or design set we offer for sale on our web site.

One thing that most often confuses PR600 owners is getting the colors right for a particular design. More often than not you are pulling your hair out trying to sew out a design with the correct colors and in the correct order. Here’s a scenario that illustrates my point and some suggestion on how to deal with it:

Read on...

We've got one your sure to love. Click on the link below and we'll show you how to make it with a newly released design set we are offering at an unbelievable 60% off the regular price.

Learn more...

Fall colors galore. Three new designs from our Thanksgiving Collection are our way of wishing you Happy Holidays. They're great for any fall season project too. Enjoy!

Don't miss out on any of our free designs. Subscribe to "Thread Times" today.