We have been working hard to complete this set of designs in time to release them before Christmas. Well, the designs are finished and now it's time for us to introduce the World Famous

Band lovers, turtle lovers and music lovers alike are sure to adore this set of designs. They would be perfect sewn on band uniforms, bags, totes, towels, you name it. Created for the 5 x 7 hoop, these designs are large enough to really stand out on anything at all.

Meet the rest of the band here. They are waiting to play your favorite song.

On New Year's Day most of us make a resolution to do something positive and productive during the coming new year. It's always fun to hear what others resolve to do and we'd like to know.

Send us any of the New Year's resolutions you plan to make on New Year's Day that pertain to your embroidery business or hobby. It could be a pledge to try a new technique, complete some of your UFOs, have your machines serviced more often, organize your sewing room, alphabetize your thread rack, buy a new machine or anything else you hope to accomplish.

We'll compile a list from all the submissions we receive and publish some of the most popular resolutions in a future issue of Thread Times. It should be fun!

Click here to submit your New Year's Resolution.

Here's a question submitted to Ask Mary! from an embroiderer interested in embroidering on vinyl.

Question:  I have seen several projects stitched on a clear plastic vinyl. I tried to stitch one, but the stitches seemed to gum up and I had needle holes around the font design I was trying to stitch. I assume they were using a stabilizer, but none showed through. What is the best way to stitch on vinyl and what stabilizer should I use?

Answer:  I'm not quite sure what you mean when you say the stitches gum up, but needle holes are unavoidable. The important thing here is to minimize the number of holes.

Embroidering on vinyl is possible, but the key to this type of embroidery is in the digitizing. Materials such as vinyl or leather require special designs. If your design does not have the proper density and stitch placement you run the risk of punching out the design. With designs properly digitized for this application you should be able to achieve success.

Vinyl is a non-woven product that normally will not stretch. In most cases it is not necessary to use stabilizer.

Have you ever given much thought to your fabric stash? Is there any rhyme or reason to what you have on hand? Do you have things organized a certain way or is the fabric just, well, bascially in there?

Chances are your stash is as large or larger than Mary's shown in the photo. Of course that isn't all of it, but a good portion at least. The truth is there are few places left in our house to store more fabric.

So, what is it? Is it really necessary to have that much fabric on hand, or is it merely an uncontrolable obsession? Most embroiderers are sewers or quilters as well, so I guess it makes sense to have a fair amount of fabric on hand. But how much is too much? Is there any such thing? Can you ever have too much fabric? Most sewers and embroiderers I talk to tell me emphatically no.

On more than one occasion I have seen Mary come home with fabric to add to her stash. When I ask what it's for she just says, "I liked it and it was on sale. I'll use it for something."

OK! That's logic at its best. I guess you just can't argue with good solid logic and she saved money too. Saving money always makes me happy, so I suppose I should be elated with the amount of money we saved on her entire stash.

I can't help but wonder if I'll ever see all that fabric used. Of course the stack will never go down because any fabric that is used is soon replaced with new fabric. I suppose they call that "rotating your stock."

Wouldn't it be fun to know who the ultimate fabric King or Queen is? Someone, somewhere, has more fabric than anyone else. Drop us a line if you have any humorous or interesting fabric stash stories begging to be told.

Designed to get you in & out of the kitchen fast and back to your embroidery machine.

Recipe Name:  POTATOES YUMMY

Cooking Time: 40 Min.

Serves: 10

Ingredients:
7 large potatoes /with skin
1 c. margarine melted
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 pt.sour cream
1-1/2 c. grated cheese
1/3 c. chopped onions
1 c. corn flakes, crushed
2 tb. margarine melted

Directions: Boil potatoes, chill, peel and cut into chucks. Place in 9x13" baking dish. Mix together margarine, cream of chicken soup and sour cream. Pour over potatoes. Sprinkle grated cheese and chopped onions over sauce. Top with melted margarine and crushed corn flakes. Bake in 350 over for 40 minutes or until heated through. Do not cover.

Submitted by: Sharleen R.

Rapidly gaining popularity in the machine embroidery world is embroidery on paper. Embroiderers are finding many creative ways to incorporate paper into their embroidery projects. Among the favorites are greeting cards, scrapbooks, frames and boxes.

We haven't tried any embroidery on paper, but I must admit the concept is intriguing. I think it would be a fun thing to do and I see the possibilities as being endless. It would be a great way to make totally unique gifts for anyone for any occasion.

If this technique appeals to you and you would like to learn more, there are any number of good books available. Shown here is one book that might help get you started on the right foot.

Written by Annette Gentry Bailey, the editor of Creative Machine Embroidery magazine, Machine Embroidery on Paper covers a variety of topics including embroidery tool basics, paper handling basics, how to get started, general techniques and much more.

Also included is a CD containing embroidery designs and a variety of projects with complete instructions. This book, as well as others, is available online through Amazon.com and most fine book stores.

Our thanks to Patty Goetz for submitting this helpful embroidery tip:

In order to keep track of my scissors, and keep them out of the hands of little ones, I purchased a magnetic knife holder. I mounted it on the wall near my cutting table and my machines. Now my scissors are safe from little hands and I am able to find the one I need without digging in a drawer.

Want to win FREE designs? Submit your tip or trick to us. If we publish your tip you will win your choice of any downloadable design or design set from our online catalog.

• Creative Sewing, Quilting & Embroidery Expo - January 17-19 San Antonio, TX
• Imprinted Sportswear Show (ISS) - February 8-10 Orlando, FL
• The Original Creative Festival - February 15-17 San Mateo, CA
• Original Sewing & Quilting Expo - February 21-23 Tampa, FL
• Sewing & Stitchery Expo - Februrary 28 - March 2 Puyallup, WA

Our Mystery Design Package has been a big hit. Many folks have written us saying how much they love the idea. They find it to be fun and enjoyable.

Everyone loves a mystery and opening packages ranks right up there with the best of them. It's always fun to open a package not knowing what's inside. That's the spirit we tried to create when we came up with the idea of offering a Mystery Design Package - and it worked. Everyone loves it!

Scheduled to run at least through the holidays, don't miss out on the fun and some real bargins to boot. Visit our Mystery Design Package web page for our latest mystery.

Two (2) lucky winners in every isssue!

Today's lucky winners are:

If your email address is shown above, you have won a complete set of our extremely popular Retro Restaurant Advertising design set. Please contact us by email within 5 days to claim your prize. Be sure to let us know what format you need so we can get the designs on their way to you.

Others interested in this very popular set can see it here. Be sure to visit our customer showcase while you're there. See some of the creative ways other embroiderers have found to use this set.

A Special Christmas Gift to all of our subscribers!

The complete Pooh alphabet in both upper and lower case with 10 special characters. Each upper case letter is approximately 1" high. This font is a real favorite with kids and this size should be perfect for many of your lettering projects.

Please enjoy them with our compliments. Merry Christmas!

For the 4 x 4 hoop

Available to subscribers only. Not available through the Archives.

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