Several folks have written to us asking for a little boy to go with our exclusive character Josie. We thought it was such a great suggestion that we decided to have one created for us.

We are pleased to announce that work is almost complete on a brand new exclusive little boy that will become Josie's brother. The final revisions are being done now and he should be ready soon. We can't wait for you to see him. He's cute and he's all boy, but he will need a name.

As we did with Josie, we will be conducting a naming contest to ask for your help in giving him a proper name. Contest rules and prizes for the winning name will be announced soon. Watch your email for an entry form.

Many newcomers to both machine embroidery and computers are baffled by many of the associated terms and procedures. They are confused not only about the download process itself, but about what to do with the zip file they receive. Just what the heck is a zip file anyway?

If any of this seems daunting to you, here's a short article that might help you sort things out.

Downloading and ZIP files...

Attention all Bridge lovers! This brand new set of coaster designs was created with you in mind. Twelve unique designs that are simple and easy to make. Set your Bridge tables in style.

Deal me in...

A good design is a lot more than just good looks. As a consumer, when you purchase new designs a reasonable level of quality should be expected. In addition to being attractive to you there are other important elements that must be built into the design.

First and foremost a good embroidery design should sew out well. It should have a minimum of jump stitches and trims, registration should be accurate, outlines well positioned and colors should be grouped as much as possible to emliminate unnecessary color changes. There should be a generous mixture of fill types and stitch angles to give the design dimension. It should also have a denisty that provides good coverage, but without being bullet proof.

Naturally no single design is perfectly suited for every fabric type, but overall most of the designs you buy should work reasonably well in most common applications. If you have specific needs, such as a design for leather, your best bet is to have it custom digitized by an experienced digitizer.

Download and sew out some of the free samples offered by a digitizer before you make your first purchase. They will tell you a lot about the quality of the designs being offered for sale. As always, proper hooping techniques and good quality thread and stablizer are a must. Without them you may have a difficult time getting any design to sew out well.

This redwork set is perfect for just about any size quilt blocks. Ten (10) unique designs in two sizes for both the 4x4 and 5x7 hoops for a total of 20 designs in all.

On sale here...

Our thanks to Audrey K. for submitting this helpful embroidery tip:

I cut 4 strips (cut to the length and width of my hoops) of that rubberized shelf liner (type with little squares) and put this in between my hoops on the tops and sides when hooping. This way my fabric will not budge and outlines stay where they are supposed to be. Works like a charm!

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.

• Imprinted Sportswear Show Orlando 2007 - February 16-18 Orlando, FL
• Sew & Quilt Embroidery Festival - February 16-18 San Mateo, CA
• Original Sewing & Quilt Expo - February 22-24 Tampa, FL

Many embroidery machine problems can easily be avoided with a little preventative maintenance. One of the major causes of failure is lint and bits of thread in the bobbin case. Too much build up can cause all sorts of tension headaches. It's easy to forget just how much lint can accumulate in that area.

Do yourself a favor and make it a habit to take out your bobbin case and clean it regularly. Use compressed air or a vacuum cleaner with a small hose to remove the bits from inside the machine with the case removed. A small brush will also help dislodge trapped particles.

Be sure to change your needles often too. Dull needles are a major cause of many embroidery related problems.

Remember, the next design failure you prevent may be your own!

We had some great ideas for using these designs to make longlasting gifts, but some of our customers came up with even more. Stop by and have a look. It could be you have some ideas we haven't thought of yet.

Let's go Retro...

To help you with your monogramming projects we've put together a French Script font set for you. The average size is 2 1/2" high. Included in the download are DST, HUS, JEF & PES formats. Please enjoy them with our compliments!

Available to subscribers only.

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