Hurry if you have not yet entered our 3rd Anniversay Embroidery Sweepstakes. Many great prizes await ten (10) lucky winners. You could be one of them, so be sure to enter.

Deadline for sweepstakes entries is April 30, 2007. Don't miss out!

Visit our 3rd Anniversary Embroidery Sweepstakes page for complete details on all the fantastic prizes we will be giving away and to learn how to enter.

What alphabet is complete with out the numbers? This brand new set is the perfect compliment to our very popular Alphabet Animal design set.

Special Introductory Price - 50% Off!

If you don't already have the Alphabet Animal set, it's on sale too.

We've got your numbers here...

Browsing through the ads on ebay I noticed quite a few sellers offering embroidery thread in both large and small quantities. I know a lot of folks buy some of their supplies on ebay and no doubt thread is one of those items.

What I found curious was the fact that many of the ads I viewed did not specify the brand of thread they were selling. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't buy any embroidery thread, from any source, unless I knew who made it and was sure of the quality.

My point is simple. The thread you use plays a major roll in the quality of your finished embroidery. Purchasing unknown brands with unproven quality may not be the wisest choice. Everyone likes to save money, but not all thread is created equal. If you can't turn out top notch embroidery those savings will turn into frustration and ultimately a loss.

Be extremely careful what you purchase. Make informed decisions before shelling our your hard earned money. You may pay a little more for top quality thread, but I can assure you the benefits are well worth the additional cost.

If you simply can not resist trying some of this mystery thread, purchase the smallest quantity possible to test in your machine. If you don't like it, or it doesn't work well in your machine, you aren't out a large amount of cash.

A really cool and decorative set of paisley designs in redwork. How many uses can you find for these? Set includes 10 unique designs in sizes for both the 4x4 and 5x7 hoops. 20 designs in all.

Special Introductory Price - 50% Off!

Get your paisleys here...

I recently learned of an interesting project called "Quilts of Valor" that I thought I would share with you. This project, which actually began back in November 2003, was conceived as a way of honoring and comforting wounded soldiers by awarding them hand-made quilts.

Here in part is their mission statement:

"The mission of the QOV Foundation is to cover ALL combat wounded servicemembers whether physical or psychological with wartime quilts called Quilts of Valor (QOVs). The wounded servicemembers from the War on Terror or Long War are to be considered first and foremost."

According to information found on the Quilts of Valor Foundation web site over 9000 quilts have been awarded since the project began. From what I gathered they have two catagories of volunteers. There are "Quilt Toppers" that make the quilt tops and "Longarmers" that complete them by adding the backing, batting and quilting.

Even machine embroidery has worked it's way into this project. At least one web site I discovered offered machine embroidery designs that were digitized specifically for this project. There may be others as well.

If you are a quilter that has a loved one in harms way, or simply love to make quilts for a worthy cause, visit the web sites listed below for more information.

Quilts of Valor Foundation
House of Hanson
Simply Continuous Quilting

Our thanks to Pam Brewer for submitting this helpful embroidery tip:

I have a Janome 5700 and use the SEW format. Using Embird, I have converted lots of files and have not had problems with them. As long as the design doesn't need to be down-sized too much it works fine. It has also been my experience that sometimes all I need to do is turn the design on its side and it will fit my hoop which is really almost a 4x5. The design can also be split and worked using the #5 hoop. Sometimes it just takes a little extra work and the right software.

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 we offer for sale on our web site.

• SWF Embroidery Extravaganza - May 4-5 Pittsburgh, PA
• Sew & Quilt Embroidery Festival - June 28-30 Cincinnati, OH

We have tentative plans in the works to produce some great "How To" videos. They would be geared toward helping you master the skills you need to fully enjoy your embroidery hobby. Among other things we plan to cover topics such as basic computer skills, downloading and unzipping designs, embroidery software tutorials, digitizing lessons, and much more.

Before we move forward with this project we'd like to know what you think. If we cover some of the basic topics that you need help with, would a "How To" video be something you would be interested in and consider purchasing?

If there are any specific topics you need help with let us know. We'll add them to our list of possible video productions.

Today's lucky winner is:  henbig @ aol.com

If this is your email address you have won a free set of our Retro Restaurant Advertising designs. Please contact us within 5 days to claim your prize.

Others interested in this set can see it here.

Three decorative ornament designs in both full color and redwork for 4x4 hoop. Please enjoy them with our compliments.

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