Earlier today we held a random drawing from all entries received to determine the winner of our New Year's Resolution contest. Here are the results.

The winner of a complete set of our Embird Video Tutorial CDs is Belinda Schearf. We have sent a notification to the lucky winner by email and are awaiting her reply.

It certainly was fun reading through the embroidery resolutions you made for the coming year. There were so many different resolutions, but here are a few of the most popular.

At the very top was to "get organized." Many of you resolved to better organize your sewing room to make it easier to work and complete your projects. Other organization plans centered around embroidery designs. Many of you stated your designs were a mess and you want to better organize them to make things easier to find.

Also very popular was learning your software. Since you have invested money in specialized embroidery software you resolved to learn how to use it this year. The most common software mentioned was digitizing software and Embird.

Other popular resolutions included completing UFOs, starting holiday projects early to beat the rush, learning new embroidery techniques and to generally find more time to enjoy your hobby.

There were many other less common, yet equally sincere, resolutions as well. No matter what you resolved, I wish you luck in keeping that resolution and ultimately achieving your goal.

Congratulations to our contest winner and thanks to everyone who took the time to send us their New Year's Resolution. Happy Embroidering!

Frequently we have a customer contact us with a problem they encountered when trying to open PES files. Their software can't recognize the file and they get a message saying the file is either corrupt or not an embroidery file.

Generally they contact us because they are having trouble with designs they purchased from us, but they also state similar problems with designs they purchase from other digitizers. So why does this happen and what can be done?

The main reason for this is the fact that the PES file itself has been updated numerous times over the years. Currently the latest PES version is 7 with versions 1-6 now being old news. In order to read the newest versions you must have compatible software. Many embroiderers are still using software they purchased years ago and it is now out of date. Software is usually backward compatible, but generally it is not forward compatible.

To fix this problem you have a couple options. The first would be to check with the company that created your software to inquire if there is an update. Most updates, if available, are free downloads that you can install to bring your software up to current standards. If there are no updates for your current software you must either purchase a new version or switch to a different program entirely.

One other option would be to purchase designs in a different format other than PES. If your machine can read other formats, or if you can do your own file conversions to create compatible PES files, this may be an easy fix for your problem.

The updates to PES files were not done arbitrarily. Each new version added new capabilities, however small, to make the files better. For example, PES version 1 files are capable of storing PES colors only (about 50 colors). Newer versions can store color information from many of the most popular thread palettes such as Robison-Anton, Madeira and many more.

As with most things we want the latest technology. Digitizers are no different. They want to provide embroiderers with the most up to date file formats available.

Most of us hate to spend money for new software, but sometimes we have to if we want to keep pace with changes. The same is true with most software, not just embroidery software. Without compatible software you won't be able to open the newest files.

Here's a great tip! Since everyone seems subject to dry hands while sewing and quilting, I just had to tell you about Udder Cream. Mary uses it all the time and she swears by it.

Udderly SMOOth® Udder Cream is a greaseless, stainless water-based moisturizer with a light fresh fragrance. The non-greasy formula will not leave stains on your fabric, so it's a perfect fit in your sewing room.

Udder Cream is sold in fabric stores, hardware stores, specialty or craft and quilting shops. You should also be able to find it at your local drug store, Target or Wal-Mart.

Not only do Udderly SMOOth products work well, but they are inexpensive. A 12oz jar of Udder Cream costs about $4.00 at CVS Pharmacy. Visit the Udderly SMOOth web site to learn more.

Here's a question submitted to Ask Mary! from an embroiderer seeking help with opening archive files.

Question:  Hi Mary, I have a big question. How do I open .EFW files? I have Windows Xp and Winzip. Someone told me to rename the file to ZIP, but I don't get how to do this. Why are the embroidery sites going to this file system? There must be a reason. Do you know the answer? Any help would be appreciated.

Answer:  Let me see if I can unravel the mystery for you.

Embroidery sites are not "going" to this type file system. In fact, it's not really a valid file system at all. If you received this file as an email attachment, it is my guess you have anti-virus software on your computer from Computer Associates (CA). What happens is the CA Security Center scans and renames ZIP file extensions from .ZIP to .EFW.

Even the folks at Computer Associates don't seem to be able to come up with a fix for this problem in their own software. Since only the name and not the actual file has been changed, renaming the file to a .ZIP file should solve your dilemma. Once renamed you should be able to open it with WinZip, or what ever archive extraction program you normally use.

To rename the file, right click on the file in Windows Explorer. Select "Rename" from the resulting menu. Place your cursor in the file box, delete the EFW extension and type in the new ZIP extension. Be sure to retain the period between the file name and the extension. Once complete depress enter. You should now be able to open the file.

Baby Lock has just released Studio III, the latest upgrade to their Designer's Gallery Studio Series.

If you are a Designer's Gallery user, you'll be happy to know that several new features have been added in Studio III. Among them is the ability to work with many additional design formats that were unavailable in earlier Studio Plus versions.

One of the new formats is the ART format. While this is a read only function in Designer's Gallery, you will now at least have the ability to view ART v1-4 designs in Studio III. If you own any ART designs you will be able to include them in your Designer's Gallery catalog and preview them with the sewing simulator.

To review all of the new features included in Designer's Gallery Studio III, you can visit the Baby Lock Studio III web page or check with your local dealer.

Baby Lock is currently offering a reduced price upgrade package for current Studio Plus registered users.

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

Recipe Name:  Corn Salad

Prep Time: 5-10 minutes

Cooking Time: none

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:
1 or 2 cans mexicali corn (drained)
1 bag fritos chips (10oz)
Hellman's mayo

Directions: Amount of chips and corn depends on how many people you want to feed. Use just enough mayo to have a light coat on ingredients. Mix shortly before serving time so the chips do not get soft.

Submitted by: Barb G

The term "Pull Compensation" is an embroidery term that addresses countermeasures used against fabric pull when sewing out a design. When ever you sew out a design on a garment or piece of fabric there is always a certain amount of pull associated with the formation of stitches. Without the proper amount of compensation there may well be gaps, or fabric show through, between adjacent elements in the design.

To counter this, digitizers incorporate a certain amount of pull compensation into their designs. Pull compensation is really no more that a slight overlap of the stitches between adjacent areas. To better understand the concept, take a look at the graphic below.

The graphic on the left shows two adjacent design elements with no pull compensation added. When sewn out, there may well be some fabric show through. The graphic on the right shows the same two design elements with .40mm of pull compensation built into the design. For most fabrics this should emliminate any possible registration problems that would cause show through.

Should you purchase a design without pull compensation, or inadequate pull compensation in certain areas, there is a way to add some yourself with the proper software. Embird is one such program. You can bring the design into Embird editor and add pull compensation to any area in the amount desired. One of the lessons in our Embird video tutorial series covers this in detail.

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

I sew a small cloth tag into my projects which is labeled..."Sewn By: PattyJB Designer ..." and I put the web site of the designer that the design belongs to. That way the designer get the recognition and credit they deserve and my customers, friends, family know I sewed it out. I had one customer who actually went to the web site and chose more designs. She gave me the money to order them. Now she knows how to pick out her own designs for me to sew for her. And the designer gets her business as well. I hope my tip helps all you designers who do such great work.

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.

Tips submitted by our readers have not been tested by us. We make no claim to their viability or usability.

• 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
• Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival XIX - February 21-24 Hampton, VA
• Sewing & Stitchery Expo - Februrary 28 - March 2 Puyallup, WA
• The Quilt Fest of New Jersey IV - February 28 - March 2 Somerset, NJ
• Decorated Apparel Expo - Februrary 29 - March 1 Kansas City, MO
• Original Sewing & Quilting Expo - March 6-8 Duluth, GA
• American Embroidery Conference - March 26-30 Atlanta, GA
• Original Sewing & Quilting Expo - March 27-29 Cleveland, OH

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.

Three heart designs that are just in time for Valentine's Day. Two of these designs are applique designs and the third is a simple outline as shown.

Please enjoy them with our compliments.

For the 4 x 4 hoop

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