Embroidery Designs and Thread Colors for Machine Embroidery Sewing

November 30, 2007

I wish that I had a nickel for each time I’ve been asked for the “exact” colors I used in aan embroidery design or for a conversion chart for specific embroidery thread brands - I would be a very wealthy woman!

Everyone seems to think that someone is going to knock on their door with a search warrant if they don’t use the exact colors a designer used in the test sew out or the color numbers used in the stitch directions.

Not so - if you don’t “think outside the box” and use colors that you enjoy, or just prefer, you are really missing the real fun of machine embroidery! Come to think of it, I don’t believe that I’ve ever used the exact color on any design I’ve ever stitched in 6+ years-some because I didn’t have the exact color & others due to a dislike of the colors used. Not only do you expand your design library, but you make each design a more personal experience & you sure won’t see your embroidery friends wearing the same design!

Following are some tips to help you to “think outside the box”:

Tsunami -a Poem Dedicated To Help Aid and Awareness and Encourage Future Harmony. Make Peace Not War

November 29, 2007

Real Power.

One Tsunami, and all our armies, Seem belittled by their wars, What Animals fled, and tribesmen read, Finally Arrives with crushing roar, Wholesale slaughter, purely by water, Makes us seem an irrelevance, Concepts of power, change by the hour, Faced with primal elements. Natures dice, thrown in a trice, In a grotesque game of craps, Whose final score, is real shock and awe, And rewriting global maps. Political reputation, seen by a nation, Hiding in its cosy hole of choice, Who promises braille, whilst the real mail, is delivered via the peoples voice. And the aftermath is all in its path, Is gone in waste and grief, Why does it take disasters wake, To unite us all in relief. No discrimination here, just abject fear, No religion or class escapes unscathed, No riches or show cheat the undertow, All submerged beneath the waves. In modern times, our greatest crime, Is to have lost feelings and lost touch, It takes catastrophe, to make you with me, To make everyone into us. Faced with apocalypse our planes and ships, Seem meaningful when not at war, But as our memory of disaster slips, Will we revert to squabbling like before. Maybe we should try, to all get by, And harmonise more from this date, Who knows when next the globe is vexed, Who knows the twists of fate.

Digicam File Formats

November 28, 2007

Looking at the digital camera, a person can visualize it as a combination of a camera along with a miniature computer system that stores the images as files or sets of bits, rather than a chemically treated film. Thus it comes to be a fact that there are certain file formats in which these images of the photographs captured by the camera are stored. And again, this is subject of discussion for understanding the digital camera properly. In this effort this discussion reveals the intricate but overlying to provide a brief overview to the readers regarding the file formats of the digital cameras.

Basically, strictly considering the facts, there are three file formats used by digital cameras to create images of photographs taken by them. These are JPEG, TIFF and RAW. These are the names of the formats but like their strange names their identity remains in the dark if these are not conversed in a little detail. The most vastly and commonly used file format for digital cameras is the JPEG file format. It is time and again the lone available file format on primary and some intermediate standard digital cameras. Many sophisticated digital cameras allows the users to opt for between JPEG, TIFF and RAW. However professional photographers usually prefer to shoot RAW. Yet the discretion remains with the human preference only.

Greeting Card Tango: How To Impress, Not Stress, During The Holidays

November 27, 2007

When it comes to holiday greeting cards, to send or not to send is often the question. Once you have decided in the affirmative, you then have to determine who to include on your list, what kind of card to choose and how to address the envelope.

There are lots of reasons for sending those holiday cards. You might want to enhance your current business relationships, attract new customers, remind old clients that you exist or show appreciation to those who have faithfully supported you during the year. What is obviously a well-meaning gesture can actually offend the people you want to impress when it is not done properly.

The first place to start is with a good quality card to show that you value your clients and colleagues. Skimping on your selection can be interpreted in a number of ways. Your recipients might take it as a sign that business has not been good or that they aren’t worth a little extra investment on your part.

Embroidery Digitizing Software

November 26, 2007

Embroidery Magic 2 software is very easy to use to make lettering, it is also easy to learn to use the digitizing part of the program but to digitize a good design takes learning, skill and practice. An example of what I am saying is that - for a artist to paint a picture, all it takes is some canvas, paint and brushes (these supplies and tools are easy for anyone to use but it takes learning, practice and artistic skill to paint a beautiful picture. The EM 2 program is easy to use but to digitize a good design takes learning, practice and skill.

By the way, one of the best ways to actually learn how to digitize a good design (not the same as how to use the software program) is to watch a good design stitch out and see/learn why the digitizer does this and that as the design stitches - we have lots of good designs (learning tools) as you may have noticed or our web site.

Embroidery Basting Frames Use for Stabilizing Designs

November 26, 2007

Using a basting frame around designs can do a great deal to help prevent fabric puckers around a design, aid in positioning multiple or split designs and it’s the best way to trap the fabric and stabilizer at the start! You will need editing software for this, but for best results, resize the frames to fit as close to the design as possible. It’s also possible to use a basting frame even if you don?t have embroidery software to combine the frame with a design. Just open the frame in your machine & stitch it; open the design and stitch it.

You will find basting frames that are ready for you to use by going to the Basic Embroidery tutorial page on our web site. I have provided these frames for use instead of hoops or to help secure larger, full filled designs. There are 3 sizes; 4×4, 5×7 & 6×10. If your machine has other sizes simply open the basting frame file and resize it, then Center the frame & save under a new file name [the size you changed it to]. Download, find your format & enjoy!

Get Organised for Christmas… NOW!

November 25, 2007

Hasn’t time flown? Only six weeks to Christmas!

Now you may think that you’re too busy to even contemplate that far ahead, however if you don’t get your act together and prepare well in advance, instead of enjoying that time you could end up being totally stressed and miss valuable opportunities.

Your Business Checklist

Have you planned and booked the venue for your team break-up?

Do you know who will be having holidays and who will be working?

Do clients, suppliers, colleagues etc. need to be informed of your opening hours over Christmas? If so, when and how will you notify them?

Do you need to find out the availability of clients and suppliers over Christmas?

Have you organised personal and professional development for the New Year? How are you going to motivate the team after the holiday break?

Have you arranged a planning day to set your goals for 2005?

Who will you give gifts to this year?

What marketing activities need to be organised in the lead up to the end of the year?

What else do you need to do to ensure you are as prepared as possible?

Embroidery Machine Use by New Owners for Good Results

November 24, 2007

Many new home embroidery machine owners have to learn on their own with little instructions and thus have to resort to the “trial and error” methods to get satisfactory results. One can certainly learn to embroidery this way but it takes time, money and patience. I have found that one gets better embroidery results consistently in direct proportion to using the right methods and good supplies and eliminating all unknown variables that may cause a problem. The key is to consistently use good embroidery products that won’t cause problems with quality embroidery designs.

The problem is to know what the bad variables are, and how to eliminate them. Here is an example of what I am saying - for this example, we will assume that your embroidery machine is in good working order, that you have learned the embroidery basics and are using the correct embroidery stabilizer methods and have good quality polyester embroidery thread and stabilizers. So you sew out a design and the results aren’t too bad, an outline that is off a little and there are a few parts that don’t line up exactly. So what now? Do you add stabilizer or adjust the tension or just settle for good enough? If you knew that all was right, as we assumed, then you would know that it was an embroidery design problem - because we eliminated all the other variables for our trial. With one variable, it is easy to know and correct the problem, with two it is much harder and with three or more it is very difficult to get the right combination for good results.

Transfer The Digital Camera Images To Your Computer

November 23, 2007

There are a few very important tasks associated with using the digital camera. The most important is of course capturing a beautiful photograph. The next most important task is that of transferring this image somewhere from where it can be printed. The most suitable place is hence the computer. Now, here comes another area of importance that needs to be analyzed and sufficient knowledge is required to be imparted to the users to make ample use of such an important feature. This discussion is thus generally focused upon this mechanism to transfer the digital camera images to the computer, and the various types of such a transfer. Looking from a very simple point of view, there are two methods for transferring the digital camera images to the computer; they are firstly by attaching the digital camera directly to the computer (a process that is popularly called tethering) and secondly by the use of a memory card reader.

Kafka Re-Trial

November 22, 2007

Kafka lands resurrected in Crewe deposited by a silvery alien craft, And whilst he is wondering what to do He is asked to show his pass Or pay an instant one off fine At a cash dispenser of his choice And they are checking all the time On his irises face and voice.

And of course they find that he is not, They discover he just cannot be there, Although he seems as if he is visible, And has hands and toes and hair, If he is not on the Great Data Bank, He plainly and simply cannot be, He is not listed and he is not ranked He is surely not like you and me.

So they cant detain him in custody But they do not have to let him go He never ever happened, period So who can ever tell, or know. So on a lonely bench in quiet shade He sits alone and unremarked, Wondering what games they play, Against the backdrop of the park.

And so, are we just the opposite, Are we all consigned to hidden files, Are machines deciding who we are, Where we live, and when we smile, Is nothing a certain and real fact, Unless computer correlated true, And should your dossier go into error, How can you prove, you are really you.

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