Agreed ... I hate Windows 8. It is a fight to do anything with it! I use Embird but find myself going back to the "office" computer to use it with Windows 7. I just got a Brother 770D and have been trying to sign up for a group for that - haven't had any luck. Is anyone on a Brother Embroidery Group on the computer?

Rene
North Carolna

While you are all wonderful folks, I am new to machine embroidery and would like to find a more active board on the topic than this one. Can you recommend one where a beginner might be able to read a lot? When I began quilting, I learned soooooo much from the Quilting Board. I'd like to find something similar for machine embroidery.

Thanks for any help you can offer. (FWIW, I have a Bernina 635 with embroidery attachments.)

The activity on this board does tend to ebb and flow and has been a little slow lately. However, any time I have asked a question I have gotten lots of responses which have been extremely helpful. Fill us in. What kind of embroidery/projects do you want to do? Questions about thread, stabilizers, bieds nests (that was huge for me) etc. I have a Bernina 6000D & only used it as a sewing machine for months. No intention of ever doing embroidery. Now thats all I do with it! There is definitely a learning curve so let us help!

Sushi, try sewforum.com. You'll find lots of free designs there, too. Wonderful people there. Also don't miss out on cuteembroidery.com - at the top you'll find a tab for "community" - lots of terrific folks there, too.

Sewforum. They do lean more "embroidery. I visit there often esp. Since I recently replaced my sew/combo machine in November.

sandy

Try Yahoo groups too.
sandy

I agree I hate windows 8 too
i still have all of my designs on my old
computer, but I don't have internet on my
windows XP. Don't want any chance of a virus
or someone messing with my designs.
I have the old .pes 2 and when the .pes 4 came out
i could not bring them up in my version, however
i got around that by taking the pes 2 over to Embird,
And changing it to another extension like .hus AND THEN
changing it back to a .pes and saving that pes to my pes 2
And now I could work with the pes 4 just like my pes.
i have over a thousand designs on the old computer and on
the old 3 1/2 disk. I bought an adapter ( 29.00 ) for the disk
so I could save those designs and put them on a CD.
Anyway. Lol

I must be the RARE exception about Windows 8, although I am 8.1
now.

Totally LOVE 8.1 my Floriani software AND my PED Basic work fine
on my computer. Never have had Embrid or any other box or software
before so I can't give my thoughts on that.

But so far everything I have used in the past on my Windows 7 computer,
laptop and netbook have worked fine for me.

I will admit it DID take me a little time to locate the correct driver to make
my PED Basic box work but since getting the driver no problems.

As I am getting new designs (when I can remember to do it), I am opening
the file in my FES, save them in c2s than save to PES v.9.

I run 3 different daily backups of all my designs.
1St to my secondary HD
2nd to an off site cold storage
3rd to flash drives (I have 12 different flash drives of various storage size)

Yes I KNOW this is over kill, but for ME it is well worth the extra time
that it takes just be sure that I don't loose any of my designs. Heard
to many stories of people not having good backups of their designs and
ends up with none.

Help for a silly question
 

I have not had my machine out in over a year!!! I would like to make a few blocks but I forgot.......

1: Do I complete the design on the block then square up to the size I need.

2: or do I cut my block to size, then center the design and go from there.

Sorry for the silly question but my brain appears to be on strike this week..........

Not silly at all.
I tend to do the design and then square up later. That is unless I am doing an in the hoop quilt block and then I hoop a larger piece of muslin and then center the block over the placement lines.