January 2011 - Posts

• World Wide Web, a Freebie and Hankies for Brides with Alpha Xpress

  You know that WWW stands for World Wide Web. Typing in WWW tells your browser that you are connecting to a Web server. However, as the Internet and related-technology evolved, prefixes became mostly unnecessary. But we are creatures of habit and many Websites use both WWW and non-WWW addresses. Today, advances in search sites have made this no further problem. Search sites are now smart enough to know that both addresses have the same content and some sites have forwarding to the preferred spot.. These days, it's a bit redundant to use WWW with a URL. Your browser can figure out what it's connecting to on its own. It's pretty rare, but some sites may still require it. If you have trouble loading a site, try putting the WWW back in. Occasionally, this will fix the issue and route you to the correct site. Here is a nice Freebie - Virtual Magnifying Glass Portable. It makes your cursor works just like a real magnifying glass. Just point and see. You can also put it on a thumb drive. Then, use it on any Windows or Mac machine. You won't have to strain your eyes again. It is free - find it here: portableapps.com    Creating a keepsake is always an honor IMHO because it will be something admired and appreciated for a long time to come. I do create and sell hankies for brides and am always surprised by what they will be asking of me each time. Recently I had worked on a hankie that had some of the remaining beads from the bride's wedding dress. What a challenge that was! For ease of working on such projects, give me my Alpha Xpress any time!  This time I am going to go over some of the adjustments I make to end up with a WOW factor for my bride. When my bride first approaches me with their order, I do have a set of questions for them. These include: When is the Wedding Date (do I have a little time?? - not always!) Who is the hankie for (I have a nice mother-in-law hankie that is a big hit, but there are others who want a keepsake too) We discuss which thought the bride wants for the hankie (you would be surprised at how lengthy some of the thoughts can be. . . ) We discuss which font is the brides choice (I only give 4 options, there is no need to give her dozens of choices. I use the Annie, Bonance, Darling and Waltz. Those are from very simple to very ornate and work perfectly!) Incidently Darling is the hands down ultra favorite!!! We chose what color the bride wants for the thread. I guide the bride to the destination and prepare to create my project. I keep it as simple as possible for my own sanity. I begin with selecting the Text feature and filling in my wording. I selected Precious this time just for fun and it is a more formal and classic look.   If you have never checked the "?" next to the name of the Font, now is a good time to do so. There are the 'pieces' available and suggestions for Heights.   I needed to adjust the line of text so that it did not become 5 miles long. I have done this so often that I know about how many letters will look good on a hankie and I selected the end of the word "gentle" to be the end of the first line. I continue until I have several lines for my project.  Next, I know that .79 inches (19 mm) will be too large for a hankie. That size would be better for something like a blanket. The Help information indicated it works best at 1" but I am going to use .4" because I will be making further adjustments.   The .4" has reduced the stitches, but experience tells me that I need to adjust more. Additionally, this is 8.75" wide, still too wide for my hankie.  I returned to Properties and adjusted the width from 100% to 95%. I am careful not to make a large adjustment here because this is a 'squeeze' and I don't want my letters to be too close. I still have another place to adjust. Just stay with me here.  In Properties, I select the "Fill" tab and have some options to use there. I will stick with the satin stitch since this is for a formal event. However, I could use something more playful if I am making something like a jacket where I might be using something interesting like 'Snake Skin.' I do play with these so I know what to expect if I decide on a project on the 'wild side.'  Notice that the 'Density' is set at .4. That is an average density and found frequently in embroidery. Look at the pattern, it shows the difference between points. I adjust my Density to .5 and you see that the points are further apart. That means that there will be fewer stitches. So, that is why a larger number in the density means fewer stitches.  I adjusted the Density and saved the file.     As usual, I do a 'Discovery' sew to see exactly what my outcome will be. A 'discovery sew' (aka sew out) is done on a similar scrap of fabric is something necessary to be sure you will not ruin your project which may be on a very expensive fabric or garment. Alpha Xpress is the best for a lot of writing!! Posted Jan 28 2011, 11:24 AM by TheComputerist with no comments Filed under: MAC, fonts, Alpha Xpress, density, resize, heirloom, keepsake, freebies, Free, font, Alphabet Xpress, Precious, hankie, bride, magnifying glass, www

• A Freebie and Tip #4 Alpha Xpress Customizes Words

  Some days I cannot find my keys, or my glasses or whatever I really need. Too often, I cannot find a file I need and that presents a lot of problems for me. I am always on a schedule and get frustrated with delays!  This small application is really worth its weight in gold and then some. Check out FileSeek. With this app you can search for text matches, folders and sub-solders, match 1 or MORE file patterns, exclude 1 or MORE file patterns and filter results by last modified date.  That is one hefty bevy of ways to get your file. I am sure that this was suggested from someone just like me, organized in my own, less than effective manner.  Oh, yes, it is free, they ask for a donation. If you really like the app, consider giving $5 or more to support these types of things. I really love Alpha Xpress AND, all of the fonts are on sale, and I really love sales!! In my embroidery business, I use it daily and it saves me so much time that I can really do some creative things rather than do the drudgery of putting things together. This blog is about something that I recently did for a friend and felt like I was really smart for making the wording truly unique. I could not wait to try out my new fonts, I got two this time - Sweet Tweet and Precious. These are truly all purpose fonts because they are easy to read and don't add any embellishment to the design. I want the embroidery to be the star and the lettering to convey my thoughts. Sometimes I want the font to make a statement such as in an ornate monogram, but not with this type of design. I downloaded my fonts and installed them.  If you have questions about the installation, check my blog for the instructions.  I am starting with my Sweet Tweets which is a well defined, well digitized lettering. I was playing with the name itself.     The green square on each letter indicates that that letter can be handled individually. That is where the fun begins. I selected the capital T.       Using the upper left corner, I enlarged just that letter.     Using the green square again, I moved the T into the position of my choice.     Now I am ready to add my design and I select "Merge Stitch File" from the File Menu. That is the best part of the over all design, I just need to have a design to add, and my creation will be ready to sew out.     I love this little bird, and perched him on the S where he can tweet away.     I am having a lot of fun generating something from my vision, that is what embroidery is all about. I enjoy my craft and get that satisfaction for my creative side.    Next, I am using the Precious Font. Precious has a little whimsy but still very clean and excellent lines.  For this design, rather than selecting "Text," I selected "Circle."  I have been playing with it, and this is going to be a baby announcement with a lot of precious personality.     The Welcome is going to be my top arc.  I can make this up as I go along, but I had a circle in mind for the over all design.     I created a second arc and put the name in it. I also selected the "Invert" box.     Using the center cross, I move my arcs into a circular position. Since they have a different number of letters, they are not creating a circle just yet.     Next, I am moving my upper letters to create my circle.  I can have it as an oval as well. There are so many options.     Back to my "Merge Stitch File" for my design, a little wiggling her around in the center and - I have a great design.  I could add the birth date,, weight and length to the bottom if I like for a wonderful wall hanging for the nursery.    Love it!!  On to play more with my Alpha Xpress!!!   BTW - If a few hundred dollars would make a difference in your life, please consider getting my "Embroidery Cost Analysis". My online business is increasing and you can do the same - on or off line. Posted Jan 14 2011, 04:30 PM by TheComputerist with 3 comment(s) Filed under: scrapbook, fonts, download, monogram, designs, How Much to Charge, monograms, rotate, Alpha Xpress, heirloom, keepsake, the computerist, freebies, Free, text, font, lettering, Alphabet Xpress, find files, Merge Stitch File, Sweet Tweet, circle, Precious