Hi Rita,
I have used Embird,not the free one but I have it. To be honest I prefer Ann's Cat X. for converting from one format to another.
1. Embird I found to not be that user friendly,I was so frustrated with it I finally just quit using it except for adding a basting stitch to an already converted design.
2. I understand,believe me about spending so much already this year, but it is an investment you will get a lot of use out of,not just for the conversion aspect but all the other features as well.
3. Mom always told me "you get what you pay for" and I firmly believe this. If you are a member on Ann's site the cost is $149.00 for the download,it only takes a few minutes and you are up and running.
4. It will also help you to categorize all of your designs where you can easily find them,each in it's own little category.
5. It will save you a lot of time. I spend so much less time looking for just the right design and more time actually sewing.
6.I now slip all my designs into Cat x right when I get them,then I know where they are at. It saves me so much time. Before I was all over the computer trying to convert them ,then I would have to do something else to get them loaded on my card.I still had to put them somewhere that maybe or maybe not I would be able to find them again if I wanted to use them.
I understand that it is not in everyone's budget, but for what you spend on a few designs you can have this software that will do much more for you than just convert the designs.I so wished I had gotten it much sooner than I did. I would never go back to using Embird now,this is just so much more simple and easy to use.