Bulk Rename Files and Folders

How often have you wished for an easy way to rename files and/or folders without having to go through the tedious process of renaming each one individually?  I know I have gone through that tedious process more often than I ever wanted to until I found the Bulk Rename free file renaming software for Windows that works with all platforms from Windows 98 up to Windows 7.

Bulk Rename Utility is a free file renaming software that allows you to easily rename files and entire folders quickly and easily.  It will rename multiple files, allow you to replace or insert text into file names, convert case, add number and even remove or change file extensions.  What more could you ask for?  Well, you would want it free, of course – and that is exactly what it is – free!

Be sure to check out the tutorial and frequently asked questions on their web page and you can also download the manual.   I am not affiliated with this web site, just think it is a utility that should be added to your frequently used utilities when working with your computer.

How to Combine Videos

Do you find when you purchase lessons in video format that you are downloading 5, 10, 20 or even more small videos? The reason for that is that when preparing videos for download, most people will try to break them down into smaller file sizes to make downloading easier for those who are on dial-up or have problems downloading large files. So you may have a lot of downloads of video files from various sites but each individual video is actually very small.

You have several options for viewing the videos:

1. View them one at a time. If they are .exe files usually they have a player with them such as the Camtasia player so they will play automatically. Just double click on the file name and it will play. Close the file after it has completed playing. Repeat this process for any other videos.

2. Unzip or unpack them and load them into Windows Media Player for continuous play (see unzipping instructions further on in this article). I find with Windows Media Player quite often even if the videos are in 1, 2, 3 order in the files area, you will view video 1, it will skip down to video 6, back to video 2, etc. I have never been able to continuously play videos from the first to the last video in a contiguous order, without starting each video individually from the list.

3. And the last suggestion is you can combine videos together using a video combining utility.

It can be very frustrating to view five, ten or more 2 or 3-minute videos, opening video 1, closing it, opening video 2, etc. but you can combine two, three or as many as you want into one complete video if you use a software utility to combine videos. There are several different sites that offer software to combine videos, but the software that I have been using and do recommend is the BoilSoft Video Joiner. This utility works with all Windows platforms up to and including Vista and Windows 7.

The upside is that the software is very easy to use, there is literally no learning curve, but the downside is that is not free, but for the small $20.00 price you pay, it is well worth purchasing if you wish to join video files together.

After unzipping the videos you do have the option of deleting the smaller files after combining them into a larger file, or you can retain copies of the smaller files as well as the new larger combined file.

One thing to be aware of is that when combining videos, the videos you are combining must have the same speed and frame rate or they will not combine. But most videos in a group of videos from one site will usually be produced with identical speed and frame rates, so that is not usually a problem.

If you unzip or unpack videos and then plan on joining them together, I would highly recommend that you create a folder for each set of videos as it will make life much easier to find them at a later date. If you start by being organized, then you won’t have to organize yourself later, will you? (see the Organized or Confused post for information on setting up your own personal folder system.)

As an example, let’s say you have downloaded videos from my site that are for a specific lesson. All the lesson files should be saved in one folder; a sub-folder can be created for the videos within the main lesson folder, storing and unzipping the videos to this sub-folder. ? Now, you are asking how do you unzip or unpack a video. Usually a zipped video will have an .exe extension. If you open Windows Explorer and navigate to the folder where you have saved your videos, find the video you want to unpack, right click on the file name, follow the prompts to unzip (or unpack) the video. I would recommend simply unzipping it into the same folder. If there is a player such as the Camtasia player included with the zip file, delete the Camtasia player as you do not need several copies of the same player. I would recommend, however, that you do keep one copy of the player as you may want to use it at some future time. If you do not have any extra unzipping software you will not have the option to extract when you right click.

A workaround with Windows XP is to copy all the files I want to combine to a new folder so you do not change the existing ones. Once you have copied the videos into the new folder right click on each video and then change the .exe extension to .zip and extract them deleting the player as I they are unzipped. You can also use the built-in zip utilities that are part of the Vista and Windows 7 platforms if you do not have unzipping software.

How to Stabilize Embroidery Designs

Stabilization is a tricky and complicated part of machine embroidery; but it is also the underlying foundation of good embroidery. Without proper stabilization, designs may pucker or sag and outlines may be off, stitches may sink into the fabric or fabric might poke through the stitching. Stabilization is the one area of embroidery that causes more heartache and frustration than anything else.

Many embroiderers have developed their own technique as to proper stabilization and the types of stabilizer that work for them. If you do find a stabilizer or several stabilizers that work with different fabrics, you are usually better off to stay with those stabilizers instead of trying out the “latest and greatest” stabilizers every time there is a new one. Yes, do try other stabilizers, but usually after a lot of experimentation, the ones you find work best for specific fabrics are the ones you should work with.

There are many methods of stabilizing fabrics, including adhering the underlying stabilizer with an adhesive spray and stitching a template around the hoop to attach the stabilizer to the fabric prior to stitching out a design. One method I would never recommend is hooping the fabric and then sliding a piece of stabilizer under the hoop – this just doesn’t work, as your fabric essentially has no stabilization without also hooping the stabilizer.

Type of Stabilizer	Used for
Tear-Away	Light to medium weight woven fabrics	Typically used on cottons, canvas, satin and corduroy. Usually considered a light weight, soft stabilizer, though does come in several thicknesses. If using a large filled design (ie lots of stitching) it is recommended to use two layers of tear-away to improve stabilization. I personally use two layers most of the time. On completion of design slowly and firmly tear away stabilizer as opposed to pulling too quickly. Redwork and some appliqués may only require one layer of stabilizer.
Cutaway	Stretchy, unstable fabrics	Typically used for knits, fleece, stretch denim, velvet, toweling, corduroy. Considered a medium weight stabilizer. If using a larger filled design, it might be necessary to use two layers of cutaway. Need to cut away excess stabilizer upon completion of stitching, leaving at least half an inch around the outer design area. Do not use on sheer fabrics or fabrics where the stabilizer may show through on the front of the fabric.
Iron-On	Most fabrics – especially lightweight fabrics	A paper based stabilizer which has a waxy-like film that you iron onto the back of the fabric. Can be used in combination with a layer of tear-away if you require further stabilization. Helps ensure proper hooping. Excess can be carefully torn away or peeled off upon completion of stitching. Try to avoid iron-ons with too much glue which will gunk up a needle and cause stitching problems.
Water-Soluble	Freestanding lace designs and as a topping on toweling, corduroy, velvet and knits	Can be used on top of or underneath fabrics. Good to use on top of toweling to ensure fabric nap does not poke through embroidery designs. Good for intricate designs where it is impractical to tear away or cut away a stabilizer. Excess washes away in water.
Sticky-Backed Stabilizer	Fabric or quilts that can’t be hooped	Sticky on one side (and covered by protective sheeting). Typically used where fabric can’t be hooped including quilts, shirt collars, cuffs, socks. Place stabilizer in hoop with sticky side up and place fabric on top of hoop/hooped stabilizer.
Heat Removable	Fabrics/projects that cannot be washed and delicate fabrics	Removed with the application of heat. Use only on fabrics that will not burn.
Spray Adhesives	Appliqué designs and multi-hooped designs; any fabric where hoop marks may show.	Multi-hooped embroidery designs or anywhere that a stabilizer cannot be used. Can combine spray adhesive with a stabilizer.

Cutwork Embroidery by Machine

Cutwork embroidery is a beautiful form of needlework where portions of the background fabric are cut away and discarded, with the edges worked over in satin stitching.

There are many kinds of cutwork. The simplest form of cutwork is that which contains small open areas, such as eyelets, with no connecting bars.  Richelieu embroidery is cutwork that needs stabilizing bars worked within the cut-away designs.  The edges are connected by bars that are the same width throughout, except possibly on the edges. Traditionally satin stitch fillings were used in the design, and then the openwork was done, cutting away unnecessary background fabric to give a much lighter appearance.  When embroidering cutwork by machine the process is reversed, much like reverse appliqué, where the appliqué outline will be embroidered first, then the fabric cut away and then the remaining of the design will be embroidered.

Cutwork was originally done on linen and reached its zenith in the Renaissance.  Whitework was originally in the domain of nuns, but peasants were needed to help in the making of the church vestments and linens, and were bound to bring home the secrets and use them for their own personal house linens.   I certainly would have.

Cutwork was originally done on linen, not too fine a fabric, and the nuns were known to remove threads from the linen to make the work "lighter".  That was the beginning of drawn work.

From the Ionian Isles and Corfu comes another type of openwork in which buttonholed bars were connected to the edges across a linen surface.  This linen insert was afterward removed and was later known in Venice as Reticella.

Cut work was so called because the background was later removed.  This caused the astonishing discovery of the century that the background linen was not needed at all–the stitches could be built up by themselves.  PUNTO IN ARIA, literally "a stitch in the air" was born.

Cutwork designs with machine embroidery are quick and easy and the results can be very stunning. My daughter came home from Paris a few years ago with a beautiful blouse that cost a fortune. It had a beautiful cutwork design on the back, which was the reason for her purchase. Looking at that blouse, I realized I could do something very similar using machine embroidery techniques. I very quickly became a “Parisian designer” by replicating the cutwork techniques on that blouse, much to my daughter’s chagrin, thinking she had something very unique from Paris.

The moral of that experience is that with machine embroidery, we can do almost anything that used to be done laboriously by hand!

If you want to learn more about cutwork embroidery, be sure to take a look at my Studio monthly March cutwork lesson. But remember, it will only be available until the end of this month!

Machine Embroidery Tips and Tricks

If you are a new embroiderer or perhaps consider yourself an “expert” there are always tips and tricks we can learn to perfect our machine embroidery techniques.  

Prewash Fabric

Always prewash your fabric whenever possible. If the fabric content is 100% cotton and you embroider on it before it is washed, the fabric will shrink around the design, causing puckering and warping.

Thread Trimming
Although it may seem tedious, we recommend clipping thread jumps in between color changes. It is often easier and produces a better result than waiting until the design is completed and many of the jump stitches are partly stitched over.

Hooping

Never stretch the fabric when hooping because when the embroidery is completed and the hoop removed the fabric will return to its original shape, causing puckering around the outer areas of the design. Use the smallest hoop that will accommodate the design. If you use a hoop too large this will also result in fabric distortion and puckering. Always remember to hoop the fabric tightly but not taut and never tighten the screws on the hoop after the fabric is hooped.

Test Sewing

Because of the sheer number of factors which can negatively impact the quality of your embroidered designs, we highly recommend that you first test sew each design on a scrap piece of the same type of material that you plan to use for your project. By doing this you will be able to make adjustments, (stabilizer, hooping, thread tension, etc…) if needed, to assure that the design will stitch out correctly on the material that you intend to use for your project.

Choosing the Right Design for the Fabric and Project

Many embroiderers forget that some designs work better than others on certain types of fabric. Choosing an appropriate design for the fabric and application can make a huge difference in the quality of the finished project.

As a general rule, lighter-weight fabrics and fabrics that need to drape require lighter, more open designs to avoid drooping and puckering. Fabrics with a high nap, like thick towels, require more dense designs so that the stitches don’t get lost in the fabric.

Choosing the Right Needle and Thread for the Fabric

Don’t use sewing thread or standard sewing needles for embroidery as they may harm the embroidery machine and produce undesirable stitchouts.

Using the right needle is almost as important as using the right stabilizer. For most fabrics, a medium-sized (75/11 or 90/14) embroidery, universal, or sharp needle will work well. More delicate fabrics require a smaller needle. For stretchy fabrics, always use a ball-point needle to avoid runs in the fabric around the design. For specialty applications like leather and denim, use a special needle that is designed for that purpose. There are also special needles for thicker threads and metallic threads that will minimize thread breakage and shredding.

Using Spray Adhesive for Embroidery

It seems that people will avoid using spray adhesives because of horror stories they’ve heard about clogging up machines. This is very far from the truth about some spray adhesives. Conversely, not every spray adhesive which can be purchased is good for your machine. However, there are a few good ones on the market that have been recognized in the industry as not only working very well but do not clog up your machine. Always choose a brand name spray adhesive that is clearly marked for embroidery machine use.
If you have a paper pattern for your applique, you can use spray adhesive to keep your pattern secure to the fabric during cutting and placing. This allows you to spray the adhesive on the back of the pattern and place it on the right side of your fabric. Once your fabric is cut, leave the pattern on the fabric to give your fabric more stability while placing it on the stitching line of your applique. Just spray the wrong side of the fabric, place it on the stitching line and gently pull the pattern off the fabric. The fabric will stay in place and you haven’t stretched it out of shape.

Spray adhesive can also be used to position garments or items that cannot be hooped. These can include caps, purses, bags or small items that are smaller than your smallest hoop. Simply hoop a piece of stabilizer, preferably a cut-away, and spray your item to be sewn. Place it in the hoop just as you would if you had hooped it and sew as usual. Your item should stay in place as you sew.

Computer Tip – Save Web Pages as .PDF Files

Have you ever been surfing the web and found a web page that you would like to save just as it appears on your screen? Usually you will either click on the print button, saving a hard copy to your computer or would copy and paste portions of the page to a Word document, spending far too much time editing the document before saving it, or you would just give up and bookmark the page.

 

All that can now be history! PDFmyURL allows you to save any web page as a .pdf file. No more worrying about finding the web page again or having too many bookmarks. Just give the page a file name and save it. And the best thing is that this wonderful utility is free and easy to use. In the web browser copy the url of the page you would like to save. Go to PDFmy URL and paste the url into the box. A screen will appear asking where you would like to save the page. Enter the location and you are finished – it’s that simple. After using this utility just once, I am wondering how I ever managed without it.

Computer Tip – WizMouse

As you may or may not know, I am a software junkie and love to find new and helpful software utilities. And if they are free, that is always a bonus! 

My latest find is WizMouse. What this utility does is enable you to scroll non-focused application windows with your mouse wheel. That is the technical explanation, but in non-technical terms, with WizMouse running in the background you can scroll any window by putting the mouse cursor over the application and spinning your mouse wheel (instead of having to click on it and redirect the focus to that application).

It is just as straightforward as it sounds, just install WizMouse and it will run in the background. Although at first glance it may seem trivial to have to click on a window before scrolling in it, after a short period of using this amazing little utility I’m amazed the feature isn’t built right into Windows—it’s a Godsend for anyone who uses dual monitors, as I do. I don’t know how many times before I had WizMouse I would move from one open program to another, begin to do something and realize I was still in the wrong program!

Another bonus over similar utilities is that for the odd or vintage program that doesn’t support mouse based scrolling, WizMouse converts the commands from the mouse wheel into scroll commands. What it does in this case is convert the mouse pointer movement into scrolling.

The program’s icon in the system tray stores various settings of this application, allowing you to change them. You can easily define the number of lines to scroll, or opt to start the program along with Windows startup. There may be the odd application where, WizMouse does not convert mouse moments correctly, but it is still a good tool all in all.

WizMouse is freeware and is only compatible with Windows operating systems for now and does not work under Linux or Mac OS. The new version now supports titling mouse wheels, expanding its compatibility with the majority of the available computer mice.

How to Combine Videos

If you are having problems downloading large files or videos, you can help speed up the downloading process by using a download accelerator software utility. You will find more information on the various types of download utilities in the Using a Download Accelerator post.

Now, what do you do with all those many small videos you downloaded? When preparing videos for download, most people will try to break them down into smaller file sizes to make downloading easier for those who are on dial-up. So you may have a lot of downloads of video files from various sites but each individual video is actually very small.

You have several options for viewing the videos:

1. View them one at a time. If they are .exe files usually they have a player with them such as the Camtasia player so they will play automatically. Just double click on the file name and it will play. Close the file after it has completed playing. Repeat this process for any other videos.

2. Unzip or unpack them and load them into Windows Media Player for continuous play (see unzipping instructions on page 2). I find with Windows Media Player quite often even if the videos are in 1, 2, 3 order in the files area, you will view video 1, it will skip down to video 6, back to video 2, etc. I have never been able to continuously play videos from the first to the last video in a contiguous order, without starting each video individually from the list.

3. And the last suggestion is you can combine videos together using a video combining utility.

It can be very frustrating to view five, ten or more 2 or 3-minute videos, opening video 1, closing it, opening video 2, etc. but you can combine two, three or as many videos as you want into one complete video if you use a software utility to combine videos.

There are several different sites that offer software to combine videos, but the software that I have been using and do recommend is the AVI/MPEG/RM/WMV Joiner. This utility will work with all Windows platforms, right up to Windows 7.

The upside is that the software is very easy to use, there is literally no learning curve, but the downside is that is not free, but for the small $20.00 price you pay; it is well worth purchasing if you wish to join video files together. You do have the option of deleting the smaller files after combining them into a larger file or you can retain copies of the smaller files as well as the new larger combined file.

One important thing to be aware of is that when combining videos, the videos you are combining must have the same speed and frame rate or they will not combine. But most videos in a group of videos from one site will usually be produced with identical speed and frame rates, so that is not usually a problem.

If you unzip or unpack videos and then plan on joining them together, I would highly recommend that you create a folder for each set of videos as it will make life much easier to find

them at a later date. As an example, let’s say you have downloaded all the files for a specific lesson from my site, including perhaps a .pdf file, a zipped file, a graphic and several videos. All the lesson files should be saved in one folder; a sub-folder can then be created for the videos within the main lesson folder, storing and unzipping the videos to this subfolder. If you start by being organized, then you won’t have to organize yourself later, will you?

Now, you are asking how do you unzip or unpack a video. Usually a zipped video will have an .exe extension or it will be in zipped format.

• Open Windows Explorer.
• Navigate to the folder where you saved your videos.
• right click on the file name of the video you want to unpack or unzip.
• Follow the prompts to unzip (or unpack) the video. (I would recommend simply unzipping it into the same folder.)
• If there is a player such as the Camtasia player included with the zip file, delete the Camtasia
• player as you do not need several copies of the same player (I would recommend, however, that you do keep one copy of the player as you may want to use it at some future time).

You are now ready to combine your videos for ease of viewing either with Windows Media Player or any software utility that will combine videos for you.

With a combination of a download accelerator and a video joiner, you will have the best of both worlds – downloading files faster and then being able to join the small videos together into larger files for ease of viewing.

Using a Download Accelerator

There are times when you may want to download several large files from the internet. But you don’t want to wait for them to be downloaded. The answer is to use a “download accelerator” program. This speeds up downloads, even on a dial-up internet service. It will also manage multiple downloads while you are away from your computer.

Understanding your download requirements

Many people may just need to download small files often and maybe a large file now and then. They are doing fine. A download accelerator will not be of much use to them.

Others download larger, compressed files more often. They have high speed internet and are doing just fine without an accelerator.

Some are on dial-up or limited high speed internet. This may be a financial choice or they may live in an area where this is their only option. They download compressed files often enough that they get frustrated by the download times. An accelerator will help them.

Then there those who want to download many large files every day. They download freebie tutorials or purchased tutorials with videos. Tutorials containing videos or a large number of screenshots in text format can be very lengthy to download. Even with high speed internet, they download so much that they need an accelerator program not only to speed up their downloads, but also to manage the volume of downloads.

Understanding Download Speeds

The speed at which files are transferred to your computer are based a number of things:

• Type of internet connection.
• Size and type of the file being downloaded.
• Location of the file & any restrictions on that site.
• Volume of traffic on your internet server or at the file location.

Small, simple files can be downloaded on high speed service, by e-mail or late at night in the blink of an eye. That is because the internet connection is fast or the file is small and also the fact that internet traffic lines are usually not that busy late at night.

However, if you have dial-up service and try to download a very large zipped file from a website midday, it takes forever to download. The reasons for this, among others are:

• The main and most frustrating reason is because dial-up is a very slow connection.
• The file is huge.
• The load on the website site may be high.
• The website or server being used may set speed restrictions on large files.
• Everyone is trying to use the internet lines at the same time.

An accelerator will not turn dial-up service into high speed service. However, without an accelerator, only half of any computer’s full potential is being used even under the best internet conditions. An accelerator tries to use all of your computer’s potential whether you are on dial up or high speed. It will increase your speed by increments. You get faster downloads that use less internet time.

How Servers Work

When you connect to the internet you are not directly connected to a specific website. Your computer connection is going through a server somewhere. This is like a highway interchange system that sends you where you want to go. There may be a variety of ways to get there but, if you are driving a car, you can only take one road at a time. The interchange choice which you take may not always be the best use of your time (think road construction, accidents, rush hour, detours, etc.).

Unlike road travel, cyberspace travel is a bit different. In fact, it is more like the transportation device on Star Trek. In that television show, people stand in a machine that breaks them apart into tiny bits. It then scatters and sends out these bits through a number of different routes all at once. Then it puts them all together again at their destination of choice. And it only takes a few seconds.

If you could use such a scrambling device along with your computer, you could literally “beam down” your file requests in a fraction of the time.

What are Download Accelerators

A download accelerator can transfer parts of a large file using multiple servers. It uses many channels whenever possible. Then it reassembles the file on your computer. It is like a Star Trek transportation device for files.

These accelerators can increase download speed anywhere from 200-400%. However, this will vary based on the volume of cyber traffic at any time. Cyberspace can get crowded in any part of the world just because of the sheer volume of people using it at certain times.

There are some limits to the use of these programs. Sometimes they don’t cope well with very small files such as single jpgs. Those files may be so small that the accelerator can’t split and reassemble them. Sometimes accelerators can handle simple files and sometimes they can’t. Accelerators are best used to download large files and compressed files like rar and zip files. 

There are many accelerators available. Many offer limited "free trials" but have to be purchased after the trial expires. Some free accelerators are disguised malware. I have used both Get Right and Flash Get, but DAP is one of the best and most trusted of the free accelerators.

DAP Download Accelerator

DAP is freeware with a good reputation on the computer tech forums. It is not perfect but it is easy to use. One drawback is that it has some advertising. And, there are built-in “extras” that are automatically set up to be installed. However, if you are careful during installation, you can opt out of most of these extras. Also, Microsoft updates can interfere with downloads but you can change your computer settings to avoid this. DAP will work best with Internet Explorer. If you use Mozilla/Firefox as your browser, you may wish to switch to Internet Explorer to download and install DAP. There is a FAQ (frequently asked questions) section in the help menu where you will find additional notes about using DAP with Mozilla/Firefox.

After going through the initial installation steps, asking you to download, downloading the program, then click run to install the software. You will get a screen that shows the download happening. Just wait for it to finish. Next will be the security screen; click run.

On the installation wizard, the full installation will already be checked for you. Click next to go to the license agreement screen. Click accept.

The next screen is set up to automatically install the video downloader. Uncheck the install speedbit video downloader box and click next.

You will get a language screen set to the English default. If you want the DAP screens to be in another language, use the dropdown box to choose another language. Click next.

The activation box has one free and two paid options. The free option is not a trial. It is a fully functioning program. Ensure that the free version is checked. Click next.

The next step is the registration screen. You do not have to register. Delete the sample email address.  Leave the box blank. Uncheck the box regarding special offers. Click next.

You must opt out of other offers that you don’t need. Despite the fact that you opted out of the video downloader earlier, you have to do it here as well. Uncheck all of the boxes. Click next.

Finally the last screen saying the download is finished. Click finish. You may get a webpage flashing up. It says that that the installation is complete. Just close it.

DAP is made by Speedbit. They often hide things in their freeware to alter your internet home page to theirs. To get rid of this, exit the internet. Then open the internet again. If your usual home page appears, you need not do anything more. If the Speedbit home page appears, you will need to reset your home page. To do this, use your favourites or a search to get back to your preferred home page. Then go to the little drop down beside the house symbol at top right of your monitor. From the dropdown menu, click add or change home page. Change to the correct home page, click ok and then close the browser window.

Working with DAP Download Accelerator

You will find a DAP icon on your desktop. Delete this as it doesn’t have a DAP command specific menu attached to it. You will also find a DAP icon in your bottom tray on the right hand side of your monitor. This is what you will use to operate DAP. Right click on it to bring up the DAP menu. The first three options are the ones that you will use most often.

When you download something using DAP, you can turn DAP off and your accelerated download will still continue. Then you can download other files (i.e. single jpegs or psp images) without using DAP. And you can turn DAP back on again to download another huge file and then turn it off again for more simple files. In this way, DAP is more like a set of post-it notes that you stick to certain downloads. 

Meanwhile, you can use DAP to download other files as well. While you can queue up several dozen or  more to be downloaded, only 4 will be active at any time. DAP can scatter, download, and bring together only 4 at one time. As each download finishes, another will start to take its place. You can call up your download screen again and you will see a screen with four tabs, one tab for each of the 4 active files. The tab indicates how much of the file has been downloaded. Clicking on the tab will show how much time is left and the transfer rate for each.

Scheduling Downloads

The DAP status screen does have a scheduler. This is helpful if you are on dial up or are limited in the number of hours that your internet can be used. The scheduler lets you take advantage of night time downloads without any excess internet usage. However, if you are on unlimited internet, you may want to skip the scheduler and just leave the computer and modem on all night.  To set up scheduled downloads, click on the scheduler tab and then you will be in the scheduling screen. You can set the day and time for downloads to start and even to stop. You can also tell it to hang up the modem, quit DAP and shut off your computer. Check the options that you want.

Using DAP to download one file at a time will not have that much impact on other internet work that you are doing.. But, if you have a lot of really gigantic downloads to download, try and do them (with or without using the scheduler), at times when you do not have to be on the internet doing other things. Remember that DAP maximizes your internet connections in order to do the downloads. That means that, if you overextend DAP, you will have less of a chance at getting an internet connection. You likely will be still able to get through your email while DAP downloads several large files. However, you may find your email slower for this period and that individual email attachments are slower to load. This will be more noticeable during certain peak periods of the day and for those on dial up. So, always consider the size and number of the downloads that you want to schedule, either schedule them for a night time download while you sleep or start them before you tend to other non-computer interests during the day. Once you get used to the amount of time various numbers and size files take at different times of the day, you can make better use of your internet time for downloads.

Adding Care Instructions to Embroidered Garments

When embroidering designs on garments, whether as a business or simply for friends or family it is a good idea to include care instructions with the garment. Taking the time to add this information with the garment may save a garment from being ruined from incorrect laundry or dry cleaning.

I remember many years ago spending weeks knitting by hand a beautiful woolen sweater. The recipient of the sweater had simply tossed it into the washing machine, setting the wash cycle to hot. When that sweater came out of the washing machine, it would have been too small for a two-year-old child. Since that disaster, I always include some sort of washing or dry cleaning instructions with garments that are given as gifts to others.

The two examples below are for either polyester or rayon thread, but you can add your own instructions on a simple business card and include it with the garment.

There are many other ways you can add information to your garments, whether as gifts or advertising information if you sell embroidery or craft items. There is a previous post on my blog, “Embroidery Tip after the design is embroidered” that will give you more information.

Happy and successful embroidery!