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2025 Schedule of Webinars!  NEW Techniques, All with WORKBOOKS!

Class #1: February 4th 9:30 AM Pacific Time: An overview of the Process of Digitizing. This year we will start with our Warm Up. The things you absolutely have to know and understand in order to Digitize or Edit.  Your basic stitches and what you need to know, your underlays, and your pathing.
HOMEWORK:  Review this Class, come back with any questions we may have missed, and any subjects in Digitizing and Editing that you need extra help in.

Class #2  February 18, 9:30 AM Pacific Time: We will start with the Stitch. Then show how that Stitch is used in each of our basic groups of stitches. In this Second Class we will take the Elvis Presley Stamp apart and show how the running stitch is used throughout the design, looking at the role the Running Stitch plays and how it is constructed.  What you can vary in the creation of this stitch and what you cannot.
HOMEWORK: Lessons in the Length of the Stitch, the running stitches’ pull, tie-offs, tie-ins, trims, puckering and push-pull, as well as using techniques that you have learned about the Running stitch in a design.

Class #3: March 4th, 9:30 AM Pacific Time: In this Third Class we will take the Elvis Presley Stamp apart and show how the Column stitch is used throughout the design, looking at the role the Column or Satin Stitch plays and how it is constructed.  What you can vary and what you cannot.
HOMEWORK: Valuable Lessons in the Length of the Stitch, the Density of the stitches, the forming of the Satin or Column Stitch, the Column stitches’ pull, tie-offs, tie-ins, trims, puckering and push-pull, controlling it with underlays and pathing, as well as using techniques that you have learned about the Column Stitch in a design!

Class #4: March 18th 9:30 AM Pacific Time: In this Fourth Class we will take the Elvis Presley Stamp apart and show how the Fill stitch is used throughout the design, looking at the role the Fill or Tatami Stitch plays and how it is constructed.  What you can vary or change: the length, the density and the needle penetrations, as well as its’ properties.  The things you cannot change, how to live with them and make them an asset and not a threat..
HOMEWORK: Valuable Lessons in the Length of the Stitch, the Density of the stitches, and the texture and pattern formed by the needle penetrations, creating the Fill or Tatami Stitch, this group of stitches’ pull, the tie-offs, tie-ins, trims, puckering and push-pull, controlling it with length and density and layering.  Then, using the techniques that you have learned about the Fill Stitch in a design!

Class #5: April 1, 9:30 AM Pacific Time: No Joke.. Part of our Warm Up before the hard stuff! The Underlay, both Manual and Automatic. The structure of the Design,.. Learn which Underlay to use with each stitch type, and where and when to use it, as well as why!  Learn how to hide your underlays…and create knockdown bases when doing terrycloth. Learn to use your underlays for volume and depth, instead of Foam.
HOMEWORK: Lessons in the Length of the Stitch, the Density of the stitches, and the texture and patterns you can add with this group of stitches, puckering and push-pull, controlling you Underlay with length and density and even layering as well as using the length and density and layering in your underlay to control the objects in your design.  Then, using the techniques that you have learned about the UnderlayStitches in a design!

Class #6: April 15th, 9:30 AM Pacific Time: Our 6th Class, and the last of our Warm Up…Pathing!  We will take the Elvis Presley Stamp apart and show how pathing is used throughout the design, looking at the how important it is, how it is constructed, which of your three stitches to use, and when to use them instead of an Underlay or trim!
HOMEWORK: Lessons in the Length of the Stitch, the Density of the stitches, and the texture and patterns you can add with this group of stitches, puckering and push-pull, using the length and density and layering in your “Pathing” to control the objects in your design.  Then, using the techniques that you have learned about the PathingStitches in a design!

Class #7 April 29th, 9:30 AM Pacific Time: Design SetUp

Class #8 May 13th , 9:30 AM Pacific Time: Today we will look at lettering, first setting up Keyboard Lettering, then Custom Lettering.  This eight Class is Essential, but not part of your WarmUp!  You will find that everything that you have learned in the first 6 Classes is part of Creating your letters:  Your Running stitch, to path through your letter, or even to form your letters, your column stitch to create your letters or its’ Underlay, and even your fill stitch as a letter or an underlay for that letter….AND don’t forget your Underlay and your Pathing.  ALL essential parts of your lettering.  Learn too, to take your Clients’ Custom Fonts and create files just for them…AND you will learn to save the custom letters back to an existing Alphabet in order to use them for the next job for this Client
HOMEWORK: Valuable Lessons on Density, Length of Stitch, Underlay, pathing, trims, and tie-offs, and Tie-ins, as well as forming Tatami Lettering from keyboard Satin Stitch letters. and saving an edited letter for future use!…and you will use the techniques that you have learned about Lettering in a Design!

Class #9 May 27th, 9:30 AM Pacific Time: Today we will look at Narrow Columns and Small Letters and unlock the Secret to clean crisp letters that do not get lost. If you can create a narrow column, one that is no wider than a piece of thread, you can create a small column stitch letter. Learn new techniques for those letters smaller than .22 inches! Techniques you have been told cannot be done!!! Create both Running Stitch Letters and Column stitch Letters at a .15 inch height!
HOMEWORK: Practice the techniques you have learned about density, length of stitch, underlays, pathing through your letters both Running stitch letters AND Satin Stitch letters, tie-offs and trims, and use the techniques that you have learned to create your own clean crisp, and legible small letters!!

Class #10 June 10th, 9:30 AM Pacific Time: Repeating Designs and Motifs, Custom and Stock!
Learn to evaluate your design, What do you see that is a duplicate? Learn how to save it, make it a motif, or an object that may easily be repeated at different sizes. Learn how to see that connection between each motif or object and make it part of the Design or Motif. Then do a running stitch and turn that running stitch into anything from a Border to Bricks to Waterfalls! Take it one step further,  modify the pattern or motif to run under the design as an Underlay!
HOMEWORK: Practice the techniques you have learned about density, length of stitch, underlays, and pathing.  Incorporate them into your Motif or repeating Design, save it for repeated use at different sizes!!

Class #11 June 24th, 9:30 AM Pacific Time: Color, learn the difference it can make. learn how it all works.  Learn to mix your colors so that you will be able to blend your colors.  We will look at the six colors used in the Elvis Stamp and see why each shade was selected.  You will learn to select the colors needed for your designs and know the shades you will get when they are mixed. Your two most important tools: the color wheel and your thread chart, make sure you have them!
HOMEWORK: Practice using your color wheel and see where your colors show up on the thread chart!
Choose six colors to create a Design and know why.

Class #12 July 8th, 9:30 AM Pacific Time: Creating Shape and Definition through Color:  Turn a Ho Hum Design to one that Pops with the simple use of color!  Make your Colors count, Learn to use color to define the shape in your objects,  give that object volume by going from light to dark!
HOMEWORK: Valuable lessons on choosing your Colors, what pops, what blends and softens, what will appear fresh and what won’t, and a Design you can correct simply by applying the right colors!

Class #13 July 22nd 8:30 AM Pacific Time: Blending your colors.  Learn effective ways to create new shades and tints of colors in your designs! Minimize the colors you use by blending as you travel through your design!
HOMEWORK: Valuable lessons on mixing those Colors in your designs, see how simple artistic principles will allow you to give that design the perfect shades of color that you need, and you will have a Design containing problems that can be corrected using these blending techniques that you have learned in this Class!

Class #14 August 5th, 9:30 AM Pacific Time: Shading: Using your Blends of color to Shade your Design and give it realism and depth.
HOMEWORK: Valuable lessons on placing your colors throughout your Design, using densities to enhance the colors or to soften them. Then try these techniques on a Design that contains problems that can be corrected using techniques that you have learned in this Class!

Class #15 August 19th, 9:30 AM Pacific Time: Balboa Stitch Designs.  Back to the “Basics”.  This is what started it all!  A low stitch design that costs pennies to run and looks like a million.  We will take what could be a complicated design apart and make it simple, from 100,000 stitches to 10,000, using Basic stitches that you have perfected!
HOMEWORK: You will have the chance to do your own Balboa Stitch Design, taking what you have learned in this Class and those techniques from our WarmUp.  A great way to satisfy the customer on a small budget that wants it ALL!

Class #16 September 2nd, 9:30 AM Pacific Time: Working with non-native Designs. We will address the fixes needed for each of the stitch types, the Fill, the Column Stitch, and the Running stitch. Look at the angle of the fill, was it changed when the formats were changed?, Look at the Satin Stitch, should it be a Fill? Then the Running stitch. Was it changed to Manual? AND…were your Fills changed to Manual Stitches. We will change those manual stitches back to running stitches for control and scaling.  HOMEWORK: You will have a Non-Native design to work the new “Magic” you have learned! See what your limits are, and what may still need to be trashed and replaced to allow for complete control.

Class #17 September 16th, 9:30 AM Pacific Time: Appliques! Not just a substitute for stitches! Learn to use the applique to add beauty to your Design! Learn to use this technique to add function and Effect. Learn to use “Trapunto” as a tool for texture. (appliqueing an embroidered “Trapunto” piece to the background adding running stitches to define the design)
HOMEWORK: Valuable lessons in using automatic applique programs, different ways to finish off your applique using borders, made from Motifs!, using fills to shade, and using a running stitch leaving the fabric “Raw”., use of auto-applique for Athletic Designs, and creating movement before stitching down the material.

Class #18 September 30th, 9:30 AM Pacific Time: Finishing Touches, Tie off your design with style, and mix your mediums by bringing your prints, (graphics), into your Designs.  Add a print that looks like stitches, finish it with stitches.  Make sure your finish stitches include tie-ins and tie-outs that are hidden.  Finally, finish with your heat press for long-term beauty
HOMEWORK: We will take a Design, simplify it to the “BalboaStitch, and then take the background color and set it up for printing.  Your mixed media Design will be a profit center for your future!

Class #19 October 14th, 9:30 AM Pacific Time: Glass, Creating stitches that give you glass so real you can pick it up!  All done with your basic stitches, and your custom motifs.  Learn what to capture and what to trash.
HOMEWORK: You will have the same design to digitize that we digitized in Class.  Review the Class and go step by step analyzing the art and using your basic stitches to recreate what you see in stitches

Class #20 October 28th, 9:30 AM Pacific Time: Feathers and Fur.  Make use of the things you learned in our WarmUp sessions, your basic stitches and recreate feathers and hair or fur.  Both require layers.  Learn to analyze those layers and place your detail for realism.
HOMEWORK:  You will have a Design with both a feather and hair to digitize.  Take the techniques you were taught is the Class and apply them to this design.  A simple process if you take it step by step,  Make sure you do small sections…Too much can overwhelm you.

Class #21 November 11th, 9:30 AM Pacific Time: Eyes, the window to the soul!  Whether it is a Cat, a Dog, a Horse or a Human, the eyes tell the story.  Do them right and all else will follow.  We will analyze the different kinds of eyes, More importantly, the expressions in those eyes.  Color will be important, but simply, nothing more that your basic stitches.  Learn when to use your fill, your column or satin stitch and your running stitch.  When to use your underlays, when to substitute a manual underlay through your pathing. Decisions that will impact the look of the design as well as how it runs.
HOMEWORK:  You will have several sets of eyes to digitize.  Review the Class as often as necessary.  Move highlights, shadows, even colors to achieve different expressions.  This will be an education in Portraiture!

Classes #22 November 25th, 9:30 AM Pacific Time: Our Christmas Cleanup. We all have that Design that we run year after year for a valued customer. One that you say you will edit before using it again. That editing gets put off and you battle through too much density and multiple thread breaks, making the design take way too long to run.  We will take 2 designs that are sent in, one could be yours, and we will clean that up and get it ready for the Rush!  HOMEWORK: Take Your Design and do our step-by-step Clean-up, and Enjoy your Holiday.  Be ready to submit your Design, if it is chosen for demonstration, you will have Your work done for you. If not, you will see how to do it.
HOMEWORK: Take the time to finally try the techniques that you have learned on your own Design! See how much time you will save, and enjoy that time with your family and friends!