How many 'design-a-holics' do we have here? I'm a hopeless addict - although I have gotten a bit pickier about which designs I download, I still add to my collection practically every day!

Guilty as charged! After the third time of my husband asking if I had enough designs, I banned him from my sewing room. I think I will embroider a "Husbands not allowed" sign for the door with some cute little designs on it!

I could spend hours finding freebies on here..I spend at least 3 hours a day hunting for freebies..its loads of fun and my files have outgrown my computer..now I have disks piled up everywhere..it become a compulsive thing I think..and I buy way too many too!! eeekkksss

Aren't we all collectors of some type? I am trying to organize mine. My husband got me a new computer system, and this system only reads the CD, so all of the floppies I have will need to be converted. I have download files on the drive, but we also purchased an external drive and move my multitudes of designs to that, and keep it backed up. This was from a lesson learned when my husband's computer crashed, and he was not able to retreive many of his files. Now all five (yes, five) of our computers have external drives for back up. Good stitiching to you all.

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by marjialexa 26 Jan 2008

I got a little external floppy drive with a USB connection for my laptop, works like a charm. Laptop didn't have an 'A' drive & I'm too old to switch.

I too am hooked. I have just recently started to use the site to inter act. You are a great group of people. I save a lot of designs many of which are used to make quilts for Project Linus. When I download a design to my computer they are saved in folders by topics just like you would do if using a filing cabinet. 4D Extra makes it really easy to view the designs. Like one of you already said that by the response to this question shows how excited we are about machine embroidery!

I think anyone that does machine embroidery and has a computer or access to one quickly becomes a "design-a-holic". My poor husband hoped by getting me a machine I would spend less time on the computer.... So much for that idea. In 9 short months I have managed to buy and collect 10's of thousands of designs and met some really remarkable people. I spent my whole life in So. Calif. until my husband & I married in 2003. Then the big move to Canada. He is gone so much with work that hobbies are pretty much a necessity and the computer is the best way for me to keep in touch with friends and family, now so far away. Who knew I would meet so many wonderful and helpful people from all over the world by starting this hobby. Thanks everyone for expanding my world so much.

For those looking to "organize" their designs, I'm going to suggest a few things. First, save them by digitizer/where you got the design. Separate files/CDs are great, and can help you remember better what is where. ********************** Second, you might want to purchase a little program (no, I am not affiliated with them) from Sands Computing called "SewIconz". Just do a search for "SewIconz" and you will find it. It is an inexpensive program (only about $20) that allows you to change the icons for your embroidery patterns into a representation of the design, so you can see what they are at a glance. It is a stand-alone program, unlike the Iconizer add-on module to Embird, so you only have the one thing to buy.********************Someone mentioned that they wanted a multi-unzip program for all their zip files. There are several of them out there, many of them for free. I personally use one called "ExtractNow" and one called "DZMulti-Unzip". They have slightly different features (one is drag-and-drop, the other has a search menu feature) and deliver slightly different results (one unzips each file to its own new folder and the other just places all the unzipped files in the folder you select) so I use them for different situations. To find software of this type, you can do a Google search for "multi-unzip" and it will pull up a bunch.*************************Oh, and hstillwell? There are "cures" for design collector-addicts, but they tend to be far worse than the "disease". Things like computer failure, sick family members who require all ones attention, and maybe the worst of all, aquiring a different obsession so that you leave this one behind. We would hate to loose any friends!

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by ruthie 16 Jan 2008

Wow cutiepie that is some answer. Thanks very much for the tip-off about "SewIconz", it sounds just like what I need – I’m off to find it. I have to agree with you about not wanting to lose any of our ‘Cute’ friends, may every single one of us be infected with the embroidery bug for ever!

I am a design-aholic. I put my designs on to CD's and now have over 90 CD's . Please can't we have more hours in the day so I can use them LOL

My husband keeps asking me 'Don't you have every design ever made YET?' Between Cute Embroidery 3 free a day and SICK Designs two free an hour I must confess I do have designs for all occasions... So...at least they are free! lol What better way to check out a design set tho before buying? Thanks to everyone associated with Cute Embroidery for their generosity!

I admit it. I am a junkie and can't stop. I spend more time trying to figure out what I have than I do stitching. Is there a cure for us or are we hopeless?

Ravyn..... You Can never have 2 many designs. I have in my collection over 15,000. Now I may not know what all of them are. But, I have been trying to sort them out in a better order so I can print them off later. I LOVE DESIGNS. I AM A Designaholic and I am not AFRAID to ADMIT it.

Tim

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by marjialexa 15 Jan 2008

Hi, Tim, you might want to go to BobbinBuzz.com (I think), a division of Artistic Thread Works. Larry Pike has some ideas about why you should *not* print off all your designs, and how they should be organized so you can find them. Lol, can you imagine how many ink cartridges it would take to print them? Just an idea, from one ah, let's say "avid collector" shall we, to another. Happy sewing, from Marji

Well, I'm sure glad to know I'm not alone! I never thought I'd get addicted to designs...LOL! It's just like collecting fabrics. I really like the fact this site offers free designs in the formats needed and not zip files. However, I had a ton of zip files I collected and mentioned to my son I wish there was a program to unzip multiple files. He found a program called "Winwar" that does just that...it's great! I too am in the midst of organizing all my designs and will the transfer them to cd.

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by ravyn 15 Jan 2008

Alzip is another that will do batches at a time - it's a great program too. (and free)

Me too, and I really love this new font, unfortunetly I lost the first part when I had a computer problem and I am so upset, I have downloaded the remainder just in case they decide to repeat this font at a later date. I do understand about being pickie about what you download, I can hardly keep up with all my folders. Happy embroidering :)

I'm a design-a-holic for sure, but like the others, I've started getting a little picky about what I download (but not nearly picky enough, if I sewed nonstop it would probably take me years to do them all, lol). I did make a pact with myself, though. If I download it, it gets downloaded into the correct file, I only unzip the format I need & the directions, photos, etc., make sure it's ok, then delete the zip file right away. I also put the information about where I got it in 'properties'. I may be a packrat, but at least I'm a (semi) *organized* packrat, lol. Also, my Janome Digitizer Pro has Design Gallery with it, where I can look at designs without even unzipping them, that's a neat feature & saves lots of time. Now I need to stop typing & start embroidering, lol. btw, ravyn, I don't have *time* for a 12-step program, I'm collecting designs! rofl also. Marji

Addiction? What addiction? Collecting dozens of designs that I will probably never even have occasion to use has become a way of life for me. Add in that I also digitize, and my CD library of embroidery designs rivals my husband's music CD library, and he is a radio DJ!

2 comments

by ruthie 09 Jan 2008

Definitely sounds like a 'bad' case of denial, Cutiepie. Happy collecting everyone!

by cutiepie 10 Jan 2008

No, no denial. I freely admit that I have moved beyond the addiction to the point where it would be like saying "I'm addicted to breathing". =D I don't know if I could live without it, and I certainly don't want to try!

I have been bitten too. It's amazing, after you do a few stitch outs...the dreaming and collecting just takes over. Happy Sewing, Freida A

Ravyn, let’s be honest and face the true facts – if we weren’t ALL 'design-a-holics' we just simply wouldn’t be here talking to each other everyday – and collecting our freebies - now would we! I too have to put my hand-up to that. I keep all mine on my hard-drive, stored by designer (unfortunately, I do have a fair few designer unknown ones). But the designs I don’t think I’ll use in the foreseeable future, I file in another folder, still by designer. Now a serious word of WARNING to you people, DO BACKUPS REGULARLY. This is very important. Hard-drives, CD’s, DVD’s, flash-drives and any other kind of storage medium can and does fail, not to mention human error. So my advice is to do backups and backups on a regular basis! And Ravyn, I don’t think I’d want to do a 12-step program even if there was one, sooo, happy collecting all you 'design-a-holics' – see you tomorrow, and the next …

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by ravyn 08 Jan 2008

(ruthie said 'I don’t think I’d want to do a 12-step program even if there was one,')

So true, Ruthie, so true!!!! I made a New Years Resolution, however - that anytime I download new files, I *immediately* sort them where they belong - no more letting a zillion files pile up in the 'to-be-sorted' folder because "I'll do them later!" I'm not only a packrat, but I'm a procrastinating packrat! LOL! I'm getting better though! :)

by roberta 10 Jan 2008

i also join the club on addict-holics, but i find it fun to embroidery and give away. i have mine in 3 inch binders and also have a print out of what is on my disc. always have a back up. i keep them off my computer. i'll bet i have 10 full so far not counting the designs i've bought over the years. but i also have slowed dowm some for it's like a seamstress. you collect so much materisl you don't know what to do with it. same with embroidery designs. i now try not to be so impulsive. you can get so many designs you'll never get to embroidery if you were at your machine 24 7. my greatest joy is doing something for someone and giving it to them. it's always a blessing to bless others with what God has blessed you with. roberta

Time for confessions, is it. Well, I am hooked. But getting pickier. So now the collections is growing, but at a slowed down rate. Problem is I hardly know where to sew them on. After you've done 500 towels, dozens of bibs, teatowels, aprons, whom do you give them? By the way, what does lol mean, I've seen it quite a few times and haven't a clue.

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by raels011 08 Jan 2008

lol means laugh out loud and I have too many feigns to count Started out collecting everything but am now more selective

by raels011 08 Jan 2008

I can't spell I mean designs. I put mine on CD/s and have about 40

by mops 08 Jan 2008

I also put them CD's. And I leave on the computer what I use frequently or intend to use in the very near future. But I must admit I am not sure I know what's on the older CD's!!

by mops 08 Jan 2008

And thanks for clearing up lol.

by marjialexa 09 Jan 2008

Well, where to sew? Was trying out a rose design, wanted to see how it would look on a T shirt, grabbed a pair of DH's old underwear, he had a rose on his butt one day, they weren't old ones, lol.

by tmbache 10 Jan 2008

I to have to admitt I've been bitten by the bug.my computer time runs 7 to 9 each night unless its my next day off from work then it might be 1 or 2 in the morning.Also put mine on CD's bytype.HAPPY COLLECTING EVERYONE. Just love this site al the questions and answers are most enjoyableand complete.Theresa from Maine

(Just continuing my comment...) I know I have more designs than I could stitch out in my lifetime - LOL - but I just can't help it! It's an ongoing struggle to try to keep them organized well enough so that I can easily/quickly find what I am looking for. At last count, I had over 150,000 files on my designs drive... talk about a packrat! LOL! Please tell me I'm not the only 'addict' out here! ('hello, my name is ravyn & I'm a design addict...') Is there a 12-step program for us? ROFL!!!

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by meomac 08 Jan 2008

I'm with you on the design-addiction problem. I'm not collecting EVERYthing I see anymore but I still collect. I just got the Deduper to help get rid of my duplicates and all the formats I don't need. So far so good, time saving. Along with all the groups I belong to it's hard to find time to embroider!

by sanjoy51 10 Jan 2008

Yes you can add me to the list of addicts, I have also calmed down and picky at what I get. I have to say to myself "do I really want it this, am I ever going to use it" and of course you never know, and they are so nice you have to have it. This year I am getting more organised and trying to get them extracted on the same day. I have bits of paper with designs to be extraced from 07 all over my desk so I have started this year out with an exercise book and tick them off when they have been extracted, it's working so far. It's all in the tick.lol