I am still fairly new, I first need to apologize that this is a long post. This took over 4 hrs to write, I do not have it in me to work 2 hr more to streamline it.

I want to try to explain to each of you just how important these sites are to me. I started out coming here for the freebies & very quickly it developed into so much more. I really was shocked when I figured out just how many sites were interwoven here. At first I had found 3, 4, then 5 of the sites, and then a whole other world opened to me when I found the You Embroidery site, the community pages here, and then the DBC thread. I am grateful I had already downloaded some of the DBC designs and hope we will eventually be having the thread back open..... plus I will then need to figure out which of those programs I need to delete from my computer and back up files, since if they should not have been posted in the first place, then I should not continue to have them- Any good ideas on how to take care of that in a not too difficult manner???? The difficult task that Ms Veronica is having to methodologically and carefully go through page by page to verify all rules, regulations and all copyright laws are being followed is a massive, massive undertaking. If any member ever lets something inappropriate or not having been thoroughly prepared to be posted, then I don't know if we would ever deserve to have the thread back again. These sites are a GIFT for us and we should treasure and protect them. She does not HAVE to be doing this for us, and we should all understand that it could stop if and when DBC becomes more trouble than it is worth. Many other people would have already said they were done and closed the thread. I do hope she did not already reach that point, but it also would be understandable if she did. We all should work hard to be good stewards of these threads. If anyone is in doubt about a design, then prior to posting anything then they should check with a moderator first. Posting anything is also a gift. If people are not following the guidelines then we could become like other groups where only moderators can post and the site becomes basically a message board which would be terribly sad, so I do hope all people have learned the valuable lessons that this maintenance period should have seared into our memories. We each have responsibilities.

As I learned more about each site, they would often then open up even more areas to me, things such as taking on line tutorials classes about a skill I was interested in learning. I felt, (and still feel), like I have found the most fantastic treasure trove in not only the designs I have found, but more importantly the wealth of knowledge that people are willing to share. There are so many generous people who are willing to give of themselves to help anyone that is willing to ask and willing to learn. These people are usually not paid for their service, taking their time and energy to help find a design, the name of a company or help someone trouble shoot their machines or to console a friend, who is living a world away, and their friend was in need. That is what this site is, friends. It is the friends and the connections here that are the important aspect and HOPEFULLY some of the "impatient" people will start to develop friendships here. They can start by trying to help someone in the community with some problem that they may be able to help with or just posting to tell someone you like the project they just finished or congratulating them on having a good craft sale. Slowly they will start to get to know the various members.

I hope that we will each take the time to thank the people who answer our questions by PM or publicly, it would also be nice if you let them know that you have stitched out one of their designs (or many, many of their designs in some cases.)

If we fail to acknowledge the gift then the person may start to question whether it was appreciated or was worth the time and trouble to have posted it. If you have not thanked someone for the help or the free samples then I encourage you to make it a habit going forward. Hopefully that plea will not cause the server to crash or our more prolific digitizers to fill their mailbox if that is possible.

Most here do not know but I have a rare brain disorder called a chiari malformation, I am likely to be facing another surgery, (I have already had 4 brain surgeries) the problems started after a car accident and then a second accident was what caused me to need a cranial cervical fusion from the skull to C4. Unfortunately the base of the brain stem is again dropping into the spinal canal, blocking the spinal fluid flow which messes up just about every function of my body,... pain, lack of sleep, nausea, short term memory issues are just a few. I am mainly in my waterbed as it reduces the amount of pain and complications that compound any time I am out of bed. This is not the way I pictured my life at 53 yr old and I have been fighting all this for just over 17 years since the first car accident and the onset of all these issues. It has been 9 years since the second accident that really sent my body in a tail spin. We are still in the process of saving the funds needed for flights; lodging and the testing that will be, out on Long Island, New York as that is where the top specialists for this condition are located. Hopefully they will be able to determine just what options I am looking at. Hoping and praying I still have options.
They are my last and only hope that things may improve. My family line generally has lived up into their 90’s and just can not even fathom having 40+ more years in this body that every one of my other doctors say that everything else is running perfectly. Our hope and prayer is that I will somehow be able to gain some quality of life back again that would allow me to be able to do some of the things I love. My favorite past times since I was a young child has been sewing and needlework. They both have been almost totally striped from me. Well let's face it; almost EVERYTHING has been removed from my ability. I struggle to find any quality of life, I latch onto anything that reminds me of the skill I love and the enjoyment it has brought me over the years. The making of beautiful things for both my family, friends and for the NICU babies or in doing something of service for someone else were the kinds of things I loved to do. I now spend 24/7 in my waterbed keeping myself distracted online by searching out cute designs and drawing up plans for projects, I just "HOPE" I will be able to create these projects in the years to come. I have the machines a wonderful Designer SE, 3D software (if my family can figure out where that security code was placed so I can get it downloaded onto this newer computer), Totes and totes as well as bolt after bolt of materials and so much thread I doubt I will ever need to buy any more. I have searched through site after site downloading the little bits and pieces that are the basic building blocks of some very beautiful work by skilled designers and digitizers. It is exciting to have so many beautiful things that I will be able to lace together some that will create simple practical items and then there are and will be other combinations, that people would be/will be shocked that they were created from simple little snippets of programs to become true works of art that I know the people will take great pleasure in receiving. I continue to try to distract myself from the reality I live in, by escaping here, to this site, so I can explore all the various threads, and see what new postings have been put up and what articles people put links to and also those threads that people post of what sales and freebies others have found through their surfing the sites. These threads allow me to enjoy my hobby through all that each of you the various members are creating. I hope the time will come I will once again be able to make projects but until then I am lucky to create even one simple project in a months time and even then I need help just to accomplish those simple tasks and projects. It sucks, but this is my reality. I ask you each to please be patient with each other. Please appreciate all you are able to do yourself. Please cherish every thing you are able to do, from the skills of your talent, to the functioning of your body, the tools and materials you are able to purchase or blessed in acquiring. It can all change in a moment, It did for me 17+ years ago. I also have a firm belief and know with every fiber of my being that if the Lord needs my body to function then it can/will be done. I just pray that that door will open again for me. I long for my body to be able to function, as I once did. It is truly difficult to stitch on an embroidery machine while laying in a waterbed. If the doctors say "Sorry but this is as good as it is going to be for you" then we will have to cross that bridge when the time comes but for now I am just deeply appreciative of all the time and talent that Ms Veronica puts into these sites. I thank each of the people who posted designs for the public here and also at other sites. The thought of just how much is noticeably missing when even one person pulls their designs makes my heart grieve. A gifted digitizer has a beautiful talent. It does not take long to find the same artwork that was digitized by two separate people and it becomes clear that one design literally comes to life and jumps off the page at you, while the other.... well they could do with talking and learning from some of the digitizers that call themselves a "Cutie". My immense gratitude to each person here from Miss Veronika, the moderators, long term members, those who just take a few minutes of their life to help someone else and those who share each of your designs, your posted pictures and all you do and share here on these sites give me the reason to keep pushing forward. I am likely still looking at another year before I can get back out to NY, please know just how much you are appreciated and I am clinging to these threads. Now please go hug a loved one and stitch something beautiful.
Pam