Friday, July 25, 2014

Ridley Park, Pennsylvania

I have been back from the class for a few days now and am finally recovered. It does not seem like it was just a week ago that I was standing - or sitting - in front of a group of 17 women all eager to learn something new about Embird Editor. I hope that I was able to give them some of what they hoped to learn. I had a great time. Gigi of Charming Station Embroidery, volunteered to put everything together for me this time. She was an excellent hostess. The class was held in the meeting room at the SpringHill Suites in Ridley Park. The staff there was great and I loved my room. Friday night dinner was at the Springfield Diner which was an excellent choice. Topics for classes included Separation Anxiety, Density and Pull Compensation, Points Editing Mode, Lettering, Design Splitting (which I hate but they wanted it)  and an introduction to Studio. (Great picture of Gigi - not so great of me ...)

June Fly-In - Font Engine 102

June 2014. I didn't get to the Ready Made Alphabets (3rd party fonts) as promised at the AEC so made that my June Fly-In topic. Font Engine 102 explained how you can turn all of those design alphabets you buy from your favorite designers in to alphabets you can type in. Just like you do the Embird Alphabets or Font Engine. They learned you do need to own Font Engine to get this new plug-in but even if you don't, you can have fun playing with just a few letters. If Abba is your favorite group, you are set to go with the trial version! 

AEC 2014

The AEC was held in Palm Beach Gardens, FL at the end of May. I was kept really busy teaching classes so my ONBF (old new best friend) Beth, from the IEC, went with me to take care of things in my booth and to keep me straight. We all know who the boss is when she goes along. It isn't me. Just kidding. I don't know what I would have done without my Beth. You can tell from the picture that we were ALL working really hard the whole time.

Classes on Embird included Separation Anxiety, using Font Engine in Editor (fills) and also in Studio. Font Engine works so differently in Studio - the Pink Princess had to come in and take my place again. For some reason she thinks that she does a better job of it than I do. She does make a it a lot of fun. 

April Fly-In - Editor 102 (Density etc)

April 2104 brought us a new innovation ... the instant download for class and video information. Emails were not getting through and you were not getting your links. Now, just download the zipped file as soon as you've made your purchase and you don't have to worry. Everything you need for class is in that zipped file.

The topic was Editor 102 - Density, etc This is a really difficult topic for me, but I think it came out pretty well. We learned how to resize but mostly learned why things don't always go so well when you start messing with the size and densities in a designs. We also learned a few tricks using Pull Compensation.

March Fly-In - Font Engine 101


March 2014. I decided my country internet connection was just too slow and held class from the basement of my girls' condo in Columbus. It was stormy outside but most of us had a much better webinar experience. Finally, I think we are off and running even if it means I have to travel 2 hours (one way) to hold class. You are worth the effort!

Font Engine 101 was the topic of the night and we learned a lot about how to do satin stitch lettering with this marvelous plug-in. Much about what we learned can also be applied when using the Embird Alphabets. Pre-ordering the class video for those who cannot attend the live class became a possibility and has worked out really well for all.

February Fly-In - Editor 101

February 2014.  The class didn't go too well. At least the first one. We had troubles getting signed in, and the internet connection was bad due to weather and who knows what else. But the show must go and and we finished the class with whoever could make it. It was held again two nights later.  It went better this time. I think.

The topic was Embird Editor and we learned about how to use many of the basic functions of Editor. This is a really good video to watch if you are a real newbie and are coming to one of my in-person Embird classes. It will give you a head-start, keeping you from becoming too frustrated at the beginning of the day.

FWE meets GoToMeeting

In January 2014, Fly with Embird did a free introductory webinar using GoToMeeting. The response was overwhelming and one webinar turned into four. The topic was Embird Manager. After having done three almost identical classes already, the fourth became my favorite and Manager 101 is available for your viewing pleasure on Vimeo.

The Fly-Ins as they are now called, were born. Each is hosted by myself, and one of my Lil Embirdies - Cindy, Denise, Annette, or the team of Lorna and Elise. I present a lesson and try to answer questions on the night's topic. The class is recorded and is then uploaded. It is included in the cost of the class or can be purchased separately on my website ... www.flywithembird.net

Hot Springs, Arkansas

July 2013. Susie is another woman determined to get what she wants - and she was Determined to Fly with Embird. She managed to pull a large group together in a relatively short time and I was on my way to Hot Springs for 3 days of classroom learning. This time our classes took place in the meeting room of the Comfort Inn and Suites. The staff was great and the hotel accommodations were more than adequate. Susie did a really great job with everything. She kept us well fed and had gifts for everyone!  She made wonderful plans for our entertainment in the evenings as well. The Thursday night social was held at a local Mexican restaurant and it was yummy.  It was just too bad the weather didn't co-operate the next day. We didn't get to take the optional dinner cruise on Friday night. It was thundering and lightening and pouring down rain. 


Jonesborough, Tennessee

November 2012. Kathy wanted an Embird class in eastern Tennessee and she is a woman who gets what she wants. She contacted me in August and by the start of September, I was booked to go in November. She did everything...found a quilt shop who rented us the classroom, located the hotel and got us special rates, and picked up everything we needed for class.  We had two great days of instruction on Manager and Editor. Kathy wanted to know about Studio too, so I returned in May of 2013 to teach that subject. I would love to go back to this lovely area. The quilt show was the Sewing Bee in Jonesborough, TN. Sherri has a Facebook page ...

Niagara Falls, NY


April 2010. My good friend Denise, who I met at the Georgia Welcome Center off I-75S on our way to AEC, attended the Columbus, OH class in 2009. Then she talked me into doing a class closer to her. Denise is from Canada so Niagara Falls, NY was her choice. She found a quilting store willing to rent us the classroom space. Denise did all the legwork for me. It was the first time I drove anywhere all by myself! But I made it there then - and two times after that as well, all with the same group of students. The classes got smaller, but we still learned a lot and had a good time doing it. 

Denise is one of my Lil Embirdies for the online classes. I met Lorna and Elise, two of my other Lil Embirdies, at the Niagara Falls classes.

Minneapolis



In September 2009, Terri Hanson and I got together to do an embroidery/Embird class at  her home in Minneapolis. We did two days on generic embroidery classes, lettering, and Embird. Terri would do her thing - stabilizers and lettering -  and I would translate some of it into Embird for the group. We had a great time. She allowed me to have an extra day while she went to to work - and I taught a small group Studio. It was my first time on the subject with real beginners and I made someone cry. Ooopsss... turned out she was not a button pusher and once we showed her that she could right click and get a menu instead of remembering which button did what, she was off and running. She was even helping her neighbor get caught up. I try very hard not to make my students cry now.

Columbus Ohio

August 2009. Susan at the Sew-N-Save in Westerville, OH has been an avid supporter since the day I walked into her store. You won't find many machine dealers who will allow you to come in and teach an independent software. Susan is one of those rare dealers who do and she encourages me to come in and teach as often as I can find students.

Columbus is where the Social Evening tradition was started. We went to a Cheeseburger in Paradise and had a fun evening, relaxing and getting to know each other after a long, hard day in class. Columbus is also where I met one of my other best friends, Annette. She stayed and helped the teacher pack up after class. We now have long lunches when I am in Columbus and she is my co-moderator on the Embird101 and AbsolutelyEmbird lists. Columbus, I'll be back!

AEC - American Embroidery Conference

Next stop was the AEC in Atlanta. The first one I did was in the fall. Dianne already had an Embird instructor so I taught generic digitizing. I skipped a year (scheduling conflicts) then went back when it was in Boca. I met my BFF Terri Hanson of Terradon Embroidery there. I was scared to meet her ... she was famous and I was, well, me. But no need. We sat in our booths and giggled the whole time. Just goes to show that even famous people are just regular people.

Anyway, after a few years, I became the regular Embird Manager and Editor instructor. My teaching style began to emerge and The Pink Princess was born (she's the lettering expert). I look forward to the next AEC which will be held in Marietta, GA at the end of May 2015.


IEC - Indiana Embroidery Conference

IEC was my teaching debut. I had never taught anything before. But a friend told me we "needed" to do this, so I went along. At first, I taught generic digitizing. Then I offered to teach Embird. I taught Editor and then Betty put me on Studio with about 30 days notice. But I think all went well. I made lots of good friends and found a few new places to teach because of it. I really miss it. It was always like coming home.