Embroidery Academy

Robin Hrabik

I began quilting in 1983, and made every stitch by hand. When embroidery machines first came on the market, I was fascinated with the process. I learned to digitize in 1999, and have taught digitizing classes for small groups. My desire in learning to digitize was to be able to combine embroidery with quilting. I have attended seminars and work shops with leaders in the industry such as Walter Floriani and John Deer, and my favorite designs combine elements of embroidery and appliqué.

I opened my web site, CandyAppleQuilts.com, in 2004. My goal is to provide quilters and embroiderers with unique notions, patterns, and embroidery designs.

The most recent addition is a Gammill quilting machine with a Statler Stitcher computer. Soon, there will be computer quilting designs that coordinate with the embroidery designs that I have digitized. I am always amazed at how computers have changed the way we sew!

Fred Lebow

Fred Lebow has been developing nonwovens and interlinings for the sewn products market for 31 years. For the past 20 years, he has focused on embroidery stabilizers and has been a pioneer in the development of many new products that are in widespread use today.

Please feel free to contact him by email at flebow [at] highalrtitudes.net or 406-854-2322.

Lyn Christian

Lyn is owner of A Design By Lyn Embroidery. She is a digitizer, Contract Embroiderer, and Hands On Instructor. She has been crafting since she was a small child, and learned from both her mom and grandmom. Lyn’s years of experience and wealth of ideas have been shared from coast to coast, both for consumers and with sewing business owners. Her projects, tips and solutions to everyday challenges in home embroidery and sewing have brought smiles to hundreds of faces. She has taught classes all over the United States in hands on sewing, embroidery, and digitizing for both Janome and Artista digitizing products. Her expertise, creativity, easy laugh and personality make her classes fun, informative and sought after. She has won several awards in Digitizing, Embroidery, sewing, and more. She has been featured in several magazines and currently has projects posted on the Janome website and the Platinum Embroidery website, as well as lessons at the Embroidery Academy. Her designs can be found on her web site, in some stores, and at the Hands on Schools.

Jeri Lee Auclair

Jeri Lee Auclair owns and operates Black Eagle Designs, an Arizona-based custom and stock digitizing company. She has been digitizing for over 11 years and has stepped out in the industry as an educator for digitizing, specializing in Tajima DG/ML by Pulse software. Jeri Lee hosts on line training sessions for EmbForum users on a regular basis. Her wealth of knowledge surrounding digitizing, embroidery and Pulse software is passed on to forum members through on line seminars, group chats and message boards. Her designs appear bi-monthly in Stitches Magazine, in the Stock Design Gallery. Currently, JeriLee is writing a book to teach industry standards, tricks of the trade and provide lessons and samples that will allow her customers to succeed with their embroidery businesses.

Ray Templeton

Designs and More Online.

I come from an engineering and technical background. I have been an active participant on the Pfaff VIP List in Yahoo Groups for several years and the CompuSew with Jan Yahoo Group since inception. I enjoy working with people and teaching embroidery and embroidery digitizing.

Below is my experience description.

I’m excited to be part of the Embroidery Academy. It is time for effective sewing, embroidery, and digitizing training to be available to the home embroiderer.

Elaine Cibelli

After receiving an embroidery machine and digitizing software in 2000, inspired by her art education background, Elaine has enjoyed sharing her passion for embroidery and digitizing. An avid quilter and seamstress she has blended embroidery with sewing, quilting and home decor. Since 2001, Elaine has been certified in the Bernina Software, teaching software and embroidery classes and seminars. In 2005 she started Embroidery Traditions and recently returned to her love of digitizing and teaching after managing Bear’s Paw Fabrics Quilt shop in Maryland.

A good day is listening to the machine hum while playing with the digitizing software. Current toys include the Artista 730E and Version 5 of the Bernina Designer Plus Embroidery Software.

Sue Templeton

I live in Wheelers Hill Vic Australia.

I have been using a Janome embroidery machine since I purchased my 8000, approximately 18 years ago. I upgraded to the 10,000 in 2000 and after all these years I still have a passion to embroidery any thing that stands still long enough.

I worked for 2 and a half years selling Janome, Brother & Singer sewing & embroidery machines.

During that time I learned that we all need help to get the most out of these magnificent machines, and I enjoy sharing my knowledge with others.

I now have my own business and teach machine embroidery, sewing and other crafts part time from my home studio.

Lanny Logan

My wife and myself run a long arm Quilting and embroidery business at the beautiful Lake of the Ozarks, in Camdenton MO. I’ve been involved with machine embroidery for 3 or 4 years, every since I sold them at a Springfield MO sewing center. I’ve been a technical trainer of proprietary software and hardware for various businesses and at community colleges for over 20 years; so it was just natural for me to start teaching various software programs for embroidery. I’ve taught Viking and Janome digitizing software, and have moved on to Embird, which I consider the best bang for the buck of any digitizing software available today.

Deb Hicks

From: Too Cute Embroidery.

Debbie Hicks is a quilter, crafter and digitizer who began digitizing in 2004 using Embird Studio. She has taught quilting and digitizing classes and enjoys sharing her enthusiasm and knowledge to help empower others to enjoy their creativity to the fullest. Debbie and is creating instructional lessons to teach others about basic computer use and educate them about the options available in machine embroidery, as well as digitizing with Embird, and will be offering a variety of classes through Embroidery-Academy, monthly embroidery techniques to try, Block of the Month embroidery blocks, fun sewing projects and lots more! My motto is "I’m all about the fun & cuteness" and I look forward to sharing just that with you.

Gwen Menezes

From: Stitches in Motion.

I have always loved embroidery and spent many hours with a needle and thread in my hand. In 2003 I was given the opportunity to purchase my first embroidery machine. With that machine came embroidery software and I fell in love! The process of taking artwork and turning it into stitches became an addiction that I spent hours on. I started out digitizing commercially but needed more creativity freedom.

In 2004 I opened the Stitches in Motion website and began selling designs. I use Embird software to digitize and find the software to be easy, affordable and most of all, flexible. I continue to work in the commercial embroidery business and sell designs but the joy of teaching, not only in the embroidery classes I teach, but also with the online digitizing classes brings the greatest pleasure.

Join the classes and unleash your creativity!

JoAnn Connolly

JoAnn Connolly is the owner of Garden of Daisies Embroidery. She started her business almost 10 years ago when her youngest daughter began taking Irish step dancing lessons. The school was relatively new and in need of a dressmaker. JoAnn was the “mom-in-the-lobby” who raised her hand when the teacher asked if anyone knew how to sew. At first she only made the dresses, hiring out the embroidery to a commercial firm. But finding that she wanted to control the quality of the entire dress, she invested in her first embroidery machine. She now owns two industrial 15-thread machines, a Baby Lock Ellegante, Pfaffs, Singers, Eln...

Her business has evolved into supplying embroidery to the Irish dancing costuming industry, as well as designing, digitizing and selling her own embroidery designs through Oregon Patch Works – Premium Embroidery Designs Mall. Most recently, she has started writing about embroidery and has numerous articles published in Designs in Machine Embroidery magazine. As well as being published in Stitches magazine, the premier trade journal of the embroidery industry, JoAnn also won their 2006 Stitch-Off Competition in the Fashion category as well as the People’s Choice Award that year. JoAnn’s life-long love of sewing has expanded into combining cutting-edge technology with traditional needle arts to see what she can come up with.