Personal Announcement - Time off

 Hello Stitchers ! I just wanted to wirte a small post to tell you that I am just taking a week off this week because I am working on something big which I will announce to you soon. I hope that all is well with all of you.

Happy Stitching XOXO

How I chose Hours Tracker in order to track my stitching time

 Hello Again Stitchers ! Today I think I am going to talk about how I chose the Hours Tracker app that I have previously talked about and I will go into detail into why I chose this particular app and the methods that I previously used.

Intro 

You may remember that last week I wrote a post about the app Hours Tracker (post linked here) and how it is a great tool for any Stitchers who want to keep track of the precise amount of time that they spend stitiching. I discovered it when I was looking for a convenient way to keep track of the hours that I spent embroidering , as prior to that I was using a timesheet template that I had dowloaded from a website called Smartsheet and although I have found using the app to be more effective , I have decided to link to their varous timesheet templtes so that you can see if the spreadsheet option works for you.

Why I prefer Hours Tracker 

The reason that I prefer using Hours Tracker  is that it is easier to enter the data into the app. On the spreadsheet you have to enter the data manually , by hand , whereas the Hours Tracker app allows you to scroll up and down to input the hours that you have spent embroidering , which makes this app very user friendly.

 Furthermore , the Hours Tracker app gives you the exact numbers of hours and minuets that you have spent stitching , whereas if you are using the spradsheet method  , you will have to work out your hours for yourself and the result may be inprecise and if you are a professional this is an important thing to have a precise record of , because if you don't , you could charge the wrong amount and it could put your proffessional reputation at risk.

Aditionally , you are able to put your hourly rate into the app and it will automatically calculate both the amount that you should be making on any given day , it will also calculate your total weekly earnings and this is very helpful to the independent embroiderer who may not be able to afford any facy invoicing tools and it ensures that they do not overcharge tthier customers in any way.

To Conclude 

I drastically prefer Hours Tracker to any timekeeping methond that I have used for my embroidery and I personally reccomend the app to anyone who wants to keep note of the precise amount of hours that they spend stitching.

Happy Stitching XOXO   

Apps That I recommend for Embroidery - Hours Tracker

 PLEASE NOTE : THIS POST IS NOT SPONSERED BY THE HOURS TRACKER APP. THIS IS JUST MY PERSONAL REVIEW

What is it ?

Hello Stitchers ! I don’t know about you , but I have recently gotten into the habit of logging the exact number of hours that I spend stitching. Finding the perfect tool for this task has entailed some trial and error but I have finally found the perfect app that I am going to recommend to you all. This app is called Hours Tracker. 

How does it work ?

The app allows you to input the number of hours that you spend a week on a given task  and then it provides you with a weekly total at the bottom of the screen. If you are a professional who charges by the hour, it also can automatically calculate the amount that you should be charging for that given week if you input your hourly rate.

Additionally , the app allows you to export the data so that you can keep it for your records. The data can be exported in two formats , Text (CSV) and to Excel (XLSX).

My Personal opinions 

One of the most important things to me is that none of these features are locked behind any sort of paywall so that they are accessible to Stitchers from any background , regardless of their economic circumstances. This is an app that I will continue to use for the forseeable future and I hope that this app will be useful for you.

Happy Stitching XOXO

Availability 

 iPhone - requires iOS 11 or later

iPod touch - requires iOS 11 or later 

Mac  - requires macOS 11.0 and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.

Happy Stitching XOXO

Embroidery Floss Pulling tips to prevent tangling FOR DMC ONLY

 

FYI THE FOLLOWING METHOD ONLY WORKS FOR THE DMC SIX STRANDED FLOSS , I AM NOT SURE IF IT WORKS ON OTHER THREAD BRANDS

Hello again Stitchers ! I just wanted to drop a quick post letting you know about a trick that I have begun to use when pulling a thread out of the skien. I find that it is really annoying when you are pulling a thread and it gets all tangled up - it just wastes valuable time that you could be spending stitching your heart away on a project that you are passionate about.

I first heard of this tip from Stitched Modern , which is a website that sells embroidery kits , patterns and supplies - I did not come up with this tip and I have linked the original article here.

How to do it 

A skien of DMC floss has two labels , a small one at the top with the DMC logo , and a large one at the bottom which has both the barcode and the colour number printed on it.  

If you want to prevent tangling when you are pulling your thread ONLY PULL FROM THE BOTTOM END WITH THE NUMBER. It took me many hours of frustration to learn this trick and if you wanted to use DMC threads I thought that I would save you all the headache.

Below There will be a handy photo that will show you which end you should pull :

Happy Stitching XOXO