I decided not to wait for more feature enhancements before releasing a new version of StitchBuddy: On one hand I'd like to spend the next days with my family celebrating Christmas, on the other hand I want you to benefit from new developments as soon as possible.

Feel free to download version 2.1 of the application and both plugins including the following new features:

• Support for different measurement units (millimeters, inches with decimals, inches with fractions)
• Auto conversion of thread charts
• Selected stitches can be moved by Drag'n'Drop
• New function "Measure" to measure a distance in a design
• Designs can be copied as images or text by Drag'n'Drop, even to Mac OS X Finder (creating JPEG files)

Starting today StitchBuddy and both plugins will share the same version number: As all modules are based on the same core functions, any modification will lead to new releases anyway. The same version number will avoid unnecessary confusions.

StitchBuddy v2.1 is a free update for all registered users and can be purchased for USD 49.95 / EUR 39.95.

I just released a minor update of StitchBuddy and both plugins, because a user stumbled over PES files that couldn't be opened. Actually she found freebie designs of version 5.5, 5.6, 7.1, and 8.0 at Babylock's website. Although I don't know, what is changed in detail, the part of a PES file StitchBuddy uses to read designs isn't modified. So more PES formats could be supported by changing a single line of code.

StitchBuddy v2.0.2 is a free update for registered users and as always StitchBuddy-QL / -MD v1.4.2 can be downloaded for free.

Sometimes starting StitchBuddy causes confusions: The "Open" window looks very similar to one of Mac OS X's Finder (which is true for a lot of applications using this standard dialog). So some users tried to navigate to the application again, and found its icon grayed out (as StitchBuddy can't open its own program file).

The solution is quite simple: StitchBuddy is already running, so just navigate to any supported embroidery file and open it.

Because some users faced the same confusion, I decided to add a related answer to this "Frequently Asked Question", which might help others facing the same situation.

StitchBuddy has received some very positive feedback, both, by email and on the web. I will not reveal personal mails without permission, but I decided to link public user comments / reviews in a separate section. There you'll find Jim's review and some other opinions about StitchBuddy. Check it out!

Due to a misconfiguration all StitchBuddy email addresses were unreachable for the last week. This effected PayPal payment notifications as well as individual mails. Fortunately I received a user's request today and was able to fix the issue and send the pending license codes. Please accept my sincere apologies for this issue, which was totally my fault.

If you tried to contact me since July, 14th, please re-send your email!

Some of you might know Jim Stutsman, Janome guru and owner of "The Sewing Room" in Frisco, Texas. Jim is one of my first customers and during the last year we discussed a lot of topics related to machine embroidery, especially involving Macs and Janome embroidery machines. A lot of his suggestions found their way into StitchBuddy and he was an early beta tester of version 2.0.

These days Jim wrote a review in his blog "Online Sewing" and I'm really proud about his conclusion: "If you only work with purchased designs, then StitchBuddy is all you need for the Mac. It's the single best tool I've ever found for working with Janome embroidery designs, and that includes all of the ones available for the PC". Thank you, Jim!

I just released a minor update of StitchBuddy and both plugins:

• Now owners of Janome's MB-4 can select the standard hoop M1 (I just missed it for some reason) and the new AcuFil Square Quilting Hoop (ASQ) was added.
• JEF designs with the "any color" thread code (like some of Janome's quilting designs) are supported.
• Some minor adjustments were made to improve the usability when switching between color modifications and selection modes.

StitchBuddy v2.0.1 is a free update for registered users and as always StitchBuddy-QL / -MD v1.4.1 can be downloaded for free.

I relaunched StitchBuddy’s website with a complete new layout: The old version was designed with Apple’s iWeb, which I found sufficient for a small product page when I started with JEFview over two years ago.

In the meantime StitchBuddy, its website, and my requirements have grown and I wasn’t satisfied with the more or less limited iWeb look. When I realized the website couldn’t be viewed with Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, I decided to switch the web design (although MSIE users aren’t in focus as potential StitchBuddy customers).

RapidWeaver is my web editor of choice as it combines the easy use of templates with the flexibility of HTML coding. While searching for more sophisticated templates I stumbled over the Chameleon theme from Elixir, a very versatile and sleek design. The most work was to recreate the FAQ section, based on a blog before. Unfortunately I had to sacrifice the comment feature. Anyway, feel free to contact me by mail and I will incorporate useful hints ...

Happy birthday, StitchBuddy, you’ve grown up!

After four months of serious coding and one year after its first release, a major update of StitchBuddy is released. I won’t summarize all changes in this blog entry (some more details can be found in the version history), but now StitchBuddy has become a full-featured embroidery editor: You can select parts of a design and move, resize, rotate, flip and delete them. All modifications can be undone, real-size templates can be printed and a lot more functions were added. Just look at the feature page for more information. StitchBuddy-QL and StitchBuddy-MD were updated to support new thread charts and hoops.

To reflect these major changes this web site was completely redesigned, featuring a blog, some YouTube videos and a detailed FAQ section to answer all product-related questions.

StitchBuddy v2.0 is a free update for all registered users and can be purchased for USD 49.95 / EUR 39.95.