Stitch Simplicity (not Vista) Stitch Simplicity (not Vista)




$25.00


About X-Stitch and Computers Whereas cross stitch has existed as a pastime, arguably as far back as Norman times, (if not earlier), it has only been within the last 10 years that technology has improved to a degree where a device in the home can lend a hand. Yes - we are talking about the computer, (no stranger to a Web browser) but until only very recently, even the mention of the word would have been enough to cause many a talented stitcher to vanish into the distance. Times have changed, however, and, every day, more households are becoming home to machines many times more powerful than those that sent the Apollo missions into space. The main use of these computers in the home, however, is all too often only to play games or type letters, and far too many are used only by the men or children in the family. No-one now doubts that the Age of Computers has arrived in the world of cross stitch and needlecraft, because, armed with the computer programs that are now available, you can use a computer to save enormous amounts of time and effort when designing new charts of your own. How can a computer help? Conventionally, cross stitch design work is carried out on graph paper, with coloured pencils. You colour in the squares, making the odd mistake here and there, rubbing out, copying, and making sure not to spill coffee over your masterpieces. After some time, the design is complete. Next, it needs to be 'converted' into black & white symbols, in a grid, where each symbol uniquely represents a colour. So, its back to pen and paper, rubbing out, carefully drawing, outlining, and so on, until the chart is done.This is followed by a stitching session, possibly followed by another drawing bout, to correct some minor problems. All of this takes time, and for most people, it is only the design of the original colour pattern that counts as 'fun'. The process of converting to symbols is boring, takes ages, and is prone to mistakes, adding possibly weeks to the job. Ursa Software's Programs Stitch Simplicity, by Ursa Software, handles most of the donkey work for you, leaving you to concentrate upon the creative aspects, and letting the computer do the drudge. To maintain a familiar analogy, the computer screen is presented as a grid, exactly as if you were working on graph paper. Instead of coloured pencils, a selection of colours, representing DMC or other thread colours, is shown on screen, and you can 'pick up' a colour for drawing with the computer's mouse, just as you would pick up a pencil. Using the mouse as your drawing tool, you then start filling in squares, drawing full, or half stitches, and changing colour when you need to. On graph paper, you might lean closer for a tricky area - on the computer, you can 'zoom in' or 'zoom out' to make the on-screen squares larger or smaller - great if your eyes aren't what they once were! Of course, it would not be much of an advantage if it stopped there. Using the computer, you can quickly copy areas, and stamp them back down elsewhere, to build up borders and the like. You can rotate areas, draw boxes, circles, and fill large areas with colour in a few seconds. You can add outlining stitches, and a clever automatic outliner will go round the edges of a shape, adding outlining for you. The real time saver, however, is when it is time to create the symbolic chart for others to work from. Instead of spending a week or two doing it by hand, a simple click or two of the mouse kicks the computer into action, and in just a few minutes, you have a clear, easy to read chart, with no mistakes, and all the stitches counted, too! Can't Draw? People who can't draw need not despair - it is amazing what can be achieved with a piece of clear plastic and a felt tipped pen! For the more technically 'with-it', however, the program allows easy 'import' of scanned pictures. (Scanners are a device like a photocopier, which, instead of creating a new piece of paper, place an image digitally into your computer. The scanned image is made up of thousands of coloured dots, which the X-Stitch programs shrink down to a smaller size, and turn into a cross stitch chart for you!) Nearly all actions possible are represented by an easy to understand button, and the program will prompt you where necessary, to help you along. What do I need to get started? You need a computer, a mouse, a colour screen, and a printer. Hardware requirements: IBM PC compatible running WINDOWS ('Studio' for Windows) - requires Windows 2000, XP, Me, NT, 98, or Windows 95, 20 Meg or more of computer memory , and can print to any graphic printer supported by Windows, in black & white or colour, stitched view, or symbol. Requires 8Mb disc space for the program, and a hi-colour display. About the programs in general... All of our programs have these main functions in common: They... Allow you to create a x-stitch design by 'drawing' on the screen with the mouse. Allow you to re-use parts of one design in a new one. Allow you to print these designs as an easy to follow chart, on your own printer Allow you to import pictures from other sources, and use these as designs. The program does away with the need to design on paper with coloured pencils (avoiding much of the associated time, effort, and rubbing-out involved), and then takes away the tedious job of turning coloured squares into clear, accurate, symbols, producing your chart in minutes instead of days. Is it easy to use? We believe so. Our free telephone support line is testimony to this - it is rare that anyone needs to call for help! If you, or someone helping you, can use a computer to some degree, then the time taken to 'learn' our program will be short. No program can honestly claim to be usable by people with 'no computer experience' . However, we write our programs with the novice user in mind, and we listen to customer's opinions for improvements.

Average Download Times
(Your download time may vary)
* 56K Modem - 15 minutes, 26 seconds.
* ISDN - 6 minutes, 26 seconds.
* T1 - 32 seconds.