I am Jody Coffing of Cardinal Country Designs 
<"cardinal@glenmar.com"@glenmar.com>.   I spent two grueling
days learning to use my Big Hoop.   Sunday, I sewed out  my first floral
design and it worked!  I have some tips:

1.  When you separate a design, try to do so as close to the center of
the design as possible. And ALWAYS SAVE PART OF THE DESIGNS FROM THE
FIRST FILE TO THE SECOND.   This way you can easily see where you ended
on the first to pick up at.

2. Choose or draw a design that has a visible "separation".  Think of
it  as math.  A set of 4 roses can be easily divided into two to work
in  sections.  Three can be done, but it is best not to attempt this
as a first project.

3. When digitizing you will do so in the 120 hoop window.   I work in   
files.   I usually do the underneath files first, and the upper files   
last.  To design for the BIG HOOP you must have two design sets to sew
out separately.  All files for the first sewout should have A after the
name.  All designs for the second sewout are B files.   The BIG HOOP is
going to force you to keep your width to 90mm, in order to fit the   
hoop width.   When I have completed all files and am ready to save   
them for testing.   I take the diagonal threads from each file and   
move them until I get them "right on" 90mm.   This applies to both   
parts A and B of a design.

4. You can work a length of 120 on one file and 105 on the other.  
Which does not matter, as long as you do not exceed 225 on both.

5. To get both designs to meet, at the end of the design you want to
sew  out as the top file, take the last thread you set and run it from
the  far left out to 90mm ( BOTTOM OF THE TOP SEWOUT).
   
For the bottom sewout take the First Thread you set and run from
far  left out to 90mm ( TOP OF THE BOTTOM SEWOUT).   I try to continue
the  same color in part two that you left off with in part 1.   But it
will  work with different colors.   These "set" threads seem to be the
"uniter" of the two sets of designs.

6. To sewout here are some major tips.  Do not insert the BIG HOOP
until    you have turned on your machine and loaded your design A file,
brought  it up, rotated it 90 degrees and made your clicks.   Yes,
click over 12 or 13 clicks to the left.   Now.  Raise your BH as far
as it will go. Insert the template and center the design.  Usually
the clicks take care of that.  But it pays to check.   For Part two
of the  design do exactly the same thing.  ONE MAJOR DIFFERENCE. LOWER
THE BIG  HOOP ALL THE WAY TO THE BOTTOM NOW.   The two parts should go
right  together.