Hi, from Texas! I'm James Raymer, Vice President of Dalco Home Sew. I am excited and honored to be part of your “Community Circle.” I can still remember when I first met Ann. Ann and I were invited to a retreat at Myrtle Beach. This being my first show I was in awe of meeting a real... [More]

There are a lot of good things about working for myself at home. I can come and go as I please. I can work in my pajamas. There’s no commute. There are some downsides. I work on the week-ends and in the middle of the night. The work is always there; I can’t walk away from it. But the big... [More]

Is this the most magnificent swan you have ever seen? Free Standing Lace (FSL) is a technique uniqu [More]

It’s interesting how you can have a great idea during a very busy day and then when you sit down to write….you draw a blank. I am hoping that I remember what that great idea was before I get to the end of this blog.  In the meanwhile today was one of those busy days at work that yo... [More]

The weather in New Jersey this week is snowy and really cold and to some folks that may not seem so wonderous but when we had an unexpected family gathering in New York last week it made one little girl happy.  My 16 year old niece was visiting from Ocala, Fl and she had never seen snow in her ... [More]

In beginning this blog, I realized that I need to back track and talk about something I left out some time ago. You really need to straighten the fabric before you begin any project.  That doesn’t include quilting alone.  It includes any kind of sewing.  Because of the nature of... [More]

Packing our bags...It's official, we booked our flights and made hotel reservations: we will be teaching / demoing at the upcoming AnnTheGran Community Circle event on March 27 and 28, 2009 in Orlando!And what a great coincidence it is that we will be at the AnnTheGran event, in the "roots&... [More]

We’re trying to pare down here at the old homestead. I have no idea where all this stuff came from but it’s gotta go! Okay, I know where it came from . . . . Live in the same house for 47 years and stuff piles up. Plus, Bill has a habit that I’ve heard that a lot of men have: Somet... [More]

Until now, I’ve talked about the things we use in our furniture such as the hardware, the sewing machine lift, and even the dowels and glue we use to put it all together.  But that comes after the cabinet comes off the drawing board and proceeds to construction.   Other than things... [More]

  Special Offer - This Week Only- Buy Catalog Xpress and Get Alphabet Xpress Free! Click Her [More]

I hope everyone had a really great Christmas/Chanukah/holiday season.  As well the happiest New Year since January 1, 2008. ;o) Before I began this blog, I checked with the folks at AnnTheGran to be sure you all want me to continue with my ramblings.  Since this is the first time for me in... [More]

Happy New Year!Can you imagine? A new year, again? It feels like it's only a few months ago since we all watched the fireworks going from New Zealand / Australia / Europe and finally USA to welcome the new Millennium! And now all of a sudden we're in 2009...Time is one of the things in life ... [More]

Quality Made Sylvia Sewing Furniture Our commitment to quality extends to, what some might consider, even the most mundane items.  I’m talking about the hardware we use in all of Sylvia’s sewing furniture.  In the past few blog posts, I’ve talked about how we assemble o... [More]

Long about New Year's Eve I was hearing a lot of mumbling and grumbling about 2008, talking heads saying that thank goodness 2008 is over. Well, yes, the economic messiness of the last couple of months of 2008 was bad thing and embarking on a brand spanking new 2009 is a good thing, even though ... [More]

I have been thinking about doing embroidery on lingerie for some time now.  I might be doing so [More]

     Individual characters (letters, numbers and punctuation marks) from my alph [More]

I am sure that each of you are just like me and you are running around trying to get as much accomplished before the year ends as you can.  Whether it is trying to get the last-minute gifts made or find the perfect gift, they would often look better if they were personalized, wouldn’t the... [More]

Battenburg (Battenberg) lace has also been known as Renaissance lace.  Created by using loops o [More]

Greetings everyone! Can you believe it?  The end of the journey and all the gifts you're making are nearly complete, right?!?  Now I am quite sure there are some of you who actually DO have your gifts finished, neatly wrapped, and waiting under the tree for the lucky recipie... [More]

  Special Offer - For free shipping within the contiguous United States and Canada, click here to view these cabinets in our online store. In the early 1980’s I was approached by local sewing machine retailer about building a good quality sewing cabinet. At the time none w... [More]

       Individual characters (letters, numbers and punctuation marks) fr [More]

  Special Offer - To get free shipping and handling on Pre-Design Studio, the software mentioned in this post, click here. Wow, my first blog at AnnTheGran.com This week I will try to solve a problem that will be familiar to many of you - well, at least I hope that I'm not the... [More]

  This is going to be a quick post, but I just was working with the Pashminas that I sell on Et [More]

Yes, I know the holiday season is a time for joy and counting your blessings but it is so much more enjoyable when everyone stays well.  In our family 2008 has been dubbed “the year of the tissue”.  As I walk in the door with my load of tissue boxes my husband just shakes his h... [More]

This week I am the host of my semi-annual Education Team meeting at my corporate headquarters  in New Jersey and I have to say that to be among so many talented and fun ladies who have managed to make a career out of doing something they like is really amazing.  I know that many of you mig... [More]

(Me singing) "Rain drops on roses and whiskers on kittens; the smell of leather and warm woolen mitt [More]

  Trust me when I tell you that hankies are not a left-over relic from the fifties!  The handkerchief category continues to be a strong one for us especially around holidays and wedding season.  Personally, I love to take a hankie to weddings and I haven’t met a bride yet who h... [More]

  Special Offer - For free shipping within the contiguous United States and Canada, click here to view these cabinets in our online store. Furniture makers agree on this – spend the extra effort to do things right the first time and you won’t have to go back to fix or ... [More]

Almost everyone has reason to be excited about this coming weekend, not just because it's Thanksgiving in the United States but because, for retailers that sell in the U.S., it's the kick-off of the Christmas selling season. Pretty much anyone who shops is aware of that Friday is known as Bl... [More]

Can one paragraph be about current events, information, an embroidery project, a gift idea and a travel story?  Last week we in the US celebrated Veterans Day. Most holidays in the US fall on Mondays so as to provide long week-ends, but Veterans Day is always celebrated on November 11. So this ... [More]

Shadow Work by Machine is a technique invented, perfected and patented by designer Suzanne Hinshaw. Patented designs created Suzanne are the only genuine, legitimate designs for shadow work by machine. That's fine - because her designs are timeless and elegant and are totally goof-proof. I promi... [More]

     Individual characters (letters, numbers and punctuation marks) from my alph [More]

Seasons Greetings Everyone! If you happened to catch my blog around Halloween, you  may remember that I used the cutest designs from Amazing Designs---little candy corn characters dressed up for Halloween.  It was the “Sweet Halloween I” collection.  Well I had so much ... [More]

At this time, there are only a handful of design creators for whom we all would know for certain of [More]

With Christmas right around the corner the first thing that comes to mind is Santa Clause of course. [More]

There are a few things that are easier than in-the-hoop projects, but for doing holiday items, this [More]

There are several very nice slideshow programs on the Internet, but I thought that this one was the best.   Most of the freebies are minimal and require that you download their data down to your PC.  As I have noted several times, more and more of the software will be purchased/used/a... [More]

Do you love the look of monograms on men's cuffs? This is a stylish touch that almost any man can appreciate. The trick is to create these small wonders in the correct size, without bulky corners and with proper placement. You can get confidence to embroider cuffs by practicing on cuffs fro... [More]

Exciting New Holiday Designs from African Folklore Embroidery We have several new designs just in time for the Holidays. Some of these include the new Hanukkah designs (this year Hanukkah starts December 1st.) Two special designs that celebrate this holiday include the Hanukah Menorah; it is custom... [More]

I'm not sure why but I really enjoy making Christmas stockings.  I have made traditional ones, funky ones, country ones and elegant ones depending on who they are for.   We always make a stocking for each new addition to our family.  Some years, with weddings and births, we h... [More]

Since I am not a digitizer, I don't know much about this particular technique called photo-stitch.&n [More]

There are many resources for looking for ancestors and relatives online.  www.FamilySearch.org reviews a number of sites, speeds up your search and is free.  Good luck finding those who may be related to you. You may already own a scanner or just be considering one for your home use. ... [More]

A while back, our oldest daughter painted her dining area walls orange.  We all thought she was a little crazy but with her black furniture it actually looks very nice.  She has a small table on one side and has been looking for a runner for quite some time now.  She really didn't... [More]

Last week Emma and I were at the fabric store picking up some fabric for my aunt who is 94 and still sewing.  While we were looking Emma saw this horse fabric and went nuts over it.  "Meesy, we just have to make something with this!" she said.  Now, why this little girl is s... [More]

Machine embroidery advances are being driven by the same things that drive the computer industry - H [More]

Most Help Desk people will remind you to do certain steps, depending on your computer, to help speed up your PC.  Vista does the Defrag and Check Disk in the background, so you can do those if you like, but it is not likely to make any difference in start-up speed. It is a fact that getting ri... [More]

     Individual characters (letters, numbers and punctuation marks) from my alphabets andindividual designs can be found on my Stock Design Page.  My designs are also available inpacks, as described in this blog.  Those can be found here.  For designs and packs ava... [More]

Our family has been invited to several Halloween gatherings this year.  The first is this weekend - a whole week before the 31st!  This is Friday and the girls costumes are not quite finished.  But the girls are very excited about dressing up for  these events.  One dec... [More]

Christmas season always brings requests for embroidering names on stockings. This may make you wish that you could crawl into a cave and hibernate with the bears until Spring! Yet stockings can be conquered and in doing so, you bring happiness and create heirlooms. For this reason, I have always tri... [More]

Ever since I recognized that my retirement was going to be upon me quickly (about 10 years ago), I w [More]

You can never have too many bags.  We use bags for everything from storing tiny toys to carrying our groceries in "green" bags.  But last week my daughter decided she needed a huge bag. She teaches science two days a week at a local Christian school.  But since she shares th... [More]

If you have not yet tried Skype, you are missing one of the finest features the Internet has to offer. Most people know that you can call users worldwide if they have the correct equipment for free.  But did you know that: You can send files Send Instant Messages (IM) Create a conference... [More]

My love for embroidery is going on 10 years.  I cannot believe it, how time flies when you are [More]

And The Winner is………   Over twenty thousand people viewed the African Folklore Embroidery entries at the International Quilt Show in Long Beach.  As many of my readers know I travel around the country lecturing and teaching African Folklore Embroidery. I am always a... [More]

Halloween is just around the corner and with so many costumes to make this year I decided two things: 1) They need to be fairly simple, and 2) I need to start earlier than I have in the past.  The two older girls each have a definite ideas of what they want to be.  But what ... [More]

We are all trying to be more ‘green' these days, but some things may remain in your home that you are uncertain about.  Green means more environmentally safe, but I use some items that I really cannot do without.   I want to know exactly what is in those products.  It m... [More]

Embroidery is always trying to do new and different things.  My mother's embroidery was limited [More]

It’s great to find a new embroidery effect, and it’s even better when it’s as easy as the silk flower technique. Jackie Woods of www.greatnotions.com introduced me to the concept, and I found it absolutely stunning.   Jackie u... [More]

One of our granddaughters loves Frosty the Snowman.  We sing the song daily - even when it is 100+ degrees here.  We read the book almost as often.  So I decided to create a Frosty sweatshirt for her even though winter isn't here yet.  When I asked her what color sweatshirt s... [More]

We all get excited over a new piece of equipment, either for our computer or for our embroidery.&nbs [More]