Have you seen the big purses, or should I say suitcases, that are in style this year?  They certainly hold a lot of stuff but I continually see women trying to climb inside them to find their key rings.  Watching them always made me smile until the other night.  The heat index re... [More]

   Wouldn't it be great if you could turn your sew-outs into a well-presented sample book? One that you could use to seel from, or just to show off your workmanship? You can! It's easy, inexpensive and quick to use some of your existing stitch-outs that had been relegated to ... [More]

The past four weeks of summer have flown.  For the sixth year in a row I have been teaching children African Folklore Embroidery at a summer art camp. The children from ages 7-11 have from over thirty different arts related classes from which to choose. It is an honor that African Folklore E... [More]

When you hear of flowers and lace put together you probably think of a wedding or a nice country gif [More]

When you first started to learn machine embroidery, there was so much to learn that it was a very da [More]

Our girls have longer hair but it is so fine.  Pony tails and pig tails seem to last about 20 minutes before the hair starts creeping out and looks messy.  We saw the teens at the park wearing bandanas  to keep their hair back and the oldest commented that she thought they w... [More]

Slippage and marring are the two biggest challenges when hooping satin. Because of its soft hand, it is necessary to hold it securely without damaging the delicate surface yarns. Hoops may have nicks, splinters or burrs that can catch and damage these long delicate warp threads. I prefer that the ho... [More]

From the moment the first item of cloth was embroidered, clothing, church and home décor would never [More]

Gold Coast, Australia was recently the site of one of the largest embroidery conventions ever held, [More]

  Identify your pet and add fun sayings to pet bandanas. Make a patriotic one for the 4th of July - and then keep it rolling, making a new one for each holiday or mood. Rather than regular tie-style bandanas, you might want to make a slip-ver-the-collar bandana. This type of ban... [More]

Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?  With silver bells and cockle shells &am [More]

Mom was right, the devil is in the details and he has had a devilishly good time with embroidery - - [More]

USING CREATIVITY TO HELP THE ENVIRONMENT In the next few weeks many cities are enacting a law that will allow grocery stores to charge for plastic bags. Some of you have already been using reusable tote bags; some purchase these bland reusable bags from the store at which they are shopping. Howe... [More]

My cousin just came to visit and helped me do some Spring cleaning (yes...it's Summer already).  I was forced to face the dust that has been finding it's home on my sewing machines over time.  It's really not fair to the machines and I'm sure machine repairmen would tell me... [More]

Because quilt fabric is usually lightweight, embroidered quilt squares are often puckered. To avoid puckers on your squares, fuse a piece of ShirtTailorÒ by PellonÒ to cover the entire back of your square. It will not be removed after embroidery. Rather, it adds body to the quilt squar... [More]

Good Night! SleepTight!  Now that is something we all hope to do each night.  Whenever we don’t get enough sleep, there is usually something we can do about getting more and sounder sleep so we can stay in dream land longer each night.  Some people prefer to have it totally da... [More]

Many of us who are embroidery enthusiasts love to create wonderful projects for those who we love.&n [More]

At our house we always seem to be slightly behind and end up cramming to get our father's day gifts done the night before that special day.  Sometimes they don't go as planned and we spend a frustrating time figuring out what to do.  This year we decided to change this (maybe the r... [More]

Did you ever wonder how embroidery was done before computers? During the 1960s automated embroidery [More]

This is one of those words that looks familiar but we are never quite sure if we know it or not! How [More]

Would you like to win $500 Cash? YOU are invited to enter your completed African Folklore Embroidery in the upcoming challenge. Entry forms are on online at www.aflembroidery.com. THE GRAND PRIZE is $500 cash, 2nd prize $50 and 3rd prize $25.00. All entrants will receive certificate of part... [More]

Good Night! SleepTight!  Now that is something we all hope to do each night.  Whenever we [More]

I will start off by confessing that this project was definitely not my brainchild.  In fact, it [More]

  Fear No Pashmina! One of my favorite newer stabilizers is the self-adhesive wash-away mesh type. This stabilizer can be pricey, but it stands alone when you need the unique advantages offered by this highly evolved specialty product.The item being embroidered must be compatible with wate... [More]

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

I am constantly seeking something unusual for my bridal shop.  I enjoy bringing something reall [More]

Remember as a young child and one of your parents, or grandparents, would cuddle up next to you and read you a story before bedtime.  You would listen to your favorite story until your eyes slowly closed and you drifted into fairy-tale dreams.  Now that you have grown up and have children ... [More]

A friend gave me some leftover 5" squares of minky fabric the other day.  There were not enough to make a quilt so I pondered what to do with them.  In the meantime someone stepped on the clip that held the baby's pacifier so it didn't get lost.  She really only gets it w... [More]

I am so delighted to say that I belong to a group of enthusiastic embroiderers who meet once every m [More]

 JUNK IN MY TRUNK and the African Folklore Embroidery Elephants One of my favorite animals to observe while on safari is the elephants. I love watching the baby elephant walk in between his mom and dad and seeing how protective the moms are toward their babies. The elephant is the largest... [More]

I do follow a blog on Hoarding - https://hoardinghomesolutions.com - that I find to have some g [More]

When you create and design for over 20 years, you’re bound to have some favorites.  Join me tom [More]

Take a look at this perfect place to get all your SVG digital files for those amazing new projects! [More]

Now that the holidays are over, (thank goodness for small blessings) I am seeing a lot of people joi [More]

New Year resolutions don't have to be just about getting fit and losing weight. Let's also resolve t [More]

I started machine embroidery in December, 2001. I had just moved from Arizona to California, and aft [More]

If you are buying thread, especially ordering it online, there is no better resource than an actual [More]

We are excited to have Eileen Roche, Editor of Designs in Machine Embroidery share this content with [More]

Cork makes a great surface for machine embroidery. The best part? There are no edges to finish! One [More]

Candlewicking is as old as the 'old west' and as fresh as any of today's trendy designs. Created in [More]

We are excited to have Eileen Roche, Editor of Designs in Machine Embroidery share this content with [More]

I hope you had a chance to see my '3D' blog, I am really excited about it. I am planning to incorpor [More]

I don’t recommend items unless I have used them and believe in them. Here are some of my favorites! [More]

We are excited to have Eileen Roche, Editor of Designs in Machine Embroidery share this content with [More]

Black Friday is regarded as the busiest and, sometimes, most brutal shopping day of the year. The cr [More]

Of course, at the holiday season people are in a warmer and happier mood. This outlook is one that g [More]

https://www.annthegran.com/prd/supplies/designs-magazine/vintage-clutch-collection-1-bundle/1/vpurse [More]

If you are a fan of YouTube (I am a fanatic - hopelessly beyond a fan), there are thousands times th [More]

I'll show you four tips from my DIME cover project that will come in handy!It is hard to believe it [More]

It is mid October, 2019 and I feel like time is flying by, faster and faster. You know the drill, pl [More]

With Halloween just around the corner, the season of making is close behind. I’ll give you some tips [More]

Love to quilt and make crafts? Then you have a gift that could earn you some extra spending money. P [More]

We just released our brand new Lace Charm collection! What great gifts these make! Watch the rebroad [More]

One of the best things about in-the-hoop projects is that everything, including quilting, is done ri [More]

It has finally cooled down here in Arizona, it is 94 degrees today. . .I found some information on k [More]

Hello Embroidery Friends!On Thursday Eileen got down to the nitty gritty of fabric prep, hooping, an [More]

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Last time, you cut and marked all of your pieces for Nifty Notepads. Now I will show you a little tr [More]

I had written another blog which pointed out some things that are best done with the professional st [More]

In-the-Hoop projects are all the rage and so extremely easy to make. I'll give you some tips on maki [More]