I would read more if I could find the time. Since I have found “Books Should Be Free” I felt I could listen when I was embroidering or relaxing in the evenings.
This site has public domain audio in MP3 which is iTunes playable. You can take them with you or listen from your PC. Of course, iTunes is a free program from Apple. You can do a lot with iTunes, such as listen to free Podcasts, Movies and Books. Of course, there are also rentals and purchases of some of those items as well.
Speaking of saving money, if you have a membership any place in this world, you know that memberships do have their rewards. If you are a member of a discount club, you can go there to get 2 items and spend $100. (You probably know who that is - - I won't mention names, but the initials are Costco.) If you are a member of a fraternal order, you can enjoy the friendship of like-minded people.
Benefits for AnnTheGran site members are abundant, and significantly more are available for members of Ann's Club. I am going to recap some of them because long time members can forget all the perks too.
The site membership is free and only takes a few moments. The site has clear and concise policies concerning your information. The policy states that your information will not be sold or rented to other groups. Read it if you feel that other sites have not been honorable with your information.
Becoming a site member allows one to join in interesting discussions and contribute thoughts as well as photos.
Registration is simple, quick, and easy. You may opt to receive the newsletter lets you know about sales, new items, and blogs to name just a few of the benefits. Naturally, you can opt out of the newsletter at any time.
And, despite registering, you still can be online, without signing in, thereby still being ‘anonymous' if you choose.
The membership in Ann's Club is 14 cents per day for 2 years, or 28 cents a day for 90 days.
Exclusive benefits for members of Ann's Club: (I am estimating what I save on these)
My savings for the past year
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1 Adhesive med tear away
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19.00
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1 Adhesive WSS
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20.00
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1 Textured Nylon Cut
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15.00
|
Peggy’s Stitch Eraser
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5.00
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Composition Software
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30.00
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Bonance (alpha)
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12.25
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Carnation (alpha)
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10.00
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Murphy (alpha)
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10.00
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Total Savings (one year)
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121.25
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Annual Membership Fee
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59.99
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Net Savings
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61.26
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(Does not including free designs, discounted designs, Phrase Pack, Digitizing Services)
Then I conducted a test. I selected 3 different stabilizers from AnnTheGran, totally at random. I went on the Net to find similar stabilizers, again selecting site at random. My results were quite interesting. For one thing, everyone packages differently. So, I determined the actual cost per square yard and these are my results:
Stabilizer Type/per square yard:
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AnnTheGran
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Others
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Medium Tear away
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1.741
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2.666
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Medium Tear away Adhesive
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4.909
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10.472
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Water Soluble
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3.709
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10.472
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I found two sites that do have annual fees, one is $80 and the other is $65 (including 30% off stabilizers and some supplies). Both sites give you all the 'free embroidery designs' you want. Be sure what you are getting for your money, I would encourage you to check out The Avid Embroiderer's Blog (me) which touches on quality of designs.
If you are not a Club Member yet, give it a try.