Any one up for a Bird Safari... introducing the SANUFU BIRD,Roosters and chickens... Bring your binoculars.... South Africa has a large and varied bird population. Over 3 000 birds (and small animals) of 400 different species are uniquely presented in more than 100 spacious landscaped walk t... [More]

I recently read somewhere that in order to keep our brain fresh and vibrant, it is important to exercise it the same way that we exercise our body.  That exercise includes doing the embroidery we all love, but it can also include games, puzzles, as well as the everyday issues we face.  Tod... [More]

I suppose we all have had this happen from time to time (or more often!) that we are minding our own [More]

Greetings to all! In my travels I get to visit with customers who love to sew and embroider as much as I do.  I try hard to listen to what people are wanting and asking for, and what they need help with most.  I'm always surprised at how many experienced embroiderers are afraid to sti... [More]

  Home can mean different things to different people. To many of us home implies the house we live in, with solid walls and floors.  To many in Africa, home is a hut with thatched roof, known as a “rondavel’   South Africa, the country in which I was born and grew up, i... [More]

Summer is here to stay I think.  The vegetable garden that I planted in April has started to produce... I have little green tomatoes on each and every plant.  We will soon be able to pick the first zucchini and I think there will be lots more coming on!   I have cucumbers that wi... [More]

  The following tips can be used for both Windows XP and Vista.Operating systems vary, if in doubt, check with your provider and/or technical support. I like to be a little more individual than most; I change my colors of my embroidery at will, and I use many different fonts when I am able t... [More]

It is time for perfect brides to be walking down a perfect isle, in a perfect gown, with a perfect m [More]

Some of you may remember that I have been working on a complicated project.  I called it my "1,000 year project" when I began in 2003. Well, I am 993.5 years ahead of schedule. I finished it after having surgery on my hand in March.  Here it is:  Indigo Sunset. This time ... [More]

May, June and July seem to be big months this year for babies.  Our daughter and most of her fr [More]

I would read more if I could find the time. Since I have found “Books Should Be Free” I felt I could [More]

Hello, hello, are you still there? You didn't blow away did you?  This is currently a common gr [More]

I have always been a fan of scarves.  They are feminine, fluid and so graceful.  They brig [More]

My Brother is quite involved with a fundraising group here for kids with cancer.  Last week they had a  group walk, a big dinner and a silent auction.  There were all kinds of items in the auction for  almost any dollar level including a $10.00 purchase table that did not require... [More]

  The following tips can be used for both Windows XP and Vista.Operating systems vary, if in doubt, check with your provider and/or technical support. I had a lot of difficulty with my Adobe Reader recently.  All things considered, it was a very bad situation and I wanted to drop kick t... [More]

Mother's Day will be upon us soon.  Since my mother has already completed her earthly jour [More]

I just finished a dress for a friend this week.  I seem to have a hard time getting to my quilting projects.  Saying “yes” to too many things besides quilting keeps me from doing what I love most.  Right now I have at least five quilts in progress.  That is not to men... [More]

I am not sure why but many of our favorite shops for infant clothes have gone out of business over the past year or so.  These shops featured handmade items that were unique but really reasonable in price.  In the past, when life was too busy to sew we frequently bought clothes for the gir... [More]

  The following tips can be used for both Windows XP and Vista.Operating systems vary, if in doubt, check with your provider and/or technical support. If you ask me what I most enjoy about the AnnTheGran site, it would have to be the people on both sides of the computer who make up the commu... [More]

Nothing suggests spring more than flowers. Walk around your neighborhood and the beauty and colors o [More]

I am sorry to say that I haven't had time to embroider this week, but I do have a Going Green projec [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]

  The following tips can be used for both Windows XP and Vista.Operating systems vary. If in doubt, check with your provider and/or technical support. Here is my version of great Net information and money saving tips and tricks.  I love finding these, and get a lot of my links from high... [More]

Ribbons have been a part of embellishments, decorating and crafting ever since man first figured out [More]

We have been out and about the last week or so with the grandkids in tow.  They love the park, [More]

This Blog is a week later than it should be because I have been on the mend from a little surgery that I had three weeks ago.  I had a trigger finger on my right middle finger.  That is a very important finger for me because it is my “needle-pusher” finger when I am quilting.&n... [More]

The following tips can be used for both Windows XP and Vista.Operating systems vary, if in doubt, check with your provider and/or technical support. I hope by now everyone has read my blog on Rogue Software.   Protecting yourself and your family on the computer is really important. ... [More]

There are a few times of the year when we have a greater feeling of love, warmth and joy and Easter, [More]

I recently began teaching a new class called: "The application and inclusion of silk ribbon in your African Folklore Embroidery design". The class focuses on using the silk ribbon as one would regular embroidery thread. Silk ribbon is wonderfully versatile and forgiving fiber. For those of... [More]

I am convinced that clutter multiplies all by itself.  I have been trying to clean closets and drawers and am amazed at the number of bags we have to give to the local charity.  Not to mention how many times I have filled the recycle and trash bins with stuff that someone "just had to... [More]

I’m not going to dwell on the fabulous lunch that we Central Florida machine embroiderers enjoyed a week and a half ago. Well, I MAY dwell on it, because it WAS fabulous. First of all, there were 24 of us, including four husbands, two of whom are into machine embroidery. You can find lots of p... [More]

Welcome to the AnnTheGran Community! Many people know AnnTheGran.com for free embroidery designs, and that's great, but now the site offers so much more. If you've just been using my site to get free designs, you've been missing out! If you have a question about anything related to you... [More]

Can you believe that July is almost over?  We have the strangest weather here this year.   One day it’s about 100 degrees and the next it barely gets into the 70s.  The month has breezed by filled with gardening (my tomato plants are all dying and I don’t know why), g... [More]

HH Fellow MEers!!, HOW are you doing???!!! I’ve missed hearing from you !!! Warning….(If you want quick and easy and lots to do with embroidery…skip this blog and wait to read my next one that I will be posting very soon.) (Sorry on my part because Chatty Cathy wasn’t ... [More]

Thanks for responding to my request for what you wanted to talk about!  Endless Hooping was the [More]

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

I've been invited to Blog about quilting for ATG. I’ve used LaRueSews as a nickname because I do all kinds of sewing. But maybe sometime it will change or morph into something more "quilty."* My name is LaRue Jones. (LaRue is spelled with a big "R"). I was born in ... [More]

Time flies, doesn't it? First I had a house full of kids. Then I had a car full of kids. Then my nephew in Tallahassee had a boat full of kids. Then I had a car full of kids again. Then I had no kids. Then I got on an airplane and spent 4 days in Kentucky with my youngest grandson, 3 1/2, who sa... [More]

Expanding Bookshelf Hard to believe, but it's only been four months since my inaugural post here on the Magic Bookshelf. I've covered blogs, wikis, digital scrapbooks, tags, product ratings, and lots of other topics, and some great ideas have come back from you. The idea of this blog was to... [More]

Now, what is all this about green paper?  This was my initial thought when I first heard the term KIWI paper.  Oh, its paper and you can supposedly embroider on it.  We've all done that before but it is so hard to find really fun designs that don’t ruin the pa... [More]

Here it is July already. Where in the world has the year gone? One place it went was lickedy split right by me and until today I hadn't seen any of my grandchildren since Christmas, two of them since before Christmas. But today was delicious. DD's 3 oldest are in Florida for the month with t... [More]

Needles           General Information:  The low [More]

With so many gorgeous designs available in machine embroidery, why choose Cross Stitch?  Don’t Cross Stitch designs take forever to stitch? What about all those thread changes and jump stitches that need to be clipped? These are all legitimate questions for machine embroiderers. My name is Don... [More]

Digital Hugs  People are really starting to have some fun in our community. Many of you are taking advantage of some of the great features that make it possible to really share yourselves and the results of your creativity. A number of you have commented on the blogs and fo... [More]

Size matters if you have a design that’s 5 inches wide and your largest hoop is 4 inches wide. Size matters if you want to make a border along the edge of a tablecloth. Size matters if you want to combine two or three designs, each the size of your largest hoop, into one big design. Firs... [More]

Hello, all ME blog readers.  I got to know many of you at this year’s Community Circle in Orlando. If you were there and don't remember me, there's a picture of me on our About Us page. I also post from time to time in the forums under my username db1921 and I created the cof... [More]

A while ago I nudged y'all a little about forming local "Community Circles" so you could get together once in a while to have lunch, chat, make projects and generally help each other out. Believe me, it was NOT my doing, but the "How many live in Central Florida?" thread has ... [More]

This one's for you, DaddyWhen I was small we didn't have a lot of money. Sometimes I don't think we had any. As time went on my parents incomes improved. But they didn't really change their lifestyle very much. Oh, the year I left for college they did carpet my bedroom (which had bec... [More]

HH ME’ers!!!, (Hello Hello, Machine Embroiderers)Just back from a glorious trip to the beach. Yeah!!!! While there, I came to the conclusion that before I take another embroidery class in order to blog about it,I needed to …… Whoa! …… Stop!......... & GET ORGANIZED!!! I needed to:1.  &... [More]

Having trouble thinking of what to write about this week. I know, those of you who have attended any [More]

Hooping 101   Initially, I thought I might be able to discuss hooping in a single blo [More]

Hear Ye’ Hear Ye’ …STOP the PRESS ….  The ULTIMATE Beginner’s Project is………….. LACE!! HH ( Hello Hello )  all you fellow ME’ers!!! I have been shopping up a storm!... and MEing too…. Speaking of shopping, Ann’s store has some good specials right now!!!!! Have you gone to her ‘shop' ... [More]

It feels as if I was just packing for this trip and here I am home again! Bill and I had a fabulous time in Toronto. First and foremost it was a delight to have a 3rd annual "Spring Fling" with our dear friends Loes and Theo van der Heijden from the Netherlands. Second, it was wonderful to... [More]

Recent Brainwave   Believe it or not, it only occurred to me very recently that, with all the wonderful things available on our new site, we had never actually asked our loyal users where they want us to go next. I’ve told you on my blog here what we’ve planned, but I haven’t asked you w... [More]

Worth Waiting For?  Well, so much for posting every week to this blog! I hope you'll allow me to claim vicarious blogging as an excuse -- lots of my time lately has gone into getting our two new guest bloggers (and a few more who you don't know about yet) up and running. Cathy'... [More]

Hi, folks,  Had another great question in last week's post from gpleasant, who asked how to hoop towels, under and over. I can tell you how I hoop towels. Bath towels are as liable to be viewed from the back as from the front, so I want both to look good. That means two things. First,... [More]

When a group of embroiderers gather, one subject is certain to come up . . . . . stabilizers  & [More]

  Digitizing Mystery  I began digitizing alphabets eight or nine years ago. I like doing it and I take a lot of pride in my work. You can imagine how distressed I was when I began receiving a few messages telling me that the capital and lower case letter "A' was appearing as a b... [More]

HH (Hello Hello!) Fellow Embroiderers,  How are ALL of you??? What things are you doing these days???!!!!! How many NEW embroiders are out there like me. (I stitched my 1st design last week. Yeah!!!). It would also be interesting to find out who has embroidere... [More]

Introduction:  Tips and tricks and an occasional trap 5/10/08   Because I so enjoy ta [More]