So Much To Share! 

I have so much to share with you this week that I hardly know where to begin. Like many of you (but not all of you ), I love our new site, especially the way it lets people in our community talk to each other. Free designs are great, and I know that's why many of you still come to my site, but we have so many more ways to share now than just designs. Spend a few minutes in the Community section of the site (Blogs, Forums, Galleries) and see how much you can do.

Orlando Itinerary

First of all, I'm pleased to announce that we have our itinerary finalized for my first annual Community Circle in Orlando. If you haven't registered yet, it’s not too late to get in on the fun -- if you register before March 14th you will be entered into a drawing (and yes, if you have already registered you have been entered) to have a cozy little lunch with me during the event! Of course, I'd like to have lunch with all of you, but there's only so much (too much ) of me to go around! Anyway, Eileen Roche and I are ready to take you on a creative journey into the world of embroidery.  We’re excited to be able to show you our favorite techniques for creating great embroidery and give you lots of insider tips to inspire your creativity.  Whether you are just beginning or have been doing embroidery for years you’ll go home with lots of new ideas for expressing your creative side through your embroidery. For lots more laughs plan on attending the special dinner presentation too. There will be door prizes and a great goody bag valued at over $250. It’s my event of the year and we’re sure to have a blast!

My Beamish Boy

I really appreciate everyone's comments on my new site, and yes I do know that I can't just expect you to start using it without giving you some idea how! With that in mind, I would like to introduce all of you to my "beamish boy" (he hates when I call him that, so feel free to call him that in Orlando ), the young fellow (yes, Greg, 41 is still young!) who is a big part of making all the neat stuff on my new site happen. His actual name is Greg, and I've asked him to give you a tour of my new site over the next little while, and show you how to get the most of it. Want to know how to upload free stuff of your own or find lots more free stuff? He's your boy. Trying to find some advice on a new technique, or looking for something you saw on tv and desperately want to make? He'll tell you how to find what you're looking for. He's funny, he writes well, and I know you're going to love him! In his first post, he'll teach you everything you need to know about blogs. If you like his post, make sure you tell him (and use the nickname!).

Guest Bloggers

Speaking of handsome men, I'm really excited as well that we've lined up our first guest blogger for the new site. What is a guest blogger, you may ask? Well, Greg tells you all about it in his post, but basically it's someone in the industry who knows what s/he is doing, who is going to share all that expertise with the AnnTheGran community. Think of us as a kind of online magazine. Our first guest blogger is Ken Parsons, who is going to drop by from time to time and give us some little snippets of projects ideas that he has created with his software and designs. We've got five other guest bloggers lined up, all of whom will post regularly and share their knowledge and ideas with you. Doesn't that sound like fun?

New Project - Sheepdog Wall Hanging

We have a lovely wall hanging project, submitted by AnnTheGran user Barbara Schleter, that I think is also a great gift idea, especially for the dog lover in your life! Heartfelt expressions such as this are sure to be cherished by those who recieve the gifts. Remember that I love receiving your projects and posting them, so if you've got something that you'd like to show off to our community, send it to me at wow-you-made-that@annthegran.com.

Share the Magic!

In closing, I want to send out a special thank you to all of you who have sent feedback and suggestions on my new site. Way back when we started thinking about how we would re-build it, I thought it was very important that we have a structure that would come as close as possible to the magical atmosphere of a bunch of creative people gathering at a sewing retreat sharing ideas and inspiration. My beamish boy calls his blog the "Magic Bookshelf" for a good reason; we've had a few bumps in the road with the new site, but the general feeling among all of you seems to be that we're on the right track to re-creating that magical atmosphere of the sewing retreat online. The magic comes from you, our users and my friends, so I hope you'll continue to contribute, encourage, criticize (constructively!) and share so that the site grows to show just how much magic there is out there.

Talk to you soon!

Ann