Spooktacular Halloween Projects

I really enjoyed locking myself into my sewing room and creating these Halloween projects.  I think the color combinations of Halloween must be very pleasing to me, so I tend to collect lots of designs and fabrics for that holiday.  It was easy to dip into my stash of designs and work up a... [More]

Back to School, TGIBTS

[View:/cs/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Blogs.Components.WeblogFiles/avid-embroiderer.Back+2+School+2010/A-Haunted-Moon.zip]It may be true that in the spring, a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.  However, it is autumn that has a parental dance called, Thank Goodness... [More]

Hooping from the Inside Out

 Bag from www.embroiderthis.com Have you ever tried to embroider something and thought you would have to crawl inside it to hoop it?  Well, sometimes that is exactly what we have to do! Many items that have small openings are challlenging, but they can indeed be embroidered with a l... [More]

Keeping It Simple - Tags All in the Hoop

I went to have lunch with my granddaughter this week.  It was fun but one thing that amazed me was how many lunch boxes looked just alike.  And they were all jumbled together in huge tubs so it took the kids some time to find the one that belonged to them.  So, this week we made In-th... [More]

FREE: Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote on Sky Drive and Catalog Xpress Tip #6 Multiple Sorting

It seems like it was very recent when we were learning computers, the Internet and cell phones.  I am on my sixth computer and I cannot remember how many cell phones I have had.  Change is inevitable; stand still and you will be run over.  Sky Drive, a program by Microsoft, is one o... [More]

Fancy Jumbles Diaper Changing Pad

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

Keeping It Simple Embroidered Magnet Mania

Kids love to display their art on the fridge.  Adults too seem to stick up lists, reminders and notices where they can be easily accessed..  So, many marketers send information to us printed on these soft magnets in hopes that we will put them in this often viewed place in our homes.  ... [More]

Freebies, Dead Links and a Puzzle, and Catalog Xpress Tip #5, Recoloring and Backgrounds

If you have been online more than 1 week, you probably have a lot of "Favorites" or "Bookmarks" that you have accumulated.  I am a collector of links.  If I think I may be interested in something, but don't have the time at the moment and I create a Favorite. Beca... [More]

Keeping It Simple - Big Kid Hooded Towels

The girls are growing fast.  They love their baby towels with the hoods but are outgrowing them now.  When they complained about being cold after their bath the other night mom and I decided to make them larger "big girl" hooded towels for Christmas.  Then we remembered that... [More]

Free Artwork Software and Catalog Xpress, Tip #4, Conversions.

Drawing and designing is usually limited to those who have talent, I am not included in that group.  However, I did find a method of creating interesting designs that is fun and amusing for me.  I hope you like it too. Livebrush, is a fun way to create some interesting effects.  If y... [More]

Summer is super busy with African Folklore Embroidery

It was such an honor being invited by the South African consulate to exhibit my art-quilt, BEADED AFRICAN VILLAGE, for the hosting of the final game of the world cup soccer.  I got to meet and spent time with the delightful Vice Consul general as well as other African consulate members who were... [More]

Keeping It Simple - Sewing for Sunday

It has been a busy couple of weeks.  Our youngest has a baby girl now overdue.  But for several weeks she was put on bed rest - mostly due to extreme swelling.  So the rest of the family shared taking care of the other two (five years and two years old).  We kept them at our hous... [More]

Free Taskbar Calendar and Catalog Xpress Tip #3, Resize

This is absolutely my favorite computer clock and it includes a calendar!!!  I am not happy with a calendar that is on my desktop because it seems like it is always in the way.  In the Taskbar (lower right hand corner of most screens) is perfect because it shows me the day of the week, dat... [More]

Wedding Handkerchiefs - Stitch Out and Touch Someone

It's summer and wedding season is in full swing! I still get lots of requests to make keepsake wedding handkerchiefs. These are very personal and are the very best gift for the bride or groom to give to the special people in their life on the special day. Many people like to give them at th... [More]

South Africa, soccer, art and culture.... African Folklore Embroidery Exhibition and Competitions

In the next few weeks’ world attention will be focused on South Africa as a million visitors arrive for the FIFA 2010 world cup soccer. Not since the release of Nelson Mandela in February 1990 has so much attention been given to this country of forty-eight million people at the southern tip of... [More]

Keeping It Simple- Lampshade Makeovers

Our oldest grandaughter is getting a new room.  This has been in process for some time since her parents are updating their house at the same time.  So new trim, new doors and flooring were needed as well as paint and décor.  Papa will paint the trim next week end and... [More]

Hanging Zipper Caddy

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

Great Photography and Catalog Xpress Tip #2, Search

  If you enjoy good photography as much as I do, you will love this freebie.  National Geographic is one of the most outstanding photographic presenters of the world and I believe it will remain so for eternity.  Others may come and go, but some things are enduring.  Check this ... [More]

The Ultimate Baby Basket

Hello Fellow Embroidery Lovers!I am so excited to be writing my first blog entry at an Institution among us long-time embroiderers – annthegran. I have known Ann for many years and I can tell you that she is the real deal – what a treasure she has been to all of us who love embroidery a... [More]

Brother wins another award for innovative product design!

Dear Friends, It surely has been a long time since I have blogged but I did want to share the story of this very prestigious award that Brother has recently received....in the name of a wonderful sewing machine and it's very innovative features.... BROTHER INDUSTRIES, LTD. RECEIVES INTERN... [More]

LaRueSews-Quilts-All Wrapped up

LaRueSews-All Wrapped up Writing this BLOG for Ann the Gran.com has been one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had.  It has taught me that I can expand myself and my knowledge far beyond the things I have done before.  I have learned that I am indeed a writer, if given a t... [More]

Keeping It Simple - Barrette and Band Holders

Girly Girls! They love to primp at even the youngest ages.  Our five year old granddaughter loves makeup, jewelry, nail polish and curly hair.  Of course she has the straightest hair imaginable and no matter how much of that holding gel you use the curls never last more than ten minut... [More]
AnnTheGran.com | Beautiful people make beautiful things

What's Your Favorite Flavor?

A few weeks ago, I shared some tips on digitizing circles in Inspirations’ Perfect Embroidery Pro.&n [More]
AnnTheGran.com | Beautiful people make beautiful things

. . . and a good time was had by all!

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!

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]

An Addiction to Embroidered Greeting Cards

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]

Learning by Teaching, Teaching by Learning

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]

Quilters and Machine Embroiderers - Their Common Threads

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, whether you're having fun or not.

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]

Recent Changes and New Features - The Magic Bookshelf Under Construction

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]

Of course I like green but what’s this KIWI craze really all about?

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]

Grandchildren, gotta love 'em!

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]

Hand Cross Stitch leads to Machine Embroidery Cross Stitch

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]

Time to Get Comfortable - Making the Magic Bookshelf Your Own

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]

Does size matter? Well, that all depends.

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]

When you need really BIG letters

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]

What's in a name (tag)?

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]

Fathers and Dads and Daddies and Grandpas and Poppies, oh my!

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]

GETTING ORGANIZED...or one can at least hope!

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]

Lace - The Ultimate Beginner's Project

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]

A Whirlwind of a Week - AnnTheGran in Toronto

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]

Fun in the Magic Bookshelf - What's Your Idea?

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]

Even If I can't Hoop it, I can Embroider it!

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]

Great Embroidery Mysteries - The Case of the Messy Alphabet

  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]

Tons and Tons of Questions - Who Has Answers?

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]