Without thread, embroidery is just a piece of fabric. . .  The thread can make a great design m [More]

Wristlets are great if you have lots of other stuff to haul around (like kids and diaper bags and laptops...) and don't want the extra weight of a purse.  But after a hard winter the ones we have been using look pretty bad so I decided to surprise the girls with new ones this week.  I ... [More]

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

These tips can be used for Windows XP and Vista - Operating systems vary, if in doubt, check with your provider and/or technical support.  It seems like everyone needs to save time. It is just a fact of life these days.  The following "Control Key" list is to help you do just t... [More]

Yes, I know - I do lots of baby stuff.  I can't help it - my girls and all their friends are at [More]

Every day I see digitizers trying to create something new for machine embroidery.  I see things [More]

(Baby Bibs and Burps are now available at AnnTheGran.com.  Click here , also click here to vew other new blanks on special)   Just recently we’ve had two customers call us to let us know they were unhappy with our baby items.  They said they “fell apart” and t... [More]

I have never been certain why Microsoft does not place a calculator on a computer screen. There are a number of them on the Internet, and I have one that I like for several reasons. For one, I can turn off or on the keyboard. With the keyboard off, I can just use my computer numeers. You can find it... [More]

Occasionally you may be working with a dense or very sheer fabric and experience what is called hoop [More]

Doll Making and the Ndebele Tribe- a special African Art form  The Ndebele, one of the smallest [More]

Newborn photo shoots are fun.  But what do you do with all those pictures?  Here is an ide [More]

       Make a HoneyBea Thread Doll set for your little Honey – No Batteries Required! When I was little, I loved the Betsy McCall paper doll in the back of McCall’s magazine, and I even cut out paper dolls from the pages of my Mother’s Sears Roebuck catalog.... [More]

I am a big fan of free computer software. Some of it is worth free and some of it is quite valuable. One that I like, and have found to be praised by many computer professionals is CCleaner by Piriform.com.  This one has a very nice Pedigree - - If you are not using this software, you may wa... [More]

     Individual designs can be found on my Stock Design Page.  My designs a [More]

Thread colors and names inspired by African Savanah  From The COLORFUL world of African Folklore Embroidery we bring you a complete selection of multi-colored hand dyed variegated threads from House of Embroidery, South Africa.  Our exquisite hand-dyed threads are suitable for all types... [More]

Frankly, when it is cold outside, it is also cold inside. I remember living in Phoenix and the air c [More]

Mural Painting- The Ndebele women-Creative Inspiration- Enter to win 4 African Folklore Embroidery kits  While there are many tribes in Africa, the magnificent beadwork, doll- making and wall mural painting of the Ndebele tribe are a constant source of inspiration. The houses of the Ndebele... [More]

Embroidery on knits can be tricky, but the real secret is in the hooping.To get great results on knits, you must stabilize this stretchy fabric. You probably know that the text book rule for fabrics that stretch is to use a cutaway stabilizer.This should be followed, except in rare instances. If it ... [More]

 You know that WWW stands for World Wide Web. Typing in WWW tells your browser that you are connecting to a Web server. However, as the Internet and related-technology evolved, prefixes became mostly unnecessary. But we are creatures of habit and many Websites use both WWW and non-WWW addresse... [More]

Hello, Granners! It has been a while since I've been able to write to you, and I'm sorry about that. For the last year or so we've been working hard on some new products. But while products are under development I can't really tell you much about what we're doing.... [More]

Many embroiderers enjoy reading magazines on line. The latest thing is to put them there for your co [More]

Some days I cannot find my keys, or my glasses or whatever I really need. Too often, I cannot find a file I need and that presents a lot of problems for me. I am always on a schedule and get frustrated with delays!  This small application is really worth its weight in gold and then some. Check... [More]

There are times when attaching a patch or emblem is a lot easier than trying to apply embroidery directly to a difficult item. Other times, it’s helpful to be able to change or remove the embroidered identification easily.  For these times, it’s nice to know how to make emblems... [More]

I hope your holidays were full of fun with family and friends.   I listened to people make their New Year's resolutions   the other night.  Some were new but many were the same old ones they make every year and find so difficult to keep.  So, we talked with the girl... [More]

Your current scissors are probably not going to make it to a museum, I know mine won't.  But a [More]

     Individual designs can be found on my Stock Design Page.  My designs a [More]

Quick Coasters in the hoop- Designs Included Ever need something right now!  Well last year one of the charity craft bazaars in my mom's neighbourhood needed lots of little things to fill in.  So we made a bunch of these in one night.  In sets of 4 of these quick coasters, tied i... [More]

If I had one item that I would have liked to really have been knowledgeable about from day one, it h [More]

Well, the Christmas music is playing everywhere, most of the shopping is done but the sewing pile still looms, at least at my house.  I have at least four more gifts to make before Christmas Day.  November and December have been busier than usually with things unplanned but just part of li... [More]

I started this project over a year ago and for various reasons, I did not want to proceed with it.&n [More]

We are looking forward to another grandchild and I have vowed not to be scrambling when it arrives to be finishing things up.  Only time will tell but our grandaughter and I have been working on a soft book for her new brother or sister.  We will show it to you when we ... [More]

Welcome to 2010 .. the New Year has me off working on my designs site.  It is truly a daunting task to find art that you are allowed to replicate and sell, digitize it, sample it, load it on the site, define the design, and ready it for sale and distribution.  No matter how tough, our staf... [More]

BEADED AFRICAN VILLAGE, - Positive beadwork and the Rainbow nation   Perceptions and associations of Africa frequently revolve around drought, starvation and AIDS. I wanted to design a piece that reflected the artistic and diverse cultural beauty of South Africa. While I love living in Ameri... [More]

  These tips can be used for Windows XP and Vista and MAC- Operating systems vary, if in doubt, check with your provider and/or technical support.   Several years ago, the 'powers that be' told us that we were going to become a paperless society.  I don't know about y... [More]

As the holiday season heats up I decided to get my toes operated on.  What was I thinking?  This is time of year when everyone is running around. Not me.  In the last few days I had to learn how to do my holiday shopping on line. My DIL helped me figure out how to get free shipping wh... [More]

About 3 years ago I was sitting on my porch looking out across the Puget Sound. John Deer (Adorable Ideas) and his family were visiting with us and we were just enjoying the view of the water and relaxing. It occurred to me to ask him, "If you could ask for any embroidery software feature that ... [More]

Just in time for holiday fun, here are a few tips for getting some really great shots.  Let's start out with some basics: Start with a camera.  OK, that sounds a little sarcastic, but the fact is that the auxiliary phones, ipods, etc., just don't have a great deal of real depth ... [More]

I've been looking through Spring catalogs from some of our suppliers and I'm seeing lots and lots of damask patterns and designs.  It inspired me to think ahead to next year because I'm sure you'll be seeing lots of it too!  It may be a little late to get something done for... [More]

Hello fellow embroiderers, design seekers and stash collectors! 'Leaping In' begins with a non-PC topic. No, I'm not being Politically in-Correct right out of the gate here at ATG. I'm talking about Mac computers and the lack of embroidery support for them. That other 'PC' ... [More]

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

AAAHHHH!  Christmas Time-It’s a wonderful time of year when we all rush around, from one party to another.  Rushing the kids to their parties, and activities, while planning for the cookies we will bake when we get enough time.  We spend hours, thinking, planning scheming for th... [More]

  These tips can be used for Windows XP and Vista - Operating systems vary, if in doubt, check with your provider and/or technical support.   Many people are confused between optical and digital zoom.  If you are thinking of buying a new camera for yourself or someone else, you c... [More]

By now everyone knows that at our house we have been slowly going green.  It not only helps the [More]

Hey Everyone!  It's that time of the year again---time to start coming up with some quick and easy gifts for folks on our list.   I try to make the most of every single minute I have in the sewing room because I just don't get as much time in there as I want.  But I do wa... [More]

  These tips can be used for Windows XP and Vista - Operating systems vary, if in doubt, check with your provider and/or technical support.   Years ago, I remember reading one of my favorite PC guru's newsletters and it said something like - This new PC has 10 MB of storage, you w... [More]

I have to tell you a story of love at first sight.  I have to tell you the story of Keiko.  She is one of the newest members of the family (kind of).  We have two dogs at our house - a sixteen year old Pomeranian mix and an almost two year old Papillon.  So do we need anothe... [More]

This has been a busy month. We recently went to Nashville again to sign a contract on a Motor Home that we saw last month. It’s like new, though used, and really beautiful. We will get it the first week of December.   Also, my sewing machine has been back to the factory, or wherever dis... [More]

Hello everyone.  Had some spare time in my new married life and wanted to touch base with this great community!! I have been emailing my customer base about needles and thread and how my experience may help those that are either new, or, just have never given these two important tools much tho... [More]

In today's office environment  the more popular method of communication is email but when my phone rings I can almost guarantee that I will be hearing from someone who is completely enthralled by sewing and wants to tell more people about what is happening in the world of sewing in the... [More]

Did you ever wonder what it would be like to actually see the top of your desk through all those bills, notes, orders ...... and the list goes on.  I know that feeling of "where did I just put that!"  I know it's within arms reach because it was just in my hand and I haven... [More]

I used to be a really nervous flyer, every bump, thump, or noise would startle me. Reading just would not relax me and chatting to the passenger next to me would not succeed in calming me. Things began changing for me once I started bringing my African Folklore Embroidery kit on board the air... [More]

These tips can be used for Windows XP and Vista - Operating systems vary, if in doubt, check with your provider and/or technical support.   Among the things that are really great about a computer, being available and handy are just two of the important issues.  When I sent to school, w... [More]

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

Each time she visits my granddaughter asks if we can get the manger set out early this year.  It is very old and worn but she loves to play with it, taking the figures on the trip to Bethlehem.  We make a tradition of getting the house ready for the Christmas holidays the weekend after Tha... [More]

  Hello everyone.,   I am sorry we missed many of you at this weeks webinar for "What Constitutes Good Embroidery and Digitizing".  There was a technical error with the link posted.  We are excited to say the webinar is rescheduled:   Host:  Scott Phillip... [More]

People who know me know that I love to ask questions that generally lead to "six degrees of separation." Asking those questions usually leads to a discussion of sewing, and you know how much I love that.  Recently I was asked to attend St. Louis Fashion week.  Shouldn't need ... [More]

Hi there EveryBuddy.  Three weeks has come and gone, again. Blogging time is here.  I hope that all of you have been diligently making the last block I gave you in LaRueSews BOM.  This time it will be a quick one, both BLOG and block.  I have been out of town for a few days.&nb... [More]

  These tips can be used for Windows XP and Vista - Operating systems vary, if in doubt, check with your provider and/or technical support. The following tip is my absolutely favorite tip that I ever found.  I hope you will like it too. If there is something that aggravates about tele... [More]

  This week I finished putting up my Halloween decorations.  I made a few new ones this year, since my old ones were simply falling apart.  Instead of the scarecrow on the front door I made a wall hanging that is interchangeable for each holiday.  But that is a project I will sh... [More]

In today's market the true professional digitizer who knows how to create crisp small letters, make your sewing machine sing through a 200k stitch design without a thread break and create some of the best looking embroidery you will see on material are becoming extinct.  Those who are becom... [More]