LaRueSew-Quilting-Design, You Can Do It!

Sometimes we quilters and ME's want to do what we want to do. We buy books with patterns made by somebody whose tastes are similar to ours, but we want to do it our way. How can I arrange my favorite quilt blocks in a new and different way without taking hours with graph paper, a ruler and color... [More]

MONKEYS AND OTHER ANIMALS YOU CAN EXPECT TO SEE ON SAFARI

Do you have your binoculars ready, camera and  hat? Remember, keep your hands inside the jeep. While on this visual African Safari  remember the animals are not in cages, do not pat or feed them and most importantly remember you are a guest in thier environment!   You can expect to ... [More]

Calling All Experts! - Help Us Expand the Magic Bookshelf

Everyone is an expert at something. This is something I have always believed, and continue to believe. Sometimes that expertise extends to a broad subject, like embroidery or cars or lawn bowling, and sometimes it's very specific, like telling "Knock-knock" jokes, or knowing how ... [More]

June From Brother - One other thing...

Not sure where someone got the idea that we are already making an upgrade for the new Quattro....not true!  Trust me, I would know.....I still reeling from what it took to get this one done.  Nite all!

June From Brother - This and That

Well ladies, there certainiy has been lots of discussion about what to pay for a machine.  I have to say once Brother sells the product to the dealer, it is up to the dealer to set a reasonable price. They do that based on many things.  The most important thing for all of you to remember w... [More]

The Thrill of Digitry and the Agony of the Foot

    It seems like I’ve been away for a long time, even though it’s only been a couple of weeks since I’ve written. So, so much has happened. First of all, July-August is our family’s big birthday season. We have a couple of stragglers, the twins in October and t... [More]

Gizmos, Squissors, And Feed Dogs

  You had all better put on a pot of coffee and grab a couple of danish for this folks!It is going to be a long one this time, I have so much to share with you! First I would like to start with a brief history lesson. Did you know that the first commercially successful sewing machine was bui... [More]

New Dream Machine From Brother

  Hello! I am new to blogging, but there is no better time than now to jump online to tell you about the new machine that we at Brother have just introduced! If you haven’t already heard, our new top-of-the-line 'dream machine' was released a few weeks ago and it is truly a machi... [More]

LaRueSews - Quilting - BASIC TOOLS

Before I start to tell you about tools, I want you to know that I have been working on quilt projects that have been stacking up on me for years. The one I have done the most on is a quilt that goes back at least ten years. It is a scrap quilt that was a Guild project. It left me with ten blocks tha... [More]

Crash Course Cathy - WHERE in the WORLD are you?

WHERE in the WORLD are you ME’ers ( Machine Embroiderers(???!!!) FINALLY……….Here’s your opportunity to share WHERE YOU LIVE with AnntheGran’s Community!!!! It will be SO MUCH FUN to see where you ARE!!!! I hope you will SHARE!!!!! Those of you who have ... [More]

Safari in Africa

Hi, my name is Leora Raikin, and my company is African Folklore Embroidery. I am so excited to be a new blogger on the ATG website. I have just returned from four weeks in South Africa,(incredible!). In this blog I will be sharing with you a little about my experieince there, my connection to S... [More]

Time For Kangaroos And Pop-Up Baskets?

    Hello Everyone! Now that you have some of the basic things down pat (right?), we can move along to some other things, like the fun stuff with ME and sewing! This selection will include a simple project I think everyone will not only enjoy doing, but giving as a gift as well. Fir... [More]

LaRuesews- Rotary cutter, freezer paper and quilt shops

Well Quilters and ME’s, it’s time again for me to give you a few words of wisdom on the subject of quilting. Thanks to everyone who read and commented on my last blog. That gave me ideas of things to talk to you about this time. Pat asked me in one of her comments to talk more about free... [More]

Embroidered Pillowcases with Fancy Jumbles

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

Fay, Fay, go away!

and take your wind and rain with you! Although we havent had any flooding as some of our Central Florida Embroiderers have suffered, or gale force winds, the constant rain and wind for 5 days has my brain jumbled and I'm ready to tear my hair out. But, as far as I know, all of us embroiderers he... [More]

Test Blog

Test Blog https://www.annthegran.com/cs/cfs-filesystemfile.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Blogs.Components.WeblogFiles/larue-sews/Avatar.bmp Well, Quilters and ME’s, it’s time again for me to give you a few words of wisdom on the subject of quilting.  Thanks to everyone who read and c... [More]

The Floor Beneath the Magic Bookshelf - Ground Rules for our Community

Maybe it's because I'm a man, but when something is new, I just want to dive right into it and try it out. Forget the instructions, just let me rip open the package and figure out how to make it work. I guess old habits die hard, as it never occurred to me when we were preparing to lau... [More]

International Love of Cross Stitch and Hints for Perfect Stitching Result!

Why Cross Stitch? With the Olympics going on in China, it seems that some of the members of the Chinese teams share our love of this wonderful craft. Please go to the following webpage to see a fascinating article about how internationally loved, Cross Stitch can be! See Article…  ... [More]

Oh, Brother, are my brown eyes green!

  Let me preface this by saying that I absolutely LOVE my Brother machines, especially my Innov-is 4000D. I purchased the 4000D several years ago with the intent that this was to be my last and greatest machine. I have been happily sewing and embroidering with it ever since... [More]

Redwork - A Super-Simple Beginner's Project

Directions start @ paragraph 9 - Just a  hint to save you some time if you want to go to the project directly. (Chatty Cathy is going strong 1-8)   HH  (Hello Hello) Fellow M’Eers,   I hope all is going well for you and that your MEing is going great! I h... [More]

Olympic Rings, Cartoons, Questions and Paris!

  8/08/08 is a date that comes up only once in every century and it’s upon us as I write.  This time the date is even more special because it’s the date on which the Summer Olympics begins. I LOVE the Olympics, both Winter and Summer, and I’m so glad they they’ve s... [More]

LaRueSews - Things to Consider Before You Begin Quilting

Right from the beginning, I need to let all of you know that I am not a quilt/quilting expert. This blog developed because I spoke with the folks at AnnTheGran about something else and out came the idea of my writing a blog. I ask you all to take or leave what I have to say about quilting and then f... [More]

Shopping Up A Storm

HH all my fellow ME’ers….I’ve been SHOPPING up a storm!!!!!…. Actually it started right there in Orlando at Ann’s Community Circle the day BEFORE I won the machine last April… and it sort of hasn’t stopped….but I THINK, finally, I am getting reall... [More]

Hello All You Happy Stitchers !

Hopefully some of you already know who I am from popping in and out of the forums and blogs. For those of you that don't, this will introduce us to each other. Many of you have asked me how I first got started, not only with ME, but sewing in general. So, here it is! You can blame my Grandmother... [More]
AnnTheGran.com | Beautiful people make beautiful things

Easy Trick or Treat Bags

Hello all!  I am Virginia, an embroidery enthusiast and an educator for Dakota Collectibles.   I love creating things with embroidery and thought it would be fun to share my projects and ideas with others, so I am entering the world of blogging.  I use Dakota Collectibles' designs... [More]

Battenberg Lace Tree Skirt Makes a Unique Wedding Gift

Typical gift ideas for newlyweds include linens, fine china, or kitchen wares. But if you are looking for a wedding gift unlike any other, consider a monogrammed Christmas tree skirt. Ann's Battenberg Lace tree skirt looks quite elegant and is perfect for beginner ... [More]

Gotta Love a Baked Potato

For several years I have seen and heard about bags made to bake potatoes in the microwave. They are touted to produce fluffy, moist baked potatoes.  So when I had all the cotton stuff out to make the tortilla warmer I decided to make one and see.  Hey, what do you know, it works pretty wel... [More]

Yarn Threads

  This fall, you will be seeing lots of thicker threads – yarn-like in appearance – in retail stores. On my current trip East, I have seen tons of this decorating method on everything from sweatshirts to bags and even on the back of woven menswear shirts.     Industry su... [More]

Embroidery Advisor Presents: Autumn Toile Goodies

Hard to believe summer is almost over and Autumn is right around the corner.  Autumn can be a beautiful time of year though with all the colors changing, and is a good time to start on your embroidery projects for all of the upcoming holiday and seasonal events.    &n... [More]

Introducing Pre-Design Studio III

It has been a while since I posted here at the AnnTheGran site. Earlier this year we have released a new version of Pre-Design Studio, named "Pre-Design Studio III". We have added many functions that make it even easier to quickly create your own artwork for embroidery digitizing sof... [More]

What's a Tortilla Warmer?

Sometime ago, I saw an advertisement for tortilla warmers and loved the idea.  They looked fun and useful but the cost was $8.00 - $12.00 each, depending on the size, plus shipping.  "What a great way to use up scraps!" I thought.  So, I tore out the ad and saved it.&nb... [More]

The Hot Retail Look of Reverse Applique - You Can Do It Too

You don't need a $100,000 embroidery/laser cutting combo machine to create the reverse applique look that's so hot in retail stores right now. And it's the perfect time of year to put this impressive technique on sweatshirts. You can put this technique on lots of fabrics, but I particula... [More]

An Oldie but Goodie - Bag Keepers Never Go Out of Style

As you probably know by now we have been slowly trying to go green.  So we use cloth bags (see designer bags)for most of our shopping.  Even so, we still end up with some of those thin plastic bags from various places.  They have some uses such as lining the bathroom trash cans, tying... [More]

Winners in the African Folklore Embroidery $500 Challenge

  The entries in this year African Folklore Embroidery $500 Challenge, were spectacular. Congratulations to first place winner, Roberta Peterson from Woodland, Washington. Roberta attended an African folklore Embroidery class that I taught at Monica’s quilt and bead shop in Palm Spri... [More]

Favorite Fonts Galore!

I’m often asked about the fonts we choose for various projects, and folks are sometimes surprised when they find out some of my most favorite fonts—the ones I go to over and over again—are fonts digitized by AnnTheGran herself!  If you search the www.annthegran.com website for... [More]

Stabilizing Super Stretchy "Technical" Fabrics

Fortunately, manufacturers have developed wonderful, lightweight, moisture-wicking materials to keep us dry and comfortable in this record-setting heat. Unfortunately, stabilizing these materials is not as simple as other knits. In addition to being very thin, they also have more stretch than typica... [More]

I know They're in Here Somewhere!

Have you seen the big purses, or should I say suitcases, that are in style this year?  They certainly hold a lot of stuff but I continually see women trying to climb inside them to find their key rings.  Watching them always made me smile until the other night.  The heat index re... [More]

Quick and Easy Sample Book

   Wouldn't it be great if you could turn your sew-outs into a well-presented sample book? One that you could use to seel from, or just to show off your workmanship? You can! It's easy, inexpensive and quick to use some of your existing stitch-outs that had been relegated to ... [More]

Teaching African Folklore Embroidery to children

The past four weeks of summer have flown.  For the sixth year in a row I have been teaching children African Folklore Embroidery at a summer art camp. The children from ages 7-11 have from over thirty different arts related classes from which to choose. It is an honor that African Folklore E... [More]

Keeping It simple - Bandanas - Perfect for Summer and No Need to Tie

Our girls have longer hair but it is so fine.  Pony tails and pig tails seem to last about 20 minutes before the hair starts creeping out and looks messy.  We saw the teens at the park wearing bandanas  to keep their hair back and the oldest commented that she thought they w... [More]

Holding the Slippery Stuff

Slippage and marring are the two biggest challenges when hooping satin. Because of its soft hand, it is necessary to hold it securely without damaging the delicate surface yarns. Hoops may have nicks, splinters or burrs that can catch and damage these long delicate warp threads. I prefer that the ho... [More]

Embroidering for Pets

  Identify your pet and add fun sayings to pet bandanas. Make a patriotic one for the 4th of July - and then keep it rolling, making a new one for each holiday or mood. Rather than regular tie-style bandanas, you might want to make a slip-ver-the-collar bandana. This type of ban... [More]
AnnTheGran.com | Beautiful people make beautiful things

Embroidering On Velvet

A few weeks ago, many of you responded to my request for future blog topics. I’ve found your suggest [More]

What is a Channel Panel?

    I have begun to teach my new neighbor Savannah how to sew. For her firstproject, [More]

Ribbed Knits

We are excited to have Eileen Roche, Editor of Designs in Machine Embroidery share this content with [More]

Holiday Cocktail Coasters

Project Details: Holiday Cocktail Coasters By Stitchitize Skill Level: Some Experience [More]