AnnTheBlogger : eileen roche

You Ruined My Brand New Silk Blouse!

AnnTheGran — Fri, 02 May 2008 17:33:00 GMT

Every now and then I'll receive an angry email that goes something like this: "I used one of the free designs from your site and it sewed out terribly and ruined my brand new silk blouse. Don't you sew out those free designs before you put them on your site?"

Well the truth is that at one time I did sew out all of the free designs that were submitted. But eventually the design submissions and my time became at serious odds with each other and I stopped sewing them all out. Of course, all of the ones offered for sale are tested and re-tested before they can be posted, but that isn't necessarily the case with the free designs. Why not? Well, in truth, in the early years, when those of us who were digitizing designs were just starting out and climbing slowly up the learning curve, some of the designs didn't stitch out perfectly. But they all stitched out acceptably. So how can you prevent me from ruining your life? Always, always, always stitch out a sample of any design you're planning to use, whether it's a downloaded freebie of an expensive custom design. Stitch it with the thread and stabilizer you're going to use on the finished product and stitch it on the same or similar type of fabric. Every design will not sew out well with every kind of thread, every kind of stabilizer and on every type of fabric. The free designs on my site were contributed by generous digitizers from all over the world, some rank amateurs and some seasoned professionals. Stitching a sample first will save you from a lot of unhappy results.

Which brings me to two other points. First, a story about an unhappy result of my own. I had enlarged a design and was stitching it on a t-shirt for my grandson. About a quarter of the way through I could see that the design hadn't resized very well and was stitching out very badly. So, I removed the shirt from the hoop and used my Peggy's Stitch Eraser to remove every last stitch without bruising the t-shirt in any way. It wasn't until after I had finished, very pleased with myself, that I realized that I had just spent 2 hours removing stitches from a t-shirt for which I had paid all of $1.62. I hadn't worked for 80¢ an hour since my high school babysitting days (Actually, that was 50¢ an hour, but who's counting?) and had to laugh at myself for my foolish frugality. Now I'm more discriminating about when to fix something and when to just toss it out.

The second thing being that I received my Designs in Machine Embroidery magazine this week and there's a terrific article by my friend Deborah Jones about embroidering on t-shirts. Speaking of Designs magazine, one of the things I really like, besides all the great projects, is that the models are shaped like normal women. Oh, and my picture inside the back cover this issue! How cool was that? I need to frame that and hang it on the wall. Okay, maybe not . . . Something else I noticed in the latest issue is that Eileen says she doesn't like reality television. Now I'm really embarrassed that I told her that something y'all would be surprised to find out about me is that I watch reality TV. So I'm taking this opportunity to change my answer. Something you would be surprised to learn about me is that I have a James Dean doll leaning on my monitor. It's a long story . . .

Chatting and journaling and posting, oh my! After Greg (Beamish Boy) read my last blog post he sent me an IM questioning my use of the Internet acronym "IMHO." He thought I should include an explanation and I thought you all knew what that stood for. You did, didn't you? In My Humble Opinion. I sometimes forget that all of you haven't been online for years and years, and even those of you who have haven't necessarily been visiting online chat rooms, posting in forums or exchanging IMs. (Those would be Instant Messages.) I won't even go into text messaging on cell phones, because I'm not good enough at that to do it very much. In order to speed things up and not wear out our fingers, those of us who do those things use Internet acronyms, like DD for Dear Daughter, DH for Dear Husband and, in the same vein, DS, DDIL, DGS, DGD, etc. You can figure those out for yourselves. There are some that I use a lot, like BRB (Be Right Back) and TTYL (Talk To You Later). There's even one, NAYY (No Affiliation, Yadda Yadda) that was invented by and is used by machine embroiderers. We use it when we recommend a product we love, but have no financial interest in. Sometimes I'll use it in a different venue and no one has any idea what I'm talking about! And there's one that I use, IAG (It's All Good), and I don't think anyone else does. Those of you who are interested in more information about Internet acronyms (including why they're not acronyms at all) can click here, and for a list of the more common ones, click here.

That's all I've got right now. TTYL, KWIM?
Ann

Community Circle Thanks and Video Demonstrations

AnnTheGran — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 16:15:00 GMT

Hi, everyone!

Well, I think I've recovered from our fabulous Community Circle! I want to thank everyone who attended as well as Diane and Pardeep for keeping things running smoothly and, of course, Greg, for overseeing everything. Thanks also to Eileen Roche for her terrific classes, great products and those questionable questions during our question and answer session at dinner. I fear that all of you who were there now know more about me than you ever wanted to know (or I ever wanted to tell you)! And how about the terrific deal on the new Brother machine? Thanks to George and Jewell from Brother for bringing the machines to us and showing all interested parties how to use them. Congratulations as well to Cathy Spencer, our very popular winner of the Brother PE-700 machine that was our big door prize! What a great story, that the one attendee who comes without a machine to go home to is the one to win it!

I had such a special time meeting and eating with you. AnnTheGran has been around for nearly a dozen years now and I can't believe you all are still with me! Lets keep those tears I shed on the first day just between us, okay? I sure hope we can do this again. It was too much fun not to repeat!

Please, please keep in touch with each other and try to meet up every once in a while. The forums are a great place to do that! And by the way, for those of you who watched Greg post on my behalf on Friday morning, that question about the life of thread is still mostly unanswered in the forum, even though we had some great answers in the room! It's not too late to go and answer it! Anyway, I know I'm going to be in contact with the Central Florida contingent and we're going to be planning some hi jinks. We do need to get out from behind our computers and machines once in a while!

We took lots of videotape at the event, much of which you'll be seeing up on the site in the coming weeks and months. Some of you mentioned that you'd like to see more video on our web site. Well, we are working on that, but in the meantime, I thought I'd send you a list of items for which we do have video now. All of the following links are product videos, but we are definitely planning to post some "non-salesy" video links as well. Also, if any of you have instructional video that you've posted on YouTube, let me know and we'll be happy to link to it from my site.

Here are some products that include video demos (sometimes you need to scroll down to the tabs to view the videos):

Alphabet Xpress lettering software

Catalog Xpress software

Magna-Hoop

Perfect Placement Kit

In The Hoop Kit

Perfect Towel Kit

Madeira Incredible Threadable Box

Madeira Thread Treasure Chest

Klasse Needle Value Pack

That's all I have for you today. I'm still getting back into the swing of things after Community Circle, so if my correspondence is a little disrupted, I hope you'll forgive me. Keep sending in your projects to me at wow-you-made-that@annthegran.com and I'll keep posting them for all to see.

Talk to you soon!

Ann

Easter Break to Prepare for Community Circle

AnnTheGran — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 18:43:00 GMT

Hi, everyone,

The gang here is taking a little break for Easter and using the time to polish off some final preparations for my Community Circle event in Orlando, so I thought I'd just put together a brief note to let you know that I'm still alive and kicking -- well, moving my legs anyway.

I am very, very excited about seeing some of you in Orlando -- I'm hoping to give you back as much energy and enthusiasm as you give me. I must confess though, that I am a little sad that we still haven't managed to fill up the event. It seems this old gal can't attract the crowds she used to! I guess that's what I get for not showing my face for so long...

But seriously, for those of you who aren't coming, I'd love to know why you aren't. This was our first time organizing this type of event, and there have been a few glitches, but I thought we really put together something special. Eileen Roche and I in the same room as a group of embroiderers? I mean, c'mon; does it get any better? So I'd like to know, if you aren't coming, is it because we made it too expensive, is it too far away, are the dates wrong, were you hoping for different kinds of classes? This is a learning curve for all of us and we want to make sure we're climbing up the curve rather than sliding down. Please use the Comments feature below to tell me why you aren't coming.

And if you've considered coming but still aren't quite sure, let me know what I can do to get you here! We're already giving away TONS of stuff and I've been hitting the treadmill so that I'll have enough energy to keep everyone buzzing, but maybe there's something that my team and I have missed. If there is, and it's something I can reasonably provide, send me a personal e-mail at wow-you-made-that@annthegran.com and I'll see if I can get you to Orlando! If you've just been procrastinating (especially if you live here in Florida!) and you need to register, you can get all the info here. The very latest that you can register for the special dinner event with me and Eileen is March 26. You can be sure it will be a hoot!

Hoping to hear from you either way!

Ann

Orlando Itinerary, Handsome Men & New Project

AnnTheGran — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 15:42:00 GMT

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

AnnTheGran Community Circle in Orlando - A Few More Hints

atgadmin — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 20:52:00 GMT

OK, gals, mark your calendars today – April 3rd and 4th – less than 9 weeks away. It’s time to get together and re-energize our passion for embroidery at the first annual AnnTheGran Community Circle retreat. I love sunny Orlando and we’ll spend two whole days exploring innovative techniques, inspirational tips and the latest and greatest in the world of embroidery.

Now, here’s the plan:

On Thursday:

- To kick off the fun, we’ll all gather for a continental breakfast and coffee. I’ll tell you some of my stories. We’ll have some laughs and rev up for the day.
- Then it’s off to morning seminars. Of course you’ll see me and I’ve invited embroidery expert and educator, Eileen Roche, to share her knowledge and inspiration with you as well.
- At lunchtime you’re on your own. You can visit the area restaurants and then do a little shopping in our AnnTheGran travelling store.
- Afternoon seminars will be packed with more project ideas, and “how-to” techniques and tips to take back home.
- Then we’re planning a dinner and evening of more fun with Eileen and myself.

On Friday

- We’ll do breakfast again, I'll walk you through my new site and, if you're not afraid of cracking the lens on your camera, you can have a photo taken with me if you like
- We’ll share more enthusiastic morning seminars with Eileen and me.
- Lunch same as on Thursday.
- Then we’ll wrap it up with more information packed seminars.

Now, here are a few of the details:

-You get to attend all the seminars and breakfast with me both days for only $129.00.
-And you won’t want to miss a great dinner and an evening with Eileen and me – Your choice whether or not to attend, but a great bargain for $30.00
-While at the retreat you’ll get a stuffed goodie bag including samples of some of our products, but in addition a one year membership to Ann’s Club worth $60.00 and AnnTheGran Essentials Embroidery Design CD valued at $199.
- When you register you’ll be entered into a drawing for some fantastic prizes.

More on how to register, how to get your hotel room (if you need one), and details on the seminars will be coming your way very very soon. But remember to put a big X on your calendar for April 3rd and 4th now and make plans to join us. We’ve got lots of new ideas, creative techniques and innovative embroidery processes to share.

Hope to see you in Orlando!

Best Wishes,

Ann