Each week throughout the summer we’ll hear from a designer about a pattern or book that caused them to head in a new direction and helped form their career. This is the sixth post in the series. You can read all of them right here. Carina Envoldsen-Harris designs colorful embroidery patterns, mostly with floral themes….
Archives for July 2014
How to Run a Flash Sale on Facebook: Soldsie
Facebook is the largest and most popular online social network and almost all businesses have a Facebook page now. If you’ve really spent time building a large and engaged audience on Facebook you’ve probably tried to sell your products to your Facebook fans at one time or another. Posting a photo of your newest and…
Aurifil’s Alex Veronelli’s Online Behavior Seems Questionable to Me
I was on Twitter this morning and read this tweet from Alex Veronelli, the Product Manager and Public Relations specialist for the Italian thread company, Aurifil. I tweeted back, suggesting that this felt to me like an unprofessional thing to say on social media, given his role in the company. Veronelli replied, “On socials I…
New Lovey Dovey Set Coming Soon
I began selling PDF patterns in March of 2012. Some of my first designs were softies to make as baby gifts. I came up with a set of lovies and a teddy bear with a coordinating blankie. I’m really not sure where this idea came from, but boy am I glad I acted on it….
The Pattern that Changed My Life: Cintia Gonzalez
Each week throughout the summer we’ll hear from a designer about a pattern or book that caused them to head in a new direction and helped form their career. This is the fifth post in the series. You can read all of them right here. Cintia Gonzalez describes herself as an all-around crafter. She’s the…
Podcast Episode #25: Cal Patch and Jen Beeman
My guests on this episode of the While She Naps podcast are Cal Patch and Jen Beeman. Cal Patch has been a maker since she was a Girl Scout in the seventies. She sews, crochets, spins, embroiders, knits, prints, drafts patterns, dyes… hence the name of her label: hodge podge. Cal has taught all of…
The Pattern that Changed My Life: Susan Yates
Each week throughout the summer we’ll hear from a designer about a pattern or book that caused them to head in a new direction and helped form their career. This is the fourth post in the series. You can read all of them right here. Susan Yates helps pattern designers prep PDF patterns for sale….
Peanut Baby Sew-Along Wrap-Up and Prizes!
Even after all these years it still kinda amazes me to how we are all connected so easily with one another now. Host a sew-along and watch as women all over the globe sew from the same pattern, sharing ideas and fabric choices and getting motivated and inspired by one another. It’s pretty magical. From…
Hexie Lion Pillow Free Tutorial
I came up with this design by simply playing around with 12 paper hexagons, arranging and rearranging them like I was playing Tangrams. When I connected them to form a ring they looked to me like the mane of a lion and that was the spark that lead me to design this hexie lion pillow….
More Fun with Pete the Bear (a Free Pattern)
This weekend I pulled out the buckets of quilting cotton scraps and spent a fun few hours sewing some new Pete the Bears. Pete is a free pattern (download it right here) and is the perfect little canvas for playing with fun color combinations, trim, and buttons. My original Pete was sewn from wool scraps…