In 2013 my book, Stuffed Animals: From Concept to Construction, was published by Lark Crafts. This book was my baby. The idea for it came to me way back in 2009 when I was searching for a guide to designing my own sewing patterns for stuffed animals and couldn’t find one. After months of looking…
5 Lessons I Learned About Business from Orange Theory
Earlier this year my 15-year-old daughter, Roxanne, came home from a meeting of one of her afterschool clubs to tell me that they were hosting a fundraiser at Orange Theory. “Will you donate $30 and take a class there to help us raise money?” she asked. How could I say no? As I’ve mentioned here…
Quilt Market Needs to Embrace Tomorrow’s Buyers
Quilt Market is taking place in Kansas City in just a few weeks. Unlike the fall show which is always in Houston, the spring show rotates through different cities which makes it harder to compare year to year. Still, looking at the exhibitor list the show appears to be down 25 exhibitors from last year…
Book Review: Handmade Houseplants by Corrie Beth Hogg
A few weeks ago my 15-year-old, Roxanne, and I checked out Handmade Houseplants: Remarkably Realistic Plants You Can Make With Paper (affiliate link) by Corrie Beth Hogg from our local library. This book was published in September of 2018 by Timber Press and we were excited to find it on the new releases table. Roxanne…
Love It or Hate It? The Pattern Cabinet and Table at JOANN
When was the last time you sat here? Maybe it was just a few days ago, or sometime this month? Maybe these chairs, that long beige table and pile of thick catalogs, bring back memories of sitting here with your mother or your auntie or your son, planning what you’ll make for a recital or…
How Digital Printing Will Impact the Quilting Cotton Market
Michael Miller Fabrics will begin printing the majority of its quilting cottons digitally in 2019. The shift from screen printing to digital printing is one that Michael Steiner, the co-owner and company president, has been contemplating for a while. “We’ve been printing a small percentage of our quilting fabric digitally for three years now,” Steiner…
Vera Bradley Makes a Debut Presence at QuiltCon with Exclusive Products and Charity Quilts
“Quilt Floral” is an exclusive pattern by Vera Bradley for QuiltCon. You might have noticed a new brand at QuiltCon this year. Fort Wayne, Indiana-based luggage and handbag brand Vera Bradley was a platinum sponsor of the event and had a booth on the show floor where they unveiled four bags, a lanyard, and an enamel…
10 Things You Didn’t Know About Etsy Search
Updated May 31, 2021: I’ve created an updated version of this article since some of this information is now out of date. Have you ever listed something on Etsy with high hopes of making lots of sales and then…crickets? The reality is that Etsy is a really crowded marketplace. There are currently 2 million active…
How to Buy Quilting Fabric Wholesale
*Fabric companies change their policies, close, and merge. I’m now updating a version of this list over at Craft Industry Alliance where you’ll also find a vast library of other resources helpful to craft business owners. Join me there!* Last week I got an email from a blog reader named Heather who asked: For many…
Analysis of Fall 2018 Quilt Market Attendance Numbers
Quilts, Inc. released attendance numbers for Fall 2018 Quilt Market last week. This is a reversal of a policy shift that was implemented after the Spring 2018 show when the for-profit company that runs the trade show chose not to make those numbers public for the first time. I’m really glad to see this return…
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