Sewing, blogging, and creative business.
I’m very excited to have finished this patchwork Progress Pride Flag quilt. The pattern is by Bobbie Gentili from Geeky Bobbin. All of the fabrics are scraps from my stash.
This was a fun project and the finished quilt is really bright and colorful. As part of this process, I also enjoyed learning more about how the design of the Progress Pride flag came to be.
Last week’s announcement that one of the longest running quilting magazines, Quilters Newsletter, will be shutting down in October hit the quilting world hard. Hundreds of comments poured in on blogs and Facebook from longtime QNM readers expressing sadness that this beloved publication that has been in print for 47 years was to be noRead More →
This summer I’m working on a series of fun projects that I want to share with you. First, though, I have to tell you about a most amazing gift that I received from a blog reader. A few months ago my friend, book agent Kate McKean, reached out to me asking if I knew anyoneRead More →
On today’s episode of the While She Naps podcast we’re talking about craft publishing with my guest, Amy Marson. Amy is the publisher at C&T Publishing which includes the Stash Books and FunStitch Studio imprints. She’s worked at the company for 16 years. Modern Patchwork by Elizabeth Hartman is one many modern quilting books publishedRead More →
In an email sent on Thursday, July 14 to contributors, Editorial Director Bill Gardner delivered some difficult news about the fate of the magazine Quilters Newsletter. “Quilters Newsletter has held a very special place in the hearts of quilting enthusiasts for 47 years, and has been a source of inspiration and learning for quilters aroundRead More →
Tomorrow, July 16, is Sew-a-Softie Day. This is a worldwide event organized by sewing pattern designer and sewing teacher Trixi Symonds. Trixi is the author of Sew Together Grow Together, a collection of hand-sewing projects she developed over twenty years in classes and workshops for children. She blogs at colouredbuttons. The goal of Sew-a-Softie day isRead More →
Elizabeth Caven is the founder of UpCraft Club, a company she’s hoping to build into the leading online distributor of digital sewing patterns (in the same way that Audible is the leading distributor of audio books). In order to achieve this goal, she’s spending four months in a startup accelerator in Silicon Valley called 500Read More →
On the left, me and Roxanne a few months before I started this blog. On the right, Roxanne sewing in my studio last week. In the late winter of 2005 I spent eight hours learning how to use blogging software. Those were eight precious hours. They were spread out over two weeks and amounted toRead More →
On today’s episode of the While She Naps podcast we’re talking about illustration and self-publishing with my guest, Jenean Morrison. Jenean Morrison is a surface and textile designer, painter, and the artist and publisher behind a popular series of self-published coloring books for adults, first published in 2012. Her coloring books have been published byRead More →
I got an email this week from a blog reader named Sarah who asks a really good question. Hey Abby, I’m curious as to how many hours per day you work and put into your business? I feel like the constant distractions from my kids doesn’t lend well to getting stuff done. I feel likeRead More →
Think about the last time you walked into a shop you’d never been in before. Maybe you were on vacation visiting a new town or maybe you were exploring a different neighborhood in your own city. You pull open the door, walk in, and begin to look around. This first visit begins with a seriesRead More →