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.
This is what Etsy has become and it’s too bad too. The site was originally for selling hand crafted items crafted by the shop owner but then Etsy began allowing major manufacturing companies to sell their garbage on there. As I stated above, there are companies in Hong Kong that saturate Etsy with pages andRead More →
On today’s episode of the While She Naps podcast I’m talking with Elizabeth Duvivier, the founder and director of Squam Art Workshops. Elizabeth founded Squam in 2008 after being enchanted with her experience at Artfest and wanting to create something similar on the East Coast. Squam has since become a premier art retreat attracting topRead More →
I wanted to give you a little update from the studio. The way this business works (and maybe the way all businesses work?) is that a lot goes on behind the scenes months before it’s shown publicly. I’m almost always simultaneously working on several projects for other publications while also working on everything you doRead More →
To me, it feels a bit like someone who wants to copy your term paper because, after all, you already did the work. This is how yarn dyer Jill Draper describes how it feels when she gets an email from a stranger asking for her colorway recipes. It happens more than you might expect. ForRead More →
Email is powerful. We all check our email first thing in the morning and then multiple times throughout the day. Email is personal and direct. It’s the best marketing tool of all. No matter how big (or small) your creative business may be, you should be building an email list. People who sign up forRead More →
As Director of Artist Relations at 20×200, an online art market, Carrie Strine is involved with the business of art all day long. In her free time Carrie is an exceptionally skilled quilter. Her textile work is meticulous and beautiful and although she could build a business around it she’s made the conscious choice notRead More →
Ferdinand is a lovable frog, perfect for Valentine’s Day or any day. He’s got Velcro hands and feet so that he can hug a soft, plush heart (or a box of candy or another gift you have in mind). Oh, and with that golden crown he’s also a frog prince. To make Ferdinand you’ll need:Read More →
On today’s episode of the While She Naps we’re talking about what it takes to run a successful brick-and-mortar fabric and yarn shop with my guests, Jaime Jennings and Amber Corcoran of Fancy Tiger Crafts in Denver, Colorado, and Virginia Johnson of Gather Here in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Fancy Tiger and Gather Here have a lotRead More →
This week in sewing we saw a focus on men who sew, and some outloud thinking about what they’re doing differently (or not) as compared to women who sew. 1. Missouri Star Quilt Company launched Man Sewing with quilter Rob Appell today. Rob describes Man Sewing this way: It’s simple: I am a man. IRead More →
Digital patterns have become an established part of the sewing scene over the past few years. Without the upfront cost of printing patterns and the distribution costs of getting those pattern into stores, the barrier to entry to becoming a designer is lower than it’s ever been and hundreds of new designers have flooded theRead More →