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.
Make anything and put it out for public display and you’ll attract criticism. You’ll attract praise as well, of course, but no matter what you do there will be people who don’t like what you’re doing. Some will keep it to themselves, and some will tell you what they think. Of those that tell you,Read More →
I love sewing softies. I love that softies are quick to make and are a great first sewing project if you’re just getting comfortable with a sewing machine. Ducky Rattle made from my Animal Rattles pattern I love that at the end of each project I have a little creature on my desk looking upRead More →
I don’t own a graphics program, not even Photoshop, and investing in one isn’t in the budget this year. Instead I’m really enjoying learning to use free online programs to their utmost. PicMonkey is one of my very favorites. You may know of PicMonkey as a photo editing program, which it is, but it’s alsoRead More →
I love blogging. I spend about half my work hours writing posts for my blog. It’s a tremendous investment of time and effort to continuously write posts that are interesting, well-researched, and valuable. I find the process incredibly rewarding. About six months ago I acknowledged to myself that my blog needed to become an income-generatingRead More →
It's so easy to collect fabric. It's beautiful and it feels good to the touch. It's not all that expensive for a small cut, and when you see something you love it's hard to know if you'll be able to find it again. In December I began keeping weekly financial records for my business. LookingRead More →
When you have a craft blog you should constantly be thinking of ways to create value for your readers. Writing a project tutorial, showing a special technique or tool, or explaining your design process helps readers know that they can turn to you for expertise. A look at your studio space or a show-and-tell ofRead More →
Look who's coming! I'd like to introduce you to Stella the Owl. Stella is made from a single fat quarter of quilting cotton, plus some scraps of accent fabric. It's so fun to pair prints for her wings and body, then choose another for her feet. I made three owls, but I could keep goingRead More →
I’ve been so saddened in recent days by the sudden death of Kathreen Ricketson, founder of WhipUp. If you haven’t heard what happened, here is the news story. Kathreen was a mother, a crafter, a leader in the online craft world. She was a forward thinker, a collaborator, and a unique voice. If you wantRead More →
Before I found sewing, I was really into origami. I think something about making three-dimensional shapes from a flat piece of paper has always appealed to me. Back in 2002 when we got married I folded 145 origami irises to use as placecards at our wedding. And when I taught middle school I held anRead More →
On Monday evening I spoke on a panel at a bookstore in Boston with two other craft book authors and an editor from a craft publisher. We talked about how to write a book proposal, we discussed what editors are looking for, and we shared our experiences writing and marketing craft books. It wasRead More →