This I Accomplish: Harriet Powers’ Bible Quilt and Other Pieces
Kyra E. Hicks
Black Threads Press; $19.95

This is a fascinating look into the stories behind the well-known Bible Quilt and Pictorial Quilt and the former Georgia slave who created them. Kyra Hick’s enthusiasm for the subject is truly contagious as she takes you along tracing how the quilts made their way from Harriet Power’s hands to the Smithsonian Institution and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, respectively. She began this study by compiling a bibliography and started to challenge the assumptions about Mrs. Powers and the quilts. In the end, she offered us a compelling narrative with new facts and left herself with a dozen ideas for further research and celebration into Mrs. Powers. Includes an extensive bibliography.

Here’s a link, if you’d like to add it to your library.

Many quilters have a book in them and don’t know where to start. Some quilters will take the traditional route with an established publisher. Others will find their needs better met with a self-published product. In the current issue of The Professional Quilter, Gloria Hansen takes a look at an option know as Print on Demand. Here’s an excerpt from that article.

A few months ago while cleaning out an area of my basement, I came across some boxes filled with copies of a pattern I self-published into a booklet nearly two decades ago. To get high-quality color images printed on letter-sized glossy paper, I needed to have a minimum of 5,000 printed. All of these years later, more than half of them remain in the boxes. This illustrates some downsides of self-publishing – paying for an initial print run that may not sell and storing the printed material. Today a new technology greatly reduces the often high upfront fees, eliminates storage needs, and allows you to print as few or as many books as needed. It’s called Print on Demand (POD).

A range of POD companies offer “assisted self-publishing” services, including editorial guidance and design work, as part of their pricing plan. XLibris, CreateSpace, iUniverse and LuLu are examples. While these companies may offer features important to your needs, such as a wide distribution, they also require upfront fees that range anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars, depending on your goals.

Another option that results in a professional end product yet doesn’t require a high upfront fee is Blurb. Blurb, was initially set up to serve the self-publishing needs of both photographers and authors. And while companies that offer digital image printing services also offer photo POD books (such as Shutterfly, Apple through iPhoto, and SnapFish), Blurb compares very favorably in the price department and also offers you the option of adding your book to Blurb’s public bookstore. Taking a look at the bookstore, the high quality is obvious. If you choose this option, you can then set a price and keep any income over the printing cost.

When questioning professional quiltmakers about their experiences with POD, Blurb was the consistent winner. You can read more of Gloria’s article about the pluses and minuses of POD and Blurb in particular, along with the experiences of several quilters who’ve used Blurb in the Spring issue of The Professional Quilter. If your membership is not current or you need to convert your subscription, click here.

The International Association of Professional Quilters offers resources and networking opportunities for you to create a success from your quilting business. Learn about all the benefits of IAPQ membership and join here.

Quilt This!
Lynda Smith
American Quilter’s Society; $24.95

We’ve come a long way since the days of “quilt as desired” with no idea for patterns. In this wide format book, Lynda Smith offers more than 80 quilting motifs suitable for both machine and hand quilting. The designs are sorted into four categories: gardens and woods; swirls and curls, motifs and other stuff; and children and playtime. You’ll find patterns that range from elegant swirls to whimsical ducks in waves. The designs can be used as is or as a starting point to enlarge or reduce, combine and adapt.

Here’s a link, if you’d like to add it to your library.

Quilt Market, the quilt industry’s premier trade show, took place in Minneapolis May 21-23. Minneapolis always seems to welcome us with warm weather and this year was no exception. Thursday, I think the temperature was in the low 80s. Here, in no particular order, are some of the things I discovered at Quilt Market:

1. Quilters Newsletter and Quilts Inc. presented the latest results of the Quilting in America™ 2010 survey. This is the sixth in a series of studies done since 1994 with the intent of measuring the amount of time and money quilters spend on their hobby in addition to profiling the key segments of the market. Some findings: Estimated dollar value of the quilting industry is $3.58 billion. Total quilters in the U.S. now exceeds 21 million. In 2010 dedicated quilters spent a total of nearly $2.5 billion. The dedicated quilter has $8,542 in quilting tools and supplies and owns on average $3,677 worth of fabric. Watch for more details on the survey findings in the Summer issue of The Professional Quilter.

2. Demos are becoming more popular and with good reason. Demos sell. If you don’t demo, here’s an idea I saw in the Thangles booth – use a digital frame to play a video. While the sound was low, you could watch what was happening. It’s another way to engage your booth visitor. MB Hayes with Thangles credits Fabric Café with the idea.

3. Do you want to keep your rotary blade sharp? Try The Cutting Edge ruler system from Sullivans and Pat Sloan. The ruler features full see-through, non-skid frosting and a unique red grid system that highlights the 1/2 inch marking. What is most unique about the ruler is it has an inlaid diamond powder edge that continually sharpens the blade that runs against its edge.

4. Ruffles, ruffles and more ruffles. Michael Miller Fabrics introduced white, raw-edge ruffles, cut on the bias at 3 inches. To showcase the idea, they had a tuffet made from ruffles. And, once I saw the ruffles here, I was seeing them lots of places, particularly on patterns.

5. Clover introduced a new wrap ‘n fuse piping. All you do is cut your fabric, wrap it around the piping, press to fuse and when cool, you have instant piping. It comes as small as 3/16 inches. Clover also introduced a line of eco-friendly bamboo handled notions.

6. Lots of wonderful fabrics: Rue Saint Germaine, Robyn Pandolph’s new line from RJR; an organic cotton line from Kauffman; Ricky Tims’ new Oodles of Doodles line from Red Rooster; Timeless Treasures‘ Tonga Treats, 2.5 inch strips and 10 inch squares from its Tonga Batiks line;  a color wheel line from Avyln; wonderful new pieces from Kona Bay, Moda, Benartex; Clothworks, Northcott, and others. We are so lucky to have this much quality fabric to use.

7. Kaufmann has released an ipod app that’s a quilting calculator.

The International Association of Professional Quilters offers resources and networking opportunities for you to create a success from your quilting business. Learn about all the benefits of IAPQ membership and join here.

Pretty Little Mini Quilts
ed. Ray Hemachandra
Lark Books; $17.95

Part of Lark’s Pretty Little series, Pretty Little Mini Quilts features 31 projects made by 25 artists. (You’ll recognize lots of the names, including Sarah Ann Smith, Jamie Fingal and Andi Stern.) The projects range from machine and hand quilting to embroidery and trapunto to fusing and embellishment to piecing and painted surfaces. You’ll find traditional and contemporary pieces, none larger than three feet. I like books that introduce a variety of techniques, and you’re sure to find a new technique to add to your toolbox.

Here’s a link, if you’d like to add it to your library.

During a recent trip to Cape May Point, NJ, I went to a local crafts cooperative with some wonderful work. I remember my days as the quilt/fiber artist at a fine crafts cooperative outside Philadelphia. It’s a great place to sell your work, meet your customer and gather marketing information.

Whether you sell your work in a cooperative or in a booth at a show like Quilt Market, here are some tips to help you increase sales:

1. Set an intention or goal for the show. Is it to make a certain amount of sales, to get your patterns picked up by a distributor, to test a new product? When you are clear on your intent, you’ll be more focused, and your results will show that.

2. Establish eye contact with show visitors, smile and engage them in a conversation. Ask questions that will lead to an answer that is not yes or no. Share something of yourself and your product. Your customer is buying you as much as she is buying your product. And, I’m sure you’ve been to a show where the craftsperson sits on a chair in the corner of an empty booth. Of course it’s empty; no one feels welcome to enter! Get up and greet your customer.

3. Qualify your buyer, i.e., separate the browsers from the buyers. Quilt Market is filled with what I call “the entourage,” quilters who want to see what Market is all about. And, I love quilters who want to become involved in our industry; they keep our industry vital. However, while they may have some influence or be the buyer of the future, they are not the decision-maker today. I’m not saying to ignore them or be rude. You can engage them in a conversation, only find out who makes the buying decision and try to get to that person.

4. Have plenty of handouts and brochures. Not everyone is ready to make a decision when they first meet you. Some like to take materials back to the hotel room and compare before buying. Be sure to bring an original of your handouts in the event you need to get copies during the show.

5. Have a way for people to contact you later. At the cooperative I visited in New Jersey, all the artists had business cards; none had a web site noted on the card. Many times, I’d like to peruse the artist’s web site and see what other work she might have. Not all your buyers will purchase while they are in your booth or even at the show. Make it easy for them to see your product line.

6. Keep up your energy. If you are doing multi-day shows, it’s easy to get run-down. Have healthy snacks and water in the booth. Try to stick to your regular sleeping routine, something I find hard to do at shows. If your energy is zapped, it will show in your results.

Hope these tips add to the success of your next show. And, feel free to share your tips with our readers.

The International Association of Professional Quilters offers resources and networking opportunities for you to create a success from your quilting business. Learn about all the benefits of IAPQ membership and join here.

Do you work on your business or in your business? I learned much about this concept from the E-Myth people, particularly Michael Gerber’s book The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It. The premise is that we can’t grow our business if we spend all our time doing the work in the business; i.e., being the technicians or doers. We have to learn and utilize management and entrepreneurial skills to build the business. Your goal should be to have your business work for you, not you working for it.

So, is all your time spent “doing” the business?

Here are four ways to strive toward working on your business:

1. Develop a clear vision about the path your company will take. This clarity is critical for you and for any people that you hire, whether full-time or on a project basis.

2. Take time to work on your business. I’ve heard from numerous quilters in business – longarm quilters to commission art quilters – that you need to spend two-to three hours marketing your business for every hour you spend fabricating your art. The best approach here is to set aside the time that works for you to do this. It could be three hours every morning or it could be every Monday and Tuesday. And sometimes you need to try working on your business in a different surrounding. I have a friend who goes to the local café each week to work on her business. The goal is set a time consistently to do his.

3. Look for ways to create systems in your business. This could be anything from a system to contact potential buyers to a system to process orders. Systems make a difference in how much time you don’t spend as a technician or doer.

4. Work on yourself. In addition to spending time working on your business, you need to work on yourself. The late Jim Rohn said, “Work harder on yourself than you do on your job. The major value in life is not what you get. The major value in life is what you become.” And, who you become as a person spills over into your business.

The International Association of Professional Quilters offers resources and networking opportunities for you to create a success from your quilting business. Learn about all the benefits of IAPQ membership and join here.