Knowing Your Value 
Mika Brzezinski
Weinstein Books; $22.95

Subtitled Women, Money, and Getting What You’re Worth, Mika Brzezinski, part of the Morning Joe team at MSNBC, offers a candid look at her own challenges addressing her value – and her inability to get a raise –  in the corporate workplace. In addition to her own experiences, Mika shares the stories of other powerful women, including Tina Brown, Arianna Huffington and Sheila Barr. While most of us are not in a corporate environment, here is some of what I took from the book:

1. Don’t settle for less than you deserve.
2. Don’t worry about what others think.
3. Keep emotion out of your value discussion.
4. Don’t internalize attacks on yourself.
5. It’s not that important to be liked.

This was a quick read. It didn’t really offer anything new, rather reinforced ideas of valuing yourself and building your confidence so you can get that value across. If you are a fan of Mika, you will probably enjoy reading about her journey. If you have a daughter starting in a corporate environment, it would be a good value for her.

Look for the book at your favorite quilt retailer. Here’s a link to  Amazon if you would like to learn more about the book.

This article was prompted by the book Knowing Your Value by journalist Mika Brzezinski, which I reviewed below. In working with creative entrepreneurs, I often find they struggle with determining a value for their work and then charging for it. Here are some tips for dealing with worth.

1. Know exactly what you are charging. Quilters often are challenged by what to charge for their services. Many tend to undercharge because they don’t know what to charge. They look at what others are charging and figure it must be right. Ever wonder how that person came up with her price? She probably did what you did: looked around at what others were charging and figured it was right. Take the time to go back and determine how long it takes you to accomplish your work. Consider what your expenses are – overhead, taxes, materials, etc. Then determine what you need to make on an hourly basis to meet your expenses and make a profit.
2. Build confidence in your work and value. In Knowing Your Value Mika Brzezinski said, “Knowing your value means owning your successes. Owning your success means acknowledging your achievements. By acknowledging achievements you build confidence.” One way to do this is to have what I call a Weekly Success and Strategy Session. This is where you set aside time to review your accomplishments for the week and celebrate them. Then strategize for the week to come. Seeing what you accomplish does build your confidence. With increased confidence you will be better able to see your value and express it.
3. Be visible and promote yourself. Once you see your accomplishments, don’t be shy about sharing them with everyone you know – and even those you don’t. Women, in particular, are not bold about this. Remember, if you don’t toot your own horn, who will? If you need ideas on promoting yourself, listen to our PQ Cafe Business Series call from April with Tara Reed on “How to be a Pres-Friendly Agent.”
4. Look for a mentor. It can be useful to have someone else help you objectively look at what you have to offer and your value. It’s easy to stay in our own shell and others often see things we don’t.
5. Step out in faith. Once you know and believe your value, don’t second-guess yourself. Own your value and move forward.

Please share your thoughts and comments below.

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WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?

Please do! Just be sure to include the blurb below.

Morna McEver Golletz is the founder and CEO of the International Association of Professional Quilters, an association to help quilters, fiber artists and other creative arts entrepreneurs build business success. Her weekly e-zine offers tips, techniques and inspiration to help you craft business success from your creative arts passion. You can sign up for a F.R.E.E. subscription at http://www.professionalquilter.com.

Color Stash Busters
Mary Cowan
C&T Publishing; $16.95

What first caught my eye about this book was the bright yellow (and red) quilt on the cover. I love yellow. This book is part of the “Quiltmaker’s Club More Patterns for Less” series featuring projects from established designers at an affordable price. The 10 projects range from full-size quilts to table runners to a small ditty. The projects are featured in multiple colorways so you have options from the “modern” quilt look to the quilt made from Civil War reproduction fabrics.

Look for the book at your favorite quilt retailer. Here’s a link to Amazon if you would like to learn more about the book.

How much fabric do you have in your stash? According to the 2010 Quilting in America™ survey, the average quilter has a stash of $3,677 worth of fabric and spent on average close to $1,000 the previous 12 months on fabric. In 2007, our stash averaged $3,195 and we spent $2,304. So we’re spending less on fabric and our stash is slightly increasing. But who among us is average?! I probably have in excess of that average amount, and I’m sure many of you do, too.

Are we hoarding our fabrics? In actuality, quilters are among the most generous people I know. Every time the word goes out about a need, quilters are the first to respond. This summer I’ve been cleaning out my stash and donating to worthwhile causes. If you’re in the same cleaning mode that I’m in, here are six places that can use your unwanted stash.

1. Project Linus. Project Linus is dedicated to making security blankets for babies, children and teens in need. Volunteers will turn your stash into quilts. More info: www.projectlinus.org. Look for the link for Chapter Listings to find one in your area.

2. Local quilt guilds. You may not belong to your local guild – not everyone is a guild joiner – but most of them have charity projects. In my guild we call it “Quilting for Others,” and our chair packages fabrics into kits for quilts. In addition to collecting quilts throughout the year, we have a quilt-in at our November meeting. Quilts have been made for Habitat for Humanity and children who ride in the back of police cars, for example.

3. Haiti Peace Quilts. This organization establishes and supports independent women’s quilting cooperatives. In addition to helping the women build a business, Haiti Peace Quilts markets one-of-kind art quilts in the United States. The cooperatives need donations of fabric and other quilting supplies. More info: haitipeacequilts.org. Look for the How You Can Help link.

4. Prayers and Squares. This interfaith outreach organization combines the gift of prayer with the gift of a hand-tied quilt. Individual chapters around the world need fabric, batting and other supplies. More info: www.prayerquilt.org. Go to the Before You Join link and look for the Chapter List.

5. Denver Fabrics Fabric Stash Program. Operated by Denver Fabrics in St. Louis, this store sells donated fabric in in its Annex stores on its fabric-by-the-pound tables. The money generated goes to the Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA) a microfinance organization. More info: http://www.denverfabrics.com/pages/denverstore/sewingfinca.htm.

6. Clara’s Calling. This is a new initiative started by Lisa Steele, owner of Bella Fabrics in Carrollton, Va.; Rob Krieger, president of Checker Distributors; and Laurie Harsh with Fab Shop Network. The impetus for the project is to support the task of quilter and Master Sgt. Clara Vargas in Afghanistan to teach more than 4,000 widowed Afghan women how to sew so they can provide for themselves and their children. Donations needed include fabric and sewing supplies. Donations must be made through participating shops. We have an article on this in the Summer issue of The Professional Quilter and will share more on the project in an upcoming e-zine. More info: www.clarascalling.com. Look for the link to participating shops.

Please share some of your favorite places to donate your fabrics and sewing supplies!

Quilt National 2011

Lark Crafts & The Dairy Barn Arts Center

Lark Crafts; $27.95

Subtitled The Best in Contemporary Quilts, this catalog from Quilt National, which is held every two years, celebrates the best in contemporary quilts from around the world. From more than 1,000 entries, the three jurors were able to winnow the submissions to 85 quilts that comprise the show running May 23-Sept. 5 at The Dairy Barn Arts Center in Athens, Ohio. Each quilt is shown on a full page, and some have detail shots. The photos are accompanied by an artist’s statement about the work.

I love the diversity of style and technique, from those pieces that clearly have a connection to our patchwork roots to those that don’t. I also enjoyed reading the statements of the three jurors, Nelda Warkentin, Eleanor McCain and Pauline Verbeek-Cowart, about how they approached their task.

Look for the book at your favorite quilt retailer. Here’s a link to Amazon if you would like to learn more about the book.

The following by Gloria Hansen is excerpted from the Spring 2011 issue of The Professional Quilter.

In the past, any time I traveled my laptop, various cables and power cords, an external drive, card reader and other gadgets came along with me. If a year ago someone suggested that I could use an iPad – the tablet computer by Apple announced in January 2010 – instead of a laptop, I’d have immediately dismissed it. I have an iPhone and an iPad seemed just a larger version and something I didn’t need. Then I tried it. I was immediately hooked and realized its potential. In nearly no time, the iPad has quickly evolved from the hip gadget for reading, playing games, watching videos, keeping up with social media and such, to being a serious tool for accomplishing many business functions while on the road or even away from one’s desk. Now when I travel, I often only take it and a couple lightweight add-ons. With planning, and depending on what you need to accomplish during your travels, you, too, may be able to leave your laptop and related gadgets behind.

The first step is configuring your iPad with the “apps” (the trendy abbreviation for an application or program) needed to accomplish your goals. Here are some apps you might consider.

1. e-Mail and web browsing. These are handled nicely with the included Mail and Safari apps.Working with photos,
2.  I use the iPad Camera Connection Kit, which comes with two small gadgets that plug directly into your iPad. One allows you to insert your SD card directly and the other provides a USB slot for importing photos from your camera’s or video’s USB cable.
3.  Working with photos, I use PhotoGene. The $1.99 app works with RAW files. It has exposure controls, levels, crop tools, resizing options and more.
4. Presentations. The app of choice for presentations is Keynote ($9.99). With it, you can import a PowerPoint or Keynote slide show or create one directly on your iPad.
5. Credit card processing. Take a look at Square (free). With it you can accept credit card payments. You need a card reader that plugs into the iPad or you can key in the card numbers. While the app is free, you are charged a percentage for each transaction.
6. Package tracking. Delivery Status Touch ($4.99) tracks package deliveries no matter which carrier was used to ship.

Yes, some of these apps are available for smart phones. Many have been rewritten to take advantage of the iPad’s larger screen and other features. The adaptation helps in making the iPad function as a decent laptop replacement, especially during short trips. Is it for all travelers all of the time? No. For example, if you need to do intensive work with any of the Adobe Suite products, you’ll need your laptop. For complex MS Office documents, you may also be better off with a laptop. Otherwise, with some planning, you can pretty much do whatever you need with an iPad. Besides it being very easy to carry around, it immediately starts up and the battery life is excellent. With the 3G model, you also have Internet access and don’t need to worry about being in a WiFi area.

It’s been more than a year since the iPad was announced, and it has certainly changed the way I work. With its continually growing possibilities, it may change the way you work, too.

Please share your iPad app suggestions and experiences on our blog.

Jen Eskridge

Stash Books; $22.95

Who could resist this book title in a week with a patriotic holiday? At some point military uniforms become decommissioned, and quilter and military spouse Jen Eskridge takes the position that we should upcycle them to celebrate service members. Jen starts by showing you how to deconstruct uniforms then offers 23 projects for using your pieces, Projects range from the simple tote to quilts. Jen asks early in the book, “What matches a uniform?” She answers with, “Everything.” Yes, uniforms are a neutral and can be your light or dark. It was interesting to see how they just become the background among pinks and blues. The book also includes a techniques section that might be helpful for those who come from a non-sewing background.

Look for the book at your favorite quilt retailer. Here’s a link to Amazon  if you would like to learn more about the book.

During an open call I hosted yesterday on social media, someone asked me about LinkedIn and quilters. I said that quilters have been slower to use LinkedIn than other social media. It’s been primarily thought of as a more corporate platform where people can make connections for job searches.

I did a quick, albeit unscientific, survey – I asked on Facebook and Twitter – to see if quilters were using LinkedIn. The results confirmed my theory. I think it’s because most quilters’ customers are not on LinkedIn. If you think you’d like to learn more about LinkedIn, sign up and give it a try to see for yourself. Here are six ways that I and other professionals can use LinkedIn.

1. Find a job. Last week I discussed a possible opening we plan on in our business with a potential candidate. I probably would not have found this person outside of LinkedIn, or definitely not as easily.
2. Get an introduction to someone you think might further your career. For example, if you are a fiber artist and you see a friend of a friend is a gallery owner or art consultant, you could ask for a connection. Where that leads is up to you.
3. Learn industry news. For example, I learned that FiberArts will no longer be publishing after its June/July issue. Then I learned that Fiber Art Now is a new magazine serving the fiber arts and textile community to start publishing in October.
4. Connect, share and learn through the groups function. You are connecting with other professional fiber people who share their expertise willingly. You will make connections that you wouldn’t find other places. Discussions tend to be more business focused.
5. Invite your connections to events. If you become active on LinkedIn, your circle of connections will grow and you can invite them to events you host.
6. Post your blog for others to see who might not be in your circle otherwise. With a WordPress plug-in, your blog posts will automatically repost onto LinkedIn, letting a wider audience learn about you and your company.

As with any form of social media, you’ll get what you put into it. I think for many quilters, LinkedIn offers valuable discussion and connection. Please share how you use LinkedIn on our blog. If you want more help in the area of social media, please join me for our upcoming five-session Social Media Marketing seminar.

The AQS Guide to Quilt Care
Bobbie A. Aug et.al
American Quilter’s Society; $9.95

Written by AQS certified appriasers Bobbie A. Aug, Carol Butzke, Linda Honsberger and Gerald Roy, this revised edition of The AQS Guide to Quilt Care is designed to offer the reader guidance to protect their quilts, whether heirlooms or new. It covers basic quilt care, restoration or repair, displaying quilts, shipping quilts and insuring quilts. For the textile student, the book includes a glossary of terms and resources. I think this would be a handy reference for longarm quilters to provide their toppers with a completed quilt.

Look for the book at your favorite quilt retailer. Here’s a link to  Amazon if you would like to learn more about the book.