Join us in the PQ Café on Thursday, September 17 at 8 pm Eastern for our next call  Get Organized, Finally! with Morna McEver Golletz and special guest Debra Lipp.

Have you tried a variety of methods to organize your quilting “stuff”? Do you buy every new organizing gadget you see? Is your studio space disorganized and inefficient – and you know it could be improved – but you don’t know where to start? Or, are the  organization strategies you’ve tried just not working for you? Do you migrate to the kitchen table to work even through you have designated a space for sewing?

It’s possible that you’re trying to put the proverbial round peg in the square hole because you haven’t fully analyzed what does and does not work for YOU and why. You’re trying to use tools that someone else says will work for you. Debra Lipp, a Corcoran College of Art + Design-trained graphic designer, is a task analyzer and organizational specialist who works with creative people. She loves to understand an individual’s thinking process and help to discover what works for them – as an individual. And, lucky for us, she’s also a quilter/fiber artist.

This teleclass is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 17 at 8 pm, Eastern Daylight Time. Registration includes the teleclass and MP3 downloadable recording, so if you can’t come to the class, you’ll get the recording to listen to at a time that works for you. Here are details.

Many aspiring pattern designers ask themselves: Should I publish my designs as patterns, the kind commonly packaged in plastic bags? Or should I publish books, staple-bound or with a spine? In the Summer issue of The Professional Quilter, pattern designer Kay Mackenzie took a look at this topic. Here’s an excerpt from her article:

Patterns and books both have their places in our wonderful world of quilting. For starters, an idea may lend itself better to one or the other. If the design’s instructions will fit on just a few pieces of paper, then a pattern seems a natural choice. If your idea is concept-driven, then perhaps a book is a better fit. Maybe you’re simply drawn to the aesthetics of one and less than attracted to the practical aspects of producing the other. Maybe one is a more natural expression of your creative juices.

Though patterns and books share some common aspects, in a lot of ways they’re different animals when it comes to getting them done. And, any time you’re thinking about getting into publishing, you’ll need to do a good bit of research. Here are just a few of the things to consider when you make your decision.

• With books, unlike pattern printing, you’ll have to decide in advance how many copies of your book to print. It’s a guessing game! Larger runs equal less cost per copy. But if you print too many, you may be stuck with cartons of books that you can’t sell. If you print too few,  you can always reprint, but the cost per copy is more, making your profit margin smaller.
• Once the books are back from the printer, they’re good to go – no assembly required. You will, however, want to check them over. (Ask mehow I know that.) The trade-off is that you will need to have enough storage space on-site for all of the cartons or pay for off-site storage. The cartons must be protected from dampness, so don’t use the garage!
• Patterns will need to be assembled so you’ll need labor – either your own or some kids’ – to fold and stuff them. Patterns need lessstorage space than books because you can print them you go.
• Distributors are a major chunk of how things work in our quilting industry, and for this discussion this refers to the quilt-shop trade.(The bookstore trade is a whole other issue and worth researching if you decide you want to do a book.) You do want to sell to industry distributors, and here’s a thought about how that relates to books vs. patterns. While exceptions exist, distributors might prefer that you have a line of patterns before they will consider picking you up. Books are considered on their individual merits, so one well-made book can be submitted to distributors.
• Brush up on typography and page design principles. Don’t include too many typefaces on a page and avoid overused fonts. A couple offantastic books that will set you straight are The Non-Designer’s Design Book and The Non-Designer’s Type Book, both by design guru Robin Williams. And, think to the future. Develop a distinctive, branded look for your pattern line.

You can read more of Kay Mackenzie’s article in the Summer issue of The Professional Quilter. If your subscription is not current and you need to renew, or you want to start a new subscription, here’s a link to our order page.

Storm at Sea Quilts
Wendy Mathson
C&T Publishing; $24.95

I’ve always been drawn to the Storm at Sea block and the optical illusion of waves it creates. While the traditional coloration is most often blue, the block lends itself to endless design possibilities. Wendy Mathson offers her unique piecing technique to produce accurate units for the three pieced units used to create the Storm at Sea block: a diamond-in-a-rectangle unit; a large square-in-a-square unit and a small square-in-a-square unit. Wendy calls the square-in-a-square units Big SIS and Little SIS and has created a set of acrylic tools called Quilters’ TRIMplates (short for trimming templates) to accurately cut the units. While it is possible to cut and sew the units without using the templates, they offer advantages for producing accurate block units. The book includes six Storm at Sea projects, a gallery of inspiring quilts, options for border treatments and design grids to copy to work on your own designs. You’ll have fun creating your own designs.

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

Join us in the PQ Café on Thursday, August 13 at 8 pm Eastern for our next call: Making Work at Home Work for YOU: How to get out of struggle, leave frustration behind and succeed with less effort with Morna McEver Golletz and special guest Debbie LaChusa.

Are you frustrated with trying to manage your business at home and still enjoy your family? Or have you hesitated making the leap from a job outside the home to one that is home based because you’re not sure you can make a go of it?

It is possible to go from a burned-out working mother to a happy career-at-home mom. Our special guest, Debbie LaChusa has been where you are – stressed, overloaded and burned out – and she managed to find a way to “have it all.” Today she has a career she loves that earns her a great income and the ability to be home with her children. Let Debbie share the secret to creating a marketable business that enables you to make a great living doing what you love to do.

This teleclass is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 13 at 8 pm, Eastern Daylight Time, and space is limited so don’t delay. Registration includes the teleclass and MP3 downloadable recording, so if you can’t come to the class, you’ll get the recording to listen to at a time that works for you. Here are details.

When I go to my local yoga studio, Follow Your Heart Yoga in Germantown, Md., I see a tile hanging by the door. It says Just Be! I’ve seen it for years now and never really gave it a lot of thought. What does it mean to “just be”? On one level it means to be present in the moment, without distraction, still. And, that’s probably what we’re supposed to consider when we see the tile and begin our practice in the studio. But who is it that you want to be?

I don’t know if you are familiar with the Be-Do-Have principle. I think I first heard of it years ago, probably on a Tony Robbins audio program. It got a lot of play recently with the movie The Secret and the Law of Attraction principle. Early on most of us learn that if we do whatever, we will have whatever and then we’ll be whatever. That’s DO-HAVE-BE; it really should be BE-DO-HAVE. You first need to figure out what kind of person you want to be. Being is how you create the life that you want.

This past Sunday my husband and I went to church in Connecticut, and, in her sermon, the deacon asked, “Who Are You?” Most of us say, “I’m a wife, a mom, a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a quilter, a writer, a cook, etc.” But who are we really and who do we want to be? It can take some listening to figure it out.

Spend some time thinking about who you are and who you want to be. For me, I want to be a person of integrity, filled with joy and gratitude. I want to be generous and open and spirited. Since I know the person I want to be, it makes it easier for me to do things in accord with that. My actions are based on who I want to “be” and what a person of that “being” would do.

So, who do you want to be? You need to listen to your inner voice to find out. And, to do that you need to Just Be!

Here are two quotes on being that I like:

It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.
e.e. cummings

I think of life itself now as a wonderful play that I’ve written for myself, and so my purpose is to have the utmost fun playing my part.
Shirley MacLaine

The Professional Quilter includes articles to help you create success with your quilt business. If your subscription is not current and you need to renew, or you want to start a new subscription, here’s a link to our order page

Simple Stained Glass Quilts
Daphne Greig and Susan Purney Mark
Krause; $24.95

Daphne Greig and Susan Purney Mark began creating their Too Easy Stained Glass patterns in 2003, and they wrote this book as a result of customers wanting more of the duo’s stained glass quilts. Their concept is “too easy,” since you create the leading from a single piece of fabric and fusible web rather than creating yards of bias. The book includes 20 projects ranging from pillows to wall hangings to full-size bed quilts and includes full-size patterns for the leading. I was intrigued by many of the designs, particularly one that leaded half a tree and the Hillside House projects where the leading was the framing of a house.

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

The Summer issue of The Professional Quilter includes a profile of Joan Hawley, owner of Lazy Girl Designs. I’ve known Joan for years now, first meeting her at Quilt Market. Isn’t that where you make some of the best connections? Anyway, here’s an excerpt of our interview with Joan.

Why did you decide to start Lazy Girl Designs?
I started Lazy Girl on a whim. I was between jobs in my  planning career due to relocating for my husband’s job. Sewing, quilting and writing patterns were something to do while sending out résumés and waiting for interviews. When quilt shops showed interest in my designs, I decided to give it six months and see what happened. That was 1997, and I haven’t looked back.

I think your business name is quite creative and distinct. How did you decide on it?
I was struggling to find a name that fit my style and approach. I searched high and low. I read the dictionary for inspiration. I checked out the thesaurus, too. One day, I picked up a cookbook and started reading. I saw a recipe for Lazy Girl Soup and my search was over. Lazy Girl fit.

How large is your product line?
In addition to 50 patterns, I have three books and one DVD. I also created the Lazy Angle ruler and market a “no math needed” Flying Geese x 4™ ruler. To complete the bag line, I also designed Bag-E-Bottoms, acrylic bases in several sizes to give our most popular bag, purse and tote patterns a sturdy bottom, and Handy Tab™, ready-to-sew fabric strips used to attach accessories, such as handles or D-rings, to the bags.

What has been the biggest challenge in your business?
The single biggest and ongoing challenge is achieving my goal of not having the business force life changes on me. I structured the operation and functioning of the company to fit me, not the other way around. For instance, I don’t want to manage employees. I’ve done that in my previous career. It’s administrative and emotional overhead and takes away from the time I need to run the company. I hire contract labor as needed for specialty tasks. For instance, I pay my acrylic manufacturers to package my items for me rather than create warehouse/assembly space and hire workers on my end.

You can read more of the interview with Joan Hawley in the Summer issue of The Professional Quilter. If your subscription is not current and you need to renew, or you want to start a new subscription, here’s a link to our order page.

Quilting Your Style
Leah Fehr
Martingale & Co.; $26.99

A prom dress adventure in a dressing room – you’ll have to read the book to learn the story – led to Leah Fehr’s understanding of trying out different sewing techniques and evaluating options. In Quilting With Style, she shares a variety of embellishing techniques, including ruffling, beading, yo-yos and couching, on five-inch blocks. You can use the individual blocks in a sampler quilt as she did in the “The Dressing-Room Sampler” or use the techniques in the nine included projects or a project of your own design.

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

I’ve been thinking a lot on the power of intention this past year. For years in my yoga classes the instructor has had us set an intention for class, and, yes, occasionally mine is to make it through the class. About a year ago, I taped a note to the bathroom mirror that says, “What is your intention/choice for today?” I find it gets me started on a conscious path each morning.

What exactly is intention? Webster defines it as a “determination to act in a certain way or resolve.” Gary Zukav in The Mind of the Soul says it’s “the use of your will….a commitment to accomplishing an objective, to creating something that was not there or to continue creating something that is.”

Here are some tips for creating powerful intentions in your life:

1. Get clear about what kind of person you want to be. Then get clear about what you want to do and what you want to have. Clarity is very powerful. I think figuring out the kind of person you want to be is most important; the “do” and “have” will follow.

2. State your intention. Say it out loud. Say it more than once. Write it down. I’ve been known to write my intentions on a paper and put it in my pocket. I take it out during the day and read it. This is especially helpful if I think self-sabotaging behaviors (like grabbing an extra one of those cinnamon scones that I picked up at the bakery last week and put in the freezer) are around the corner or I need an extra boost of motivation to stay focused and on track.

3. Share your intention with someone who cares about your success. It’s helpful if you share your intention with someone who will hold you accountable. Offer to do the same for her.

4. Now take action to demonstrate commitment to the intention. It doesn’t have to be some big action; many little actions will compound. And, while you can have a whopping big intention for your business, your intention for today might be to find some peace in your hectic life, no small feat.

5. Celebrate or somehow acknowledge this achievement, and then take the next step or action. Then rinse and repeat.

Before you know it, setting an intention each day will become a habit. Setting an intention clearly puts you in charge, and you’ll be energized by how much you are in control. You’ll be thrilled with the person you are “being” and with your ongoing accomplishments.

I hope you’ll take the time to set an intention for yourself and/or your business each morning. Let me know how it makes a difference in your life.

Here are two quotes on intention that I like:

Today, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced its direct grants as part of the $50 million federal economic stimulus recovery package. The NEA will distribute $29.775 million to 631 nonprofit arts groups nationwide. This is in addition to the 63 state and regional sub-grants previously awarded in April, totaling $19.8 million. This recovery funding is a direct outcome of the impact made by the 100,000 members of the Americans for the Arts grassroots network who contacted their Members of Congress and wrote timely letters to the editors of local news media. These messages made a difference and have resulted in these grants which will help create and preserve arts jobs throughout the country.
If you are interested in applying for any of the grants, we sell a book titled The Directory of Grants for Crafts which includes step-by-step help on writing a winning grant proposal.