Awesome Gifts for Quilters

December 10, 2015January 27, 2016 / Stephanie Forsyth / Leave a comment

Clover Wonder Clips – At your local quilt store!

For years (and years and years) I was dedicated to the old school quilt clips that looked like metal hair clips. Flaun of I Plead Quilty finally talked me into trying them, and boy am I glad she did! These things are awesome! They are strong and can hold even pretty thick layers of fabric together (perfect for a full binding!) It eliminates pin holes and puckering. I also use mine to hole quilt blocks together for storage/transport, and to clip projects together.

Ideal Quilt Guide

I can’t thank Karen McTavish enough for showing me this ruler. I use this on my sit down APQS George machine for straight line ruler work and it’s honestly the best I have ever used. There is a (washable!!) sticky back to this ruler that makes it grip like no ruler or sticky tapes I have ever used. It leaves no residue, there is no gummy build up, and when it starts to be less “tacky” from lint/fiber buildup you just spritz it with your favorite multi-surface cleaner to loosen the lint, then rinse with warm water and let it dry. (If you’re in a hurry to keep quilting, you can use a hair dryer to speed the process!) I started with the longer ruler, and just ordered myself the short one too. I suspect for a domestic quilter, the smaller size would be most efficient. (Please don’t negate getting this just because you use a sit down or domestic machine, these things are invaluable, trust me!)

Gift Any Class on Craftsy!

Craftsy is great! Not only can your quilter take quilt classes, but there are a myriad of other classes available in drawing, painting, photography, cooking, knitting, jewelry, gardening and more! You can gift anywhere from one to three classes in their “Gift Any Class” option.

Aurifil Thread Collections

I’m a little obsessed with these things. They are well thought out color sets, and come in a fantastic case that stacks well with more sets. Some sets have all the same weight thread, and some have mixed weights within the same set. Seriously, I LOVE these things. I wish I had one of each set to be honest! Aurifil has a hand Where to Purchase page.

Needle Threader

This is actually going on my wish list. Apparently even though the rest of me is still 27 (*cough*), my eye are ageing at a rapid rate.

Don’t Forget Someone!

Someone you might forget at the holidays? Your long arm quilter. This is the craziest time of year for them, and they are busting their asses to get your quilts done in time for you to bind them and gift them as Christmas gifts.

Their arms/backs/necks/feet/you-name-it are sore, after all those hours at their machine slaving endlessly on quilts for us all! Why not gift them some nice epsom salts or bath bombs to soothe those aching bodies this winter?

Or what about some nice new squishy socks! Sock Dreams has some fun and fancy socks to keep those tootsies warm and stylish (and maybe even funny!)

Chocolate. Need I say more?

Cash/Tip. Maybe you tip every time, or maybe not at all. The holiday season though, it might be nice to put a little extra in the envelope when you’re quilter has just busted out 2-3 quilts just for you during this holiday season. I mean, how awesome is she?

Can’t afford a gift, or don’t know her well enough? Then perhaps Maddie Kertay of Spool/BadAss Quilters Society has the perfect gift idea for you!

“I would like to know what my quilting has meant to them. What they have loved. Just a card or letter or hell, an email with real words would be so wonderful.”

In fact, regardless of another gift, why don’t we make sure and write a quick note to our quilters and let them know that what they do is very much appreciated!

What will you gift the quilter in YOUR life? What do YOU have on your wishlist this year?

7 Things Your Quilt Blog Needs

December 9, 2015January 27, 2016 / Stephanie Forsyth / Leave a comment

Going through this 31 Day Blogging Challenge has led me to viewing a LOT of quilt blogs that I had not frequented before. Now, I am by no means the be-all and end-all of quilt bloggers, but I have been doing it for quite awhile even before I started IndieQuilter. Here are some tips I think can be useful to other bloggers out there:

Give a way for people to connect with you. In fact, give as many as you can really. Here are widgets that I think are pretty much must-haves:

Facebook:

Instagram:

WordPress Follow:

Follow Via Email:

I have all of these options on my right sidebar, and all of them are used by readers. I myself, am very disappointed when a page doesn’t offer me a way to easy be notified when they update. I often times never end up back at those blogs, because I rarely if ever use my bookmarks for blog viewing.

Another very useful widget is a search box:

This allows people to search for other topics on your blog that they are interested in.

Archives:

I set mine to a monthly archive list, as it feels neat and streamlined.

Categories:

When you write your post (at least in WordPress), you have the option to set categories for posts. This is my current list of categories. It can be useful to your readers, if say, they are looking for just posts on “Free Motion Quilting” or “Quilt Patterns”. It’s ALWAYS better to make navigation as easy and fast as possible for readers or they will move on. We are not generally a culture of patience when it comes to reading, especially online.

Tags:

While this is not a “widget” per say, it’s key to increasing the ability for new readers to find your site. This is the one that I often forget to do, and then go back and fill in after I’ve already published. It’s worth it. Sites such as Google and Technorati, index these key search words and then sort them for searchers. Technorati uses date to organize, while Google organizes based on popularity and relevance. The better and more often you use tags, the more likely you are to start showing up on search engines on those key words, which in turn means increased viewers/readers.

Sometimes….

December 8, 2015January 27, 2016 / Stephanie Forsyth / 2 Comments

Sometimes it’s the little things in life, like a freshly wound ball of yarn to knit yourself a hat.

It’s a busy season! I spent the morning trying to clean up the studio for my small group to meet. (It’ll have to do guys, sorry!) Then the afternoon was spent wrapping presents and listening to Christmas music.

Tonight, I need to clean the kitchen. But first, a bit of knitting myself a new hat!

What small things bring you joy?

Yes, you can.

December 7, 2015December 7, 2015 / Stephanie Forsyth / Leave a comment

One of my biggest pet peeves is, “I can’t.” Seriously, I can’t stand that ideology. Before you think ,”Well, isn’t she just Miss Perfect who does everything right and has confidence”, I’ll tell you that I have often had that loathsome phrase fall from my lip. I hate it when *I* say it, even more than hearing it from others.

“I can’t free motion quilt.”
“I can’t figure out fractions.”
“I can’t design my own quilts.”
“I can’t learn to knit.”
“I can’t learn a new skill at my age.”

My big one for a long time?

“I can’t parallel park.”

Years and years and year (and probably years) ago, I was taking my driver’s license test (for the second time.) When it came to the parallel parking, I started crying because I knew I couldn’t do it. I had tried and tried while still learning and just could not get my brain to process it all in the right order to park the damn car. You have to understand, I had initially failed my driving test when I was sixteen years old. (That’s a whole other story!) In this story, I was now TWENTY years old. I had kept up my learner’s permit the entire time from 16-20 to avoid paying to take the class again. So, this driving test guy knows this. I’m still thankful for what he did that day.

He saw me crying and said, “What’s wrong?” I said, “I can’t do it. I can’t parallel park. I panic every time and and the instructions all boggle together and I mess it up.” I must have looked and sounded dreadful, because what he did next was nothing short of a miracle.

“I will let you pass, if you promise me that you will never parallel park.”

Now, obviously making me promise to not learn how to do a skill in driving that can make getting around much easier is not that great of a thing. But at the time, it is what I needed. Getting my license started a process of finding a confidence and autonomy that I had not previous known. A process that led to November 16th, 2015. The day I freaking parallel parked a mothertrucking car. Not JUST a car, my Honda CRV.

I was meeting Flaun of I Plead Quilty for lunch, and there was only one spot left in an insanely busy Minneapolis parking lot. It was raining. The spot was barely big enough for me to fit. I just did it. I did it without thinking about how to do it really. And I did have to edge back and forth to fix it a bit once I was in there. But I damn well did it. (And I did it again a week later too!)

I think it helped that both times I was alone in the car. I panic when people are watching, and/or trying to “help”. But all the knowledge I needed was in my brain, I just needed the right moment and atmosphere to process and access it.

How does this relate to quilting?

When people are beginning quilters, they often say that they can’t do it. That they will never be as good as their teacher or idol. But, they are observing, taking classes, reading, looking at Pinterest boards of quilting, they are absorbing the information and knowledge they need to quilt. What they REALLY mean is that they can’t do it right now, that they aren’t as good as so-and-so yet. But one day, they will be at their machine, their mind will relax and settle a little and the next thing they know, they will be free motion quilting like a madwoman (or madman!) They will do it when their mind and body are working in synchronicity, they will get it when it’s just the right time.

So please, try not to say “I can’t” and stop there. Change your dialog to, “I can’t do that yet.” It’s so much more encouraging, and will likely help quicken your journey to mastering that new skill!

You Must Have a Lot of Patience

December 4, 2015January 27, 2016 / Stephanie Forsyth / 3 Comments

Cartoon by Stephanie Forsyth

As a quilter/knitter/crocheter I hear this a lot. I get it, to someone who has never done it, it must seem like an overwhelming task to make something from scratch. They see all the tiny fabric pieces, or the little knits and purls and just see time consumption and frustration.

I am still bewildered every time someone says, “You must have a lot of patience.” You can ask anyone who knows me (especially anyone who has ridden in a car I am driving), and they will tell you I’m probably one of the least patient people on the planet (with one of the filthiest mouthes.) And for the most part, I am a huge instant gratification personality, despite my trying to work on that. (I mean, come on…it takes patience to change a personality trait and we’ve just established I like instant gratification!)

The thing is, I love doing these things, so it doesn’t feel like I am exercising patience at all. To me, patience is more like suffering through something that isn’t really pleasant (like driving in rush hour traffic or listening to the ‘quilt police’ bitch and moan.) It makes the process sound like it’s stressful. For me, at least, that’s not the case. I suppose there are some techniques or quilts that have challenged me frustrated me while learning them, but then, I would be more likely to use the word perseverance than patience.

I get it though! I know I have looked at people that do other things that look tedious to do from my perspective. But I know from my own experience, that if that it’s their passion, they aren’t feeling that way when they are in the throws of creation. In fact, when I am in that mode, it’s as if time is standing still. When I start quilting a quilt that I really love, six or eight hours can pass before I realized it’s time to eat and settle for the night.

It’s all about loving what you’re doing. It’s about doing what you love. I love quilting, and knitting and drawing. Those activities are invigorating, time skewing and make me feel awesome.

Do you feel that quilting means you’re a person with greater patience? Do you get told this often too?

Favorite Quilty/Crafty People: The Crafty Planner

December 2, 2015December 2, 2015 / Stephanie Forsyth / Leave a comment

One of the new ideas I have for IndieQuilter is doing a “Favorite Quilty People” post once in awhile on my favorite quilters in the industry.

I’m going to start it with Sandi Sawa Hazlewood also known as The Crafty Planner.

I’ve been listening to The Crafty Planner podcasts for quite awhile now and it is hands down my FAVORITE podcast all around. Sandi is so very good at keeping the conversation/interview rolling without any of those weird uncomfortable moments you often are subject to in other podcasts. (You must know what I mean!)

She also does not censor her guests, which for me is such a treat! She is quite frank and honest upfront and will mention in the intro if it is a particularly spicy episode! No worries, it’s nothing over the top, but the freedom allows the guests to be completely themselves. That’s what I really love about this podcast. You get to hear the “real” artist, not the polished “interview person” that we often become for these sort of things!

I got a little inside scoop when I had a little chat with Sandi about choosing her as the first Favorite Quilty/Crafty People, and lets just say, if you are going to Quilt Con 2016 (or especially if you can’t make it) you will want to hear who she’s talking with next episode. That’s all the hint I am giving!

Until the new episode airs though, try taking a listen to some of my favorite episodes on The Crafty Planner:

#13 Mary Fons
#25 Victoria Findlay Wolfe
#30 Lizzy House
#34 Tula Pink
#39 Karen McTavish

This should be enough to get you addicted to the podcast. Also, make sure and pop over to the blog side of Crafty Planner, she has reviews and links and info about the quilting and craft industry. Thank you Sandi, for creating such a great resource for our industry!

Are there any other quilting podcast you listen to? I’d love to hear about them! Or maybe you HAVE a podcast? Leave a comment and tell us all about it!

31 Days of Blogging: It Begins!

December 1, 2015 / Stephanie Forsyth / 1 Comment

My friend Cheryl Sleboda has put forth a challenge: “31 Days of Blogging”. What better time to commit to and prove your dedication to our blogs than over the busiest month of the year for most of us? I know I have gotten behind on my blogging, due to the classes I have been taking. However, I have even more classes coming up, but I still need to keep things going here. (Perhaps if I were able to limit myself to 15 minutes on social media a day like Cheryl, I’d get more done? Really Cheryl?? 15? Clearly you’re a goddess.)

Many days will be super light in content, perhaps even just inspiring photos from around my house and neighborhood. I had considered turning my blog into a sort of “Morning Pages”, but then realized that no one needs to be tortured by that sort of running inner commentary. There will be some bigger posts thrown in here and there, and I will also likely have a post coming up on the APQS site soon. Hopefully this sitting down to write every day will also spark first drafts for the future I can come back to, and hone and sharpen.

Today, I have set up a nest in my bedroom with my big monitor, bluetooth keyboard and bluetooth mouse (and laptop borrowed from hubby since I blew out the one cord that could hook MY laptop up to my monitor, don’t ask, I’m technologically dumb.) Yesterday brought a “snowstorm” (a disappointing amount of snow fell), but I have a beautiful few to either side of me of freshly fallen snow. Snow and freezing drizzle predicted all day today, so it’s a good day to wrap myself up into a lap quilt and soldier through some writing!

If you want to join this challenge, head over to Cheryl’s and sign up your blog! If you use social media, use the hashtag #31dayblogchallenge.