Measure Twice, Cut Once

Amy Freyn is one of only TWO longarm quilters in the entire country of Equador! She's a professor by day, and an avid quilter by night.

She credits quilting with saving her life - twice! Her story of change and pivot and taking chances is truly remarkable.

Amy's also the #dancingquilter. Take up her challenge and post your own videos with the hashtag. Let your happiness show ❤️

You can find Amy ...

Carly Brush and Lydia Kao are representing WHATNOT, which is a community marketplace all wrapped up in an app.

They are both so excited to be building the Quilting and Sewing category of WHATNOT, and it is growing at a tremendous rate. It has been designed to serve small business owners, with simplicity and convenience and, really, it's a virtual store front for small businesses and individuals. You'll hear some ...

Adria Good has been quilting for a very long time! She's quilted through getting married...kids...homeshooling...basketball coaching...all the things.

Her story is one of learning and growing.
New idea?  Research and learn.
New upgrade?  Practice, and expand capabilities.
New challenge? Take it one step at a time. You CAN do the hard things.

Listen to hear all these stories and more.  Adria has gr...

Today I'm talking about a slightly uncomfortable topic - what to do when everything’s just going wrong.

Just last week, I received a schooling in this! I regularly live stream quilting a project on YouTube and Facebook. I’ve dubbed it Live & Unscripted, and sometimes Quilting’s First Reality Show because it’s just that - real time process without any edits or “cleaning up”. I’ve always included the rough bits, like thread o...

Sam Alberts was one of my very first podcast guests - see Episode #4. Now she's back to give us an update on her Quilting Curve Studio.

Sam's been (of course!) quilting, lo, these many months. But also, she's made significant pivots in her business. She was finding that
     a) there are only so many hours a body can quilt, and that translates into a ceiling on income
     b) she has a wealth of ex...

Dixie Thue (pronounced too-ee) is a fellow Canadian, and a quilter with broad experience, and stories to match! Listen in as we chat about her ranch life in northern Canada, raising St. Bernard puppies, and her collection of sewing machines.

Quilters seem to be multi-talented people, and Dixie is no exception. Skim through her feed on Instagram and you'll find sourdough bread,  garden abundance, those ADORABLE St. Ber...

Leah Nixon and Grace Nixon Peterson are a powerful duo - two sisters that create greeting cards rich with meaning.  The word "card" seems too simple - their artwork, the thoughtfulness of every word, their passion about writing to each other by hand - all these come together to create one-of-a-kind snail mail.

We chat about the themes behind their annual collections, their personal stories that play hugely into t...

In Dara's own words - "If you can make a quilt, you can do anything.

That includes taking control of your life and losing weight that has been holding you back."

Dara Thomasson is a longarm quilter and a quiltmaker.  She teaches all these skills, but also coaches and teaches women to love themselves thin. Her approach is positive, holistic, and REAL!

Dara is based in Canada, and travels and teaches at many qui...

Jenn Geisbrecht lives in central Alberta, Canada, which means she know allll about long, cold winters.

Jenn also knows a lot about building a machine quilting business. In this episode we chat about growing a clientele, building a brand and visibility, using social media to aid in growth, and - gasp - doing new things outside your comfort zone that make you relatable, and in fact, attract new and long-term clients.

Dee Bradford is a student in my Freehand Quilting Masterclass.  In this episode she shares her quilting journey, and highlights how becoming proficient at freehand work has both brought personal enjoyment, and opened creative doors of opportunity.

Want to try free motion quilting but don't know where to start? Here's 3 simple steps to get going.

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Today's episode is a little departure from the podcast norm....I'm giving some backstory on why I created a comprehensive course on the art of machine quilting. It was born directly from the need I felt as a novice quilter to have some solid and extremely practical guidance as I got to know my machine and my own style of quilting. 

What type of quilter or creator might want that?
Who is it intended to help?...

We've all cringed at those words. C'mon, admit it!

This is my exploration of edge to edge and custom quilting, and why and when you might want to choose one over the other.

Custom quilting is specific to areas, or blocks, or borders; may include stops and starts or thread color changes, and is often more complex or intricate. It is definitely more time consuming than edge-to-edge, so that's a huge c...

Carina Gardner and I chat about business building and entrepreneurial skills. Tenacity...the willingness to learn and stretch...these are essential.

There's no magic - it takes time and determination to establish and grow a business, but Carina's successes will encourage you!

Carina has a Ph.D. in Design from the University of Minnesota. She
has been a Creative Director for a scrapbooking company and...

Does the idea of creating a scrappy quilt just overwhelm you?

Where to start?

How to choose fabrics?

How to make it sparkle?

Eva and I both love a good scrap quilt, so we're sharing the things we've learned about fabric selection, scrap storage, even pre-cutting into sizes we know we use often. 

We've got some simple tricks for determining color value and placement (hint: ...

Quilt shows - you gotta love them! There's something new around every corner - quilts in every style, color, size. There are classes and demos. There are dealers with machines you can take out for a spin. There are vendors with delicious fabric! And, usually on the last day, there are ribbons to ooooh and aaaah over.

Our local show is coming up in a few short weeks, and we are so excited! The opportunities to meet up ...

Shop Hops are a great way to explore a variety of quilt stores - and get free patterns to boot!

Eva and I chat about the details; from mapping and planning your route, to snacks and take-alongs, to collecting the free patterns that are unique to each shop, and even the contests that are available for speedy piecers!

You'll want to come along for the ride!

Want to try free motion quilting but don't know where t...

Quilt retreats - what's not to love? They are a chance to visit and giggle with your friends...a time to get in some uninterrupted work on a challenging project...a chance to finish up some WIPs.

My friend Eva and I were recently at a rather rustic retreat, so we'll tell you what we loved best, and what we learned. Plus tools and supplies you might want to pack. Suggestions for organizing meals and snacks. And wi...

Shannon Fraser became a quilter unexpectedly - in fact she says she had discounted quilting as an interest entirely!

Never say never! Shannon tells the story of textile exploration that eventually led her to quilting and pattern design. We chat about her love of saturated colors, and graphic designs, and improv as a quilter's version of a palette cleanser.

Shannon gives us a glimpse into pattern designing, an...

Lorinda Davis loves making pretty things, but she also loves being organized. 

We chat about her journey into the art of quilting - the first time she tried it she thought "that's not for me!" but eventually she was drawn in in an unexpected way.

And then we explore the wonderful world of planners...organizers...checklists, and how writing things down helps us keep balance and priorities in our liv...