March 6, 2024 • 44 mins
#machinequilting #artquilting #grafitti
Over 10 years ago Karlee Porter invented and made wildly popular her signature style of quilting - Grafitti Quilting. Machine quilting has never looked so gorgeous!
Basically, it's a mashup of all kinds of unexpected designs in the same quilted area. But that's not all. Oh no! It also involves breaking lots of quilting "rules" to achieve a very unique, and extremely personalized look.
In the first edition of her book "Grafitti Quilting", first published in 2017, Karlee broke down her system into a step by step process that even non-doodlers like myself could learn to quilt.
In her upcoming 3rd edition, she has MASSIVELY enlarged on the printed content of the book, plus added tons of QR codes, linking to all kinds of in-depth video training.
Listen in as we chat about the new book, traveling the world, the marvels of digital learning, and much, much more.
If you can't wait to take Karlee's class, here's a sweet $25 off for you! Use the code SBS25
class registration: https://bit.ly/3v1ZD0u
Want to try free motion quilting but don't know where to start? Here's 3 simple steps to get going.
Are you looking to ADVANCE your machine quilting skills?
Machine quilting can be very solitary, especially on a longarm. It's just not that easy to pack up your machine and head to a friend's house for the day, right? But it's important to have that community - that sharing of ideas and tips, encouragement and motivation.
For more information and to sign up, visit our website.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Susan (00:03):
I'm Susan Smith.
Welcome to my studio, Stitchedby Susan.
I have Carly Porter with me inthe studio today, virtually, of
course, and she's in the processof releasing a brand new book.
And so we thought this would bea great opportunity to get
together and visit.
I've had her on the podcastbefore, so we'll catch up, see
what's gone on in theintervening years.
(00:24):
So without further ado, let'swelcome Carly into the studio.
Carly.
It is so great to get anopportunity to catch up with
you.
Karlee (00:32):
Thank you for having me.
I'm really excited.
I'm always excited to see you.
So
Susan (00:37):
it's always fun to get a chance to visit.
I agree.
Totally.
Okay.
We're talking today specificallyabout your brand new book that
is coming out So give me just atiny taste of that and then
we'll go back and tell some ofthe pre story
Karlee (00:50):
Okay, so graffiti quilting is the book This is the
third edition and it is the 10year anniversary from when I
wrote the first edition Back in2014, so graffiti quilting is my
free motion quilting style.
That's all about taking as manydifferent motifs as you know how
to quilt and smashing them alltogether into one quilt in a
(01:11):
very Aesthetically pleasing,beautiful, chaotic way.
Susan (01:16):
I love that description.
I have that first book and I, Icannot remember how it first
came across, my horizon so tospeak, but I absolutely fell in
love with that style.
And frankly it's, it's not inmy, like I'm typically more too,
too, too, too organized and Irepeat the same designs.
So like it was a stretch for me.
(01:36):
But oh my goodness, it appealedto me when I first saw it.
I ordered that book and startedpracticing it.
So do you have some examplesthat you can show us or even
pages from the book that you canshow us?
Like you gave a greatdescription of it, but we just
want to see because we'requilters.
Karlee (01:52):
I think I do have some pages that I could show you.
Okay.
Let me.
pull them up on my computer.
Susan (01:59):
Okay, so whether they're from the original book or
whether they're from this one,like I don't mean to make you
put you on the spot and haveyou, show stuff that's your
secret,
Karlee (02:07):
but.
Okay, this will give you a goodreference at least to begin
with.
Many of you may have a copy ofthis book.
So this is the first book from2014 graffiti quilting.
And it's like.
A magazine.
Oh, I keep going inside thewrong way.
It's an awesome book.
It was my first ever book.
I self published it, and forbeing self published, it did
(02:29):
very well, which is really cool.
That was the first book in 2014.
And then after I traveled andtaught graffiti quilting, to
tons of different people allover the world.
I was like, wow, there'sactually more to this that I'm
still learning every time Iteach.
And so I started, keeping lotsof notes of those things and
thinking I would look back atthis book and say, there's like
(02:52):
a lot that I could really expandupon.
In 2017, after I did a ton ofteaching, I published the second
one, volume two, which I should,in hindsight, I should have
named it second edition, becausethe second book includes
everything that the first bookhad, plus a bunch more
information.
Susan (03:11):
Okay.
And actually, that's the one Ihave.
I recognize that cover now.
And over your shoulder, I'mseeing your insulated cup too.
I love it.
It's graffiti quilted also.
Yeah.
Karlee (03:21):
Yeah.
I just barely did this.
Thank you.
I love it.
Thanks.
I also bought a pair.
I'm wearing high top Vans.
Oh my goodness.
And I just bought a pair of purewhite high top vans that I'm
going to graffiti on as well.
Susan (03:38):
I love it.
Love it.
Love it.
If you do this with Sharpie andall different things too, as
well as quilting it, cause itworks for everything.
Yeah.
Okay.
So you've touched on a couple ofthings, but like this kind of
took on a life of its own.
When you introduced graffitiquilting in 2014, quilters like
me fell in love with it.
And we, we just saw all thepossibilities, right?
So you went on the road teachingthis.
(04:00):
Got any great stories from thatprocess?
Karlee (04:03):
I think the fact that my teaching tour was so big when it
was when the book was so newthat like in itself I think is
so cool So I published the bookin 2014 in the fall and I
actually had a quilt that hungin Houston that debuted graffiti
quilting like the style Like itwas just juried into the show
(04:24):
and so that was cool because Iwas able to show people the
print of the the printed bookand In conjunction with the
quilt.
And then that, that fall, thepre sells of the book did so
well that I was able to quit myfull time job and buy my
quilting machine and startworking full time as a business
owner doing freelance artworkand design and stuff.
(04:46):
So by the summer of 2015.
I had booked a teaching tourthat included a southern tour
along the Australian coast, andthen England, Ireland, and
Scotland, and then a coupleplaces in Canada, and then also
a few places state, stateside.
So that's I think the coolestpart.
Susan (05:08):
Quilters know a good thing when they
Karlee (05:10):
see it.
Yeah, and I was, I was not wellknown at all.
But the, the book seemed toreally take off, which I thought
was really cool.
And also very like an homage to.
My love for graffiti in general,because one huge part of
graffiti is that the artprecedes the artist.
(05:31):
People don't even know reallywho the artist is, but the art
speaks for itself.
And when people like a piece ofgraffiti art, they like it
because of it.
Not because there's some sort ofbranding or name or reputation
behind it.
That's a notch in my belt, thatit feels like I could have been
considered like a nobody in thequilting world, but my book was
(05:54):
really gaining a huge amount oftraction, which was so cool.
So yeah, so I got to teach allover the world and got to
experience different countries.
I had never been out of thecountry before I went to Canada,
and then I went to Europe, andthen I went to Australia, all
within about a three monthperiod, which was really super
cool.
Yeah.
(06:14):
But it is funny because teachinginternationally, there were a
few like funny, even though wewere all speaking English,
little nuances with things.
I remember one time I wasteaching and I referred to the
term ribbon candy, right?
Like the design ribbon candy.
And I said, yeah, like when yourgrandma has that old tin of
Candy that's all stuck together,but you still eat it because
(06:37):
you're a kid and then you breakoff a piece And it's so hard to
break it off.
But then you finally realizethat it's cinnamon So all that
time was wasted anyways, andthey were like, what is ribbon
candy?
Like they didn't know what theactual candy was and I was like,
oh, I guess that's an Americanthing or another one was when I
said like you fold your fabrichot dog style or hamburger style
(06:58):
and people were like What do youmean hot dog style, but or I
don't know maybe that's just aUtah thing But so that was funny
just getting to know otherpeople's kind of culture and
some of those words that are alittle bit different But yeah
overall it was really reallyjust an incredible opportunity
to get to know so many differentpeople and Be able to travel to
(07:21):
places where they don't get asmany opportunities to have in
person classes with quiltingteachers Because it seems like
most, most of us are in the U.
S.
And so those international folksdon't get as many opportunities
to do that.
So that was really cool.
I do think that's true.
Yeah.
And I feel like internationalquilters, they are like on a
(07:42):
different level.
Like they're a different kind ofbeast with soaking up
information.
And maybe that's part of it isbecause they know that they
don't just have access to peopleso close to them.
But yeah, like I'll tell you,those Australians.
Like they just, they werecontinually surprising me in the
best ways with their skills withgrasping the concepts.
(08:04):
And I don't know, it was reallycool.
But I think even just theopportunity of being in person
with these wonderful artists andbuilding kind of connections
that way was really just a hugeblessing.
It was really cool.
Susan (08:18):
So what a great experience.
So for me, Carly, I've I've madequilts forever in a day, it
seems but I have not beeninvolved in the quilting
industry until nine or 10 yearsago at all.
So it's been a revelation to meto find that as I get to know
people like you and your stylewith graffiti quilting is quite
(08:39):
distinctive, but there areothers who have subtler, maybe
differences in their style.
But what amazes me is that likeart, I begin to recognize the
artist.
I can see their work across theroom and I'm like, that's Carly.
I know that one and many otherpeople as well.
Do you find the same thing to betrue?
Karlee (08:58):
Yeah, yeah, and I think that's awesome.
Like I'm glad that it's like thecomparison between quilting or
folk art and fine art.
Yes, we're totally part of that.
Like folk art is art, quiltingis totally art.
And so that's really awesome.
And I think that's a hugecompliment too, especially when
So much of the quilting world isbased on like patterns where you
(09:20):
follow us a set of steps and thevariance between like free form
artistic expression andFollowing a list of steps
There's a lot of room in thereand I tend to stay really far to
the side of not only do I notenjoy following like steps From
(09:42):
people, or I don't, I'm, I don'tlike following recipes or
patterns.
I like to be more freeform, butI'm also not very good at it.
I, I just, I enjoy the, theprocess of constantly keeping my
options open when I'm creatingart.
And graffiti quilting reallycaters to people like me that
(10:03):
like really have issues withauthority or don't like to
follow a set of directions.
They like to be able to letthings unfold instead of knowing
exactly what the end result isgoing to look like.
Susan (10:16):
So I, I just love that in the quilting world.
There's room for all of us,because I'm probably at the
other end of that spectrum.
I am a bit of a rule follower.
So I have to be nudged andpushed a little bit explore, do
something different, mashtogether your designs, it'll be
okay.
I have to be pushed a little todo that, but it's so good that
there's room for all of theabove.
(10:38):
Whatever your style is, whateveryour expression is, there's,
there's room for all of us.
Yeah.
I agree.
So you've published a book ortwo by now.
You've been in a number of quiltshows by now, somewhere along
there, you shifted to doing muchmore online teaching than
teaching in person.
Were there specific reasons forthat and what has been the
outcome of that for you?
Karlee (11:00):
Yeah.
So I would say the main reasonwas in 2017, I had my first
baby.
And that was a huge catalyst insaying I want and need to stay
closer to home.
But I didn't want to lose theconnection that I was making
with my students.
The other thing that reallypushed me in that, so there was
actually two more things that Iwould say were big motivators in
(11:23):
moving to online, there's, Ijust can't go everywhere in the
world.
As much as I want to, there's noway I could cater to all of the
locations to get in front of thepeople who want to, want to be
with me.
And so teaching online,obviously, that meant anyone
anywhere in the world with aninternet connection could, we
could play together.
And then Finally, the thing thatI really, really love about
(11:47):
teaching online is that insteadof going to a location or a
quilt show and saying, okay,everybody drink from this fire
hose.
I can say, all right, we geteight weeks together or we get
12 weeks together where we'regoing to really get to know each
other.
And I can really alleviate a tonof the like pressure to perform.
(12:08):
Both on myself as well as mystudents because we're just
slowing down the process andit's more of a courtship instead
of like speed dating.
And so I really loved that idea.
And then I guess finally thelike little side note on that is
that I am a very long windedperson.
And so traveling to teachsomewhere and smash everything
into two days, I feel like it'sreally hard to do it justice.
(12:32):
At least with graffiti quiltingwhich that's really the thing
I've been teaching.
Maybe with other like less indepth courses, it makes sense to
do like a three hour class, butwith graffiti quilting, I could
talk and talk and talk and talkand talk and talk and talk.
And so I'm like, I would rathercater to an audience that wants
more, more breadth.
Of knowledge and more kind ofspread out and then also thrives
(12:56):
on the idea that they can take alittle chew it up and swallow it
and digest it and then come backfor seconds and thirds and
fourths and so so true of my soyeah so those were my main
things with teaching online thatactually ended up serving me
very well because I startedteaching online I think in 2017
and then COVID hit and I alreadyhad the infrastructure in place
(13:17):
to just keep doing what I wasdoing and that was a huge thing.
Huge blessing and privilege tobe able to maintain, maintain
that in such a, such a hard timefor the rest of the world.
Susan (13:29):
Yeah.
So perfect.
I so agree about the, youranalogy of drinking from a fire
hose.
My My father in law was apreacher and he used to say the
head can absorb only as much asthe seat can endure, which is
just another way of saying thesame thing, right?
You can only take so much inwhen it's new material, when
it's stretching your skillset,you can only absorb so much.
(13:51):
So the beauty of online and oron demand courses is not only is
it broken up over the weeks, butyou can press rewind and you can
go back and watch that difficultportion again and again and
again, practice it, watch it, etcetera, until you get it.
There, there is really this.
Beauty in, both have theirbenefits.
(14:11):
There is nothing like being withthe teacher in person and
getting their flavor and theirpersonality.
But there is this advantage,which we've talked about, of the
content coming to you, a littlemore dripped, a little more
slowly.
And just.
The, even for, for quilt guildsand for people, the advantage
of, not all guilds can afford tobring in a teacher.
(14:32):
It's costly because travel costsare enormous, right?
So you can only do so much ofthat.
But this is like opening abuffet of teachers, again, from
anywhere in the world that's gotinternet access.
So yeah, it's pretty
Karlee (14:45):
marvelous.
The cool thing too, that I'vebeen able to do is like.
When I'm, when I'm gearing up toteach another online course,
there have been some times thatguilds will approach me and say,
Hey, we're, we are in thislocation.
What are your prices to come andteach a class?
And instead of quoting them aprice that's going to be quite
expensive, it might take theirwhole yearly budget, depending
(15:06):
on how big the guild is.
I can say, how about this?
If your guild wants to take myonline course, I can give you a
group discount.
That will help support yourguild instead of draining the
funds from your guild.
You can just have your membersRegister for my class and then
you get a kickback that willhelp support the ongoing
(15:26):
endeavors of your guild To keepdoing those fun activities and
then also get access to reallygreat education.
So that's cool too, to be ableto collaborate in ways that I
wouldn't normally be able tobecause then I could have two or
three different guilds all inthe same class session and
they're getting to know eachother and, and that's really
(15:47):
cool too.
With online, we're not limitedto the amount of seats that we
can fit into a room.
It's everyone in the comfort oftheir own home in comfy clothes
and pants are optional.
Susan (15:58):
Exactly.
Cause you're only seeing me fromhere up.
Yep.
So many good things.
Karlee (16:02):
I wear pants, but you don't have to.
Me
Susan (16:05):
too.
I even have footwear on.
Usually I'm in bare feet, buttoday I even have footwear on.
So many good things resultthough, when, when we allow
ourselves to think outside thebox.
And honestly, the whole pandemicepisode was very good for many
of us in that way.
I feel like.
Quilters, by and large, areretired or semi retired, mostly
(16:25):
women who, four or five yearsago probably didn't have the
knowledge of how to attend aZoom class or how to purchase an
online course or how to log backinto it a year down the road,
right?
And they were forced intoLearning those skills too, but
it has resulted in this wealthof sharing of information Being
available to all of us.
(16:46):
I just think so many good thingscame from that, bad situation
But there is a silver lining andwe've found it as quilters.
I think
Karlee (16:54):
I agree I think it was it was definitely a baptism by
fire But but a baptismnonetheless, yes, exactly,
Susan (17:01):
exactly.
Okay.
I would like to hear aboutanother thing that you've done
in the last couple of years too,which is you have formed a
company called Honest Fabric,which prints quilts.
Tell us about
Karlee (17:14):
that.
So Honest Fabric is a companythat my husband and I founded in
2018 and the three pillars orlike it, I thought of it as like
my love letter to the quiltingindustry.
So it was about 10 years into mylike my introduction into the
quilting world where I feltlike, okay, here's something
that maybe we could improve upona little bit as an industry.
(17:36):
And so Honest Fabric was my loveletter to that.
And it's.
Based on being fair trade,American made, and eco friendly.
So those are the pillars of thewhy, the rationale that's like
this is the bigger mission ofthe company.
But the gist of the companyitself is basically that we
print on demand, custom printedquilt tops that are large format
and ready to quilt.
(17:57):
No piecing.
No seams.
It's just ready for you to throwit on your frame and get to
quilting.
And it's like a next
Susan (18:05):
gen for those cheater quilts that we used to buy that
were like double wedding ringsor lone stars that were all
printed in place, but it's upleveled that quite a bit.
Karlee (18:13):
Yes, because I think that like where the industry was
lacking is that anytime therewas like a panel It was always
still just the width of yardagebecause it was still printed in
the traditional way that therest of the line that It matches
was it always felt like anafterthought to the yardage like
it was like Oh, here's this cutelittle thing that you can cut
out and make a pillow with butreally the yardage is like what
(18:36):
the fabric Company wants you tostay focused on which is fine
and So that was one big thingthat I was like, I want a quilt.
I want a quilt top that's thesize of a quilt.
And so with Honest Fabric, thethree sizes that we have, the
smallest is a 50 by 60.
And then the largest is an 88 by104.
(18:56):
So the quilt that's hanging herein my studio, this is a custom
printed quilt top.
It's amazing! Yeah, so anotherthing that I love about it is
that there with with digitallyprinting fabric There are just
some aesthetics that you can'tget with piecing or applique And
(19:17):
this is that quilt is a goodexample of that because there's
no way in the world That I wouldever make that quilt with
traditional quilting methods.
Like I don't even really knowhow to applique.
Susan (19:30):
So there are people who would, there are people who
would, yeah.
You and I, I feel are not amongthem.
Karlee (19:35):
Yeah.
I'm not, yeah, there's a specialplace in heaven for those
people.
I just, I'm not, I'm not cuttingit.
So that was like really the, themotivation for Honest Fabric was
feeling like.
There's a niche in the industryfor it.
It's obviously very smallbecause it's like a niche within
a niche within a niche, but mebeing someone who prefers the
(19:56):
quilting to all of the othersteps of the quilt making
process, I wanted to cater topeople like me who just want to
get to their quilting machineand spend more time quilting and
you can make more quilts becauseyou're not putting the, 80 hours
into piecing the quilt top.
It also alleviates a lot offear.
For quilters who spend so muchtime on a quilt top and then
(20:19):
they're afraid of the quiltingand so they either send it out
and have a professional do it orthey have this anxiety the whole
time like a shivering chihuahua,like they're going to ruin their
quilt top, which is not a funexperience either, you want to
have fun with the quilting thesame way you had fun with the
piecing.
So it's nice too, that there's,there are these really
beautiful, Beautiful pieces ofart that can be used as quilt
(20:42):
tops Where people can practicewithout the anxiety of like
totally ruining fabric because Imean at the end of the day even
if you you know, our quilt topsrange from 80 to 120 dollars,
which I think is prettyPhenomenal based on what it
costs to make a quilt top soit's like even if you totally
completely butchered the quilttop You're out a maximum of a
(21:06):
hundred and twenty dollars,right?
Which is nothing compared to thetime.
Yeah.
Yeah Right and picking it outYou're gonna it's gonna take you
a while with Honest Fabric topick out your favorite because
there are so many choices Yeah,and the other thing that I loved
about the concept behind honestfabric was that as I was
(21:27):
becoming a professional in theindustry I felt like there were
a few platforms that really tooka chance on me as like a, a
nobody, right?
Like I was called that, like Iwould reach out to some, there
were some companies that I wouldsay Hey, do you want to?
License my designs and they'd belike, nobody knows you like
you're a nobody.
So why and they clearly were notinterested in taking that like
(21:49):
leap of faith or, or giving thatthat space, which is like fine
business is business.
But then there were others thatwere like your design works
good.
Who cares if people don't knowyou, you're still money in my
pocket if I can sell your stuff.
And those companies really,really helped me to be able to
at least have a proof of conceptthat what I was doing could be
(22:12):
financially profitable.
And that was a really, reallyamazingly generous thing that
they did.
And I wanted to also have HonestFabric be a possible.
And I think that's a really coolplace where other designers like
me could just have anotherplatform that could be a revenue
stream.
It may not be, but it may begreat.
Like we have some, like NataliaBonner, for instance, she's a
(22:33):
really great example of asuccess story with Honest
Fabric, where she has her onlinecourses, and then she will give
her students the pattern andthey can piece the quilt top, or
she gives them a link to HonestFabric and they can just
purchase it and we drop ship itto them.
And that's a really great wayfor her to supplement her income
as a teacher because she makesmoney off of the registration of
(22:55):
the student.
And then also if they buy thequilt top, she makes another
bonus off of that.
So how does
Susan (23:00):
that kind of be a win for the students too?
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's a real win for the studentstoo, because Natalia can teach
and they can quilt far fasterthan they can piece.
So now if quilting is the thingthey're trying to learn, right?
This is just like a giantshortcut for them.
Get straight to the quilting.
And it's just a win win.
Karlee (23:21):
Yeah, yeah, and I love it too because the fabric is
really so soft, like it, thequality is still there.
It's not like these are justlike afterthought cheater panels
that it's like, Okay, it'scheap, but it didn't cost me
much, but like it's not a realquilt.
They are actually reallybeautiful and very Like my bed
quilt is a custom printed quilttop.
(23:42):
In fact, I have the very firstquilt that I ever made when I
was doing proof of concept forHonest Fabric and this quilt has
been on my bed for, I, I madethis quilt a couple years before
I launched Honest Fabric andit's like one of my favorite
quilts still.
Susan (23:58):
I remember this.
Yeah.
Yeah, so it's too
Karlee (24:05):
big to hold up all at once, but yeah, so it was really
cool to be able to have thisbecause even a pattern like
this, I wouldn't have pieced,like my piecing skills are like
so minimal that like when I lookat patterns that are piecing,
I'm like, that just looks hardand time
Susan (24:24):
consuming.
Piecing skills and like fabricand color selection and
arrangement.
Yeah.
Like how much would you have hadto spend on fabric to be able to
get that kind of.
Variety.
Gradation.
Ton of work and thought and aton of money to get, I don't
know how many different colorsyou have in there.
A hundred probably.
Karlee (24:40):
I think, I think it's like 14, but, oh yeah.
Beautiful rainbow.
And it's like solid, solidcolors and when it's in a
rainbow, it looks like more,which is the point.
So that's good.
Got it.
Got it.
But, but yeah, so I really likedthe idea that.
For me, Honest Fabric was notlike a, Oh, this might be a get
rich quick scheme.
It was like, I feel like I'vebeen in the industry long enough
(25:02):
that if I can give back even ina small way, and if this could
be a platform where maybe, ifeven one single designer finds
success, and if even one singlequilter likes it, I will have
considered it.
Worth all the time and effortthat it took Andrew and I to
build the infrastructure to makeit an offering so Which it has
(25:24):
and so that's awesome.
Yeah, so yeah
Susan (25:25):
It's it's a solid addition to all the ways that
you can make quilts and createin the quilting industry It's
just another way Another entrypoint there.
And I, over the years of, ofgetting to know you, Carly, I've
been so impressed that you havethis, this broad concept too, of
the industry as a whole.
(25:45):
So in other words, the thingsyou do are not just, I want to
make money off this for myfamily, but it's how can it
impact other people and how canother people also use this in
their businesses?
And, the old saying, the risingtide lifts all ships, right?
Exactly.
What can we be doing that'slifting each other up, that's
cross promoting, that's usingeach other's products and
services and highlighting them.
(26:07):
All of this helps all of us, andI think that's really, really
important.
So I appreciate that in the workthat you do.
I see it in all kinds of ways inthe things that you post, in the
comments that you make, and inhow you handle your businesses.
So I appreciate that.
Karlee (26:21):
Thank you.
I, I'm glad you're not sick ofme yet.
Cause I know as if you followlike my Instagram where you're
getting kind of day to daysometimes it gets a little
cheeky, like sometimes I'm like,I, that's one thing I really
appreciate too, is I feel likewhen I first got into the
industry, there was like thisbox, right?
That's if you want to be aprofessional quilter in this
(26:42):
industry, these are like thestandards.
That you follow, and over time,the more that I said, I'm just
gonna say no thanks and figureit out on my own and do my own
thing, the more successful I'vebeen, but I've also found that
that just, it's like it putsanother leaf in the table for
other people to say oh wait,hold up, we can reinvent the
(27:03):
wheel because it's not actuallya wheel.
It's like a proprietary, veryspecific product that someone,
that one single person might becapitalizing off of.
And we can, we can duplicatedifferent things in different
ways and offer things indifferent ways.
And at the end of the day.
Everybody I was talking to aclose friend of mine recently
about this and she had been inthe quilting industry for a
while and then took a step awayand she wanted to come back as a
(27:27):
professional and she was like,I'm just so worried that what
people are going to say and Isaid, I don't know if you
realize this, but you don't needany anyone's permission.
Mm hmm.
Like you, there's like actuallynot any literal like regulation
that stops someone from sayinglike I'm a professional.
Yeah.
Which is like a little bitimposter syndrome
Susan (27:48):
There's no letters after your name.
But yeah, it's
Karlee (27:50):
like literally anybody can do what they want and they
either, and it's almost like thecapitalistic side is you can do
what you want, but if you'redoing it for money, it just may
not work.
So it's like up to you todecide.
So I don't know.
I think that's really liberatingto be like.
Anyone who wants to be here canbe here.
(28:11):
All it takes is for you todecide to pull up a chair.
Cause it's not like you have toexpect people to invite you into
this like secret quilt businessIlluminati.
It's just everyone's in theirown club, in their own home, in
their sweats, standing at theirquilting machine.
Yeah.
Just doing what they love so and
Susan (28:30):
I feel like maybe when you're just coming into it It
might feel like that sort ofsecret society that you don't
really have the password for Butas you get in it longer and you
get to know more people and makemore connections, it might be go
to shows, it might be, submit tomagazines, it might be published
patterns.
But as you get familiar with it,you do find that there's all
kinds of people doing all kindsof things.
(28:52):
And that's the beauty of it.
That's the richness of it,honestly.
Karlee (28:55):
Yeah.
Yeah.
And I think it's a double edgedsword too, because I don't feel
like there's any single personor entity or business or group
in the industry that could belike, I'm going to end your
career or I'm going to make yourcareer.
So it's that makes it way lessscary to be like, the world is
flat in a sense that like we'reall at the same starting point
(29:16):
and some people have workedharder than others or longer
than others, but also there'snot.
I think sometimes the biggestthing that stops people is
themselves, like out of all thebarriers of being a successful
in a successful entrepreneur orbusiness owner or artist in the
industry, it seems like thebiggest barrier is usually like
(29:38):
our own inner critic.
And if we can connect with thatfirst and be like, no, I'm good
with me.
So now anyone else who's goodwith me, that's a bonus to me
being okay with me because thatwas something too that I
learned, in the first few years,I was so eager to figure out
what kind of validation wouldsyndicate me, and as I chased
(29:59):
that, I was continuallydisappointed and, but then when
I was like, okay, I just put mynose to the grindstone.
I'm going to just fill my lifewith passion projects.
Yeah.
That could be capitalized on butI need to stop chasing the green
and hoping that I enjoy itinstead I do the thing that I
enjoy and I share it and thoseare the things that typically
(30:21):
end up being the most powerfuland responsive and I, I think
that people have a goodintuition for when your heart is
in the thing that you're doingtoo, versus when you're like
chasing the cash and, which hasworked in my favor because I
have tried to keep my heart init.
So I don't know.
I guess that's another piece ofunsolicited advice that I would
(30:42):
give anybody.
It's if your heart is there andyou're good with you, but I also
realized that I speak from aplace of privilege because.
It's very hard to focus onBatman all the time when you're
grinding like Bruce Wayne, yes.
So yes It's a double edged swordfor sure.
Susan (30:59):
It is.
I have found the same principlesapply in social media It can be
ever so easy to get caught up ineither pleasing the people or
what what's commonly known asthe vanity metrics You know how
big the numbers are how big thefollowing is how many likes how
many shares etc?
But the truth of the matter isBut whatever you do, there are
(31:20):
some people that see it the sameway and that appreciate what
you're doing.
And there are some people thatdon't, and you don't have to
keep them all happy.
You don't have to please all thepeople.
Just find your people, whateversize of little pond that is,
just swim in it happily.
Yeah.
Karlee (31:34):
Yeah.
I like to think of it as if, ifyou were a seasoning in the
spice drawer, what would you be?
Like I know for sure that I amtajin seasoning.
I don't know if you've hadtajin, but it's like little
spicy, a little sour, but it'sso delicious on sweet things
like fruit, like watermelon andmango and strawberry.
But it's also great withcucumbers and vinegar.
(31:55):
So I feel like I'm tajin in thesense that like I carry tajin
around in my purse.
Like a little travel bottle andI can do without it.
I have people, yeah.
And I have people in my lifethat like, that's they, they're
like my og like religious typeof followers or supporters.
And then there's other peoplethat might be like, oh, I don't
know.
(32:16):
I guess I'll try it.
It's an acquired taste andthey're surprised that they like
it, but they might like it or.
Then there's the people that arelike what is that?
And I'm like, okay.
So I'm not for everybody.
Yeah.
No spice is for everybody allthe time.
So I don't know.
I'm an acquired taste.
I think it tastes good.
But I also am not surprised whenI hear the dry heave towards me
(32:39):
because I get it.
I'm an acquired taste and Ithink it's a good thing to not
be for everybody because itmeans that it's
Susan (32:44):
a good perspective.
It's a good perspective to keep.
Yep.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Karlee (32:48):
So what spice are you in the spice journey?
Susan (32:51):
I'm gonna have to ponder on that a little bit.
I doubt that I'm the tahini, i,I might be the nutmeg, but like
fresh nutmeg, not the stuffthat's been in your bottle for a
month of Sundays.
Yeah.
You have to think about thatthough.
Karlee (33:04):
Okay.
Yeah.
I would love to know
Susan (33:06):
that.
So your first graffiti quiltingbook now is, it's the 10th
anniversary.
So the book that you'republishing now is, is it a third
edition or is it a different
Karlee (33:16):
book?
Yeah.
So it will be Graffiti QuiltingThird Edition.
Okay.
It'll, it'll probably have thesame I've kept the same tagline
on both of the books.
So a simple guide to complexdesigns because I think that's
very true to graffiti quilting.
And it's, it's more that I wantto show how much can be brought
(33:37):
under the graffiti quiltingumbrella instead of saying okay,
there's graffiti quilting, butthen all this other free motion.
I've found that being able toshow how it incorporates to this
overall technique.
It's like a buffet.
Like I think graffiti quiltingis like a free motion quilting
buffet.
So it's like you can tasteeverything and it's going to be
(33:57):
yummy.
It might be hard to stomachsometimes, but everything leads
back to the buffet of freemotion quilting.
And some combinations work greatand others don't.
And that's okay too.
So yeah, so I'm still like,it's, it's crazy to think that
it's been 10 years and I am, Ihave no shortage of ideas for
how graffiti quilting can applyin more.
(34:21):
I don't know.
So that's a really good problemto have.
In fact, when I was starting towrite the third, the third
edition book last summer, I waslike, okay, this is going to be
done by like end of September.
And then I was like, as I wasgetting into it, every section,
and I was like, okay, it's goingto be 200 pages.
And then I was like, okay, I'lljust add a page here, add a page
here.
(34:41):
It's fine.
210.
It'll be okay.
And then I was like, hold up,wait.
There's this whole other sectionthat needs to be explored and
needs to be done justice to.
So I'll just add this, thisextra section and it'll be fine.
It'll be eight sections.
And then what's the page number?
Yes.
So it kept going.
So now what it's at, and I feelgood about this.
(35:03):
So I, and then I was like, okay,it'll be done by Halloween or
okay, it'll be done by the endof the year.
And, but now I'm like, if I'mgoing to do this, it has to be
done well.
And as much as possible, I don'twant to rush it for time.
And so that's it's, it's beengood that I've been exploring
that.
And now I'm like, okay, I feelreally good about this.
I'm actually like sleeping atnight because.
(35:26):
The things in my head arestarting to get manifested and
that's really good.
So it's a 10 section book with300 pages total.
So for reference, the, thevolume 2 book is 80, almost 90
pages.
86 pages.
Oh my goodness.
Yeah.
(35:47):
And so Graffiti Quilting 3rdedition is going to be 300
pages.
In fact, today I was trying todecide if I should do a hard
cover or a soft cover becausethat's one thing I still can't
decide.
I feel like a hard cover feelsappropriate for a collector's
edition, 10 year anniversary.
But then I also wonder if mostpeople are like, no, I want a
soft cover because then I canbend it or then I can spiral
(36:09):
bind it.
Susan (36:10):
So that's where I was going with it.
But if you want my vote.
Cause I like using my quiltingbooks.
Some of them are just dog earedfrom flipping through.
And I love to trim them andspiral bind them and then lay
them flat and have them rightthere when I'm working.
So that's my vote.
Karlee (36:24):
I was thinking that because it's a thick enough
book, I could still do a hardbound and it would lay flat
because it has a thick spine tolay on.
And I also was thinking thatbecause it really is going to be
such an in depth textbook, Iwant it to last as long as
possible.
And so those hard cover edgeswould protect the edges of the
(36:44):
pages.
So I don't know.
I just did a reel on Instagramdoing a poll to see what people
think.
The hardcover costs like fivebucks more to print, but if
that's what people want, I'mtotally happy to eat that cost.
So it's like the cost doesn'tmake a difference to the
consumer, but I want to justmake sure that every little
detail.
It is as good as possible for asmany people as possible.
(37:06):
Awesome.
Susan (37:06):
So when is the actual release date going to be, or do
you know that yet
Karlee (37:09):
for sure?
Yes.
So the book and the newrevamped, robust online course
will be in conjunction with eachother.
So people will only be able toget the book by taking the class
because really it's like anexperience.
The book is awesome and theclass is awesome, but I really
want people to have theexperience of both.
(37:29):
And you can register for theclass starting March 1st, and
then the class session runs for12 weeks, starting September
7th.
You've got to Yeah, so it'll bea 12 week class with a class
session every other Saturday.
So six class sessions everyother week because that's
another thing that I reallywanted to make sure of is that
people have enough time todigest the material while still
(37:53):
staying on track with aschedule.
So I felt like 12 weeks wasgreat where they had every other
Saturday because I also realizedthat it's hard to dedicate every
weekend for 12 weeks tosomething.
Susan (38:04):
So yeah.
And a lot of us are quiltingTwixt in between, right?
So that two week span gives youtime to.
Get another course or twofinished, load up a practice
piece and play with it a littlebit.
So what, what's the format thatyou deliver those classes in
Carly?
Karlee (38:19):
So the way that people register is on my website and
then they'll be invited to aprivate Facebook group.
And so over the 12 week course,the class, the live class
sessions will take place in theFacebook group.
And so they can, yeah, and Ireally like that method.
I don't love Facebook like But Ido love the community aspect
(38:41):
that a Facebook is about.
Yeah, yeah.
And I want to be able toduplicate that as much as
possible, like people will posttheir own work and others will
comment on it or people willpost videos of their studio and
it's really nice and friendlyand collaborative in that way.
And so the Facebook group iswhere the classes will take
place and then I always leave myFacebook groups open Until no
(39:04):
one is actively working anymore,so it's not technically lifetime
access But it's always I makesure my students are happy
before I shut down the group Butthen that way I'm not managing a
hundred Facebook groups right inin ten years from now or
whatever, right?
So because the other thing rightThe other thing that's so
exciting about this new graffitiquilting book is that I have
(39:28):
built in copious amounts of QRcodes that lead to additional
content online.
Love it.
I'm like, still.
So I think it's the coolestidea.
I don't know why every quiltingbook doesn't have it.
I know technology is here, solet's do it.
But like in, in one of thesections that's like the free
motion fillers that you can useas the background.
There's.
(39:48):
The page with the design, thedescription next to it, and then
a QR code that will take thereader to the video of the page
being drawn, and then also avideo of the design being
quilted.
So they have the textinformation, plus the drawing,
plus the quilting.
So it's like that repeated overthe course of 300 pages.
(40:09):
So it's a really, really robust,yeah, I want to give as much as
possible.
To the reader, I don't want themto buy a book and then be like,
but I don't get that.
I wish there was someone whocould show me more in depth.
It's Oh, just scan the QR codeand go to this video and boom,
there you have it.
Susan (40:27):
So for those who want to read, for those who prefer to
watch whatever or reinforce bydoing all of the above, it's all
there for them.
So good.
Yeah.
And we will put links by theway, I'll put links in the
description below so that youcan go right to Carly's website.
Maybe even sign up for hernewsletter so you get
notification when these thingsbecome available.
That would be a great idea,folks.
Yeah.
(40:47):
So anything else you want toclose with before we go?
Karlee (40:52):
I don't think so.
I'm just, I like it was, it'sfunny cause someone asked me
recently so what's going on for2024?
And I said, literally the onlything I've given up on
absolutely everything except forMy book and class this year and
flossing.
I'm still gonna floss regularly.
That's my other New Year'sresolution.
Yeah, but yeah, I just I guessif I could leave any like words
(41:14):
of Encouragement or advice itwould be that just don't give
up, you know quilting.
I love quilting so much I couldtalk about it all day.
I love teaching So if you are aquilter who is a little bit
nervous Come hang out with meand I promise I will, I will
help you.
I love, I love being able towitness the journey of quilters
(41:38):
as they progress and grow.
I love teaching and I lovequilting.
So to be able to do both ofthose together is such a huge
privilege for me.
And not to toot my own horn, butthis is literally the only horn
that I have.
But I really pride myself onbeing a good teacher.
And I, I feel like I'm good atit.
I, I hope that you guys willjoin me.
(41:59):
Because even if you don't wantto do graffiti quilting on every
single project, there really isso much information to take with
you on your journey.
And I think that's another greatpart about quilting, is you take
what you want and you leave therest.
And, and you get to make thosechoices because You're the
creator of your own, of your ownlife, and your own quilt, and
(42:20):
your own story.
Susan (42:22):
Thank you so much Carly, and I'm not even going to say
goodbye, I'm just going to sayuntil next time, because we're
going to do this again.
I know we are.
I love it.
Thank you, appreciate it.
Talk to you soon.
Okay, bye.
I'm Susan Smith.
Welcome to my studio, Stitchedby Susan.
I have Carly Porter with me inthe studio today, virtually, of
course, and she's in the processof releasing a brand new book.
And so we thought this would bea great opportunity to get
together and visit.
I've had her on the podcastbefore, so we'll catch up, see
what's gone on in theintervening years.
(00:24):
So without further ado, let'swelcome Carly into the studio.
Carly.
It is so great to get anopportunity to catch up with
you.
Karlee (00:32):
Thank you for having me.
I'm really excited.
I'm always excited to see you.
So
Susan (00:37):
it's always fun to get a chance to visit.
I agree.
Totally.
Okay.
We're talking today specificallyabout your brand new book that
is coming out So give me just atiny taste of that and then
we'll go back and tell some ofthe pre story
Karlee (00:50):
Okay, so graffiti quilting is the book This is the
third edition and it is the 10year anniversary from when I
wrote the first edition Back in2014, so graffiti quilting is my
free motion quilting style.
That's all about taking as manydifferent motifs as you know how
to quilt and smashing them alltogether into one quilt in a
(01:11):
very Aesthetically pleasing,beautiful, chaotic way.
Susan (01:16):
I love that description.
I have that first book and I, Icannot remember how it first
came across, my horizon so tospeak, but I absolutely fell in
love with that style.
And frankly it's, it's not inmy, like I'm typically more too,
too, too, too organized and Irepeat the same designs.
So like it was a stretch for me.
(01:36):
But oh my goodness, it appealedto me when I first saw it.
I ordered that book and startedpracticing it.
So do you have some examplesthat you can show us or even
pages from the book that you canshow us?
Like you gave a greatdescription of it, but we just
want to see because we'requilters.
Karlee (01:52):
I think I do have some pages that I could show you.
Okay.
Let me.
pull them up on my computer.
Susan (01:59):
Okay, so whether they're from the original book or
whether they're from this one,like I don't mean to make you
put you on the spot and haveyou, show stuff that's your
secret,
Karlee (02:07):
but.
Okay, this will give you a goodreference at least to begin
with.
Many of you may have a copy ofthis book.
So this is the first book from2014 graffiti quilting.
And it's like.
A magazine.
Oh, I keep going inside thewrong way.
It's an awesome book.
It was my first ever book.
I self published it, and forbeing self published, it did
(02:29):
very well, which is really cool.
That was the first book in 2014.
And then after I traveled andtaught graffiti quilting, to
tons of different people allover the world.
I was like, wow, there'sactually more to this that I'm
still learning every time Iteach.
And so I started, keeping lotsof notes of those things and
thinking I would look back atthis book and say, there's like
(02:52):
a lot that I could really expandupon.
In 2017, after I did a ton ofteaching, I published the second
one, volume two, which I should,in hindsight, I should have
named it second edition, becausethe second book includes
everything that the first bookhad, plus a bunch more
information.
Susan (03:11):
Okay.
And actually, that's the one Ihave.
I recognize that cover now.
And over your shoulder, I'mseeing your insulated cup too.
I love it.
It's graffiti quilted also.
Yeah.
Karlee (03:21):
Yeah.
I just barely did this.
Thank you.
I love it.
Thanks.
I also bought a pair.
I'm wearing high top Vans.
Oh my goodness.
And I just bought a pair of purewhite high top vans that I'm
going to graffiti on as well.
Susan (03:38):
I love it.
Love it.
Love it.
If you do this with Sharpie andall different things too, as
well as quilting it, cause itworks for everything.
Yeah.
Okay.
So you've touched on a couple ofthings, but like this kind of
took on a life of its own.
When you introduced graffitiquilting in 2014, quilters like
me fell in love with it.
And we, we just saw all thepossibilities, right?
So you went on the road teachingthis.
(04:00):
Got any great stories from thatprocess?
Karlee (04:03):
I think the fact that my teaching tour was so big when it
was when the book was so newthat like in itself I think is
so cool So I published the bookin 2014 in the fall and I
actually had a quilt that hungin Houston that debuted graffiti
quilting like the style Like itwas just juried into the show
(04:24):
and so that was cool because Iwas able to show people the
print of the the printed bookand In conjunction with the
quilt.
And then that, that fall, thepre sells of the book did so
well that I was able to quit myfull time job and buy my
quilting machine and startworking full time as a business
owner doing freelance artworkand design and stuff.
(04:46):
So by the summer of 2015.
I had booked a teaching tourthat included a southern tour
along the Australian coast, andthen England, Ireland, and
Scotland, and then a coupleplaces in Canada, and then also
a few places state, stateside.
So that's I think the coolestpart.
Susan (05:08):
Quilters know a good thing when they
Karlee (05:10):
see it.
Yeah, and I was, I was not wellknown at all.
But the, the book seemed toreally take off, which I thought
was really cool.
And also very like an homage to.
My love for graffiti in general,because one huge part of
graffiti is that the artprecedes the artist.
(05:31):
People don't even know reallywho the artist is, but the art
speaks for itself.
And when people like a piece ofgraffiti art, they like it
because of it.
Not because there's some sort ofbranding or name or reputation
behind it.
That's a notch in my belt, thatit feels like I could have been
considered like a nobody in thequilting world, but my book was
(05:54):
really gaining a huge amount oftraction, which was so cool.
So yeah, so I got to teach allover the world and got to
experience different countries.
I had never been out of thecountry before I went to Canada,
and then I went to Europe, andthen I went to Australia, all
within about a three monthperiod, which was really super
cool.
Yeah.
(06:14):
But it is funny because teachinginternationally, there were a
few like funny, even though wewere all speaking English,
little nuances with things.
I remember one time I wasteaching and I referred to the
term ribbon candy, right?
Like the design ribbon candy.
And I said, yeah, like when yourgrandma has that old tin of
Candy that's all stuck together,but you still eat it because
(06:37):
you're a kid and then you breakoff a piece And it's so hard to
break it off.
But then you finally realizethat it's cinnamon So all that
time was wasted anyways, andthey were like, what is ribbon
candy?
Like they didn't know what theactual candy was and I was like,
oh, I guess that's an Americanthing or another one was when I
said like you fold your fabrichot dog style or hamburger style
(06:58):
and people were like What do youmean hot dog style, but or I
don't know maybe that's just aUtah thing But so that was funny
just getting to know otherpeople's kind of culture and
some of those words that are alittle bit different But yeah
overall it was really reallyjust an incredible opportunity
to get to know so many differentpeople and Be able to travel to
(07:21):
places where they don't get asmany opportunities to have in
person classes with quiltingteachers Because it seems like
most, most of us are in the U.
S.
And so those international folksdon't get as many opportunities
to do that.
So that was really cool.
I do think that's true.
Yeah.
And I feel like internationalquilters, they are like on a
(07:42):
different level.
Like they're a different kind ofbeast with soaking up
information.
And maybe that's part of it isbecause they know that they
don't just have access to peopleso close to them.
But yeah, like I'll tell you,those Australians.
Like they just, they werecontinually surprising me in the
best ways with their skills withgrasping the concepts.
(08:04):
And I don't know, it was reallycool.
But I think even just theopportunity of being in person
with these wonderful artists andbuilding kind of connections
that way was really just a hugeblessing.
It was really cool.
Susan (08:18):
So what a great experience.
So for me, Carly, I've I've madequilts forever in a day, it
seems but I have not beeninvolved in the quilting
industry until nine or 10 yearsago at all.
So it's been a revelation to meto find that as I get to know
people like you and your stylewith graffiti quilting is quite
(08:39):
distinctive, but there areothers who have subtler, maybe
differences in their style.
But what amazes me is that likeart, I begin to recognize the
artist.
I can see their work across theroom and I'm like, that's Carly.
I know that one and many otherpeople as well.
Do you find the same thing to betrue?
Karlee (08:58):
Yeah, yeah, and I think that's awesome.
Like I'm glad that it's like thecomparison between quilting or
folk art and fine art.
Yes, we're totally part of that.
Like folk art is art, quiltingis totally art.
And so that's really awesome.
And I think that's a hugecompliment too, especially when
So much of the quilting world isbased on like patterns where you
(09:20):
follow us a set of steps and thevariance between like free form
artistic expression andFollowing a list of steps
There's a lot of room in thereand I tend to stay really far to
the side of not only do I notenjoy following like steps From
(09:42):
people, or I don't, I'm, I don'tlike following recipes or
patterns.
I like to be more freeform, butI'm also not very good at it.
I, I just, I enjoy the, theprocess of constantly keeping my
options open when I'm creatingart.
And graffiti quilting reallycaters to people like me that
(10:03):
like really have issues withauthority or don't like to
follow a set of directions.
They like to be able to letthings unfold instead of knowing
exactly what the end result isgoing to look like.
Susan (10:16):
So I, I just love that in the quilting world.
There's room for all of us,because I'm probably at the
other end of that spectrum.
I am a bit of a rule follower.
So I have to be nudged andpushed a little bit explore, do
something different, mashtogether your designs, it'll be
okay.
I have to be pushed a little todo that, but it's so good that
there's room for all of theabove.
(10:38):
Whatever your style is, whateveryour expression is, there's,
there's room for all of us.
Yeah.
I agree.
So you've published a book ortwo by now.
You've been in a number of quiltshows by now, somewhere along
there, you shifted to doing muchmore online teaching than
teaching in person.
Were there specific reasons forthat and what has been the
outcome of that for you?
Karlee (11:00):
Yeah.
So I would say the main reasonwas in 2017, I had my first
baby.
And that was a huge catalyst insaying I want and need to stay
closer to home.
But I didn't want to lose theconnection that I was making
with my students.
The other thing that reallypushed me in that, so there was
actually two more things that Iwould say were big motivators in
(11:23):
moving to online, there's, Ijust can't go everywhere in the
world.
As much as I want to, there's noway I could cater to all of the
locations to get in front of thepeople who want to, want to be
with me.
And so teaching online,obviously, that meant anyone
anywhere in the world with aninternet connection could, we
could play together.
And then Finally, the thing thatI really, really love about
(11:47):
teaching online is that insteadof going to a location or a
quilt show and saying, okay,everybody drink from this fire
hose.
I can say, all right, we geteight weeks together or we get
12 weeks together where we'regoing to really get to know each
other.
And I can really alleviate a tonof the like pressure to perform.
(12:08):
Both on myself as well as mystudents because we're just
slowing down the process andit's more of a courtship instead
of like speed dating.
And so I really loved that idea.
And then I guess finally thelike little side note on that is
that I am a very long windedperson.
And so traveling to teachsomewhere and smash everything
into two days, I feel like it'sreally hard to do it justice.
(12:32):
At least with graffiti quiltingwhich that's really the thing
I've been teaching.
Maybe with other like less indepth courses, it makes sense to
do like a three hour class, butwith graffiti quilting, I could
talk and talk and talk and talkand talk and talk and talk.
And so I'm like, I would rathercater to an audience that wants
more, more breadth.
Of knowledge and more kind ofspread out and then also thrives
(12:56):
on the idea that they can take alittle chew it up and swallow it
and digest it and then come backfor seconds and thirds and
fourths and so so true of my soyeah so those were my main
things with teaching online thatactually ended up serving me
very well because I startedteaching online I think in 2017
and then COVID hit and I alreadyhad the infrastructure in place
(13:17):
to just keep doing what I wasdoing and that was a huge thing.
Huge blessing and privilege tobe able to maintain, maintain
that in such a, such a hard timefor the rest of the world.
Susan (13:29):
Yeah.
So perfect.
I so agree about the, youranalogy of drinking from a fire
hose.
My My father in law was apreacher and he used to say the
head can absorb only as much asthe seat can endure, which is
just another way of saying thesame thing, right?
You can only take so much inwhen it's new material, when
it's stretching your skillset,you can only absorb so much.
(13:51):
So the beauty of online and oron demand courses is not only is
it broken up over the weeks, butyou can press rewind and you can
go back and watch that difficultportion again and again and
again, practice it, watch it, etcetera, until you get it.
There, there is really this.
Beauty in, both have theirbenefits.
(14:11):
There is nothing like being withthe teacher in person and
getting their flavor and theirpersonality.
But there is this advantage,which we've talked about, of the
content coming to you, a littlemore dripped, a little more
slowly.
And just.
The, even for, for quilt guildsand for people, the advantage
of, not all guilds can afford tobring in a teacher.
(14:32):
It's costly because travel costsare enormous, right?
So you can only do so much ofthat.
But this is like opening abuffet of teachers, again, from
anywhere in the world that's gotinternet access.
So yeah, it's pretty
Karlee (14:45):
marvelous.
The cool thing too, that I'vebeen able to do is like.
When I'm, when I'm gearing up toteach another online course,
there have been some times thatguilds will approach me and say,
Hey, we're, we are in thislocation.
What are your prices to come andteach a class?
And instead of quoting them aprice that's going to be quite
expensive, it might take theirwhole yearly budget, depending
(15:06):
on how big the guild is.
I can say, how about this?
If your guild wants to take myonline course, I can give you a
group discount.
That will help support yourguild instead of draining the
funds from your guild.
You can just have your membersRegister for my class and then
you get a kickback that willhelp support the ongoing
(15:26):
endeavors of your guild To keepdoing those fun activities and
then also get access to reallygreat education.
So that's cool too, to be ableto collaborate in ways that I
wouldn't normally be able tobecause then I could have two or
three different guilds all inthe same class session and
they're getting to know eachother and, and that's really
(15:47):
cool too.
With online, we're not limitedto the amount of seats that we
can fit into a room.
It's everyone in the comfort oftheir own home in comfy clothes
and pants are optional.
Susan (15:58):
Exactly.
Cause you're only seeing me fromhere up.
Yep.
So many good things.
Karlee (16:02):
I wear pants, but you don't have to.
Me
Susan (16:05):
too.
I even have footwear on.
Usually I'm in bare feet, buttoday I even have footwear on.
So many good things resultthough, when, when we allow
ourselves to think outside thebox.
And honestly, the whole pandemicepisode was very good for many
of us in that way.
I feel like.
Quilters, by and large, areretired or semi retired, mostly
(16:25):
women who, four or five yearsago probably didn't have the
knowledge of how to attend aZoom class or how to purchase an
online course or how to log backinto it a year down the road,
right?
And they were forced intoLearning those skills too, but
it has resulted in this wealthof sharing of information Being
available to all of us.
(16:46):
I just think so many good thingscame from that, bad situation
But there is a silver lining andwe've found it as quilters.
I think
Karlee (16:54):
I agree I think it was it was definitely a baptism by
fire But but a baptismnonetheless, yes, exactly,
Susan (17:01):
exactly.
Okay.
I would like to hear aboutanother thing that you've done
in the last couple of years too,which is you have formed a
company called Honest Fabric,which prints quilts.
Tell us about
Karlee (17:14):
that.
So Honest Fabric is a companythat my husband and I founded in
2018 and the three pillars orlike it, I thought of it as like
my love letter to the quiltingindustry.
So it was about 10 years into mylike my introduction into the
quilting world where I feltlike, okay, here's something
that maybe we could improve upona little bit as an industry.
(17:36):
And so Honest Fabric was my loveletter to that.
And it's.
Based on being fair trade,American made, and eco friendly.
So those are the pillars of thewhy, the rationale that's like
this is the bigger mission ofthe company.
But the gist of the companyitself is basically that we
print on demand, custom printedquilt tops that are large format
and ready to quilt.
(17:57):
No piecing.
No seams.
It's just ready for you to throwit on your frame and get to
quilting.
And it's like a next
Susan (18:05):
gen for those cheater quilts that we used to buy that
were like double wedding ringsor lone stars that were all
printed in place, but it's upleveled that quite a bit.
Karlee (18:13):
Yes, because I think that like where the industry was
lacking is that anytime therewas like a panel It was always
still just the width of yardagebecause it was still printed in
the traditional way that therest of the line that It matches
was it always felt like anafterthought to the yardage like
it was like Oh, here's this cutelittle thing that you can cut
out and make a pillow with butreally the yardage is like what
(18:36):
the fabric Company wants you tostay focused on which is fine
and So that was one big thingthat I was like, I want a quilt.
I want a quilt top that's thesize of a quilt.
And so with Honest Fabric, thethree sizes that we have, the
smallest is a 50 by 60.
And then the largest is an 88 by104.
(18:56):
So the quilt that's hanging herein my studio, this is a custom
printed quilt top.
It's amazing! Yeah, so anotherthing that I love about it is
that there with with digitallyprinting fabric There are just
some aesthetics that you can'tget with piecing or applique And
(19:17):
this is that quilt is a goodexample of that because there's
no way in the world That I wouldever make that quilt with
traditional quilting methods.
Like I don't even really knowhow to applique.
Susan (19:30):
So there are people who would, there are people who
would, yeah.
You and I, I feel are not amongthem.
Karlee (19:35):
Yeah.
I'm not, yeah, there's a specialplace in heaven for those
people.
I just, I'm not, I'm not cuttingit.
So that was like really the, themotivation for Honest Fabric was
feeling like.
There's a niche in the industryfor it.
It's obviously very smallbecause it's like a niche within
a niche within a niche, but mebeing someone who prefers the
(19:56):
quilting to all of the othersteps of the quilt making
process, I wanted to cater topeople like me who just want to
get to their quilting machineand spend more time quilting and
you can make more quilts becauseyou're not putting the, 80 hours
into piecing the quilt top.
It also alleviates a lot offear.
For quilters who spend so muchtime on a quilt top and then
(20:19):
they're afraid of the quiltingand so they either send it out
and have a professional do it orthey have this anxiety the whole
time like a shivering chihuahua,like they're going to ruin their
quilt top, which is not a funexperience either, you want to
have fun with the quilting thesame way you had fun with the
piecing.
So it's nice too, that there's,there are these really
beautiful, Beautiful pieces ofart that can be used as quilt
(20:42):
tops Where people can practicewithout the anxiety of like
totally ruining fabric because Imean at the end of the day even
if you you know, our quilt topsrange from 80 to 120 dollars,
which I think is prettyPhenomenal based on what it
costs to make a quilt top soit's like even if you totally
completely butchered the quilttop You're out a maximum of a
(21:06):
hundred and twenty dollars,right?
Which is nothing compared to thetime.
Yeah.
Yeah Right and picking it outYou're gonna it's gonna take you
a while with Honest Fabric topick out your favorite because
there are so many choices Yeah,and the other thing that I loved
about the concept behind honestfabric was that as I was
(21:27):
becoming a professional in theindustry I felt like there were
a few platforms that really tooka chance on me as like a, a
nobody, right?
Like I was called that, like Iwould reach out to some, there
were some companies that I wouldsay Hey, do you want to?
License my designs and they'd belike, nobody knows you like
you're a nobody.
So why and they clearly were notinterested in taking that like
(21:49):
leap of faith or, or giving thatthat space, which is like fine
business is business.
But then there were others thatwere like your design works
good.
Who cares if people don't knowyou, you're still money in my
pocket if I can sell your stuff.
And those companies really,really helped me to be able to
at least have a proof of conceptthat what I was doing could be
(22:12):
financially profitable.
And that was a really, reallyamazingly generous thing that
they did.
And I wanted to also have HonestFabric be a possible.
And I think that's a really coolplace where other designers like
me could just have anotherplatform that could be a revenue
stream.
It may not be, but it may begreat.
Like we have some, like NataliaBonner, for instance, she's a
(22:33):
really great example of asuccess story with Honest
Fabric, where she has her onlinecourses, and then she will give
her students the pattern andthey can piece the quilt top, or
she gives them a link to HonestFabric and they can just
purchase it and we drop ship itto them.
And that's a really great wayfor her to supplement her income
as a teacher because she makesmoney off of the registration of
(22:55):
the student.
And then also if they buy thequilt top, she makes another
bonus off of that.
So how does
Susan (23:00):
that kind of be a win for the students too?
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's a real win for the studentstoo, because Natalia can teach
and they can quilt far fasterthan they can piece.
So now if quilting is the thingthey're trying to learn, right?
This is just like a giantshortcut for them.
Get straight to the quilting.
And it's just a win win.
Karlee (23:21):
Yeah, yeah, and I love it too because the fabric is
really so soft, like it, thequality is still there.
It's not like these are justlike afterthought cheater panels
that it's like, Okay, it'scheap, but it didn't cost me
much, but like it's not a realquilt.
They are actually reallybeautiful and very Like my bed
quilt is a custom printed quilttop.
(23:42):
In fact, I have the very firstquilt that I ever made when I
was doing proof of concept forHonest Fabric and this quilt has
been on my bed for, I, I madethis quilt a couple years before
I launched Honest Fabric andit's like one of my favorite
quilts still.
Susan (23:58):
I remember this.
Yeah.
Yeah, so it's too
Karlee (24:05):
big to hold up all at once, but yeah, so it was really
cool to be able to have thisbecause even a pattern like
this, I wouldn't have pieced,like my piecing skills are like
so minimal that like when I lookat patterns that are piecing,
I'm like, that just looks hardand time
Susan (24:24):
consuming.
Piecing skills and like fabricand color selection and
arrangement.
Yeah.
Like how much would you have hadto spend on fabric to be able to
get that kind of.
Variety.
Gradation.
Ton of work and thought and aton of money to get, I don't
know how many different colorsyou have in there.
A hundred probably.
Karlee (24:40):
I think, I think it's like 14, but, oh yeah.
Beautiful rainbow.
And it's like solid, solidcolors and when it's in a
rainbow, it looks like more,which is the point.
So that's good.
Got it.
Got it.
But, but yeah, so I really likedthe idea that.
For me, Honest Fabric was notlike a, Oh, this might be a get
rich quick scheme.
It was like, I feel like I'vebeen in the industry long enough
(25:02):
that if I can give back even ina small way, and if this could
be a platform where maybe, ifeven one single designer finds
success, and if even one singlequilter likes it, I will have
considered it.
Worth all the time and effortthat it took Andrew and I to
build the infrastructure to makeit an offering so Which it has
(25:24):
and so that's awesome.
Yeah, so yeah
Susan (25:25):
It's it's a solid addition to all the ways that
you can make quilts and createin the quilting industry It's
just another way Another entrypoint there.
And I, over the years of, ofgetting to know you, Carly, I've
been so impressed that you havethis, this broad concept too, of
the industry as a whole.
(25:45):
So in other words, the thingsyou do are not just, I want to
make money off this for myfamily, but it's how can it
impact other people and how canother people also use this in
their businesses?
And, the old saying, the risingtide lifts all ships, right?
Exactly.
What can we be doing that'slifting each other up, that's
cross promoting, that's usingeach other's products and
services and highlighting them.
(26:07):
All of this helps all of us, andI think that's really, really
important.
So I appreciate that in the workthat you do.
I see it in all kinds of ways inthe things that you post, in the
comments that you make, and inhow you handle your businesses.
So I appreciate that.
Karlee (26:21):
Thank you.
I, I'm glad you're not sick ofme yet.
Cause I know as if you followlike my Instagram where you're
getting kind of day to daysometimes it gets a little
cheeky, like sometimes I'm like,I, that's one thing I really
appreciate too, is I feel likewhen I first got into the
industry, there was like thisbox, right?
That's if you want to be aprofessional quilter in this
(26:42):
industry, these are like thestandards.
That you follow, and over time,the more that I said, I'm just
gonna say no thanks and figureit out on my own and do my own
thing, the more successful I'vebeen, but I've also found that
that just, it's like it putsanother leaf in the table for
other people to say oh wait,hold up, we can reinvent the
(27:03):
wheel because it's not actuallya wheel.
It's like a proprietary, veryspecific product that someone,
that one single person might becapitalizing off of.
And we can, we can duplicatedifferent things in different
ways and offer things indifferent ways.
And at the end of the day.
Everybody I was talking to aclose friend of mine recently
about this and she had been inthe quilting industry for a
while and then took a step awayand she wanted to come back as a
(27:27):
professional and she was like,I'm just so worried that what
people are going to say and Isaid, I don't know if you
realize this, but you don't needany anyone's permission.
Mm hmm.
Like you, there's like actuallynot any literal like regulation
that stops someone from sayinglike I'm a professional.
Yeah.
Which is like a little bitimposter syndrome
Susan (27:48):
There's no letters after your name.
But yeah, it's
Karlee (27:50):
like literally anybody can do what they want and they
either, and it's almost like thecapitalistic side is you can do
what you want, but if you'redoing it for money, it just may
not work.
So it's like up to you todecide.
So I don't know.
I think that's really liberatingto be like.
Anyone who wants to be here canbe here.
(28:11):
All it takes is for you todecide to pull up a chair.
Cause it's not like you have toexpect people to invite you into
this like secret quilt businessIlluminati.
It's just everyone's in theirown club, in their own home, in
their sweats, standing at theirquilting machine.
Yeah.
Just doing what they love so and
Susan (28:30):
I feel like maybe when you're just coming into it It
might feel like that sort ofsecret society that you don't
really have the password for Butas you get in it longer and you
get to know more people and makemore connections, it might be go
to shows, it might be, submit tomagazines, it might be published
patterns.
But as you get familiar with it,you do find that there's all
kinds of people doing all kindsof things.
(28:52):
And that's the beauty of it.
That's the richness of it,honestly.
Karlee (28:55):
Yeah.
Yeah.
And I think it's a double edgedsword too, because I don't feel
like there's any single personor entity or business or group
in the industry that could belike, I'm going to end your
career or I'm going to make yourcareer.
So it's that makes it way lessscary to be like, the world is
flat in a sense that like we'reall at the same starting point
(29:16):
and some people have workedharder than others or longer
than others, but also there'snot.
I think sometimes the biggestthing that stops people is
themselves, like out of all thebarriers of being a successful
in a successful entrepreneur orbusiness owner or artist in the
industry, it seems like thebiggest barrier is usually like
(29:38):
our own inner critic.
And if we can connect with thatfirst and be like, no, I'm good
with me.
So now anyone else who's goodwith me, that's a bonus to me
being okay with me because thatwas something too that I
learned, in the first few years,I was so eager to figure out
what kind of validation wouldsyndicate me, and as I chased
(29:59):
that, I was continuallydisappointed and, but then when
I was like, okay, I just put mynose to the grindstone.
I'm going to just fill my lifewith passion projects.
Yeah.
That could be capitalized on butI need to stop chasing the green
and hoping that I enjoy itinstead I do the thing that I
enjoy and I share it and thoseare the things that typically
(30:21):
end up being the most powerfuland responsive and I, I think
that people have a goodintuition for when your heart is
in the thing that you're doingtoo, versus when you're like
chasing the cash and, which hasworked in my favor because I
have tried to keep my heart init.
So I don't know.
I guess that's another piece ofunsolicited advice that I would
(30:42):
give anybody.
It's if your heart is there andyou're good with you, but I also
realized that I speak from aplace of privilege because.
It's very hard to focus onBatman all the time when you're
grinding like Bruce Wayne, yes.
So yes It's a double edged swordfor sure.
Susan (30:59):
It is.
I have found the same principlesapply in social media It can be
ever so easy to get caught up ineither pleasing the people or
what what's commonly known asthe vanity metrics You know how
big the numbers are how big thefollowing is how many likes how
many shares etc?
But the truth of the matter isBut whatever you do, there are
(31:20):
some people that see it the sameway and that appreciate what
you're doing.
And there are some people thatdon't, and you don't have to
keep them all happy.
You don't have to please all thepeople.
Just find your people, whateversize of little pond that is,
just swim in it happily.
Yeah.
Karlee (31:34):
Yeah.
I like to think of it as if, ifyou were a seasoning in the
spice drawer, what would you be?
Like I know for sure that I amtajin seasoning.
I don't know if you've hadtajin, but it's like little
spicy, a little sour, but it'sso delicious on sweet things
like fruit, like watermelon andmango and strawberry.
But it's also great withcucumbers and vinegar.
(31:55):
So I feel like I'm tajin in thesense that like I carry tajin
around in my purse.
Like a little travel bottle andI can do without it.
I have people, yeah.
And I have people in my lifethat like, that's they, they're
like my og like religious typeof followers or supporters.
And then there's other peoplethat might be like, oh, I don't
know.
(32:16):
I guess I'll try it.
It's an acquired taste andthey're surprised that they like
it, but they might like it or.
Then there's the people that arelike what is that?
And I'm like, okay.
So I'm not for everybody.
Yeah.
No spice is for everybody allthe time.
So I don't know.
I'm an acquired taste.
I think it tastes good.
But I also am not surprised whenI hear the dry heave towards me
(32:39):
because I get it.
I'm an acquired taste and Ithink it's a good thing to not
be for everybody because itmeans that it's
Susan (32:44):
a good perspective.
It's a good perspective to keep.
Yep.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Karlee (32:48):
So what spice are you in the spice journey?
Susan (32:51):
I'm gonna have to ponder on that a little bit.
I doubt that I'm the tahini, i,I might be the nutmeg, but like
fresh nutmeg, not the stuffthat's been in your bottle for a
month of Sundays.
Yeah.
You have to think about thatthough.
Karlee (33:04):
Okay.
Yeah.
I would love to know
Susan (33:06):
that.
So your first graffiti quiltingbook now is, it's the 10th
anniversary.
So the book that you'republishing now is, is it a third
edition or is it a different
Karlee (33:16):
book?
Yeah.
So it will be Graffiti QuiltingThird Edition.
Okay.
It'll, it'll probably have thesame I've kept the same tagline
on both of the books.
So a simple guide to complexdesigns because I think that's
very true to graffiti quilting.
And it's, it's more that I wantto show how much can be brought
(33:37):
under the graffiti quiltingumbrella instead of saying okay,
there's graffiti quilting, butthen all this other free motion.
I've found that being able toshow how it incorporates to this
overall technique.
It's like a buffet.
Like I think graffiti quiltingis like a free motion quilting
buffet.
So it's like you can tasteeverything and it's going to be
(33:57):
yummy.
It might be hard to stomachsometimes, but everything leads
back to the buffet of freemotion quilting.
And some combinations work greatand others don't.
And that's okay too.
So yeah, so I'm still like,it's, it's crazy to think that
it's been 10 years and I am, Ihave no shortage of ideas for
how graffiti quilting can applyin more.
(34:21):
I don't know.
So that's a really good problemto have.
In fact, when I was starting towrite the third, the third
edition book last summer, I waslike, okay, this is going to be
done by like end of September.
And then I was like, as I wasgetting into it, every section,
and I was like, okay, it's goingto be 200 pages.
And then I was like, okay, I'lljust add a page here, add a page
here.
(34:41):
It's fine.
210.
It'll be okay.
And then I was like, hold up,wait.
There's this whole other sectionthat needs to be explored and
needs to be done justice to.
So I'll just add this, thisextra section and it'll be fine.
It'll be eight sections.
And then what's the page number?
Yes.
So it kept going.
So now what it's at, and I feelgood about this.
(35:03):
So I, and then I was like, okay,it'll be done by Halloween or
okay, it'll be done by the endof the year.
And, but now I'm like, if I'mgoing to do this, it has to be
done well.
And as much as possible, I don'twant to rush it for time.
And so that's it's, it's beengood that I've been exploring
that.
And now I'm like, okay, I feelreally good about this.
I'm actually like sleeping atnight because.
(35:26):
The things in my head arestarting to get manifested and
that's really good.
So it's a 10 section book with300 pages total.
So for reference, the, thevolume 2 book is 80, almost 90
pages.
86 pages.
Oh my goodness.
Yeah.
(35:47):
And so Graffiti Quilting 3rdedition is going to be 300
pages.
In fact, today I was trying todecide if I should do a hard
cover or a soft cover becausethat's one thing I still can't
decide.
I feel like a hard cover feelsappropriate for a collector's
edition, 10 year anniversary.
But then I also wonder if mostpeople are like, no, I want a
soft cover because then I canbend it or then I can spiral
(36:09):
bind it.
Susan (36:10):
So that's where I was going with it.
But if you want my vote.
Cause I like using my quiltingbooks.
Some of them are just dog earedfrom flipping through.
And I love to trim them andspiral bind them and then lay
them flat and have them rightthere when I'm working.
So that's my vote.
Karlee (36:24):
I was thinking that because it's a thick enough
book, I could still do a hardbound and it would lay flat
because it has a thick spine tolay on.
And I also was thinking thatbecause it really is going to be
such an in depth textbook, Iwant it to last as long as
possible.
And so those hard cover edgeswould protect the edges of the
(36:44):
pages.
So I don't know.
I just did a reel on Instagramdoing a poll to see what people
think.
The hardcover costs like fivebucks more to print, but if
that's what people want, I'mtotally happy to eat that cost.
So it's like the cost doesn'tmake a difference to the
consumer, but I want to justmake sure that every little
detail.
It is as good as possible for asmany people as possible.
(37:06):
Awesome.
Susan (37:06):
So when is the actual release date going to be, or do
you know that yet
Karlee (37:09):
for sure?
Yes.
So the book and the newrevamped, robust online course
will be in conjunction with eachother.
So people will only be able toget the book by taking the class
because really it's like anexperience.
The book is awesome and theclass is awesome, but I really
want people to have theexperience of both.
(37:29):
And you can register for theclass starting March 1st, and
then the class session runs for12 weeks, starting September
7th.
You've got to Yeah, so it'll bea 12 week class with a class
session every other Saturday.
So six class sessions everyother week because that's
another thing that I reallywanted to make sure of is that
people have enough time todigest the material while still
(37:53):
staying on track with aschedule.
So I felt like 12 weeks wasgreat where they had every other
Saturday because I also realizedthat it's hard to dedicate every
weekend for 12 weeks tosomething.
Susan (38:04):
So yeah.
And a lot of us are quiltingTwixt in between, right?
So that two week span gives youtime to.
Get another course or twofinished, load up a practice
piece and play with it a littlebit.
So what, what's the format thatyou deliver those classes in
Carly?
Karlee (38:19):
So the way that people register is on my website and
then they'll be invited to aprivate Facebook group.
And so over the 12 week course,the class, the live class
sessions will take place in theFacebook group.
And so they can, yeah, and Ireally like that method.
I don't love Facebook like But Ido love the community aspect
(38:41):
that a Facebook is about.
Yeah, yeah.
And I want to be able toduplicate that as much as
possible, like people will posttheir own work and others will
comment on it or people willpost videos of their studio and
it's really nice and friendlyand collaborative in that way.
And so the Facebook group iswhere the classes will take
place and then I always leave myFacebook groups open Until no
(39:04):
one is actively working anymore,so it's not technically lifetime
access But it's always I makesure my students are happy
before I shut down the group Butthen that way I'm not managing a
hundred Facebook groups right inin ten years from now or
whatever, right?
So because the other thing rightThe other thing that's so
exciting about this new graffitiquilting book is that I have
(39:28):
built in copious amounts of QRcodes that lead to additional
content online.
Love it.
I'm like, still.
So I think it's the coolestidea.
I don't know why every quiltingbook doesn't have it.
I know technology is here, solet's do it.
But like in, in one of thesections that's like the free
motion fillers that you can useas the background.
There's.
(39:48):
The page with the design, thedescription next to it, and then
a QR code that will take thereader to the video of the page
being drawn, and then also avideo of the design being
quilted.
So they have the textinformation, plus the drawing,
plus the quilting.
So it's like that repeated overthe course of 300 pages.
(40:09):
So it's a really, really robust,yeah, I want to give as much as
possible.
To the reader, I don't want themto buy a book and then be like,
but I don't get that.
I wish there was someone whocould show me more in depth.
It's Oh, just scan the QR codeand go to this video and boom,
there you have it.
Susan (40:27):
So for those who want to read, for those who prefer to
watch whatever or reinforce bydoing all of the above, it's all
there for them.
So good.
Yeah.
And we will put links by theway, I'll put links in the
description below so that youcan go right to Carly's website.
Maybe even sign up for hernewsletter so you get
notification when these thingsbecome available.
That would be a great idea,folks.
Yeah.
(40:47):
So anything else you want toclose with before we go?
Karlee (40:52):
I don't think so.
I'm just, I like it was, it'sfunny cause someone asked me
recently so what's going on for2024?
And I said, literally the onlything I've given up on
absolutely everything except forMy book and class this year and
flossing.
I'm still gonna floss regularly.
That's my other New Year'sresolution.
Yeah, but yeah, I just I guessif I could leave any like words
(41:14):
of Encouragement or advice itwould be that just don't give
up, you know quilting.
I love quilting so much I couldtalk about it all day.
I love teaching So if you are aquilter who is a little bit
nervous Come hang out with meand I promise I will, I will
help you.
I love, I love being able towitness the journey of quilters
(41:38):
as they progress and grow.
I love teaching and I lovequilting.
So to be able to do both ofthose together is such a huge
privilege for me.
And not to toot my own horn, butthis is literally the only horn
that I have.
But I really pride myself onbeing a good teacher.
And I, I feel like I'm good atit.
I, I hope that you guys willjoin me.
(41:59):
Because even if you don't wantto do graffiti quilting on every
single project, there really isso much information to take with
you on your journey.
And I think that's another greatpart about quilting, is you take
what you want and you leave therest.
And, and you get to make thosechoices because You're the
creator of your own, of your ownlife, and your own quilt, and
(42:20):
your own story.
Susan (42:22):
Thank you so much Carly, and I'm not even going to say
goodbye, I'm just going to sayuntil next time, because we're
going to do this again.
I know we are.
I love it.
Thank you, appreciate it.
Talk to you soon.
Okay, bye.
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