Category: Quilt Market

So, there’s this!

thank you 2Maddie Kertay, and Cheryl Sleboda encouraged me to submit classes for Fall Quilt Market. After some thought I submitted three classes, and two are accepted. First up on Saturday October 28 is Creating Consumer Confidence—Machine Sales; the second is Sunday October 29th Creating Confidence in the In-Store Talent. Having worked in quilt shops on and off for the last 9 years I’ve watched, experienced, and listened to the needs of the shops, owners, employees, and the customer. Each is important, playing a key role in the success of the shop. Thank you to Quilts, Inc for seeing the value in these classes, and to Maddie and Cheryl for encouraging me to submit these classes. Maddie, will be teaching as will Ebony Love, Pepper Cory, Tracy Mooney, Dave Gilleland, Teresa Coates and so many great people. (Some will be Schoolhouse presentations or Take & Teach classes.) I look forward to seeing you there. 

Debby has shared, and we’ve talked about 1000 Postcards for Peace. I have the first one made, and decided about fifteen minutes ago, to make two more in the next few days. I don’t yet know where they are going, however I’ll be making postcards. The why isn’t as important as there are things in life that call for a moment of something (hopefully) good. Please feel free to join us in this effort.

Last week I started this Opal Dahlia designed by Jeanie Sumrall-Ajero by Hoffman Fabrics. After several false quilting starts, including thinking I wanted to stitch an overall meander, I settled on this:

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It took a little bit to get here, sometimes ya know that something simple is good, but what that simple is isn’t quite clear. With a little focus this will be finished tomorrow before I focus on a few other things.

Happy Quilting!

Teri

 

Lesson Learned:

Don’t mess with Debby’s Chocolate Cake.
This is by far the most important thing learned at Spring Quilt Market.

 

Needless to say I handed over the fork in my hand.

My bandaid after trying Debby's chocolate cake @debbybrownquilts

A post shared by Teri Lucas (@terilucas) on

Luckily I had a bandage in my purse. I was really wanting a Hello Kitty bandage, sadly none was readily available when the need was most pressing.

The rest of this week will be Market follow-up and some quilting.

Happy Quilting!

Teri

Home: where the coffee and internet are

I’m home. Good coffee. Immediate, and good wifi. My suitcase and carry-on are over there waiting for me to take them down to the basement where my office, and laundry room are. But I’m watching the latest episode of Dr. Who and considering making more coffee. I’ve got the post Market groggy feeling, that this time includes a “good golly I missed so much and it’s nagging at me” experience.  I’ll get through it as I work through my notes, send emails, look at product, and await images for a couple of blog posts for GenQ.

Today is the final day of the 18217683_10154868553702663_1383341271_n

blog tour. Head on over to Cheryl Sleboda’s blog where she shows us her studio, complete with time lapse video. Thanks for joining us on the tour, it’s been a lot of fun getting to know new people, seeing their studios, and cleaning my own space. I need to make room for some things that I’ll share later. I can’t share everything all at once, a little mystery goes a very long way.

Catch ya after a nap. I can tell you there is something new from Cotton Cuts.

Happy Quilting!

Teri

reading is fun-damental & a nip o’fun

I have a whole big bunch of e-books sitting in my to read in a file on my computer. It’s a great file to go to for quilty inspiration. Jean Wells has an update on Intuitive Color & Design that I’m looking forward to spending time with. Her work has influenced nearly all of my quilting life. So digging into this is high on the priority list.

All the Light you cannot see is next on the reading list, got it from the library. Tomorrow I’m flying out to St. Louis for Quilt Market and will have a layover in Atlanta. Reading time!

Today is some final Market Prep, laundry, packing, checking in for my flight. Making sure I have all of the electronic stuff necessary. Two meetings for Generation Q.

I’ll be doing facebook live vids from the show floor on both the GenQ page and my own personal page. The live vid with Tracy and Cheryl should be Sew Much Fun.

If you’re going to be at Market here’s your reminder about a few Market classes to take. And the Spring Clean Your Studio Blog Tour.

Oh! Oh! Yes the Dutchess Heritage Quilt Celebration.

There are classes to teach. And quilts to make. And fabric to fondle.

Happy Quilting!

Teri

And then it went WOOSH!

And then it went WOOSH!

There’s a great saying, “A high tide raises all ships”. You’re the ship, and I’m the tide. Encouraging, and supporting quilters in their endeavors, and watching them succeed is joyful.

In February Tracy Mooney and Cheryl Sleboda spoke at VDTA on Cosplay. Having attended talks, given talks, it’s rare that a room is silent, and people are taking notes. I did a facebook live through the Generation Q Magazine page for as long as I could. After that Tracy and Cheryl both were kind of quiet about it all.

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Earlier this week they announced Sew Much Cosplay, and their new line of products with RNK/Floriani. I asked them, “What is the most surprising, and most fun part of this process?

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Cheryl: The most challenging part? That’s easy, you’re building this awesome thing and you’re dying to tell everyone, but you can’t.

Tracy: I do agree! It was awful! I wanted to tell everyone and Cheryl kept telling me no.

Cheryl: I think at one point it felt like it was moving so slow that we’d never be able to tell anyone.

Tracy: And then it went WOOSH!

Cheryl: The most fun part has been realizing all of the cool things you want to make, both products and education. We can get sidetracked with brainstorming all of the cosplays we both want to make for the business.

TERI: So what’s the first thing you want to make

Cheryl: sent the link to this very cool dress

Tracy: I can’t wait to start building armor. We are going to have some new products and stabilizers that will bridge the gap between the hard armor and soft sewn Cosplay. I’m really excited about that.

Very soon the products will be on the website, and they will be offering classes. Oh I did ask the impertinent question of Cheryl, “will you be wearing the dress to Market”. She won’t but it’s such a great dress!

I’m not quite sure which site yet, but there will be a facebook live debuting the new products. Cheryl is giving a class on Cosplay Friday morning at 8 AM during Quilt Market. Tracy’s class will be Sunday at 8 AM on Adaptive Sewing Techniques. Let your shop owner know about these classes.

As I’ve mentioned I’ll be at Quilt Market with appointments for the magazine and looking for a day job. I hope to see you there!

Happy Quilting!

Teri

PS visit Sara Mika of Mock Pie Studio for her Spring Clean Your Studio blog tour day.

New Stuff

So, ya know, after a while the stuff in our sewing room, that we use for making quilts needs to be replaced. At Fall Quilt Market I sat down with Alex Anderson to see her new line of rulers and cutting mats. I knew that as soon as possible my long term mats would be replaced. Each one of them has done it’s job, and done it well.

So, I’ve added a new 24 x 36 inch mat and two new rulers are now in the studio. A couple more will be replaced over time.

I’ll be replacing my rotary cutter too.

As quilters over time we find the fabrics, notions, way of piecing, and quilting that suits us. Being open to both the “tried, and true” and “the new” has allowed me to experiment to find what works for me. When Alex showed me these oh, I was smitten. It’s take a wee nip of time to get them but oh I’m thrilled.
Local friends Lisa at Pins and Needles in Mt. Kisco carries the mats and rulers. I picked mine up on the way to the Norther Star Quilt Show Saturday morning.

So the Spring Clean Your Studio Blog Hop continues:

May 2 – Tammy Silvers – www.tamarinis.typepad.com
May 3 – Emily Breclaw – www.thecaffeinatedquilter.com
May 4 – Amalia Morusiewicz – www.FUNfromAtoZ.com
May 5 – John Kubiniec – www.bigrigquilting.com/blog/
May 6 – Debby Brown – www.higheredhands.blogspot.com
May 7 – Melissa Marie Collins – www.melissamariecollins.blogspot.com
May 8 – Delve MIY – www.fronddesignstudios.wordpress.com
May 9 – Misty Cole – www.mistycole.com
May 10 – Sam Hunter – www.huntersdesignstudio.com/blog
May 11 – Dale Ashera-Davis – www.dalead.wordpress.com
May 12 – Sara Mika – www.mockpiestudio.blogspot.com
May 13 – Sarah Trumpp – www.Wonderstrumpet.com
May 14 – Carma Halterman – www.beanstrings.blogspot.com
May 15 – Jessica Darling – www.jessicakdarling.com
May 16 – Lisa Chin – www.lisachinartist.com
May 17 – Sally Johnson – www.sallysquiltingcorner.blogspot.com
May 18 – Mandy Leins – www.mandalei.com/blog
May 19 – Shruti Dandekar – www.13woodhouseroad.com
May 20 – Jane Davila – www.janedavila.com
May 21 – Ebony Love – www.lovebugstudios.com
May 22 – Cheryl Sleboda – blog.muppin.com

I can hardly wait to see these studios, how they’re organizing, what tips they have, and what works.

Happy Quilting,

Teri

We get by with a little help from our friends inQuilt Market Classes!

photo_20161030_180753Good friends, like good wine are a rare gift and a distinct pleasure.
As a quilter I’ve been blessed with some good friends. Several who are teaching at Quilt Market in St. Louis.

Tracy Mooney, Senior Editor of Generation Q Magazine – Keep Your Customers Sewing: Adaptive techniques to keep your customers sewing and quilting longer. Tracy has Sjogrens, an autoimmune related to lupus that causes fatigue and has her exploring ways to keep her passion for quilting, sewing, teaching, and writing going. She’s one of those people I “go to” when the world seems to be spinning off it’s axis.

Cheryl Sleboda, Muppin Inc: What is Cosplay? And why should my shop care? I had the privilege of attending Cheryl, Tracy, and Toni’s presentation at VDTA in February. The standing room only crowd was quiet and taking notes! Cosplay has been around for a while and is a way to engage a broad range of customers, it’s incredibly creative, and body positive. Cosplay is a breath of fresh air and a way to grow.

Building up  your Branding Learn the tips and tricks to build brand awareness both by design and by accident! Learn the strategies that elevate your business and how to leverage your brand across social media. These are the kinds of things that will help us stand out in the ever widening crowd, help us define who we are, what our niche is, and how to make the most of it. This is the stuff!

Ebony Love Blogging is not dead yet – How to get your blog off life support. She’s right, in so many ways. Whether you’ve been blogging for a long time, or are new Ebony will help you nurture that blogging spirit and keep it lively. This is a time when we need reminders of the good work we always like to do.

Independent Publishing – From Idea to book in 6 months or less. Here’s how to tackle that original, idea and publish yourself. Take this one!!

kelly ann and teri Market a while agoKelly Ann Richardson Quilt Shop Owners and Designers – Building Relationships In Kelly Ann’s words: I believe in building strong relationships, not just in my personal life but in my business which is why this year at Spring Quilt Market I will be presenting a seminar “Quilt Shop Owners and Designers-Building Relationships”. I’ve spent the last 12 years in business building relationships with quilt shop owners and designers, working together and sometimes making the difficult decision to walk away from some of those relationships. I’ve included time for some healthy discussion on how to break up, build up and form some lasting relationships. This is so essential to our growth and health.

Maddie Kertay Shaking the Money Tree Without Wallowing in a Discount Culture Promote your store and sales with effective programs that don’t center on discounts to get people in the door.

Campgraphical – Beginners Guide to Creating Media for Quilt Shops Enjoy techniques and resources plus hands-on practice to gain experience and confidence with
modern media.

20161030_110948Alex Anderson & Kay Brooks Are you Working for Yourself or Your Suppliers Are your suppliers making more profit margin than you? You deserve more and we will show you how to get it!

Roseann Kermes How to Teach a Successful Wool Applique Class Includes basic stitches, supply list for add-on sales, lesson plan, and tips for a successful class. Take home a cute finished coaster for a shop display.

The quilting community is rich in depth and character. I’m happy to call each and every one of these amazing people, friend.

Happy Quilting and Building,

Teri