QuiltingAndPatchwork.com 
I was thrilled when I saw one of my b5media blogs, Home Biz Notes and my name listed as one of the Women Bloggers of 2008 at Virtual Women’s Day Celebrations.  This included a list of 25 women’s blogs and bloggers for January. 
According to Heidi,  
Women are blogging in record numbers these days – so may blogs, so much content and so little time to check them all out. Each month during 2008, I will be highlighting dozens of blogs written by women, on a variety of topics, genres and locations around the globe.
What fun to be included among them!
(c)2008 …read more

 QuiltingAndPatchwork.com
Blogging has become an important part of many quilters’ lives, as well as numerous other people.  It keeps them in touch with others, lets them express themselves and their creativity, helps them promote a business, and makes them happy.
(Just take a look at the article, Blogging, How it can Expand Our Creative & Personal Growth, in the Jan./Feb. issue of Cloth Paper Scissors.) 
The question, “Why do you blog?” has become the determining factor in the final (8th)week of the challenge at the b5 Business Channel.  The blogs have been narrowed down to four.  Home Biz Notes, where I co-blog with Yvonne …read more

The Home Biz Notes post, My Mother, The Country Grocer, won this round of the b5 Business Channel’s “Apprentice” type challenge, an ongoing 8-week contest, with a different version each week.  This week we were to tell the prototype business owner, Kay, a success story. 
I chose to relate the story of my mom, who influenced many people throughout her years as a country grocer, and hoped this would inspire Kay and others.  As I wrote about Mother, I realized (as I said in one of my comments at the post):
I think we all can find inspiring stories within our families. I …read more

I often mention my mom in my writing here at Quilting and Patchwork because she started me quiltmaking again. (I first learned this art sitting beside my grandmother when I was 8-years old.)  During the Bicentennial Years of 1975-76, quiltmaking experienced a revival in the United States. 
The lady making quilts and selling them in Mother’s country general store at the time couldn’t keep up with the orders.  So Mother encouraged me to use the fabric scraps from my dressmaking business and create some quilts. 
So when we (those who write blogs at b5media’s Business Channel) were asked for a “success story” to encourage …read more

 Stop! Look! Listen! Find out what regulations are involved if  you decide to start selling some of the quilted and fabric art items you make, teach workshops, hold shows, open a fabric shop, etc.  
Will there be regulations that restrict you from doing this from your home?  Or in another location? Will you need a business license? 
When I operated a dressmaking business with gift shop and later my quiltmaking business from our home, a number of years ago, there were no regulations that prevented this.  However, would there be regulations now that directed the size and type of sign I placed …read more

  Learning techniques from other businesses may act as a springboard for your quilting business, even if the others  don’t involve quilting, patchwork or fabric art.  I read about a fun home business recently and think you might learn from this family…at least how to “find a need and fill it.”
This is the Christiansen family in Utah, who developed an online business based on the sons’ need to learn how to tie their ties.  They decided to create a web site to disperse this information…and then sell ties and related items.
I’ve mentioned them at my Home Biz Notes blog, in the …read more

If you’ve been following the “apprentice” type competition at the b5media Business Channel, you may be interested in viewing our team’s ideas for the challenge for Week #4.
Kay’s problem for week #4 involves her business expanding too rapidly for her to fill her Christmas orders. (Kay has started a business producing chef’s aprons and hats for children.)
What’s she to do to solve this challenge, which actually is a good one to have?
Rachel Clarke, at Behind the Buzz, hosts our entry this week. If you’re following Kay, our prototype business owner, and her challenges, check out When a Business Gets Successful. Find out …read more

 Quilters and fabric artists have been asking me questions about developing their home business, keeping it going, challenges they may encounter and other related topics.  At another b5media blog, Home Biz Notes, where I co-blog with Yvonne Russell, you’ll find a great deal of business information.
Yvonne has just posted a list of Popular November Home Biz Notes Posts You May Have Missed.  To make it easier to locate those you’ll find helpful, Yvonne has categorized them.  (I’m so fortunate to have such an organized co-blogger!)
If you can’t find the information you seek there, check out other blogs on the Business Channel.  …read more

Don’t think you’ll ever be interviewed?  Never say “Never!”
When I was a reporter for our local newspaper and a writer for quilting magazines, I interviewed quite a few quilters, both those who weren’t widely known and others who were   Do don’t be surprised if what you’re doing is of interest to a reporter somewhere.
The next question…“What do I do if someone wants to interview me?”
You’ll find 5 great tips at the b5media Business Channel’s Home Biz Notes (5 Top Tips for Newspaper Interviews) with further expansion at Pimp Your Work (Top 5 Interview Tips). 
Part 3 of the Business Channel’s “Apprentice” type challenge consisted …read more

 If you are following the b5media Business Channel “Apprentice” type contest, you may like to know that the PROS were announced the winners in Week#2 entries.  The post, If You Handle “Made in China” Items in Your Home Business, with the accompanying sample press release,  Get the Lead Out of Toys Day, (posted at Home Biz Notes) were the winning entries.  (I co-author Home Biz Notes with Yvonne Russell.)
This “Apprentice” type contest, continues through December.  If you’ve become a Business “Apprentice” follower, you can check out weekly results at Home Biz Notes regularly.)
See the ACES entry at: Greener Assets in the post, Facing the Lead …read more