We all find blogs and web sites that inspire and excite.  Some become favorites that we check out regularly.  Others are new ones we discover in the course of our web and blog explorations.  Still more are referrals from quilting colleagues.
There are so many I’ve come across that give me ideas, encourage me, and let me know that the quilting and fabric arts are venturing into exciting arenas.  I’m starting with ten in this post but will have to continue another time with more.

(Original quilting art by Beth Mastin at Meandering Threads)
Meandering Threads by Beth
StegArt by Terri
How to Quilt by …read more

The blog, Work From Home Momma, features an interview about my experiences in home businesses over the past 40 years, including my quilting one, Mea’s Quilts, operated during the Bicentennial Years.  This interview, by Laura Spencer,  is the first in her Work at Home Interview Series about women, particularly moms.
As Laura says, “Today’s interview is with Mary Emma Allen, who began as a dressmaker [and quiltmaker] and eventually transitioned to the writing and blogging business.”
This was an enjoyable experience, and I feel honored that Laura selected me to begin her series.

As I browsed around Jen’s so you wannabee a Domestik Goddess? blog I discovered a number of free quilt patterns. 
Anna Maria Horner’s inner gypsy had to have been at play when she designed her 22 Lollipops Quilt and Bohemium Quilt – and the fabric collections that inspired them, too, mentions Jen.
The fabrics in the quilts shown on Jen’s blog remind me of fabrics my aunt and grandmother used in their quilts and dressmaking in the 1940s.  Lots to reminisce there for quilters who created quilts then…or those who like that type of fabric.  Anna Maria has adapted these fabrics into her …read more

Fabrics depicting characters from children’s books seem popular with quilters and fabric artists.  They’re also fun to use when making clothing for children, as I did when my daughter was small.
Were any of you brought up on the Dick and Jane reading books in grammar school?  Do you have memories of learning to read when you see these characters?
            
I discovered at, Fat Quarter Shop, fabric with Dick, Jane and Sally.  A current feature is the Sally Look Quilt Kit by Michael Miller Fabrics, for a 50-inch piece, packaged in a collectible Dick and Jane lunch box.

If you operated a quilting or fabric arts business in the pre-Internet days, you’ve likely discovered that much promotion nowadays is connected with online applications.  Even your business may have an online presence. 
“I’ve always considered myself a PR pro,” comments crafts business expert, Barbara Brabec, in her current e-newsletter bulletin, “but what I was particularly good at in years past was getting print publicity. 
       Yes, for many years Barbara has been considered a pro at helping crafts people promote their enterprises and has written several books on the subject.  Many of us have discovered, as Barbara has, that the PR field …read more

Jennifer Chiaverini’s new book in the Elm Creek Quilt series, The Quilter’s Homecoming, (#19 on the NYTimes bestseller list!) takes you from Pennsylvania to California.  We learn what happened to Sylvia’s favorite older cousin Elizabeth during those years when they didn’t hear much from her.
If you recall, in a previous novel, Sylvia wonders why they never heard from Elizabeth after she married Henry and moved to California.  Then in another novel there was a slight reference to Elizabeth and a letter she wrote.
Now we learn Elizabeth’s fascinating story, woven into the history of that area during the 1920s and 30s.  Quilts play a role in …read more

Most customers/clients pay well and as agreed.  However, no matter what aspect of quilting or fabric arts business you’re involved in, you’ll likely run into someone who is late with their payment or doesn’t pay at all.
I’ve not encountered many who didn’t pay me.  I found, when someone was late, the situation usually could be resolved.  If there was a problem with the product or service, we were able to work it out.
I learned when contracting for a project, especially a larger one such as a quilt or wall hanging that ran into quite a bit of money…both for my …read more

You’ll notice a new look to Quilting and Patchwork.  I love it!  What about you?
The folks at b5media have been changing the templates, and sometimes the colors, to our blogs.  I wasn’t sure what I’d find when mine was finished.  But I’m very impressed with what the b5media designers have come up with for me.
Let me know what you think. 
(Also if you have trouble leaving comments, let me know.  Some visitors have reported to me, via my b5 e-mail: maryemma@b5media.com, that they get a message my blog won’t allow comments.  If it’s continuing, I want to get that fixed because …read more

Quilters with blogs usually enjoy hearing from other quilters and fabric artists in the form of comments.  Some write their blogs simply as an outlet and a way to share what they’re doing.
Others, who perceive their quilting as a business, find that comments usually relate to visitor views and are helpful in getting an idea of what their customers and “fans” like.  So they wonder how they can increase comments and input on their blog.
Yvonne Russell, of Grow Your Writing Business, has written a great post about comments, Do You Make Readers Run a Comment Obstacle Course?  Even though Yvonne’s blog concerns …read more

Quilters and fabric artists often have what seems like tons of leftover fabric they plan to use for a future project.  Or they purchase fabric then don’t find a way to incorporate it into any of their projects.
At Layers Upon Layers, I discovered an ideal way to use your leftover fabric…swatch portraits.  Cyndi seems intrigued by this idea, too, which she found at The Purl Bee.  There’s even a tutorial at that site for creating wall art from your fabric by using embroidery and quilting hoops of various sizes. 
As I looked at the fabric portraits displayed, I also could envision …read more