Celebrity Watch- Ann Dudek

August 30th, 2010
Scrapbook Calendar Quilt Book by Ann Dudek

Scrapbook Calendar Quilt Book by Ann Dudek

Our very own author, Ann Dudek is a celebrity.  QuiltWoman.com has many notable designers and Ann is no exception.  Ann Dudek’s book Scrapbook Calendar Quilt was reviewed by Jodie Davis & Mark Lipinski on QNNTV.com.  QuiltWoman.com was honored to have them feature one of our products on the show.

Ann Dudek is also doing a book signing at United Methodist Church of North Chili, in New York, during their annual quilt show, September 17th and 18th, 2010.

Of course, you can subscribe to QNNTV.com here to see the episode in its entirety.

Patterns in a Series: QuiltWoman.com Gone Serial

August 16th, 2010

When your customers take a class and fall in love with a technique, they generally want to make this project a couple of times since they were so successful.  Don’t you wish you had some variety to offer them, after the initial technique class?

Have you found that customers love to take a class, but wish they could have the project in a different color or slightly different style.  We can help!

QuiltWoman.com has a few pattern lines based on a series design.  Series design simply means our independent designers have worked one style into a series of patterns.  You can introduce your customer to the technique or style and then sell complimenting patterns to continue to fuel their creativity.  If you are teaching just the technique, customers will have the option of pattern styles for their specific project.   Here’s a glimpse at the series designs we offer:

Click on each photo to see more designs using each method.

Straight to the Point by Susan Mayer of Quilting Discoveries

Dreaming of Teddy Bears Quilt Pattern SM-120

Dreaming of Teddy Bears Quilt Pattern SM-120

Straight to the Point™ Quilts all feature a great technique for creating great looking On-Point quilts. All the blocks are set as straight rows. The quilt is then cut and re-sewn into an on-point setting. There are NO diagonal rows of different sizes, NO setting triangles and NO corner blocks. Our technique makes On-Point sets a snap.  See our quick demonstration page.

4 in 1 by Barb Sackel of Rose Cottage Designs

Homestead Acres Quilt Pattern BS2-216

Homestead Acres Quilt Pattern BS2-216

A “4-in-1″ Quilt Pattern is a quilt design that gives you creative spaces for different techniques. You may use machine or hand embroidery, motifs, focus fabric, applique or even machine motif quilting. This wonderful approach allows more opportunity for a full themed quilt.

Black White and Bright by Susan Mayer of Quilting Discoveries

My Colors Went Wild Quilt Pattern SM-104

My Colors Went Wild Quilt Pattern SM-104

Black, White, and Bright Quilt Patterns are ones that feature black and white fabrics paired with bright fabrics. Susan Mayer loves designing quilts using these parameters.  You can read more about her design process in a previous QuiltWoman.com Blog post.

Charming Botanicals- Reeze LaLonde Hanson of Morning Glory Designs

April Sweet Peas Quilt Pattern MGD-409

April Sweet Peas Quilt Pattern MGD-409

Charming Botanicals patterns feature a strong floral motif and mixes traditional piecing with applique.  This series, by Reeze LaLonde Hanson, focuses a flower design per month.

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QuiltWoman.com is here to help you help your customer.  Patterns in a series will give diversity to your classes as well as create strong repeat customers.  Thank you again for choosing QuiltWoman.com patterns designed by independent designers.

Pattern Booklets NEW at QuiltWoman.com

August 2nd, 2010

TwoFellas

QuiltWoman.com is releasing a line of booklet style patterns. They aren’t quite a book, and they are so much more than a single pattern. Your customers are going to love the conservative price point for the amount of projects we’ve included in each booklet.

Our newest booklet title, Fatty Pennies by Ellen Ault,  released in late July.

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From our website:

Fatty Pennies are designed with fat quarters in mind!  The eye designs of many of the Fatty Pennies are a throw back to ‘penny quilts.”  Thus the name Fat Pennies.  This pattern booklet contains designs for 6 different plush Fat Pennies.

Plush toys are special gifts for children and adults.  Our Fat Pennies are plush monsters and critters with fun personalities. They can be cuddly, happy, confused, or ecstatic! They are as unique as the individual that will receive them and as unique as the secrets they will keep.”

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The booklets are 4-6 projects, generally based on one design style or theme, or created by one author/designer.  The product comes in a clear plastic pattern sized hanging bag and would fit perfectly on your shop’s pattern wall.PeekABoo

Look for Fatty Pennies and other booklets from QuiltWoman.com popping up in the near future.

Subscribe to our blog feed through google reader, bloglines, blogger, or other blog reader application or become a fan of QuiltWoman.com on Facebook to be the first on your block to know when the next booklets and new patterns are released.

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

July 26th, 2010

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After winning the Make Mine a Million Dollar Business, QuiltWoman.com owner Nancy Dill, received quite a bit of press in various media outlets.  One article she’s most proud of is her feature, on the cover page, of the local Suburban News paper.  This is the paper circulated in Nancy Dill’s hometown area.  With the permission of Westside News Inc, we have posted a link to the article for you.

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QuiltWoman.com Cruise

July 20th, 2010

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Are you spending yoSunSetur summer looking at all the fabulous vacation photos your cousin just posted on Facebook?  Wishing you had planned a big summer trip for yourself?  Well, we’ve got one better for you-  Anyone can enjoy summer during SUMMER.  QuiltWoman.com wants YOU to enjoy summer this coming January on our QuiltWoman.com Cruise.  We’ve mentioned here on the blog many times and we want to remind your deadline to reserve your spot is Aug 1st.  This quilt-themed cruise is your chance to grab a couple friends and get away from the snow and hot chocolate and into the sunny sands of the Western  Caribbean.

Get those postcard stamps ready and clear out the space on your digital camera card!  We are gearing up for a spectacular time on the high seas.

QuiltWoman.com CURES spine trouble

July 12th, 2010

SprialSpines

QuiltWoman.com cures spine trouble- for your sewing, crafting and quilting books, that is!

At QuiltWoman.com we publish all our titles with a spiral bound spine.  We made this move recently and want to tell you why your customers are going to love it.

OpenSpine

Sure, books are wonderful to flip through on the couch and read on a road trip.  They are a great source of inspiration for your creative endeavors.  More than that, though, our books contain excellent patterns and ideas for you to use at the sewing machine.  Have you ever tried to make a project from a traditionally bound book?  You either have to add weights to the sides to hold the book open, or add a permanent crease, or break, in the spine to hold the pages open.  With spiral bound, you can work with your book open, exactly to the page you need without damaging the book itself.

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We offer a selection of books and we are releasing more titles each season.  Please stop by QuiltWoman.com on the web to see our titles.

Virtual Trunk Show from Accuquilt Go! Fabric Cutter and QuiltWoman.com

June 7th, 2010

Need a trunk show?

We are here to help!  Our very own Barb Sackel has produced this video to showcase her Accuquilt Go! compatible titles.  This short 8 minute video describes Barb’s design process when using Accuquilt Go! fabric cutter dies.

From Barb Sackel’s own blog:

“The motivation for making this video sprang from a trunk show I recently did.  The audience’s reaction as I showed quilt after quilt – all cut out with the AccuQuilt GO!™ was tremendous.  I was shocked at the response.  That got me thinking, is there a way to show the story of my pattern designs for the AccuQuilt GO!™?  Thus, this video was born.  I borrowed from my pattern testers their quilts made from my patterns, photographed them, and have included them in the video.  So even though you may have seen my version of these patterns, you haven’t seen theirs!  It’s always fun to see someone else’s take on one of your patterns.”

For shop owners: We hope that you will be able to show this video in your stores to help promote your QuiltWoman.com titles and Accuquilt Go!™  fabric cutter.  A small video display will encourage customers to stop, watch, shop and purchase.

For retail customers:  Use the cutting tips Barb shares to make your own quilts using QuiltWoman.com patterns.  Enjoy alternate color/style variations, as Barb has included the quilts from her testers.

Stay tuned, Barb has even included a blooper after the credits.

Block of the Month: Once Upon A Time Fairy Tale Puzzle Quilts

June 5th, 2010

QuiltWoman.com is happy to report that our designers are ambitious!

Once Upon a Time Fairy Tale Puzzle Quilts

Once Upon a Time Fairy Tale Puzzle Quilts

Calling all shop owners: Beth Helfter, the author of our very own Once Upon a Time Fairy Tale Puzzle Quilts, has developed a Block of the Month program to support the book and is available for free download from her website.  This is a great way to use the book and generate traffic through your store every month.

From Beth’s website, EvaPaigeDesigns.com :

“Are you looking for a new BOM program for your shop? Look no further! “Once Upon a Time” allows for a fun BOM program that can be used by your customers to create a completely individual fairy tale puzzle quilt in just 10 months. Along the way they will learn or further master machine applique and have a ball with embellishments that can both enhance and personalize the finished product. Click Block of the Month to download a free pdf of the program.”

Raffle Winners from Spring Quilt Market

June 4th, 2010

20 Patterns

Thank you, again, to all the shop owners and designers who stopped by our booth at Spring Quilt Market.  If you added your business card/information to our basket, you were eligible for a drawing to win one copy of EACH of the Top 20 Selling Patterns for 2010.  QuiltWoman.com also offered a raffle for guests who stopped by and watched one of our demonstrations.  We’re happy to announce the winners:

Drawing

Winner of the patterns:

Maxine Jacobs
Three Sisters Quilting in Coon Valley, Wi
http://threesistersquiting.com

And the winner from the demonstration raffle is

Jim & Bobbie Greiner
J & B Sewing Center
Bemidji, Minnesota

Schoolhouse Pictures

May 28th, 2010

QuiltWoman.com hosted 5 schoolhouses this past weekend at market.  Here are a few pictures from just a sampling of our schoolhouses.

Ann Dudeck and Peg Stone

Ann Dudek and Peg Stone

Pictured above is Ann Dudek, promoting her book Scrapbook Calendar Quilt and the lovely Peg Stone helping her hold the large quilt.  Peg also hosted her own schoolhouse for QuiltWoman.com titled Deceptively Simple.

Dolores Joshua

Dolores Joshua

Also in the mix is Blank Quilting fabric rep and QuiltWoman.com pattern rep, Dolores Joshua.  She gave an outstanding presentation on “Maximizing Profits with Minimal Investment”.

Ro Gregg and Lacey Hill

Ro Gregg and Lacey Hill

Ro and Lacey’s schoolhouse presentation promoted their Easy Sew series of books, which focus on building a whole coordinated room around a simple quilt pattern and amazing fabrics.  The fabrics in their books were actually designed by Ro Gregg for Northcott.

4-Patch Panel Quilt

4-Patch Panel Quilt

Another schoolhouse, the last of the day, was given by Beth Helfter.  She featured her first book, Once Upon A Time: Fairytale Puzzle Quilts.

Once Upon a Time Cover Quilt

Once Upon a Time Cover Quilt

The schoolhouse series is a great way for shops and guest to really learn what the creator of any project, pattern, fabric line, or notion really envisions for their item and it’s a great way to get tips on selling the item in your shop.  Along with all the information, most schoolhouse presentations end up being a mini-trunk show, like Beth’s collection of quilts from her book.

Mini Trunk Show

Mini Trunk Show

We hope you made it out to the schoolhouse series.  Ladies, you did a wonderful job!