New Blogger Hop Coming Your Way

May 29, 2015May 28, 20153 Comments

Here’s a PSA to my bloggy friends:

If you are a relatively new blogger looking to grow your following, be sure to join the 2015 New Quilt Blogger’s Hop!

Click here for full details and signup (by 5/31).

If you’ve been around the blogosphere for awhile, I still encourage you to participate by checking out the new bloggers. You never know when you will find your next BQF (Bestest Quilting Friend) online!

Christa’s Soap Box – How to Succeed in Business (With Lots and Lots of Trying)

May 25, 2015May 24, 201511 Comments

Have you ever heard of the Broadway musical “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying”?

Although I’ve never seen the play, the title always gives me a chuckle as I pause for reflection. I know there are many entrepreneurs out there who want to get rich quick or pave a quick path to success. In fact, I have a running joke at home that my idea for a get rich quick scheme is to write a book on how to get rich quick! 🙂

But in reality, most successful business people aka solo-preneurs or mom-preneurs or what-have-you only succeed because of tons of hard work, tenacity, and perseverance. Today’s soap box is a reflection and also a reminder that it takes time, patience and grit to get where you want to be. It’s basically more musings on an earlier post I wrote titled, “The only one standing in my way is me.” (Incidentally that one was written just after quilt market, too!)

I’ve mentioned before on this blog that the summer of 2012 is when I decided I wanted to go professional with my quilting: start entering national shows, writing for publication, and teaching nationally, etc. Along the way there have been heart-breaks, disappointments, and failures along with the successes. I read once on a well-known designer’s blog (sorry – I forget who) that people thought the blogger was an overnight success, but in reality it took 5 years of daily blogging to get noticed. 5 YEARS! So that number has always stuck with me along with the idea of having a 5 year plan.

So far I’m 3 years into my 5 year plan and it feels like things are finally starting to happen. It’s exciting but scary all at the same time, but I promised way back then that I would take my readers along for the ride! Every day I worry that I will mess up or make some huge mistake that I can’t recover from, but then I just hold to the idea that hard work will pay off in the end.

This is the only sneak peek I care share now, of some opportunities that coincided with Spring Quilt Market. It was a case of good timing, preparation, and flexibility.

One of my favorite phrases is “good luck is what happens when opportunity meets preparation” and I truly believe that! I have had some great opportunities come my way, which I will share with you as I can. One thing I have learned time and time again this year is that as long as I produce good quality work and meet my deadlines, more doors will open up. Yes, you have to be knowledgeable in your field, but even the biggest divas in the world won’t be given a second or third chance if they fail to produce!

I’ve looked up to many in the quilting industry for guidance and advice; in turn, I’ve been able to mentor a few close friends in order to pay it forward for the help I’ve been given. So this is just more encouragement to any of you out there that want to engage in the business of quilting, or follow in any other creative endeavors. Don’t fall into the trap of self-doubt or “why me?” syndrome. Instead, I encourage you to embrace the idea of “why not me?”

I will leave you with this challenge: think of your biggest pie-in-the-sky dream and take steps NOW to make it happen. If you’d like to share what that is – I’d love to know! If it’s more personal, write it on a note to yourself and remind yourself to look at it every day.

And now, go make something happen!

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Quilt Market Perspectives Spring 2015

May 22, 2015May 19, 20159 Comments

I’m finally recovered from my Spring Quilt Market “hangover” that I can finally blog about it! This is only my 3rd time attending market (including a brief visit way back in 2008 and then again last fall). My goal for the trip was two-fold: order new precuts for our store and connect with several industry folks to firm up relationships that had already been established and seek out new ones. Jason and I divided and conquered our tasks – he took care of meeting with the vendors while I was able to put on my “designer” hat and mingle with many of the movers and shakers in the industry.

I have to tell you – from a business perspective, it’s worth it to attend market whether you are an aspiring designer, shop owner, or other quilting professional. You just can’t beat the one-on-one face-time that’s possible at an event like this. I was able to firm up previous commitments I’ve already agreed to, and several new opportunities were presented to me as a result of attending. So yay for business networking! Here a few fun highlights from the show:

Meeting the amazingly talented Angela Walters and Leah Day was a highlight of my trip!

I was able to meet one-one-one with two of my machine quilting heroes: Angela Walters from Quilting is My Therapy and Leah Day from The Free Motion Quilting Project. These women are incredibly successful and they are very passionate about what they do! They are also generous with their knowledge and it was fun to chat quilting and business with them. I have a feeling you will be seeing more amazing things from these ladies in the future, so be sure to follow them, if you don’t already. 🙂

The day before market opens for business, dozens of 15-30 minute schoolhouse presentations are offered so that shop owners can get an overview of the latest and greatest at market. Schedules are handed out a few hours before the event begins and everyone quickly scrambles to choose which lectures they’d like to attend.

Quilt Market is a great place to bump into quilty friends!

It was fun to see smiling friendly faces from the likes of Becca from Sew Me a Song, Amy Friend of During Quiet Time, Leanne Chahley from She Can Quilt, and Sharon McConnell of Color Girl Quilts. We spent the day bumping into various online friends and having lots of great impromptu chats between schoolhouse sessions.

This is what a packed schoolhouse room looks like! Melissa Corry has a great “mom voice” that can be heard above any crowd. She’s just as fun as her quilts!

The hardest part was choosing which school houses to attend. So many of my friends were sharing their new books/fabrics/products at the same time! One of the best presentations was from Melissa Corry of Happy Quilting. She has a new book out and her schoolhouse was packed! She enthusiastically shared quilts from her book along with tips for shop owners on how to market it and make kits from it. I took lots of mental notes so that I’ll be ready to roll with my presentation, come fall!

Here’s a little montage of just some of the booths and people I met. Even after 4 days on their feet, these designers kept on smiling! Below from left to right: Bari J., Kimberbell Designs and Amanda Herring (The Quilted Fish), Atkinson Designs, Brenda from Pink Castle, Deb Strain, Sherri McConnell (new Moda fabrics), Carolyn Friedlander, Eleanor Burns, and Elizabeth Hartman.

I took more pictures which I will share in a future Craftsy blog post, so stay tuned for that!

By far, my favorite moment was getting to share sneak peeks of my book and a few quilts from Machine Quilting With Style along with a demo. This was a great practice run for me, as I’ll be able to do a schoolhouse and several book signings in the fall at the next quilt market.

My publisher, Martingale, had a huge booth with a demo area for their authors, plus plenty of quilts on display to showcase their current catalog of books. It was a great setup!

If you were able to participate, either in person, or virtually through social media, what were some of your favorite quilt market moments?

Fabric Friday – Free Spirit Style

May 15, 2015May 9, 20159 Comments

Here are some new fabrics I have been crushing on!

Franklin by Denyse Schmidt is available in full-size design rolls, 10 squares, and coming soon – fat quarter bundles! I love how the precut collections include an assortment of solids to go with the prints. Personally, I hope Free Spirit continues with the full size precuts, rather than the smaller bundles. 🙂

Franklin by Denyse Schmidt for Free Spirit

Folk Song by Anna Maria Horner is a colorful array of cheerful florals mixed with a few bright geometrics. It’s a nod to her earlier collection Good Folks from several years ago.

Folk Song by Anna Maria Horner

Clementine, Heather Bailey’s newest line mixes well with her other collection and features the same fresh mix of pink, aqua, and orange. I especially love the butterfly prints!

Clementine by Heather Bailey

Finally, you can’t go wrong with anything from Tula Pink! Moonshine is still available (until it sells out). Her designs and unique color palettes are so popular, it’s hard to keep them in stock!

Moonshine by Tula Pink

I hope these delicious looking bundles can tide you over until I return from Quilt Market with a full report on the latest and greatest coming you way!

Do you have a favorite fabric brand? If so, which one?

To Market, To Market…

May 11, 2015May 11, 20157 Comments

Later this week kicks off the semi-annual International Quit Market for the quilting industry. It’s a place to see the latest and greatest in quilting fabric, supplies, books and patterns and it’s also an excellent source of what’s happening world of quilting!

I am excited because I get to share sneak peeks of my new book (it doesn’t release until September), and share a little machine quilting love with whomever stops by the Martingale booth. If you are there on Friday – why don’t you pop by and say hi! Details below:

If you can sketch it, you can quilt it!

Martingale Booth (#325)

Friday, May 15th, 4:30-5:30 PM

And guess what? There will also be some pin-trading going on at this market!

A few industry friends and I teamed up to get the word out about each other’s pins. Look for these signs throughout market and grab a souvenir pin! I’m sure plenty of other exhibitors and attendees will have them, too, so it will be a like a little treasure hunt!

If you can’t be at quilt market in person, be sure to follow along virtually on instagram with the hashtag #quiltmarket. And I’m sure there will be lots of fun pics shared with #notgoingtomarket or #vitrualquiltmarket, too! 🙂

Fun Things Happening Around Here – Share Your Good News, Too!

May 9, 2015May 9, 201524 Comments

I have two quick things I’d like to share!

First, I found out this week that my blog is one of the finalists in the National Quilter’s Circle blogger awards. Thanks you guys for nominating me – that makes a girl feel so great!! Click here to check out all of the finalists and vote for your favorites in all 4 categories. 🙂

Second, I just got word that my quilt, Modern Logs won a 2nd place ribbon in the modern category at HMQS (the Home Machine Quilting Show in Salt Lake City, UT). It’s an amazing show full of very stiff competition!! I have entered quilts in that show now for the last three years and attended in person the last two times. Of course, it’s one of the ironies of life that the year I am unable to attend the awards ceremony is the year I receive recognition. 😉 I have a running joke around here that I only get ribbons at the big shows I don’t attend, LOL!!

Click here for a list of all of the HMQS 2015 winners.

Thanks to Michelle Freedman (aka designcamppdx on Instagram) for the pic!

But enough about my good news – I’d like to hear about yours! What good things have happened to you or a loved one this week? (And if you are having a particularly bad week – here’s a virtual hug for ya!! XOXO!!)

Now it’s time to go sew!

Craftsy Recommendation: Start Foundation Paper Piecing

May 8, 2015May 7, 20152 Comments

Because paper piecing is on my mind with the launch of my paper piecing Quilt Along, I thought it would be the perfect time for me to recommend a fabulous Craftsy class from Elizabeth Dackson: Start Foundation Paper Piecing.

I’ve been a fan of Elizabeth’s no-nonsense, thorough teaching style and I’ve several occasions to interact with her through the Modern Quilt Guild. Let me tell you – Elizabeth is prepared and knows her stuff!

I’m currently watching Start Foundation Paper Piecing not only to support a friend (and someone I look up to), but also to perfect my own paper piecing skills. I always say it’s a great idea to take classes on the same subject from a variety of different sources to gain a better understanding of the material!

Here’s a quick rundown of the class topics:

Introduction (7 min) – supply list and general overview
Block Planning (25 min) – tips on color choices, cutting, and reversing templates
Sunray Block (41 min) – learn the basic paper piecing method step-by-step
Vortex Block (34 min) – practice chain piecing, acute angles, combining units
Starflower Block (19 min) – working with directional prints and irregular templates
Monarch Block (16 min) – combining multiple templates
Pictorial Blocks (27 min) – it’s as fun as it sounds!
Lesson Bonus (10 min) – looking for your next project and shopping for templates

Doesn’t that sound fun? And here’s the best part – all Quilting Classes are on sale for Mother’s Day. Yes – ALL classes. So while you are checking out Start Foundation Paper Piecing, you can load up your virtual cart with other classes you’ve had your eye on.

Recommended Sewing Machine Features for Free-Motion Machine Quilting

May 4, 2015April 29, 20153 Comments

In my latest Craftsy blog post, I’ve made a list of 6 things to look for when considering purchasing a domestic sewing machine for machine quilting. My favorite feature is the extra wide throat space my Bernina has, which makes it much easier to “squish and smoosh” my quilts as I go.

Closeup of my String of Pearls Quilt in progress

Click here to read the rest of my recommendations!

Introducing HST in Make Modern Magazine

May 2, 2015April 29, 201515 Comments

I’m excited to share one of my latest quilt finishes with you today. It’s called HST and the pattern can be found in the current issue (#5) of Make Modern Magazine.

HST designed, pieced and quilted by Christa Watson

When the gals at Make Modern invited me to submit a design, this idea literally popped into my head. I love making half square triangles and thought what a riot it would be to make a quilt from half square triangles that form one larger, modern HST.

HST on my bed – I’m not much of decorator, but this quilt brightens up my room!

It turned out so well that I now use it on my bed and it is so comfy and snuggly! I used Alison Glass Handcrafted batiks from Andover fabrics along with textured solids in 2 shades of grey with a pop of yellow/green just for fun! For batting, I chose the highest loft of Quilter’s Dream cotton that I could and it is very warm. I just love this quilt!

Click here for my previous blog post showing sneak peeks of the quilting and the back.