StudioKat Designs- "A Work in Progress"

The "Best of" Parade

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy Southern) — Fri, 25 May 2012 11:30:00 +0000

If pressed to say what I enjoy best about Quilt Market, I would have to say that

it really is a blast to be in the midst of THAT many creative people. I know of no other
occasion in my life where this has been so! I LOVE strolling up and down the aisles and
marveling at the sheer genius! And THIS time, I made sure I had time to enjoy it!
We made a special trip back to the Market floor Thursday night around 7:30.
Most of the booths were done and the floor was pretty quiet because most
everyone was getting ready for the wild and wooly "Sample Spree" to begin!

I'll show you some of personal favorites in some upcoming posts, but in the meantime,

pictured below you will find the booths that were judged to be the "Best of the Best"

by a panel of experts. Let's see what YOU think!

1st place in the Single Booth Category

Bari J
(this booth was diagonally in our sight line)

2nd place in the Single Booth Category

Ever Kelly

1st place in the Double Booth Category

Pat Bravo
(this booth was directly across from ours)

2nd place in the Double Booth Category

Anna Marie Horner

Best Booth by a new exhibitor

Lauren & Jessi

1st place in Multiple booth category

Michael Miller Fabrics

2nd place in the Multiple booth category

Alexander Henry Fabrics

Best Booth for Creativity

Sarah Jane

Best Booth for Merchandising

Moda Fabrics
(and this booth was also diagonally in our sight line)

So... did the judges get it right?

I don't know about that, but I've seen enough
to know that I would NOT want their job!
AND-
since 3 of the winning booths were within sight of ours,
we obviously had one of the BEST seats in the house!

And what are YOUR thoughts?
Which one do YOU like best?

Booth Building- "2012 Style"

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy Southern) — Tue, 22 May 2012 21:14:00 +0000

So in a previous post we revealed our plan for our booth at the Spring Quilt Market in Kansas City and since we're home now, and the dust has settled, I think it's time we showed you the final result!

Just as background, this year's Spring Market was held in the spacious
Bartle Convention Center indowntown Kansas City. To say the facility is HUGE
would be an understatement, as it covers EIGHT city blocks.

I was told that it's the largest column-free convention center in the country
and while I can't seem to verify this, I also can't imagine it any larger!
I'm also not at all sure what function the smokestack-like pillars serve,
but they do make it easy to find it on the skyline!

We arrived on Tuesday night, just in time to enjoy a yummy supper at the Cheesecake Factory
on the Plaza, which is a really nice place, but more on that in a later post!

Here's how the Market floor looked before the decorating began. It did seem strange
but nicenot to have any pillars. That's our empty booth on the right and as you can see,

all of our stuff made it pretty much OK.

I usually spend the better part of the first 2-3 hours pressing my curtains.

It's a slow, hot process and this year my hubby successfully talked me out of doing it.

I had taken great pains to fold my curtains VERY carefully in Houston last fall, so they

were only creased, not wrinkled. His contention was that once the rest of the decorations

were up, that the creases wouldn't be noticeable. It was SO hot inside when we arrived,

that I decided to see if he was right. (You be the judge later on.)

I also decided to change our look just a tad this time. Instead of hanging to fabric

banners (one on each set of curtains), I opted for only one, substituting some posters

of my five best-selling patterns for the 2nd banner (along with 4 small notions posters).

You can see them in this picture-what do YOU think? Good? Bad? Indifferent?

With our shelving is in place, it might be apparent to you now that one of our
side tables (on the right) is tall and one of them is standard table height (on the left).
If you remember from our planning post, this change was by design to open up
the sight line into our booth. The shorter table also functioned

as a demo/comparison area for our growing line of purse inserts. :)

This worked out good.

And here's one of the two new lighting units that my Dad fabricated for us, and I must say,

they worked seamlessly! SO much steadier than our other fixtures and our booth seemed to

have more even lighting than we've ever enjoyed before! Thanks Dad!

Here's the hubster busy assembling "stuff". This whole process would sure be tough to

accomplish by myself, so I sure am glad he likes to come along

(even though certain aspects must be quite boring for him).

And placing our bag samples in formation on the stands is probably the easiest task of all,

since we just use the "blueprint" we prepared on the studio floor at home.

And here's how our booth looked at the end of the day. This isn't the

"official booth portrait" mind you! We'll take the official picture just before

the opening bell tomorrow morning. :)

So now, all that's left is to cover our entrance with a little tulle. Now I know this doesn't
seem like much of a security device, and in truth, you're right. All it really says is...
please don't come in,and I have found that with only extremely rare exceptions,
it's all that's required. We're fortunate that'sthe case, aren't we?
I'm pleased to say that sewing communities are for the most part, a respectful bunch.

So.... what's the verdict?

Go ahead, you can be honest! I'd love to know your thoughts!

What do you think about the poster substitution?

Do you think that I should've taken the time to press those curtains?
Are the creases noticeable?

Do you agree that the lower table on the left opened up our booth more?

And most important of all... might you have any suggestions for improvement?

Please feel free to leave any and all comments in the space provided below and

stay tuned for more Quilt Market posts in the coming days.

Light Me Up!

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy Southern) — Tue, 15 May 2012 10:30:00 +0000

I know its hard to believe, but in the Spring Quilt Market is HERE! As a matter of fact, as you are reading this we're either in the process of making our way to Kansas City, MO, or we're already there getting ready for the opening bell!

And here's the deal, I'm CONSTANTLY trying to make our booth more attractive and more functional, while facilitating the shipping process and of course, cutting my costs wherever possible.

Take our Booth lighting for example.

When we first starting using lighting in our booth, we did like most folks do, we rented lights from the Quilt Market. but WOW, it's expensive!

The we found these little clip-on lights from Home Depot. They weren't great, and sometimes they seem to shift around for no apparent reason (sometimes we find them pointing straight DOWN), but let's face it, the price is right!

THEN, we spied what in my estimation is the ULTIMATE booth lighting system in our neighbor's booth in Houston last Fall.

This system (at left) has a long plastic bar that screws into the base of the receptacle and fits quite easily INSIDE the upright support pole. The result, is this light STAYS PUT. It's totally stable and ultra-safe. So I figured if I could get some decent pictures of this set-up, my Dad might could duplicate it when we got home, and my neighbor graciously agreed to let us shoot a few shots.

So here's my Dad's version, that we'll be debuting in Kansas City. I have no idea what these items are called, but the materials were so inexpensive that we asked Dad to make us up TWO of them, one for each side of the Booth.

Here you can see the stabilizing pole that will fit INSIDE the support pole, AND Dad included extra-long cords so we won't even need to use extension cords!

I totally love 'em and can't wait to try them out.

As a matter of fact, our Booth will be SO brightly illuminated, that we might should both pack a pair of shades!

Great job, Dad!

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Any questions or comments? I probably can't answer them, but I'll be glad to ask Dad!

PPC5- Fruit & Veggie Sample PLUS Giveaway Results

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy Southern) — Sat, 12 May 2012 11:30:00 +0000

(This post is part of a continuing series focusing on the development of a new handbag pattern from its initial conception to it's release.)

So in our last post I told you about pulling all of my PortaPocketsPLUS materials out of storage in order to make one more sample by special request for Pat Sloan in fabrics she selected personally from her "Eat Your Fruits & Veggies" collection. We even made a little game out of it, complete with a giveaway but first, let's talk about the fabric and why we chose it.

First off, this fabric is top quality. I've heard that more than a few fabric

houses are getting their product made overseas now with less than acceptable results.

Now I'm not at all sure where this fabric was manufactured, but the colors are

vibrant, and the feel is soft and smooth. I was happy working with it.

Secondly, since Pat sent me NINE choices, all of which were gorgeous,

there were MANY combinations I could have chosen, ALL of which would have been great!

So, I opted for the "reds" for a couple of reasons.

1) The camera loves red & its generally a good choice for a print ad. I might as well

get a couple of good advertisements out of this deal, don't you think?

2) It's no secret. I LOVE RED!

All this to sat that the numbers corresponding to the fabrics I used were as follows:

1-2-3-7-8

And even though there were NUMEROUS folks who guessed 4 of the 5 fabrics correctly,

there was only ONE who got all 5 of them right and that person was

Deb who posted her guess at 11:01AM (EDT) on Wed. May 9th.

To collect her prize, (a $20 gift certificate) Deb needs to email me her contact info

by 7pm Sunday night (5/13). (please don't leave the info on this site.)

So thanks to everyone who participated in the contest.

We'll have another real soon, but in the meantime, I thought you might like to see the rest of the

fabrics in the "Eat Your Fruits & Veggies" collection by Pat Sloan.

Here's the rest of the cotton prints!

And just look at all of the batiks!

If you like what you see, you might want to suggest it to you local merchant!

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Do you know someone who would be interested in these fabrics?

If so, please feel free to pass it on to others in any way you see fit!

PPC5- A Fruit & Veggie Giveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy Southern) — Wed, 09 May 2012 11:30:00 +0000

I made one more PortaPocketsPLUS purse insert this week.

That's note-worthy because I actually closed the book on this design a couple of weeks ago.

What that means, is that I've stored all my samples. I've archived all my draft instructions and I've packed away my tattered templates. In short, I was mentally and emotionally DONE with that pattern and as a rule, once I close the book on a design, I really do not like re-visiting it.

Why is that?

Because for the 4-5 months that I am working on a design, I'm consumed with it.

I'm living with it everyday.

I'm thinking about it even when I'm away from the studio.

So by the time the pattern releases, I'm ready to turn the page, and start something NEW!

But every now and then an offer comes along
that's just too sweet to turn down?

You see, Pat Sloan got in touch with me to see if I'd be willing to use fabrics from her new "Eat Your Fruits & Veggies" line and make her a sample to put on display at the Spring Quilt Market.

And here's the deal... I never hesitated. I gave her an unequivocal and immediate YES!
And here's the reasons why!

#1- I love working with Pat!

She a human dynamo, tirelessly promoting her products on her website, her blog, her radio show and in numerous personal appearances.

#2- I love this particular fabric line.

It's bright and bold, yet very different from what I would normally choose to work with, and that's good, because it would tend to appeal to a different customer base. Additionally, there are both prints AND batiks in this particular line which is pretty unusual.

#3- It places my sample in a very visible, high traffic booth (Moda Fabrics).

Let's face it, exposure is the name of the game and having my sample on display in the booth where this new fabric is being sold is almost a coup!

So in celebration of this good fortune, and because we haven't had a good old fashioned giveaway in a LONG time (since last year I think), let's have one now.

A $20 gift certificate to use on our website!

So, with that out of the way, here's your nine beautiful choices.

So here's the way we'll play this game.

1) The nine fabrics are shown and numbered in the picture above (in no particular order). All you have to do is guess which FIVE I used in the "Fruit & Veggies" sample I made for Pat.

2) Record your one best guess in the comment section below by listing your 5 choices by NUMBER.

(for example; 1-3-5-7-9)

3) Entries will close Friday night at 7pm. The person who correctly guesses the 5 fabrics that we chose to use, will get the following prize.

4) In the event of a tie, we will reserve the right to determine the winners by means of a tie breaker.

In the event that no one correctly guesses all 5 fabrics, then the winner will be the closest guess.

7) We will show you our finished "Fruit & Veggie" sample and announce our winner in our Saturday morning (5/12) blog post, so be sure to check back then.

8) Our winner needs to email their contact info to us (info@studiokatdesigns.com) by Sunday night (7pm). If we do not hear from the winner by Sunday night at 7pm, we will award the prize to the second place entry.

9) The ONLY entries we will accept are those that are posted in the comments section below, so if you receive our blog posts by email, you MUST visit our blog in order to record your entry at
www.studiokatdesigns.blogspot.com and record your entry in the comments section.
PLEASE do not simply reply to the email you receive in your inbox, as those entries will NOT be considered.

Good luck and may the best guess win!

*********************

Do you know someone who would enjoy this contest?

If so, please feel free to pass it on to others in any way you see fit!

May 2012 Handbag of the Month

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy Southern) — Sun, 06 May 2012 11:30:00 +0000

Our April Handbag of the Month contest was a real horse race and the winner was not decided until the very last day, when the victory went to Jan Swartz of Centralia, MO. She wins a $20 virtual gift certificate and her beautiful Baggalista will have a permanent place of honor on our website.
(Honorable mention goes to Theresa Leonard of Phoenix, AZ. If you loved her Quattro, you'll get another chance to vote for it in January 2013 when we hold our annual "2012 Battle of the 2nds".)

So with the formalities out of the way, let's get started!

This month's lineup is especially good and I predict you'll have a difficult choosing your favorite, so take your time and consider them all before voting. If you'd like more info about any particular entry prior to voting, check out our newsletter (available in our archive on 5/7/12), and when you're ready to vote, click this link, or use the link at the bottom of this post, to be taken to our official voting page!

Lori-Lynn Slack's uniquely embellished Baggalista

Lori Gate's bold PortaPocketsPLUS purse insert

Carolyn Hauber's pieced Lollapalooza

Susan Koch's bright-eyed PortaPocketsPLUS purse insert

Carol Tata's stunning Bellagio Bag

Therese Karlsson's Springy Quattro

Judy Graf's yummy PortaPocketsPLUS purse insert

Carol Mamczak's year-round Quattro

*********************************************

So there you have it...It's gonna be tough, but you can only vote for ONE bag!

Are you ready to cast a vote for YOUR favorite?

Click here to vote.

**************************************************

Do you know someone who would enjoy this contest?

If so, please feel free to pass this post on to others
in any way you see fit!

Thoughts- On Doing Everything

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy Southern) — Thu, 03 May 2012 11:30:00 +0000

Every now and then someone asks me,

"How do you accomplish everything all by yourself?"...

"How do you do it ALL?"

And you know what? I've never really known how to respond to that. There was something about that whole line of questioning that just made me a bit uncomfortable. Do I REALLY accomplish so much more than other people? I don't think so, because I keep in touch with a lot of extremely busy people, many of whom are running creative businesses all by themselves, much like I do.
But just for the sake of argument, let's say it is true...let's say that I can do more in a day than your average person, and if that is so, I'd have to say there are three possible reasons for that.

First- I don't do everything.
I don't like to talk on the phone, so other than checking in with my folks every day, I rarely make a call. I don't go out for lunch. I don't go to meetings, I don't go to bed early, I don't sleep late and I don't do things out of obligation anymore. These things can take up a LOT of your time. Stop doing them and you'll have much more time in your day.

Second- I LOVE what I do.
It's much easier to accomplish "everything" when "everything" consists of things you are passionate and excited about. This makes a HUGE difference as opposed to slogging thru a "To Do" list of things you couldn't care less about or are only semi-motivated by. I've been there too and the difference is remarkable!
But what if you have a job or an on-going commitment you don't enjoy? I would say that in that case it is all the more important to spend the rest of your time doing things that you ARE motivated by. If you lose 40 hours a week to a ho-hum job, then don't you want to make the most of the remaining hours?

Third- I accomplish lots of things because I work hard.
In my opinion, this is the part of the equation that most people tends to overlook.
I work as much as I can, each and EVERY day, from WHEREVER I am.
I carry a notebook and my smartphone with me everywhere I go.
I also carry my netbook with me if there's even a remote possibility that there will be a little down time to work blog posts. I can count on one hand the number of times I haven't answered all my email in a 24-hour period, even from remote locations like Budapest, Bratislava, Moscow, Jerusalem or Lake Louise.
When I go to sleep, there's a notepad on the table beside my bed, just in case an idea comes to me during the night, or I think of something I need to do in the morning.
And I RARELY ever just sit down and passively watch TV, even for half an hour. When the TV is on, I'm either doing internet research for the next newsletter, writing or outlining a blog post, or I'm packing up patterns or notions for stock.
Now please don't misunderstand. This is neither bad or unhealthy for me.
I have a great life! I'm doing exactly what I want to be doing and I have absolutely no regrets.
*****
So... after saying all this, I want to address the incoming emails I receive from would-be designers around the world asking me for advice on how they can start a pattern business of their own and get their designs to market. They visit my website, they receive our monthly newsletter, and they see our pattern and notion lines and they write to say, "Tell me how I can do this too." The problem is that they only see where we are now. They don't see the years of hard work and creative thought that went into building up to where we are right now.
But you know what? Most of them don't like to hear that. They're look for a magic pill they can take that will enable them to bypass the hard work part.

So...Here's three truths to take away.
Truth #1- nothing works unless YOU do.
Truth #2- Sure, it helps to work smarter, but you still are going to have to work hard.
And most importantly,
Truth #3- Spend as much time as possible doing work you love!
And that's pretty much it.

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Any thoughts? Please feel free to share them below.

Be Square

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy Southern) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 11:30:00 +0000

So when we at the Quilt Market in Houston last Fall, one of neighbors, (Jeanie Sumrall-Ajero of Kaleidoscope Software), had a little bitty plastic doohickey attached to her phone that was to DIE FOR!

Here's the deal... while I was sweating it out in my booth frantically fighting the glare while trying to write down credit cards numbers with each and every transaction, Jeanie was nonchalantly swiping her cards through this little device and receiving instant confirmation....

While my customers were growing increasingly agitated (j/k, all of them were nice!) as I manually processed each sale, Jeanie's customers were in and out of her booth in a flash!

And when I left the floor for the night, I knew I had a several hours worth of work ahead of me keying in every one of those credit card numbers manually on the phone, but Jeanie was relaxing with friends over a nice Cabernet.

And worst of all, just as I was losing one of my best sales of the day, because I couldn't accept an American Express card, Jeanie was not only able to accept American Express, but Discover as well, and with no additional fees!

So of course I had to find out how she was making it all look so easy, and her reply was..."I got "squared-up" before I left home". And she was NOT kidding!

So I did a little research and it didn't take me long to find out that Square is a new cutting edge device that lets anyone take credit card payments using smartphones or iPad tablet computers.

Square charges a 2.75% fee, on par or lower than I normally pay per transaction if the sale went directly through the bank or credit card company, but has the BIG advantage of no set up costs, no monthly minimums, no required phone line and no bulky equipment.

Some say that for many small businesses, Square might just eliminate the need for cash registers, eventually letting people run small businesses almost entirely from iPads using inventory, billing and other features in the software.

So here's the specifics!

the little plastic doohickey?: FREE
the Mobile app for my smart phone?: FREE
being able to process MasterCard, Visa, American Express & Discover cards with only a smart phone?: PRICELESS

And that all adds up to the fact that-
I can't wait to be "Square" in Kansas City!
So.... have any of you seen this little device yet?
and how did you like being on the customer end of the sale?

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And as usual, if you've enjoyed this post, we invite you to pass it on to others in any way you see fit.

Four Reasons to Answer Your Email

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy Southern) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 11:55:00 +0000

As a small business owner, one of the things I find both annoying and baffling, is how often my emails go unanswered. OK, just so you know, I'm not sending out junk or phishing emails, and I'm certainly not sending out requests for cash from a foreign country like Nigeria, or Uganda. I'm talking about emails that contain legitimate & respectful business requests for information or advice.

For example, I've been expanding my online advertising this year, so last week I sent emails to the owners of 7 different Blog sites that indicated that they were currently taking ads, all of which were either sewing or craft related. I felt they might be a good match for our products, yet I only received a reply from 3 of these owners, and sadly, this is about average.

Now I suppose it's possible that these folks just weren't interested in advertising our products on our Blog, but even if that were true, is it really too much to ask for them to send a very simple reply?
Such as..

"Sorry, we're not interested"..... or

"Don't call us, we'll call you.?"

To these individuals, I just have one thing to say, and that would be, You really should treat your business like a business, and a good place to start is by doing this,

ANSWER YOUR EMAIL!

It seems to be very commonplace right now to not answer email, and since I can only guess at the reasons why, let's look at a few of the consequences of not answering your emails.

1) It can give your business a bad reputation- Nothing can turn away business faster than a word of mouth bad reputation and let's face it, word of mouth travels faster now than ever in social media. New customers and site visitors are constantly evaluating how you interact with them and unanswered email sends a pretty clear message to them, that being, You are not important enough for me to hit the reply button! It's immaterial to them that you've been out of town, or have more pressing (revenue generating) things to do, all they get is that your business probably doesn't care (and maybe you don't!). On the other hand, if you make an effort to reply to even the most routine emails, it makes a good impression on your customer or visitor. I'm not implying that you have to answer your emails within minutes of their arrival. I try to answer mine within 12 hours or less, and I think that's fair.

2) It can increase your sales- Once you have established a rapport with your customer, they may actually want to buy something from you. Want to lose a sale or a repeat customer? Don't answer the email. But here's the deal- I can certainly attest to the fact that many of the emails I receive involve questions that the customer should have been able to easily find an answer to on my website without contacting me. But that really doesn't matter to the customer. In their minds, if you don't answer their question BEFORE they actually buy the products from you, how likely is it that you will answer their question if they have a problem with the product or service AFTER they have spent their money?

3) It can circumvent problems- One of the fastest ways to solve a problem, or fix a potential one, is to respond to customer questions. They just may have found a problem with one of your products that you didn't know about. For example- no matter how many times one of my new patterns is proofread, there's always a little mistake that makes it through to the final edition, so when a customer emails me about this, it gives me a chance to correct it before it becomes an even bigger problem.

4) It can build your network- This is something worth considering when deciding whether to reply to that email or hit the delete key. It may actually be from someone who can help you build your business, or just wants to give you something. For example, every month I send out 5-10 email offers for a FREE trial ad in our monthly newsletter. With a large readership of over 19,000, it's a really great, "no-strings-attached" way to test drive what advertising in our newsletter could do for their business. But would you believe we only received THREE replies from the 100+ free offers we extended during 2011?

So... as far as I'm concerned, there really is only one conclusion!

If you have an online business, and someone takes the time to send you an email, the least you can do is respond to it. Who knows, you just might be surprised by who is on the other end
or by what they can do for your business.

If you want to be successful online, you gotta

ANSWER YOUR EMAIL!

And what about you?

How does it make YOU feel when a business

don't respond to your emailed questions or comments?

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Any thoughts? Please feel free to share them below.

Table Talk

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy Southern) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 12:22:00 +0000

So in our last post, we not only told you what we liked and what we didn't like about our table displays at last Fall's Quilt Market, but we also detailed for you our plans to make our displays more effective at the upcoming Spring Market in Kansas City, MO.

And if you've been reading our Blog for any length of time, you know that we always do a mock booth set-up on the floor of our Studio before we ship everything off, because how else are we going to know that we're taking everything we need, but nothing we don't need? Right?

So, the first thing we do is mark the "foot print" of our display tables

on the Studio floor with masking tape. (Please notice that the smaller 4 ft table

on the right is not positioned where it should be. That's because I don't

have 10ft of clear space in that direction but that's OK, I can make it work this way.)

Next, I assemble the portable shelves my Dad made for me

so I can determine which bags I want to take and which bag
stands I need to bring. (I have bag stands in three different heights, but the bases
are VERY heavy, so I only want to bring the ones that I actually need.)

So after careful consideration, here's the selection of bag samples I decided on this time.
This is actually the very first time we've displayed at Market without the debut of a
new handbag pattern (this time we only have a new purse insert to show)
and it feels a little weird. I usually try to give the new design the
primo display positions and without that being a factor, it was harder to choose which
bags to place in those spots.

I'm going to reserve the 4 foot table on the left side for Purse Insert demos.

I know there will be LOTS of questions about how the PortaPocketsPLUS compares

with the original PortaPockets and the Encore, so I'm going to leave myself plenty

of room for show and tell. I plan on having one of the Plus samples in it's assembled

state, and a second one disassembled to show the versatility of the design,
and how velcro can be substituted for the zippers.

All that remains is the 4 foot table on the right side, which is really my work/sales station.

I want to have a PortaPocketsPLUS sample there as well, because inevitably, the 1st

question I'm asked by every customer, is "What's new?", and this way I can show them.

This is also where I place my notions carousel, (represented here by the tall box).

So there you have it. Having these pictures and a detailed diagram will

greatly reduce the time it takes to put our booth together in Kansas City.

Additionally, we'll be confident that we'll have everything we need, but we won't

be wasting time or resources shipping unnecessary items.

Now it's YOUR turn to sound off.

Any thoughts you'd care to share about our display

for this year's Spring Market? And most importantly,
Can anyone recommend some great places to eat
in downtown Kansas City?

**************************************************

Do you know someone who would enjoy this post?

If so, please feel free to pass it on to others in any way you see fit!

The Floor View

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy Southern) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 11:30:00 +0000

So it's that time again.
Time to start making our plans for the Spring Quilt Market, which will be held this year in Kansas City, MO from May 18th-20th.

And one of the first things I always do, is take a good long hard look at our last booth (at Fall Market in Houston) and assess what I liked and what I did not like about it.

So, let's start off with the good points.

In a pre-Market post last Fall, we revealed a brand new floor plan for our booth, and for the most part, it worked out great
The traffic flow thru the booth was smooth and it was terrific having the extra display area on the tables, but there was also another unanticipated benefit, and that was the extra storage space we picked up UNDERNEATH! And I took full advantage of it!
I used one of the new tables as my work area, and the other as additional display area.

But there was a couple of things about the new floor plan that I wasn't crazy about, so take a look at the next picture and I'll tell you what they were.

The first thing you'll notice are the two bold arrows, (one pink and one orange), pointing to the areas behind both of the two tall aisle tables and that's because those two areas were being partially obscured by my two new tall tables.
Not the end of the world, but it was a little disappointing. I felt like I should have anticipated those areas being blocked from view, but I know how I want to resolve this problem at Spring Market in Kansas City next month.

But first, let me tell you about our booth placement! The floor plan to the right represents about 1/4 of the total floor space in Bartle Convention Center and I circled where our booth will be, and here's what's exciting about that...
We were allotted a center aisle booth, and for the first time in Market history, the center aisle is going to be 20 fee WIDE, which tells me that it will probably be the main thoroughfare which should really increase our exposure.

All the more reason to make sure that the view into our booth is as unobstructed as possible, so with that in mind, let me show you how I plan to resolve the afore-mentioned table dilemma.

I want to keep one of my tall tables as my work area because it's just too hard on my back to be bending down all day to write, and the elevated work surface encourages more eye level customer contact. I'll locate it however so that it's parallel with the side aisle, NOT the center aisle.

BUT I plan on using a LOWER table alongside the center aisle. (You can see the new table's height indicated in the picture to the right by the bold orange line.) So... since this table will now be the same height as the lower level of bags in the main display, it should open my whole booth up to the main source of customer traffic in the center aisle.
I plan on using this aisle table as my primary demonstration area for our new PortaPocketsPlus pattern. And the best new is... it's a pretty easy change to make. All I'll have to do is shorten one table skirt by 12 inches and we'll be good to go.

So there you have it? Stay tuned for our next post in this series when we'll be showing you our plans for our this Market's table displays, but in the meantime, what thoughts might you have about these changes?

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Which Purse Insert is Best for YOU?

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy Southern) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 11:30:00 +0000

So... since now we have THREE different purse inserts to choose from, I've been getting quite a few questions from folks trying to decide which purse insert is the right one for them, and I can see why, because there really are some pretty big differences between the three of them.

But hey- once again, rather than try to write down all the differences and similarities, I think the best way to explain the details of each of these units is to SHOW you...

So without further ado,

just click on the link below and we'll get started-

Which Purse Insert is the Right One for YOU? from Kathy M Southern on Vimeo.

So... what's the verdict?

Which purse insert suits YOUR needs best?

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Do you know someone who would find this video helpful?

If so, please feel free to pass it on to others in any way you see fit!

The Makeover of a Singer

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy Southern) — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 13:33:00 +0000

A little while back I did a little post featuring some featuring some uniquely embellished sewing machines that I had found while surfing on the web, and I mentioned that I was SO inspired that I thought I might try it myself sometime with my old Singer.
I knew that my best chance to play around with my machine would probably be AFTER I completed work on the PortaPocketsPLUS pattern, but BEFORE I started a new design, so when the opportunity presented itself, I jumped at the chance!
I've been documenting my progress on my Facebook page, but I thought I'd use this venue to show a few more pictures and provide you with a bit more info on how I achieved the final look (at right).

Here's my old Singer in it's original unadorned condition. It still runs OK, but I haven't used it in years. But even though its been languishing unloved in the closet upstairs, I didn't want my "additives" to render this machine inoperable. (I still love it.)
For this reason, I'll need to be very careful about keeping my embellishments away from the moving parts.

So... with Mod Podge in hand, I started dragging out some of my favorite fabrics from my stash.
In retrospect, I guess I really should've made some rough sketches before I began, but you know... I really didn't have a clue as to what I wanted the final look to be, so I just made myself start, opting instead, to use this project as a way to showcase some of my all-time favorite fabrics.

Here's a partial list of what I used-
"On the Rio Grande"-Terrie Mangat
"Early Birds"- Jane Sassaman
"Larkspur"- Alexander Henry
"I Dream in Color"- Dianne Springer
"Catkin"- Julie Paschkis
and various fabrics by Laurel Burch and a host of other black and white favorites.

Overall the project was tedious but rewarding. I started by cleaning the surfaces thoroughly with carefully applied windex and the alchohol.
Building the design was very similar to applying applique. I found it worked best to 'build' the design from the bottom layer up. Once I had my pieces cut, I applied a thin layer of Mod Podge to the appropriate area of the Singer, and also to the back of the fabric. It was pretty easy to shift the fabric around to get it positioned correctly this way and the air bubbles were easy to remove using this method. There was a learning curve involved, so I quite naturally chose the easiest areas to work on first and saved the toughest for near the end. So here goes!

So, here's my Day 1 progress.
I made the decision to go with a black & white striped base.
Can't go wrong with that, right? (You know how I LOVE black and white!)

Here's my Day 2 progress.
I enclosed the main upright with a nice black dot and applied cut out leaves
and other decorations around the stitch selector.
(Dont' worry!- The stitch selector still works fine.)


Here's my Day 3 progress. I decided I did not like the red/blue & purple stripe I had placed on the sewing deck at ALL, so I replaced it an entirely green dotted deck. I like this look WAY better.

On Day 4, I continued decorating the main upright.
This picture is the first showing progress on the machine back.

By Day 5, I was feeling brave & confident enough in my skills to attempt
covering the machine top (and all of its important orifices) with fabric.This was
definitely the hardest area to cover and I chose to do it in sections. I guess that
was wimping out in a way, but it just seemed so much less intimidating than
attempting to cover the entire top with one piece of fabric.
I did my best to match up the design.

By Day 6, the back of the machine was pretty much enclosed. This was not an easy area
to work on either, but the fabric I chose was easy to segment and build upon, so
the process was easier and less stressful than the top of the machine was.

In comparison, Day 7 was a piece of cake. With the entire machine enclosed in a
base layer of fabric now, the only thing left to do was to finish the decorating.
This picture shows the details we chose to add to the back. It also shows you a good shot
at how we 'dressed up' the deck extender, which I LOVE! We modified the design
section that surrounded one of the block prints from the
"Catkin" collection and it worked out super.

Here's a sideview closeup. I still may go back and add a few
details here. I just couldn't find what I wanted to use in my stash,
so for now, I'm stopping. Who knows, it's still a work in progress, and the
perfect fabric detail may crossmy path in the next few months!

And here's a closeup view of the machine deck which I embellished
with black & white polka-dotted buttons from my button box. . All in all- I'm thrilled
with the finished look. I think my Singer looks happier now and I'm going to give it a place
of honor in my Studio where I can enjoy it everyday
(which is WAY better than being stuck in a closet upstairs, right?)

And you know what? This was such a nice diversion and I enjoyed the process so much, that I might just try it on something else in the future, like maybe an old piece of furniture. Besides, it's a cool way to use up scraps of fabric that I can't bear to throw away ! And speaking of pimping up the looks of other household items, one of my alert Facebook buds sent me the link to this post detailing how to adorn a keyboard with Washi tape.

Great job Kira! I love it.

So what do you think?
Go ahead, you can be honest! (just be nice)

And if any of your projects ever been inspired by a photo you found online,
we'd love to hear about them!

Feel free to share your thoughts in the space provided below!

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PPC5- The PortaPocketsPlus- If it Fits...

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy Southern) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 11:30:00 +0000

(This post is part of a continuing series focusing on the development of a new handbag pattern from its initial conception to it's release.)

Since there's so many different ways to configure the PortaPocketsPlus Purse Insert, I figure there's bound to be a few questions about how each of these set-ups fit into our various handbags, and the easiest way to answer these questions is to actually SHOW you!

The PortaPocketsPLUS- If it fits..... from Kathy M Southern on Vimeo.

So I hope this video was useful in helping you determine which PortaPocketsPLUS configuration works best in each of our bags. Hopefully it'll give you some perspective for making the same determination for some of your leather store-bought bags as well.

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If so, please feel free to pass it on to others in any way you see fit!

April 2012 Handbag of the Month Contest

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy Southern) — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 11:30:00 +0000

The March Handbag of the Month contest was a really great contest and the winner was Maria Boyle of Farmington, NY. She wins a $20 virtual gift certificate and her "rock-star-pieced" Quattro will have a permanent place of honor on our website.
(Honorable mention goes to Lina Martel of Advance, NC. If you loved her Baggalista, you'll get another chance to vote for it in January 2013 when we hold our annual "2012 Battle of the 2nds)

But now, let's kick this month's contest off!

and the lineup we have for you this month is an interesting combination of entries! And don't forget, if you'd like more info about any particular entry prior to voting, check out our newsletter (available in our archive on 4/7/12) So...without further delay, here's our April entries. When you're ready to vote, click this link, or use the link at the bottom of this post, to be taken to our official voting page!

Lori's leatherette Quattro

Jan's beautiful Baggalista

Jan's yummy Baggalista

Carol's classy Harmony Handbag

Amy's expertly crafted PortaPockets Purse Insert

Theresa's embellished Quattro

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So there you have it...It's gonna be tough, but you can only vote for ONE bag!

Are you ready to cast a vote for YOUR favorite?

Click here to vote.

PPC5- A Triple Test

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy Southern) — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 11:30:00 +0000

(This post is part of a continuing series focusing on the development of a new handbag pattern from its initial conception to it's release.)

One of the most underestimated, and least understood parts of getting a pattern ready for release, is the pattern-testing phase, but it's arguably one of the most integral to its success. And having released patterns both with, and without benefit of pattern testing, I can attest to the fact that the whole process is infinitely easier for me AND for customers when patterns are pre-tested.

by Judy Graf of Tyler, TX

So.....in order to let you know exactly what is involved in testing a pattern, I thought I would just take undertake an interview of myself. So here goes.

1) How much sewing experience does a tester need to have?
I like for my testers to have a variety of sewing experience. Our pattern line is NOT aimed at beginners, so, while I really do not need beginners in my testing base, I do like to have testers with different levels of expertise, just like our customer base.

2) At what point in the design process do your pattern testers receive their materials?
Once I'm basically satisfied with a design I set about making a working set of templates, writing the first draft of the instructions and adding the accompanying drawings. These items are decent enough, but are by no means have they been perfected.

by Lori Gates of West Henrietta, NY

3) What exactly is the tester's assignment?
I generally allot my testers 3-4 weeks to work up a sample of the new design using just the draft instructions, templates and drawings and provide feedback on the how the process went for them.

4) What kind of feedback are you looking for from the testers?
I like knowing anything and everything about their experience. Was it fun? Were they able to finish the project? Were the material lists adequate? Were the directions clear or were there steps that were hard to understand? Were the drawings helpful? Were the spelling, labeling or grammatical problems with the draft materials?

Testers are not expected to solve problems they find in the instructions or drawings & they can call me if they get stuck.

by Susan Koch of Greenwood, AR

5) Do your testers receive any compensation for their efforts?
My testers receive no monetary compensation for their efforts. (To do so, MAY subvert the process, afterall, a paid tester might resist giving me HONEST feedback if they're afraid they won't get paid.)
I do provide them with most of the notions they will need, but they choose and buy all of their own fabric and fusibles. The project is of course theirs to keep and use when completed and they get a free copy of the pattern when it's hot off the press.

6) How do you find your testers?
I've always found it awkward to ask folks to test for me. After all, it's not a glamorous job, there's basically NO compensation, and it can be VERY time-consuming. Ideally, I'm looking for folks who WANT to be part of this process, and lucky for me, there are women out there who get a kick out being involved in this venture. Without exception they have volunteered for this 'punishment/honor'. :)

Occasionally folks grow tired of testing and drop out. That's OK. And sometimes a tester will need to sit a cycle out or stop testing completely, due to illness or other family obligations. That's OK too.

So...in conclusion,
let's give our team of pattern testers a round of applause because our patterns are much more user-friendly because of their valuable input!

And now... its YOUR turn to be the interviewer:

Do you have other questions concerning the testing process? If so, please feel free to leave them in the space provided below and I'll do my best to answer them for you there. :)

PPC5- The Eye of the Storm

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy Southern) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 11:30:00 +0000

(This post is part of a continuing series focusing on the development of a new handbag pattern from its initial conception to it's release.)

So in an earlier post I described how unpredictable the run-up to a pattern release can be, but no matter how wild and chaotic the run-up to a new pattern release turns out to be, there's always a little respite, a little oasis of time so to speak, that comes AFTER the last pattern task is completed, but BEFORE the official release in the newsletter.

It's kinda weird actually. There's SO much to do trying to get ready to release, and with a deadline looming, you really start to wonder if you'll accomplish everything on that list in time. But here's the deal, there's quite a few items on that list that just cannot be done until the day of the official release, when the REAL craziness begins anew, but in the meantime, we sort of find ourselves in the "eye of a storm".

It's a strange feeling... a time to wait... to exhale...and to gather strength for what comes next. It's usually about a week, sometimes as much as two, but you never know...because in the now legendary case of the Baggalista, the eye of the storm lasted less than 12 hours! At any rate, since it's impossible to predict the amount of time we'll have, and since I simply can't start a new project until I've put the current one to bed, I need to find a way to redeem this interim time.

And check it out, I've actually gotten so I enjoy this forced sabbatical. I purposely make myself to do something totally different, completely "un-pattern-related". For example; I painted my old office waiting for the DittyRoo release, and the master bath waiting for the Lollapalooza. I've also been know to do a little personal sewing, or take in a very rare day of shopping. I generally get some yard work done during the spring respite, some Christmas shopping during the my free time in the Fall, and I always try to get some casseroles and other dinner items into the freezer for the crazy port-release days that lie ahead.

So what do I have planned this time? I might just try my hand at embellishing my old sewing machine with some Mod Podge and fabric scraps. I've been dying to try that, but up until now couldn't justify taking the time. I've got a couple of books I've been wanted to dive into and you never know, there might just be an impromptu trip to Charlotte in my future. (Nothing recharges my battery like my grandson!)

But you know what? As much as I enjoy the break in the routine, I'll be ready to hit it again when the winds changes direction on the 7th of April.

So how about you? When you take a break from your normal routine, what activities recharge YOUR battery?

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Do you know someone who would enjoy this series?

If so, please feel free to pass it on to others in any way you see fit!

PPC5- The Run-up to a Release

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy Southern) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 11:30:00 +0000

(This post is part of a continuing series focusing on the development of a new handbag pattern from its initial conception to it's release.)

So, I just got through spending the ENTIRE day sitting in front of the computer making some pretty big revisions to the pattern instructions for the PortaPocketsPLUS. That's right... the WHOLE day... and get this, I'm not even done and furthermore, this set of revisions is based on the critique of only ONE of my testers. (Yeah and there's three more tester critiques yet to come.)
Now please don't get me wrong, I NEED my testers to tell me these things. It's their JOB to tell me these things. They certainly will do me no favors telling me everything is lovely when its NOT, but let's face it, sometimes the most important things we do or just not fun. Can you relate?

But anyway, that's when it hit me! I realized that for some unknown reason so far, in six cycles of the Purse Pattern Chronicles to date, (the 1st one was Purse Evolution), I've never ever touched upon the craziness and pure adrenaline rush that goes hand-in-hand with the run-up to a pattern release.

To me, the buildup to release day is a lot like an approaching hurricane, in terms of the amount of critical stuff that needs to be done. It's a little scary. Here's a synopsis of what usually happens.

You announce a release day and that sets all the wheels in motion. Now you're committed to that day, to back out now would cause LOTS of problems, so you do everything you can to get ready. You make all your plans. You consider all the possible contingencies. You get all your supplies ready. You restock everything. You try to anticipate every possible thing that can go wrong. And you ask for help.... LOTS of help.

Now you know this is not our first rodeo, as a matter of fact, the upcoming pattern release is our 26th so you might be thinking, "You oughta have this down pat by now!", and there's actually some truth to that. We have a very specific itemized list of everything that has to be done in the last 3 weeks or so leading up to the big day, and good planning counts for a lot.
Here's a partial list of everything we need to do, change, or update before we release our new pattern.

create the new webpage
write and upload all the pictorial pdf helps
update & print the new flyers
finalize instructions and pattern templates, take them to the printer
add the new notions to the sewing supply webpages
update the Patterns page on the website
mail 500 postcards
upload all webpages and forms at least one week PRIOR to the release
test the website and shopping carts
notify distributors about the new pattern & notion availability, send them samples of the covers and notions
notify retail stores on our mailing list of the new pattern & notion availability

With careful planning, everything on this list can easily be accomplished with time to spare, but the thing is, that some of these plans, as you might suspect, will without a doubt have to be adjusted on the fly. Colin Powell said that "“No battle plan survives contact with the enemy", and in this case the enemy is like the Taliban: hard to pin down and impossible to predict.

Sometimes the enemy is illness (my own or someone else's), or a slow internet, or a delayed shipment. It can be one large problem that bedevils us or it can be a multitude of small annoyances because here's the deal... EVERY single run-up to a pattern release is different. Here's just a few of our more extreme examples:

the Baggalista- Due to some unbelievably frustrating problems with the now former printer of our pattern covers, the covers did not arrive until the night before the announced release date! (My poor hubby probably had a padded room ready for me, just in case they didn't come that night because he knew there would have been a TOTAL meltdown if they hadn't)
the Quattro- my grandson decided to make his grand entrance into this world a full 2 weeks early, AND the day BEFORE my chosen release date. (This was the one time I allowed an interruption to delay a release... I didn;t mind too much though, he was definitely worth it!)
the AbracaNiche- everything went great in the run-up to release for this pattern, until 10 days later, when I started getting calls about a particular pattern piece being left off one of the pattern sheets. I wanted to cry. Following this debacle I began assembling my team of pattern testers to help me see the less than obvious, (or sometimes the obvious!).
the DittyRoo- this run-up was flawless and I thought we might be experiencing the perfect release. The newsletter dropped at 12:05 am and things were going well until about 830 am when my website stopped loading. I called my webhost and they said that the traffic was SO high that it was locking up (or something to that effect). They could fix it by moving me to a different grid but that would have to scheduled a couple days in advance. oh great! That was no help! So I answered 150+ complaints (with a pasted smile on my face) on release day alone, and moved that puppy to a new grid at the earliest opportunity.
the Lollapalooza- I came down with the worlds WORST cold two weeks before the release. Right at the time I should have been thinking the clearest, and working the hardest, I felt so crappy that all I wanted to do was stay in bed.

All this reminiscing makes we wonder how this release will go. Who knows, maybe this will be the first and only release to go off without an issue, but I'm not holding my breath because the odds say that something weird is probably going to happen. Either way, we'll soon find out soon, won't we? And here's the deal, whatever comes our way, we'll just find a way to deal with it. We'll fix it as best we can and we'll move forward because the only sure thing, is that the release of a new pattern is fantastically exciting and incredibly unpredictable, which are two of the reasons I love this job SO much!
I've said it before and I'll say it again, "even the worst day working for myself is better than ANY day working for someone else" And it's the truth! :)

So stay tuned for the next post in this series, when we move from the wild and unpredictable run-up... to the very eye of the storm!

So... how about it? Would anyone out there care to share how YOU handle a challenging day at work?

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Do you know someone who would enjoy this series?

If so, please feel free to pass it on to others in any way you see fit!

PPC5-The Question

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy Southern) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 11:30:00 +0000

(This post is part of a continuing series focusing on the development of a new handbag pattern from its initial conception to it's release.)

So in our last post we showed you our Velcro- alternative to the connecting zippers. I'm was pleased to hear that they were received so enthusiastically!

And for demonstration purposes, it really works to have 2 zipper connectors and 2 Velcro connectors in the SAME sample, so I thought I'd configure this last sample up the same way.

You can get a good look at the Velcro connectors in this photo. I used them to connect the Basic and Tall modules together this time around.

I like the clean look of the Velcro connectors. I still have concerns about how the Velcro will hold up over time, but since so many folks were interested in this option, we've included instructions and pattern pieces within the pattern.

Maybe a few of you who decide to go with this option will keep me apprised of the functionality over time?

I included both Caddy sizes in this sample. Don't they look totally fab in this Alexander Henry fabric?

And speaking of which

Joba fell in love with this fabric too. Seem like I spent a awful lot of time moving him, and picking him up, and placing him somewhere else, only to find that he just went right back to his original spot.

Here's the lowdown on the fabric-

With the exception of the dotted bias tape I used on the two Credit Card Caddys, all of the fabric for this sample is from Alexander Henry's "Rivoli" Collection.

Rivoli Grand Floral Gemstone
Rivoli Bubble
La Di Dot
Rivoli Curl (in blue)

I got all of my fabric online from Hancock's of Paducah. As usual, I would recommend that you check locally for these fabrics, but if you have difficulty locating them, (as I couldnt') you can shop the entire collection by clicking here.

So...have you decided which insert connector you favor?

Zippers or Velcro... that is the question.

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Do you know someone who would enjoy this series?

If so, please feel free to pass it on to others in any way you see fit!

PPC5- The Whistle Buckle in Action

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy Southern) — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 11:30:00 +0000

(This post is part of a continuing series focusing on the development of a new handbag pattern from its initial conception to it's release.)

So in an earlier post, we introduced you to one of our new products, the Whistle Buckle and we've already had a lot of questions as to how our new Whistle Buckles attaches into our PortaPocketsPLUS, and if it really does function as a whistle.

I figure the best way to answer both of those questions is to literally... SHOW you!

Whistle Buckle Basics from Kathy M Southern on Vimeo.

Your thoughts? I'd love for you to share your comments in the space provided below!

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PPC5-It's in the Code

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy Southern) — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 11:30:00 +0000

(This post is part of a continuing series focusing on the development of a new handbag pattern from its initial conception to it's release.)

Well, if we're working on our marketing materials, then you know it must be getting close to release time for our new pattern!

And it is! We're very close now!

But wait! That's not just your average, run-of-the-mill promotional postcard, due primarily to that weird little square symbol in the lower left corner.

It's called a QR Code and you might remember that we mentioned them in a previous post, and they're the latest and arguably the greatest thing to come along in advertising in quite some time.

Because who would have thought that a simple scan of this funny-looking symbol with a smartphone could transport you to a video demonstration of the PortaPocketsPLUS! It's unbelievable but TRUE!

If you have a smartphone and want to try it, just download this QR Reader and try it! (And if you don't have a smartphone and want to see our little promotional video, you can do so by clicking here, or by typing http://tinyurl.com/6w5p9zt in your browser.)

Here's a closeup of the QR code
on the back of the PortaPocketsPLUS pattern

We're really excited about the places we can put QR Codes to work for us! We plan on including this very QR Code in our print advertisements, brochures, business cards and MOST importantly, our pattern covers! If you think about it, it's the next best thing to packaging a little "mini me" in every pattern that we ship, and in every magazine we advertise in!

So... if you haven't noticed these little symbols in the marketplace yet, it's a sure bet that you will be! I would be interested in knowing if you are starting to notice these little symbols in the marketplace or in advertisements yet. Have any of you taken advantage of the information locked inside them?

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Do you know someone who would enjoy this series?

If so, please feel free to pass it on to others in any way you see fit!

On Looking Forward

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy Southern) — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 10:30:00 +0000

It's a simple question really...

"What exciting things are you looking forward to

in the near or distant future?"

I'll start it off...

In the short range future: I'm super excited about the imminent release of our new pattern, the PortaPocketsPLUS purse insert. The reports are in from the testers, my graphics guy is working on the cover, the brochure has been updated and the final draft of the instructions is at the printer. Now I'm wrapping up my work on the webpage and planning the launch and everything associated with marketing a new pattern. The run-up to launch day is always crazy....but so exciting!

In the medium range future: OK- Something BIG is in the works for us and so far, I haven't told ANYONE but a few close family members, and here it is...WE ARE TOTALLY OVERHAULING OUR WEBSITE! You might not know this, but I have always done all of my own coding for the website (to some of you, this might be painfully obvious), and while it functions OK and doesn't look all that bad, it's gotten to be more and more cumbersome & difficult to manage it. So I've hired a web designer (Lineberry Design in Atlanta), things are progressing nicely, AND at some point this year (hopefully) we'll introduce you to our new, ultra-efficient, streamlined look, complete with a BIG launch party!

And finally, in the long range future: I'm looking forward to learning more & more new things. This year I already know that I'll need to learn the in's and out's of WordPress, since that's what my new website will be based on, but there's still a lot more I want to learn. It's my personal belief that there's a strong connection between living & learning. As long as we live we should be learning as much as we can, so I want to keep challenging myself to learn all I can.

So.... How about you???
What are YOU looking forward to?

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If so, please feel free to pass it on in any way you see fit!

PPC5- 'V' is for Velcro

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy Southern) — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 11:30:00 +0000

(This post is part of a continuing series focusing on the development of a new handbag pattern from its initial conception to it's release.)

So.... in our last post in this series, we showed you how we were beginning to "monkey around" with our insert size combinations and our various features.

Can you detect which areas we "played" with this time?

First off we substituted a Partition feature in our Tall insert.

(I personally enjoy using this feature better than any other, so I thought... why not?)

And for this particular sample, we only worked up one Credit Card Caddy, opting instead for an extra elastic pocket in our Thin Insert.

Of course I couldn't resist adding one of our new whistle-buckles for our key clasp. :)

And now, for the most important option we added to this sample!

For this sample we installed 2 zippered insert connectors, AND 2 velcro'd insert connectors. I know that several of you have expressed a wish that we would include this option, so I thought.... why not try it?

So in this picture, you can see a closeup of our very first Insert Connector with Velcro. And even though I'm not a huge fan of Velcro, these little Connectors were really easy to make and sew in.

For this sample I chose to connect two of the modules (the Tall and the Basic) to each other with zippers, and then I connected the Thin module from the side with the new Velcro Connectors.

I liked this idea, because this way, customers at the Spring Market in Kansas City can see & experiment with BOTH types of Connectors in the same sample.

And that leaves this fabulous fabric which was generously supplied by Clothworks and details about which are below:

Flying Colors II by Laurel Burch (Butterflies)

Basics by Laurel Burch (Aqua Triangle)

Basics by Laurel Burch (Aqua Star)

Suzette & Suzette Tonal (Lt Blue)

So... Concerning out new Velcro Connectors, what say you?

Should we include them in the pattern? Or give them the BOOT!

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Do you know someone who would enjoy this series?

If so, please feel free to pass it on to others in any way you see fit!

She Blinded Me with SCIENCE!

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy Southern) — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 11:30:00 +0000

If you're thinking that science & quilting just don't go together, then you wouldn't be alone, after all, when your average person is thinking about math and physics, it's a pretty sure bet that they are not having warm, snuggly thoughts! But here's the deal... the person I want you to meet and get to know today is not your average person, and the quilts she creates are not the fleecy, "pretty-pretty", comfy quilts our grandmothers made!

So without further ado,

Meet Kate Findlay

Kate is an art teacher at a private elementary school in Henley-on-Thames, England with a background in textiles. But she has spent the last two terms on sabbatical in order to concentrate all of her efforts on a line of quilts that she is particularly obsessed with. It was in 2008 that Findlay first saw photos of the Large Hadron Collider, the world's largest particle accelorator, in a newspaper article and found herself so inspired that she has been creating making fabric-based artwork inspired by the accelerator and its experiments ever since. “I’ve been living and dreaming and sleeping and eating hadron colliders,” she says.

Now I figure I know what you're thinking right about now, because how in the world can something so dry and boring as a physics experiment inspire a beautiful quilt, right? Because that's exactly what I was thinking when FaceBook friend Anne Moser suggested that I since I had a science background, I might be intrigued by Findlay's quilt series. I honestly wasn't expecting much when I clicked that link, but what I saw literally
blew...

me...
AWAY!


The Alice Adventure July 2011 Size: 200 cm square. Materials: Cottons, sheers and synthetics.

Here's a closeup of Alice Adventure.
The detail is extraordinary!

Once it dawned on me that this fabulous project was actually constructed with fabric, I was totally enthralled! I then spent the rest of the afternoon finding out everything I could about Kate Findlay and what she has named her Hadron Collider series. And here's the deal....the more I found out, the more fascinated I became!

Kate at work on Alice Adventure
in her studio

Below you will find a very interesting interview of Kate that was conducted by Dan Nosowitz for Popular Science's website (on 3/12/12). You can read his entire post by clicking here.

Above is the ATLAS inner detector,
the inspiration for “Inner Eye.”(below)
Photo: CERN

PopSci: How long have you been making quilts? Do you work with other materials?
Kate Findlay: I have not been making quilts that long, really. My first one was in 2008, about six months before I started work on the Hadron Collider series. I have always been a painter in my spare time, mostly landscapes and still-lifes, but I work exclusively in fabric now, even when doing more pictorial pieces (like my Henley river series on my website).

Inner Eye February 2010
Size: 120 cm square.
Materials: Silk, synthetic fabric, pvc fabric and sequins

PS: Where did the inspiration come from to look to the LHC?
KF: I was reading The Times in September 2008 and came across an illustrated article about the LHC. I knew about it anyway, but something just struck a chord with me and I immediately started researching online to find more images. I was very excited by what I found and knew without a shadow of doubt that this was something I wanted to develop into a body of work. (CERN gave me permission to use their photos.)

PS: What about the LHC spoke to you as regards quilt-making? Why that connection?
KF: The LHC is a remarkably beautiful machine. Its symmetry, the repeating motifs, [and] the colors were all things that I was drawn to--for any textile artist, pattern and color are top of the list and the LHC has all these! The other aspect I particularly liked was the idea of a regular circle within a square; I wanted to explore variations on this theme. Working in fabric is extremely slow and laborious, and there have been a number of occasions over the past three years when I wished I was just painting the subject. But fabric has an added dimension, its texture and sheen, which has really worked for me in making these pieces.

Breakthrough November 2009
Materials: silks, synthetics and cottons,
a metal ring wrapped in gold cord, metallic mesh.

PS: How did you come across the LHC's work? Were you a fan of that branch of science beforehand?
KF: I did know about it, but in a pretty general way--just what had come up in the news and through people talking about it. I have always liked science, but certainly wasn't paying much attention to the physics of it all. That has changed with this work, and I have been reading up on the physics discoveries of the 20th century and what the current theories are, although I confess I don't understand much of it!

PS: What is it about the LHC that you're trying to capture in these quilts? How do you choose the colors, patterns, and techniques that go into them?
KF: When I started, I was just enjoying creating pieces that had a flavor of parts of the machine I had seen images of. As I read more, I have been trying to get some of the physics concepts into my work. One of the things that has struck me most is the aspect of scale--the huge Hadron Collider is trying to split infinitesimally small subatomic particles--to find out how our vast, vast universe is put together. So I have found aspects of astronomy creeping in to my work as well as studies of how atoms are formed and split.

Does the Dark Matter? October 2010
Materials: cotton, synthetics and silks.

The colors in my work have been very influenced by things I have seen in the CERN photos as well as using lots of metallic fabrics. More recently I have started to dye and screen print fabrics to get more subtle effects. The early pieces were mixed media: mostly fabric, but incorporating wire, card, beads, strange objects and anything else that achieved the right effect. The large quilts are more traditional in construction, being three layers, but without anything stuck on to the surface. I realized belatedly that I need to be able to roll them up to store them, as they take up a lot of room!

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Findlay used traditional patchwork for her three earliest pieces, “Breakthrough,” “Inner Eye,” and “Does the Dark Matter?” But creating circles in this fashion with fabric can be really tough, given the way fabrics stretch and move. After six to eight weeks of sewing, and down to the final piece, she says, “My heart was absolutely in my mouth.” Until she finished, she had no idea whether everything would line up and lie flat.

Atomic April 2011
Materials: Cottons, silks, synthetics, satin and sheers.

Since then, her quilts are done with appliqué. Kate uses unconventional fabrics, lots of metallic, shiny bits or sheers, along with beads, sequins, cardboard, and even barbecue skewers, which she inserts along the back to add rigidity. “I started using everything and anything to achieve the effect I wanted,” she says. “Sometimes you realize you’ve just found the perfect medium. I feel I can get the effects I want with fabric.”

Her recent pieces incorporate more of the subatomic world itself. Her quilt “Atomic” shows the structure of a chromium atom in dots overlaid on a detector. “It’s the combination of huge and tiny,” she says. “I am aware the atom has far more space between its electrons, but that is where artistic license comes in.”

Hadron 4

Lately, Findlay has been expanding her topics and techniques. “I am delving into some of the concepts put forward by physicists about wave particle duality, supersymmetry, and string theory,” she says, going on to explain that she bought some fiber optic cable and is experimenting with sewing it into fabric. “There is so much more I could do yet with that subject matter.”

Kate hopes that her unusual source of inspiration will capture the interest of a more diverse public, folks that might not generally be drawn to more traditional fabrics, patterns and projects, and ultimately she would love for her collection to stimulate more people to become use fabric, quilting, and patchwork as a form of artistic expression.

Her collection debuts next year in a series of exhibitions throughout Southern England. So if you're planning a trip in that area, there ya go, but here's the bigger question...

Do you think there's a chance Kate might share this fascinating collection with us at an upcoming Quilt Market/Festival?

And if so, would you be interested enough to come see it?

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So... what cha think?

I'd love for you to share your thoughts in the comments section below!

And please free to share this post in any way you deem appropriate

PPC5- "Early Birds"

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy Southern) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 12:20:00 +0000

(This post is part of a continuing series focusing on the development of a new handbag pattern from its initial conception to it's release.)

So...in an earlier post in this series, we showed you our pattern, the PortaPocketsPLUS Purse Insert in the most delectable fabric from Jane Sassaman, called "Early Birds".
Free Spirit (the manufacturer) describes it as "an enchanted garden filled with Jane's familiar friends, dandelions, primroses, bleeding hearts, and of course, a clever critter or two."

Jane's "Early Birds" fabric line debuted at the 2011 Fall Quilt Market in Houston. I fell in love with it immediately and you would have too! Just look how totally YUMMY Jane's booth looks decked out in "Early Birds"!

I was totally inspired working with this fabric. As a a matter of fact, it SURELY makes the list of the top five fabric lines I've ever worked with!
Hmmmm... that sounds like a whole "nuther" blog post! :)

As always, I suggest you check with your local quilt store if you're interested in using "Early Birds" in YOUR next project. My local store wasn't carrying it, so I picked my fabrics up at eQuilter.com, (very fast service).

Here's the 5 fabrics that were used in what has rightfully turned out to be our cover sample!

Berry Patch Border #PWJS40

Prairie Poppy #PWJS41

Leaf Dance #PWJS38

Green Curlicue #PWJS35

Pink Curlicue #PWJS35

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Do you know someone who would enjoy this series?

If so, please feel free to pass it on to others in any way you see fit!