It’s hard to believe Quilter’s Groove TRIBE will be three years old in June! It has been fun, frustrating, and rewarding all at once! The pandemic sure did a number on our quilting industry. As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I got a divorce in 2019, and in 2020, I was scheduled to have my most profitable year yet. I was set to travel almost every other week, so I would travel the weeks I did not have Brody (my youngest son). Then, in March 2020, life, as we all knew it, came to a screeching ...

It has been a hot minute since I’ve blogged consistently so I figure it’s like starting over now. My blog was primarily about quilting and while I have a lot to say on that subject, my life is quite different now so I figure my blog will be a bit different as well. So if you are looking for solely quilting… this may not be the blog for you. I will also bring you on my journey of (for lack of a better word) “enlightenment”. I apologize that this may not be linear.

I started my quilting business ...

Once you load your quilt, you may think that’s all that is needed to keep your quilt top square, however that may not be the case. When you quilt and depending on how heavy you quilt…. the top can pull in on the sides… this is why we have those side clamps!

My fabulous student, Janis, gave me and the other members of Quilter’s Groove® Tribe her secret and I thought I would pass it along to you.

This is a piece of bungee cord that I got on Amazon. My frame is 12′ so I bought the ...

The end of the year is often filled with planning activities. For many creative people, though, the thought of planning is beyond boring.

It can be black and white — after all, it does involve looking at numbers. When you get right down to it, though, getting your big dreams and goals down on paper and figuring out how to accomplish them is creative. Especially when you get out those colored markers and pencils!

For more than ten years, I have hosted an annual Planning Day. We always start with looking back.

Instead of jumping into what next year looks like ...

A few years back at our home on the Chesapeake Bay I replaced five KnockOut^® rose bushes. For years they had been beautiful bushes, full of continuous color, and tall enough to provide a barrier between our patio and our neighbor’s. Best of all, this rose variety was supposed to be disease resistant and did not need spraying. I am not one for heavy garden maintenance, so it was wonderful to have inherited these easy-care varieties with our home purchase.

The problem was that a couple years earlier we noticed these bright, thick red shoots. Our landscaper suggested pruning ...

Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, Twitter, TikTok, SnapChat.

Do you get the feeling that you need to be everywhere on social media?

And then you worry that if you are, you’ll never get anything else accomplished?

You are not alone with that thought.

It does at times seem that everyone is everywhere. Just because it seems that way, it’s not really true.

And, you’re right, you won’t get anything done if you are always on social media.

The good news is that you can have a presence on social media and have it work for you. Here ...

Some time ago I wrote about the power of morning rituals and how they set you up for success.  Evening rituals can be just as powerful to end your day. They add a sense of completion, build confidence, and set you up for the next day.

If you think about it, your evening rituals can have a significant impact on how your next day goes. A good evening can translate into a good morning. Unfortunately, a bad evening often leads to a not-so-good next day.

I think of rituals as mindful practices that you make that can be come habits ...

Do you have a blog?

I have been blogging consistently since early 2007. First my blog posts were monthly with an occasional extra post. Within 18 months I went to twice a month. Another 18 months later, I went to weekly posts. Occasionally I posted twice a week.

This summer I announced a two-month break when I decided to post every other week.  With this short break the exception, I have not missed a week in a decade. That is a lot of writing!

Why blog?

Not everyone enjoys writing. Not everyone is good at writing. You can get past ...

It’s football season!

That was reason to celebrate in my house. My husband is a football fan. He’s a fan of most sports. And our local team, The Washington Football Team, won.

It’s been interesting to watch is happening to sports in our time of COVID-19. We’ve seen stadiums and racing parks filled with cardboard cutouts of people. Fake crowd noise.

I live in a home where “Sports Center,” “Inside the NFL,” and similar shows are often on the television. I am sure some of you can relate. Most often they become “white noise” to me ...

Log Cabin - I love the colours in this.  The quiltmaker wanted it quilted "like in the magazine".

Unicorn - this is all paper pieced.  Whoo baby!  

The photo above of my sister, me and my mother, was taken by the amazing photographer, John Kelly. We are in the midst of a heat wave here in New York City; staying in is a welcome relief. Which means more time to design, and during small breaks, watch videos like this one, which my… Continue reading #ChallengeAccepted

Early in my career as quiltmaker, I sold my work.

I took commissions, I did juried craft shows, and I was the only quilter in a fine arts co-op with a storefront.

I saw my share of objections to sales. I still see them today. And, today, with the coronavirus changing our sales process, you might even see more objections.

The price is too high. I need to talk to my spouse first. I can’t make a decision today. I need to look at other items. I need to touch the fabric or see it in person. I’m ...

I am so excited that I can barely contain my excitement! The past few months have been challenging to say the least. We are all in a similar boat… our quilt shows have been cancelled which means that all of those classes that we all signed up for just went POOF! So what’s a quilter to do… we turn to our online options. Sometimes these are good and other times not so good. I have the perfect solution!

Private quilt coaching… you are in your studio, I am in mine and we come up with a game plan specific ...

Recently on my way to Maryland’s Eastern Shore, I got caught in a mass of slow traffic. Anyone from these parts knows we only have one way to reach the beach, and that’s using the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in Annapolis. Its two spans date to 1952 and 1973 and can’t handle today’s traffic. Slow-downs and waits are a normal occurrence, particularly during the summer, so I try to time my trip to avoid them. Despite my best efforts, I was stopped.

Because of the nature of the journey, my GPS isn’t of much use. It ...

One of my favorite practices as a creative arts entrepreneur is to keep a business journal. As the leader of your business, you have so many hats to juggle that it helps to have a place to track those ideas. It also helps you make decisions about where to grow your business and yourself.

I know that my clients who keep a business journal, find it extremely valuable, a real difference-maker in their businesses. This is true regardless if journaling is done in a pretty book, on an iPad, or with our weekly Success and Strategy Summit tool.

Have you ...

In one of my early Ask Me Anything episodes in the Christa Quilts Group on Facebook, lots of folks were interested in my fabric design process. So I’ve put together some images and files to share a peek into how the process works for me, and my experience in designing fabrics for Benartex.

GRIDWORK at Quilt Market Fall 2019

My Gridwork fabric line, shown at fall market last year.

About five years ago, I decided to get serious about designing fabric. As part of that goal, in 2016 I went to an industry event sponsored by Sara Lawson @sewsweetness ...

In our current COVID-19 state, some things have opened; others have not.

Yesterday I went to an outdoor yoga class. It was at the local Y. The class was limited to nine participants. We were socially distanced, each of us having a parking place for our mat.

It was nice to participate in a “normal” activity. I came away relaxed and with a feeling of peace. Wonderful for our times.

I used to practice yoga on a regular basis. Today, I don’t practice as much as I’d like. No real reasons. I just don’t.

So what does ...