Czecherboard Quilts
Rose Ann Cook
Kansas City Star Quilts’ $16.95

I have to admit what hooked me was the play on words – checkerboard and Czecherboard. Rose Ann Cook, owner of Quilter’s Emporium in Stafford, Texas, created the quilts in the book to honor the stories she learned of her father’s family and its Czech history. The book includes 13 projects with checkerboard themes and accompanying stories and photos about Rose Ann’s father’s family. I enjoyed how she was able to weave the family history into each quilt. It’s an idea that anyone interested in genealogy and quilting can try.

Look for the book at your favorite book retailer. Here’s a link to Amazon if you would like to learn more about the book.

Each year as I get ready for Quilt Market, I tend to get a little crazed. Have I ordered the electric? Do I even need electric? What about the booth equipment? Do I have time to hem the drapes? And, where is the fabric for the drapes? And, did I get a hotel room and airline ticket? What about handouts?

It’s so easy to get overwhelmed by all you have to do. I find setting up systems is my answer. Here are just a few tips:

1. Once you get the contracts in for Quilt Market or any major show, put the important dates in your calendar. I like to put a reminder in a few days ahead of time, just in case I need more time. It’s too easy to miss an important date – and that costs you money. I also have a plastic portfolio where I store all the paperwork that comes in. That way when I leave for the trip, everything is in one place.

2. Start a master checklist to track all the tasks involved. What’s great about this idea, is that it’s a master. You get the list out for each show and adapt it. No reinventing the wheel each show. Make notes each year that might help you. For example, if you find that you need a specific type of electric, note that on your master. No more looking through past contracts to find that information. How many handouts should you print? Last year’s information should be handy.

3. Keep another master list of what you ship and what you take with you. I pull out this list each show and make adjustments. For example, I add the last few issues to my list and take off any that I no longer stock. It saves me time shipping.

4. Start early with whatever system you put in place. It’s not fun to be running to the local print shop at 9:00 the night before you leave because you forgot something.

5. Keep notes while you are at your show and then when you get back, find those checklists and make any notes you need to make. When you pull the checklists out next time, you’ll be set – and a little less crazed.

If you don’t have any systems in place for your shows, put some in place this year. It might take more time in the beginning, but you’ll be grateful come the next show!

Please share your thoughts below.

Purses, Bags & Totes
Moya’s Workshop
AQS; $22.99

Everyone seems to love to make bags, and we have lots of patterns for bags of all sorts. This collection from Moya Hu, who owns Moya’s Workshop, an importer of quilting and patchwork supplies to Taiwan, does include some fresh ideas, such as the tote that expands with a decorative zipper, the ties that create a pleat to the tote bag, and the leaf shapes that add a nice touch to the moon bag. The book starts with general instructions for zippers and pockets. Each bag includes easy-to-follow instructions with step-by-step full color photos. Patterns are included in a CD.

Look for the book at your favorite book retailer. Here’s a link to Amazon if you would like to learn more about the book.

Many of us struggle with aligning our priorities with our actions. I recently had a conversation with one of my private coaching clients. She said her family was her priority, yet she was barely fitting them in around her business, rather than the other way around. Our priorities are really defined by how and where we spend our time, and, by that definition, family was not her number one priority.

To get clearer on your priorities, during the next month develop a list of your needs, wants and values. “What’s the difference?” you ask. A need is something you must have in order to be your best, such as time, space, money, love, information, food, etc. A want is something that you relate to by trying to acquire or experience it, such as a car, a vacation, a house, a new sewing machine, etc. Values are behaviors or preferences that you naturally gravitate to or that are prompted from within and not by needs or wants. An example might be security or adventure or creativity. The same thing can be a need, want or value for different people or for the same person at different times. Here are some guidelines:

* If there is urgency, it’s probably a need.
* If there’s a craving or desire, it’s probably a want.
* If there is a natural and uncomplicated pull, it’s probably a value.

Next, complete a “calendar audit.” Look at your calendar for the last couple of months. Take every bit of time, personal as well as business, and compare your expenditure of time with your needs, wants and values. What did you learn?

Last, create objectives and action plans to better align your words and your actions. The most fulfilling goals are those that align with your values.

Please share your thoughts below.

String Fling
Bonnie K. Hunter
Kansas City Star Quilts; $29.95

I remember making string quilts when I first learned to quilt in 1977, and they’ve been revived several times since. I think string quilts are the ultimate in scrap quilts. What’s fun about “strings,” is that they are versatile. They can be the basis for the block design, as in a log cabin, or they can be put together to create other elements, like squares or triangles, and then added to your block. Bonnie, who focuses mainly on scrap quilts, includes 13 varied, large quilts all using strings. It’s a fun collection, and you’ll learn a lot about color just by studying the photos.

Look for the book at your favorite book retailer. Here’s a link to Amazon if you would like to learn more about the book.

In the past month, I’ve had several conversations with quilters and fiber artists about how they view their “businesses.” Several really don’t think of themselves as business people. They are happy to share their work/skills and don’t think about the money beyond meeting their expenses. Is this running a business? Not really; it’s supporting your hobby. And, if that’s what you want, that’s perfect for you. If, however, you really want a business, here are some tips:

1. Start to think about how you view your business and work on your mindset if needed. Do you buy into the starving artist mentality? Why? A business is supposed to make a profit. It’s not a bad thing. Is your business structured to do that? And, are you ready, willing and able to do that?

2. Consider how others view your business. Do people think you are running a successful business? Or do they think you make quilts or art for fun and sell it on the side? You might look at how other business people view you vs. how your family and close friends view you, too. Do you have established routines and discipline or do you invoke the solopreneur’s version of “writers’ block” to run an errand or go shopping? Do you want other people and your family to view you as a business person? And, if they don’t, does this affect how your view yourself?

3. Do you know your numbers? It’s critical that you know how much money is coming in and how much is going out. You need to track these numbers and use the information to make decisions about your business. If you don’t understand your numbers, The Professional Quilter is currently running a terrific series by Sue Tucker, who is the CFO at Studio 180 Design.

4. How do you structure your day? Remember back when you had that corporate job. You had tasks to complete. Your role had a place in the company and its profit structure. Now that you are on your own, the freedom is great. That freedom, however, imposes a requirement for discipline. If you used a planner/calendar at your corporate job, consider adapting the same or similar system now that you run your own business. Committing the appropriate time to your business will make a difference.

Running your business is much harder work than pursuing your hobby. It’s just as much fun. And, in the end, it has the possibility of being much more rewarding.

Please share your thoughts below.

Fresh Perspectives
Carol Gilham Jones & Bobbi Finley
C&T Publishing; $29.95

We often see well-done reproductions of antique quilts and marvel at how the design was captured. What Fresh Perspectives does is take a look at those quilts with a new eye. The quilts are used as inspiration, and current fabrics are used to create dynamic, contemporary quilts. The original inspiration quilts came from the antique quilts in the collection of the International Quilts Study Center & Museum. The 18 contemporary quilts mirror the qualities of those original quilts. I was struck by so many of the pieces, from the bright “Happy Houses” to “Stars and Snipes,” the Variable Star quilt with its large whimsical bird placed in the solid blocks, to “Pot of Flowers Medallion,” which focuses the weight of the quilt on the medallion rather than the pieced border.

Look for the book at your favorite book retailer. Here’s a link to Amazon if you would like to learn more about the book.

You know that idea that comes to you from who knows where? What are you doing with it? Do you cast it aside? Do you mull it over? Do you write it down so you don’t lose it? Do you take action because of it?

Some years back I read The Attractor Factor by Joe Vitale, and he wrote about inspired action. He said it was “any action that you take based on an inside nudge.” In a sense, it’s acting on your intuition or that little voice inside that’s talking to you. We all have those experiences.

So where do you find these inspired ideas? One of my sisters says she gets hers on her daily run. I often come up with ideas – great and not so great – during my morning walk or when I take a break in the afternoon with a cup of tea away from my office or when I walk to the mailbox and back. (It’s a very long driveway!) You might find yours soaking in the tub after a long day or hiking in the woods or gardening, in other words, someplace that’s not your office or studio. I think Julia Cameron’s artist date can do this for you, too. It takes you outside your normal surroundings.

One tip, here, keep a pad or a digital recorder handy, if possible. You might also use the notepad on your phone. I find I often need to make a quick note of the idea, in case I’m distracted. I can’t count the numbers of great ideas that disappeared.

When the idea comes to you, what do you do with it? Sometimes you just move forward, trusting it’s the right the thing to do. Other times it’s important to ask if the idea will move your toward your goal or vision or intention. If the answer is yes, then get to work – take inspired action.

As I said, we all have those “inside nudges” prompting us to take action. Problem is we can talk ourselves out of them – too little time, too little money, too little whatever. I call it self-sabotage. I think we need to learn to trust that inner voice a bit more.

Please share your thoughts below.

Japanese Quilting
Yoko Saito
Interweave; $26.95

Making traditional patchwork quilts left well-known Japanese quilter Yoko Saito frustrated. Her work was filled with imprecise angles and crooked seams, something uncommon for someone known for meticulous needlework. That led to her realization that if her pieces weren’t perfectly even then she should make intentionally imperfect ones. She found the pride and joy in her work that had been missing. This collection of 29 quilts and quilted projects features her use of odd-shaped pieces and improvisation. The projects are all done in her hallmark neutral/taupe color scheme. The book includes paper patterns for the projects.

Look for the book at your favorite book retailer. Here’s a link to Amazon if you would like to learn more about the book.

On our call last week, someone asked me if I was good at multi-tasking. I think she thought I get lots done so I must use that process.

I try hard not to be a multitasker? How about you? Do you read your e-mail while you’re on the phone and at the same time bind your quilt? Quite the picture, isn’t it?

According to Harvard Business Review blogger Paul Atchley, studies show that multitaskers are less efficient, perhaps by as much as 40%, than they think. He says that it takes an average of 15 minutes – and I’ve read numbers as high as 40 minutes – to reorient oneself to the main task. Wow – 15 minutes! Can you imagine how much time you waste on a daily basis trying to get back to the task at hand?

If you want to break your multitasking habit, here are four tips:

1. Focus on one task at a time. Atchley says our attention starts to wane after 18 minutes. He suggests that if that happens and you switch to a different task, make notes about the first task so it’s easier when you go back. I think that if your attention wanes, it might be time for a quick stretch and then quickly re-focus on the same task.

2. Since I mentioned focusing on a task, be sure to divide your project into doable tasks. Set a timer for the task. I find it easier to focus if I have specifically set the time aside.

3. Eliminate distractions. This could be closing the door to your studio, letting the answering machine pick up the calls, stopping the audible tones of your e-mail. What’s key is paying attention  – again focus – to your task.

4. Stick with it until it’s done and done right.

And, if you think multi-tasking is only a problem today, here’s a good quote from Lord Chesterton, attributed to a letter to his son in the 1740s:

“There is time enough for everything in the course of the day if you do but one thing at once; but there is not time enough in the year if you will do two things at a time.”

Good luck single-tasking.

Please share your thoughts below.