With quilt show season at its height, I thought I’d share some tips for shopping large shows, both wholesale and retail.

1. Pack comfortable clothes and shoes. You can easily be on your feet for eight hours or more. Take to heart the Quilts Inc. admonition, “Remember at Market, fashion stops at the knees!”

2. Take some healthy snacks with you, like fruits and nuts. All the booths will have snacks of the chocolate variety and while a bit is fine, you want to be sure to keep your stamina up. Once you start walking the floor, it’s hard to leave. Something new or an old friend catches your eye. That sugar rush just won’t sustain you. And, don’t forget to bring water or an empty water bottle to fill to keep hydrated.

3. Take advantage of the learning opportunities. Quilts Inc. has lectures and classes the day before Market opens and then the mornings and evenings when the vendor floor is closed. This is a wonderful opportunity to take back knowledge to share with your staff and customers and to build your business. At retail shows, you can often find wonderful classes that will teach you something to share with your customers. Even just bringing back knowledge of “what’s new” is important.

4. If you go to Quilt Market, don’t wait in line for Sample Spree. I always check the lines for Sample Spree and often find the same people at the front of the line every show. They recognize me coming now! Some of these attendees get in line at 2 pm for an event that starts at 8 pm. They miss half of the Schoolhouse Sessions and terrific learning opportunities. Once the doors open, most everyone in line gets in within five to 10 minutes. Even latecomers get in. Last I heard they weren’t giving a prize for first one in the door!

5. Don’t forget your business cards. You are going to meet shop owners and quilt business owners from around the world in addition to buying for your business. A good tip is to make a note or two on the back of the card as a memory jogger for when you get home. And, to make it easy for ordering, try printing the information on labels to make filling out forms easier.

6. Start with a plan to shop the floor. Spend time the night before going through the show program, marking those you must see. Set a schedule that includes any appointments you have with fabric companies or distributors. If you are shopping with a group, be sure everyone knows the schedule. Many shop owners walk the floor and collect literature during the first day, go over the material at night and then buy the second or third day. Other shop owners know what their shop needs and buy on the first walk through. Figure out the plan that will work best for you.

7. If you are traveling with a group, be sure you’ve got everyone’s phone numbers programmed in to your phones. Market is really big, and it’s easy to get separated from your group. Even keeping up with your group at a small show can be a problem.

8. Keep a journal so you can track what you see, need to follow up on, etc. I usually have a small 5″ by 8″ notebook where I make notes about what’s new, action I need to take when I get back, and secure business cards I collect. It’s fun to see what’s transpired over the years.

9. Look for ways to connect. Everyone has to have lunch and/or dinner. Look for someone at a table, go join them. You’ll probably pick up a business tip and be able to share one, too. And, likely you’ll make a new friend.

Please share your thoughts below.

Liberated Medallion Quilts
Gwen Marston
AQS Publishing; $24.95

Don’t you just love the whole idea of “liberated quilts,” quilts that let you interpret basic concepts in your own personal fashion? This is Gwen Marston’s fourth “Liberated Quilting” book and her 26th book. The quilts in this book came from a retreat she holds each year in northern Michigan. After the 2010 retreat, she was struck with how many of the quilts created over the five sessions were medallion style and that begged for her to write another book. What is interesting is how these modern liberated medallions had much in common with early medallions, e.g., one made by Martha Washington. Gwen offers seven how-to projects to get you started, though you will definitely veer off the path. I love the construction tips she includes to help you solve problems. She even shows how Martha Washington solved her construction problem. If you are interested in keeping your traditional roots, yet becoming liberated, give this a 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.

This makes me smile, as I may be somewhat of an aberration when it comes to traditional workmanship as defined by the standards of a quilt show judge. The focus of my teaching is always the making of art that just happens to be stitched fabric. I believe that any construction method and any technique is appropriate so long as the piece has structural integrity. I help students to find a resourceful and personal way to solve technical problems and often demonstrate techniques and share helpful hints that may be useful to realize their idea.

I’m a believer in lots of discussion and lots of visual stimulation. When I set up the classroom, I try to make it look like a working studio with lots of artwork on the walls and, when possible, a U-shaped plan for the tables so students can see one another. I also like to have a common pool of fabrics, donated by the class and me, to encourage each artist to try materials they may not normally choose. My instructions to students are more about attitude than technique in that there are no patterns, very few rules and only general parameters for each exercise. I talk about the idea that a new work is like a stream of consciousness, where what has gone before will dictate what comes next, and I support any number of solutions to a given problem. Thus the student isn’t pursuing a narrow avenue towards a fixed goal, but rather an expanding highway with many exits and entrances. This allows the student to choose her own subject matter and personal content and encourages a meaningful attachment to the work. As a work progresses, I ask for the work to be put up on the wall, and the student and I have a brainstorming session about problems or where to go next. Other students benefit from this as well because they may be having the same issues and can learn by sharing.

Building confidence is an important element for further growth.  This is why, throughout the class, I try to focus on the students’ strengths and encourage them to build upon those. Often all it takes is to overcome a self-conscious reticence, and the artist can make the leap into the unknown with wonderful results. I encourage the students to conduct their designing by asking, “What if I do …?” With a growing confidence, the artist can answer by actually trying a solution without fear. Another reassuring phrase I repeat is, “What’s the worst that can happen?” I try to share my own experience of revising less than perfect work or cutting and reassembling it into a new idea. I suppose it is related to my idea of being flexible about the direction a work may take. Humor is a big part of this process as well, and there is often much giggling and hilarity when the solution turns out to be a very funky potholder!

I confess I really enjoy teaching! I like meeting new people and going to new places. I love it when I can see a student take some risks, try something new, and then have a eureka moment as the reward! I enjoy hearing from former students that they have been juried into some national show or won a prize at their local guild show. Some have sent me photos of the class quilt that they have gone on to finish, and I can “read” the pleasure they have taken in it. It is not a one-way street either. I have learned things from my students as well. I was not the greatest sewer in the world at first, and it was a student who sat me down and showed me that making bindings wasn’t that hard after all!

You can read more about Pamela in the Spring issue of The Professional Quilter, the journal of the International Association of Professional Quilters. The journal is available to members, and you can join here.

Please share your thoughts below.

Art Quilt Portfolio: The Natural World
Martha Sielman
Sterling Publishing; $24.95

The first in a series, Art Quilt Portfolio: The Natural World showcases art quilts inspired by nature: flowers, water, birds, animals, leaves, insects, trees and texture. More than 450 artists submitted nearly 1,200 works for consideration in this volume. The book includes the work of more than 70 artists, as well as an in-depth look at 19 featured artists and their work in a diversity of techniques. The featured artists offer essays about their creative process. I always find the personal stories offering a glimpse into the artists and their passions fascinating to read. The book is a visual delight and a wonderful read. I look forward to the next book in the series.

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.

Lynn Ann Majidimehr
That Patchwork Place; $27.99

I just loved the look of almost every quilt in this book, with the appliqué on pieced backgrounds. The colors were bright and the designs were out of the ordinary and realistic; the end result is a contemporary look. The book includes 10 projects in sizes ranging from a small wall hanging to lap-sized quilts and a table runner. I’ve never been a fan of paper piecing – it’s the tearing out of the foundation I don’t like. Lynn offers a twist on that with a freezer-paper foundation method that doesn’t require picking out the paper. As for the appliqué she offers two methods: fusible and freezer-paper, glue-basted appliqué. Instructions are clear and include lots of color photos to guide you. I also appreciated the specifics on machine quilting and the close-up shots of the quilting.

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.

Three times in the past week I’ve had someone talk to me about self care. The first was a client who was stressed and not tending to her own needs. I noted that it was critical that she so put herself first. The second was my dental hygienist who has now taken a really strong stand on self care. When she said this, I realized that she was coming from a whole place of lightness. I had, perhaps, noticed this over the past couple of years but didn’t have a context for the change. She said she was totally operating from a place of love. It made perfect sense. Then Saturday morning at a meeting, someone mentioned to me that he realized many of his problems stemmed from a lack of putting himself and his needs first. Three encounters on the same topic in one week. Guess the universe is trying to tell me something.

Best of Fons & Porter
Leisure Arts; $24.95

I love patriotic quilts and have a small red, white and blue star quilt I love to use. While every day is a good day to celebrate our American pride, it’s about six weeks to Memorial Day, the perfect occasion for another patriotic quilt. In this collection from Fon’s and Porter’s Love of Quilting magazine, you’ll find 30 patriotic quilts, wall hangings and table runners. As with all the “Best of” collections, you’ll find “Sew Easy” tips for learning new techniques. The collection includes pieced and appliqué quilts.

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.

Does it seem like your time just slips away and that at the end of the day, you didn’t accomplish all you planned? Do you have dreams about what you want to do in your spare time, only you don’t have any?

For some people it’s not being clear on what you want from your day – or even your life. There’s that clarity thing again, but it really is the key to everything. One of the exercises I often hear suggested is to look at your life and decide what your days would be like if you were not limited by time or money. Once you do that, here are some additional steps.

1. Get clear about how you are really spending your time. To do this, you will need to track how you are actually spending your time, all of it. Keep a diary – kind of like when you keep track of what you eat – of what you do with all the time in your day. Start with when you get up and go through the end of the day. Do this for at least three days, preferably a week. I guarantee you will learn something unexpected.

2. Once you see how you really spend your time, review what you do that isn’t part of that ideal day. (If your ideal day was sitting by the water in the Caribbean with an umbrella drink, you might have a lot that doesn’t fit, but at least you know what you’re aiming for!) Look at what you are doing that could be done by someone else on your team. If you don’t have a team, look at what you could have someone do if you did, and consider moving in that direction.

3. Consider what you are doing that you shouldn’t be doing at all. If you find lots of those activities, learn how to say no. Look at those where you should be limiting your time, e.g., surfing the Internet. What you do should be using your skills and helping you pursue your goals.

4. Look at what activities you pursue that are really your passion. Try to spend more time there.

5. Review which activities are “putting out fires.” You may be familiar with Stephen Covey’s quadrants from his Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Things are urgent and important; important and not urgent; not important and urgent; or not important and not urgent. Your goal should be to spend time in the important and not urgent quadrant. If you are spending time in the urgent and important quadrant, you are putting out fires. Likely, this is because you didn’t prioritize or you procrastinated. Many of us spend too much time in the not important or not urgent areas and then we end up with those fires to put out.

6. If you want to spend time appropriately, plan your day the night before. That way you decide your priorities and can get more accomplished.

Remember, how you spend your time is how you spend your life.

Do you have any tips on spending your time more appropriately? Please share your thoughts below.

Decorate Your Shoes
Annemart Berendse
AQS Publishing; $19.95

In 2011 at the AQS show in Paducah, Annmart Berendse got a lot of notice for her shoes. These were not ordinary shoes. What were originally white leather clogs were now filled with patchwork patterns. The attention led to her first book about creating fun, decorated shoes. With 11 different designs, she teaches you how to paint canvas, rubber or vinyl, and leather (man made or natural) shoes. In addition to your shoes as a canvas, other supplies you’ll need include a Sharpie® marker and either fabric or leather paints, as well as some embellishments. Some of the designs include the log cabin, simple patchwork, Mariner’s Compass, and intricate looking feathers. If you want to make a statement head to toe, give this a 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.

As tax season is winding down, with less than a week left to file your 2011 returns or an extension in the United States, I thought about purging some of my old files. I tend to keep a lot that may not be necessary. Generally, you need to keep supporting records of income or deductions until the period of limitation set by the Internal Revenue Service runs out. This period is that in which you can amend your return to claim a credit or refund or the IRS can assess additional tax. Here are some guidelines, according to IRS Publication 583 (Starting a Business and Keeping Records).

1. For most tax returns filed on time with tax paid, keep supporting records for three years after the filing deadline, the extension deadline or the actual filing date, whichever is later.

2. If you had income that you should have reported (but did not) that was 25% in excess of your gross income, keep records for six years after your final payment was made.

3. If you have employees, keep all employment tax records for four years after the employment tax became due or was paid, whichever is later.

4. Keep records to support any deduction for bad debt loss for seven years.

5. In cases of someone required to file a return (and does not) or in the case of fraudulent returns, the IRS requires records be kept indefinitely.

6. Keep records relating to property until the period of limitations expires for the year in which you dispose of the property in a taxable disposition. You must keep these records to figure any depreciation, amortization, or depletion deduction, and to figure your basis for computing gain or loss when you sell or otherwise dispose of the property.

Those are IRS requirements. You may have other reasons for keeping records longer, e.g., insurance or business valuation. If you do, it would be a good idea to make copies of your records and returns and keep them on a CD (or DVD) and store them offsite.

Do you have any tips for keeping records? Please share your thoughts below.