Sew Artsy Fartsy

This DID get messy!

5/7/2018

It seemed like a good idea to try this little challenge. Step one: Take “before” pictures of my studio. Step two: Clean. Step three: Take “after” pictures. How hard could it be?

Ha! I quickly realized I had underestimated the extent of the mess in my studio. However, I have religiously cleaned every night for the past two weeks and....drum roll please...it is still NOT completely clean! I know it’s sad, but that is the only even remotely disappointing part of this journey, because I have really enjoyed and learned from this experience as a whole.

As it turns out, I had a misconception of what was in my sewing room. In my mind, I thought I took every scrap of every project back to the shop and put it in the scrap bin. But in reality, while I do take a lot to the shop, much of it actually stays here in baskets (oops!). At Prairie Quilt, the shop that I own, we have red and purple baskets for our shoppers. Evidently, another reason we have those baskets is for me to collect things in, because I discovered I had NINE baskets hidden in my studio. Fortunately, a large part of my cleaning required me to take baskets and baskets full of scraps back to the shop. How wonderful to be rid of all of those baskets! Though, to be completely honest with you all, I did find several projects I am still planning to make, which means I do still have a basket or two left! But hey, that’s better than nine, right?

As soon as I finish posting this blog entry, I will get back to working on the projects I have on my to do list, including a
Jelly Roll Rug I’m really excited about! I am one of those folks who must sew. When I breathe, I sew. I can’t think of a better way to explain it than that. For me, sewing is a way of communicating with God, my ancestors and the universe. When I get into that magical sewing zone, I am closer to all of them. Making art, especially with needle and thread, calms and centers me, which is why cleaning instead of sewing these past two weeks has been difficult for me. However, I know I will enjoy sewing even more tonight when I start in again in a clean, fresh and pretty studio.

You’ll see in one picture a mosaic cross created by my sister. In another photo you may notice my collection of doll heads. According to my children and grandchildren, my doll head collection is “creepy.” So much so that they feel the need to turn the doll heads to face the wall whenever they stay the night with me. Haha! What can I say? I like them, so I’m keeping them!

In each of the pictures, you are probably wondering why in the world I would paint all the walls that horrible color. I painted it 19 years ago when I had just returned from my honeymoon. I was so taken by the beautiful teal of the water that I wanted to remind myself of it. But now, I am soooo over that color! I am hoping you are going to suggest a new color for me. I thought about one accent wall color, but whatever I decide, it has to be lighter than what is on there now.

Obviously, I am not completely finished, but I am committed to continuing to purge and clean. Thank you, Cheryl Sleboda at www.muppin.com, for organizing this spring cleaning blog challenge. I have really enjoyed and been inspired and encouraged by the blogs of other participants, and I will continue watching the others. You can find the other shops’ websites below, and I hope you all will join me in keeping up with their progress!

April 27 - Misty Cole - http://www.mistycole.com/blog
April 28 - Carolina Moore- http://alwaysexpectmoore.com/
April 29 - Heather Pregger - https://heatherquilts.blogspot.com/
April 30 - Linda Bratten - https://lindabcreative.blogspot.com/
May 1 - Lisa Reber - https://www.dippydye.blogspot.com/
May 2 - Teresa Coates - http://www.crinkledreams.com
May 3 - Lisa Chin - http://www.lisachinartist.com/
May 4 - Jamie Fingal - http://www.jamiefingaldesigns.com/
May 5 - Sam Hunter - www.huntersdesignstudio.com
May 6 - Jessee Maloney - www.artschooldropout.net/blog
May 7 - Randa Parrish - http://www.sewartsyfartsy.com/
May 8 - Sarah Vedeler- https://meaningoflifedesigns.com/
May 9 - Jessica Darling - https://jessicakdarling.com/
May 10 - Melody Crust - http://www.melodycrust.com/
May 11 - Debby Brown - http://higheredhands.blogspot.com
May 12 - Cheryl Sleboda - http://blog.muppin.com

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This could get messy...

5/4/2018

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Sometimes my team and I come up with some really great ideas! For example, Dani Comstock, our Marketing Director here at Prairie Quilt, and I came up with the Sewing Sewcial Online Shop Hop. Wow. We are continually amazed by its popularity! It is so wildly popular and the demand so high that we ran out of yardage and are waiting on our next shipment to come in sometime in August! However, there’s no need to worry, we still have blocks available for purchase now, and you will be able to receive your finishing kit at the end of summer after you’ve pieced all of your blocks! To see all of the blocks and finishing kits, visit www.SewingSewcial.com.

Another exciting idea my team and I developed is the Road to Oklahoma Shop Hop fabric, which is available for purchase starting June 1st. We designed these unique, one-of-a-kind, exclusive Oklahoma batiks ourselves, and I sincerely hope you like them as much as we do! I predict this is going to fly out the doors as soon as it goes on sale, so be sure to check it out at www.RoadToOklahomaShopHop.com and be ready to order right away on June 1st!

Unfortunately, along with all of our good ideas come a few bad ones as well...My most recent example occured when I agreed to do a group blog with some of my friends about cleaning our sewing studios. Yikes! Officially, it is called Spring Clean Your Studio Blog, and each post will be one of us sharing our “before” and “after” pictures on our own personal blogs. This sounded like such a good idea since my studio/sewing room really needed a deep cleaning. At the time I thought, “Why not join in on the fun?”

Oh my. Every night for the past two weeks, instead of sewing, I have gone into my studio and cleaned. I haven’t even turned my sewing machine on in the past two weeks! I have (against my better judgement!) shared a couple of pictures of my mess here for you today, and I have to say, it’s pretty embarrassing! I truly had no idea how bad it was until I took the pictures and started cleaning.

Every night, my husband just shakes his head and smiles when I say I'm going to my studio to clean. He has even gone as far as to say that publicly showing my mess and spending time cleaning it was the craziest idea I have had so far, which is really saying something! Although, to be fair, he isn’t much on cleaning.

My sewing machine is feeling a little neglected, but it is certainly worth it now that the magic is starting to happen! I have carried boxes and boxes of fabric scraps to the shop to put in our scrap bin. At one point, I brought back two ruffler feet still unopened in their boxes to the shop. (No one needs three ruffler feet, even though I do LOVE to use that foot!)

So my venture continues, and my post will go up on May 7th. Hopefully, you will see some real progress from these “before” photos on that day. In the meantime, please visit some of the blogs of those participating. You can find the links to their blogs and the dates of their releases below. Some are shop owners like myself, some are artists, but all of them have hugely creative personalities.

As I type this out and work through my studio, I’m starting to realize that maybe this idea I thought was so crazy isn’t so bad after all. I have discovered some very interesting things while on this journey, and I can’t wait to share my discoveries with you on May 7th, so check back soon!

Above you can see a preview of some of my "before" pictures. I beg you not to look, but since it's the equivalent of a train wreck, I have a feeling you won't be able to help yourself! In which case, I must ask you not to judge me too harshly until you see the "after" pictures on May 7th!

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From Business Acquaintances to Best Friends

4/2/2018

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Prairie Quilt's Sewing SEWcial quilt!

I have a strong conviction that a shop owner must constantly know what is trending and keep her merchandise fresh. To stay on the cutting edge of the industry, I go to business seminars and wholesale quilt markets, I read business books and periodicals pertaining to running a quilt shop, and I am always listening to one business savvy podcast or another.

Though I receive loads of beneficial information from these professional outlets, there is one invaluable resource that gives me inspiration and education more than any other. That resource is a group of fellow shop owners I have come to know from all over the United States.

These women are the movers and shakers of the sewing industry. When we all come together, the synergy is formidable. We freely share quilting and business ideas, help each other solve problems that come up, and even share our quilt samples with each other. This may sound like a quality group of business contacts, but to us, it is so much more.

Over the years, we have become far more than mere business contacts: We have become friends. The closeness we share extends beyond our businesses. Our friendship is strong through successes and through struggles. Each of these ladies is always ready to lend a happy ear in times of prosperity and a shoulder to cry on in times of difficulty. Our closeness stems from a kinship not only as shop owners, but also as creative individuals; there is art and color woven into everything we do. I am so fortunate to have these ladies in my life, and sharing the Sewing SEWcial Shop Hop together is icing on the cake.

We have all worked together to create the Sewing SEWcial shop hop. The process has been challenging at times, but always fun and always worth it. We have each put a little piece of ourselves and a lot of love into this project, so every time one of these unique blocks is created, I hope the sewist feels a little of our friendship in her fabric.

Sewing SEWcial is a national online shop hop with 11 exclusive custom batiks, 12 unique blocks created by the 12 friends, and 12 beautiful finishing kits available at each participating store. For more information, click here.

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Thousands of People Coming Together

2/8/2018

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Each year, I set goals to help me stay on track. When I began setting the goals I wanted to accomplish this year, I knew I wanted to celebrate my loyal customers. My overarching goal this year is to show gratitude through generosity. By giving away the Women of the Bible quilt pattern, I realized I had the perfect opportunity to honor my resolutions.

With such a large quilt, the logistics of the giveaway had to be carefully orchestrated. I wanted to make sure no one felt intimidated by the large project, so I chose to give away the patterns in small increments of two blocks at a time. I hoped having just two blocks (not a daunting 40 blocks!) would encourage folks to begin right away. It is a small challenge to complete two blocks every two weeks, and to my surprise and amazement, many of you instantly took advantage of this project and began making your blocks the very day they were released.

When I say many folks are doing this, I mean above and beyond any number I ever dreamed possible! Of the ones we know for certain, easily over 1,000 are taking up the challenge. Though we can’t be sure if each quiltnow.com visitor is actually completing the quilt, we do know that over 24,000 people have visited the Women of the Bible page on our website. In the Women of the Bible Facebook Group alone, we have over 900 members. I am absolutely blown away by the response to this project, and I am thrilled that so many people are working together on this beautiful quilt.

With so many people participating, I really enjoy seeing the unique personality each person puts into the blocks, and I love that we are able to offer an opportunity to see and to share on the Women of the Bible Facebook group. In this group, members share pictures of their finished blocks, ask and answer questions, receive and give encouragements, and generally, thrive in the online quilting community we’ve created. There are many in the group who have great skill piecing and showing their blocks, but there are also many who have mentioned this is their first quilt to work on in many years or is their first quilt ever! I have seen where groups are completing this quilt with their church, announcing it in their bulletins, and combining it with a Bible study, and I am reminded why I love this quilt so much. With a project like the Women of the Bible quilt, I can’t help but use a biblical comparison, so in the words of David in Psalm 23, “My cup runneth over.” I am overflowing with excitement and encouragement in hearing that young quilters and wise quilters, out-of-practice quilters and quilting addicts, experienced quilters and brand-new quilters have all taken up the challenge of learning about the inspirational women of the Bible as they work together on the Women of the Bible quilt.

The Prairie Quilt Women of the Bible Facebook group is classified as a closed group, so you will need to send us a request to join, and I highly encourage you to do so if you haven’t already. We are receiving requests daily, and they are coming, literally, from all over the world. We have members from Nigeria, Switzerland, and Belgium to name a few. Again, this turnout is above and beyond what I could’ve anticipated, and I am ecstatic about the results and the reach of the program!

Continuing the goals of celebration, gratitude and generosity, there will be even more goodies for our participants later in the year on the Facebook page. All of us at Prairie Quilt genuinely love seeing your blocks, whether they are from your scrap stash or thoughtfully coordinated. We ask you to generously share your finished works, because it may inspire another person to begin their blocks. Then, the generosity spreads like the ripple from a single drop of water, from each of us to another, and another, and yet another.

Winston Churchill once said, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” I think that is how God would like us to be as well.

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This DID get messy!

This could get messy...

From Business Acquaintances to Best Friends

Thousands of People Coming Together

Randa Parrish

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