Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Blog Tour, Coming In November!

Dear Friends . . .

Please join me in Quiltmaker Magazine's 100 Blocks Blog Tour!

SuzGuz Designs, along with other quilt pattern designers from across the country, will be participating in an upcoming Blog Tour, hosted by Quiltmaker Magazine, in celebration of their 2nd Volume of "Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks" special publication, out soon!

Tour dates are Monday, November 8 through Friday, November 12, 2010.  Click on the button and go directly to Quiltmaker's site for more information.

Looking forward to lots of fun and give-aways!

Susan

Buying My Bottle of Pet Rocks

In my Concept Development class that I'm taking now, we're talking about point-of-purchase (POP) displays.  It is interesting to note how effective they can be.  Whether you're at the fabric store, in line to check out with your groceries, or stopping by a drug store, the cash registers are always laden with little extras to entice us.  And it works!  One nationally known retailer has taken it to an entirely new level, where they corral you down an aisle full of POP items.  Brilliant on their part; where you don't have a choice but to look all around you while you wait in line for your turn to check-out.  Pretty smelling candles, do-dads for the kitchen, decorative frames, books, movies, and even funky socks.  Most of the items are about $10 or less.  However, the enticing isn't over yet.  When you're called to be checked out, as you approach the register, you'll see other POP displays, calling out to your hunger pangs or luring you in, visually.

I was trying to remember what I bought last, while at the cash register.  I think it was my bottle of Mary Ellen's Best Press.  Lavender Fields.  If you haven't tried ME's line of pressing spray, you really ought to try a bottle.  My friend, Kari Ramsay, turned me onto it a few years ago, while attending my second International Quilt Market.  It truly is a marvelous product to buy on impulse!

Remember the pet rock? One of the one-hit-wonders of the retail world!  Do you have any "pet rock" ideas?  All it takes is one small, quirky idea that you may have, and then act upon it.  

Fashion:

...one of my passions that has taken a back seat to my business, but one I still thoroughly enjoy keeping up on!  I'm rather classic, when it comes to dressing, but I do like asymmetrical lines, zippers where they peak someone's attention, embellishments that should be framed and shown in an art gallery . . . I love clothing and accessories that are timeless, yet give you the excuse to smile at how clever they are.

If you love fashion, check out this fabulous blog to give you inspiration and insight as to what is happening in one of the fashion capitals of the world: NYC.

The Satorialist.

It speaks for itself.

Reflections of a Quilt Pattern Designer

Often times, I come in here and have so much I want to talk about but can't.  It can be very daunting, keeping things under wraps!  I'm so thankful for all of the work that has come my way.  Recently, I've taken on extra freelance work and am taking a class for a course I'm taking through The Art Institute of Pittsburgh's online division.  It is a program that will take me into late next summer, 2011 that I'm counting on to expand what I already do.

One thing I can mention is that I'll have a quilt in the upcoming November/December 2010 issue of McCall's Quilting.  It is a quilt I called: Highland's March.  I had the pattern for sale on my site, but decided to pull it with the upcoming issue to hit newsstands within the next month.  I'm so glad to be able to offer free patterns through the magazines that keep me busy!  The quilt has a subtle 3-D effect to it with one of the borders and when I was finished making it, a few years ago, it reminded me of a quilt that would have traveled across the states heading west in a covered wagon.  The fabrics used are from Quilting Treasures and are reproduction.  I hope you'll like it!

So, what do I do on a daily basis?  It changes daily, so I'll touch on today's work, which consists of some editing, prepping binding for two new upcoming quilt patterns (look for them in October!), responding to e-mails, working on future designs, and checking in with my online class.  I also have patterns to prep and mail for shops, a distributor, and a new customer.  What I'm working on today may not be seen for up to 8 months.  And although it is still very exciting to reveal projects coming out, I typically have my head in projects that are starting a new 8 month process.  It is a crazy business, yet so satisfying.

What I enjoy most about what I do is the variety.  I like that I'm able to work with the latest in fabric colors and designs, I'm able to keep my basic math skills up when writing patterns, and I'm able to see my designs come to life from a basic sketch.

My FIRST Cover!

Beth Hayes and the amazingly talented staff of McCall's Quilting gave me a great surprise:  My first cover!

Photo compliments of McCall's Quilting, Sept/Oct 2010 Issue

Please check out this issue, on newsstands soon: McCall's Quilting Magazine, September/October 2010.  I have two quilts in this issue (also a first!).  Hope you'll enjoy . . .

Savon Bouquet and Patchwork Rendezvous

I was browsing through Fabric.com's website and saw where they have 19 different fabrics from the Savon Bouquet line on sale for $3.99/yard . . .

I used Savon Bouquet for my quilt sample on the cover of my pattern: Patchwork Rendezvous.

This pattern still sells strongly and I thought I'd mention the great pricing for the fabric.

If you are interested in purchasing the pattern to make the quilt using this fabric, keep in mind that I used 25 different fat quarters for the finished quilt.

Fabric images from Fabric.com's website.

A First: Quilting Together Quilting Retreat

I received an invitation from my friend, Carolyn Beam, Creative Editor for Quiltmaker Magazine, to attend a new quilting retreat in Chicago, this year. It is called: Quilting Together in Chicago, and will be held September 29th - October 2, 2010. I will not be able to attend, but hope you can!

The Quilting Together website says that it "is the first event to bring together editors from you favorite quilting magazines with industry experts and innovators to provide avid quilters with a quilting retreat like no other."

In addition to Carolyn, Sherri Bain Driver, a former colleague, and Angie Hodapp, Editor-in-Chief of Quilters Newsletter, will also be holding a class. Sherri is Associate Editor of McCall's Quilting, McCall's Quick Quilts, and the McCall's Special Issues magazines.

Other instructors who will be teaching are Marianne Fons, co-founder of Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting magazine, Jo Morton, quilt artist, fabric designer, teacher, author, and lecturer, Dawn Cavanaugh, award winning custom freehand quilter, Jodie Davis, "quilting enabler" and host of Quilt Out Loud & Quilt It!, and Nancy Mahoney, author, teacher, and fabric designer.

Image and information obtained from the Quilting Together in Chicago website.