Just Wanna Quilt

Amy Milne, Executive Director for Quilt Alliance talks to us about all things quilty and the role of the Quilt Alliance in preservation, education and community. http://quiltalliance.org. Go to www.justwannaquilt for more on this interview and others!

I think nearly everyone at the moment has been taught how to free motion quilt from Leah Day's videos. She is a quilter and Internet sensation. She is also a savvy entrepreneur​ who has built​ an empire of loyal quilters. ​ Leah was so gracious to come on and chat with us before we began. (And I did an​ episode for her podcast, which will air later in the spring). She is amazing.

This is the second part of a two-part interview with the Crafty Gemini, Vanessa Vargas Wilson, where we continue our talk about being a craft entrepreneur on the Internet.

Vanessa gave us a lot of time talking about her life as the Crafty Gemini. She told us about her life, and how she became an Internet sensation. This is part one of two.

Julia loves to quilt. She is a teen librarian in a public library in the suburbs of Chicago, where she teaches beginning sewing.  She has also made amazingly complex quilts.  Her story was the first recording.  She told of the importance of family, of creativity, and fabric.  Julia has been part of our Quilting Army from the beginning -- from the summer. And she is awesome. She will be leading our team at the Chicago Quilt Festival in April.

Patty Cooper and Elizabeth Townsend Gard talk about their first impressions of Quilt Festival in Houston about the preview night of Quilt Festival.

Tsoniki creates beautiful quilts. She also had a 50-episode podcast before her husband was transferred abroad as part of the military. She talks about her life of moving, of quilting, and talking to people as part of her podcast.

Janice Peachy is a quilter I met through a mutual friend. She is incredible. She tells us stories of why she quilts, and how quilting has followed her through her life. She travels, she fosters babies, and she creates lovely quilts. It was a memorable afternoon chatting with her.

Judy Walker, my neighbor, and Judy Eliot, her sister from Oklahoma, talk about their very quilty family. This is one of the first interviews that we conducted. Judy is part of the Quilting Army, and went with me to Quilt Market. She is a writer and an amazing cook (she writes about food). She and Jill are also quilters.

Heather teaches courses at Quilt Market and Quilt Festival in Houston. She has agreed to be part of our Quilting Army. She has a great philosophy that comes from her years as an attorney focused on litigation and mediation, "Just Ask" when you are not sure. We are going to have more conversations with her about copyright and other areas of intellectual property. She is really fun, and super knowledgeable. She's an attorney for many quilt entrepreneurs and quilt companies.

Mattie Rhodes Haine of Quiltsmart sent us a box of goodies, and we talk about her company's strategy of using printed interface as a technique of quilting. She is also the genius behind the extraordinarily popular Mondo bag. She is an​ amazing quilt entrepreneur.

Maureen Collins is one of the only law professors to write on quilting! She has been part of the project from the first conversations. She teaches at John Marshall Law School, where she requires her law students to make small art quilts as part of her art law class. We have a high level discussion about quilting, copyright and other areas of intellectual property. If you are a bit lost, you soon will learn some of the basic concepts. We will be posting "copyright concepts and quilting" shortly.

Todd Purcell talks to us about the start of Superior Threads, which was begun by his mom and dad. We learn about thread - how its made, which one to use, and much more. If you ever wondered about thread, this is the show for you. We'll be having more conversations about thread with Todd Purcell soon!​​

Edith Gross is a quilter and has a longarm quilting business. She has only been quilting a few years. She is remarkable. Creative, beautiful work, in all kinds of styles, Edith's quilting is a site to behold. I'm in love with a couple of her pieces. We had a great chat. She joined the Quilting Army, and I hope we have many more conversations in the future.

Cheryl Sleboda is an award winning art quilter who also speaks and teaches to guilds and shops around the country. Cheryl’s been featured in magazines, newspapers, and on Quilting Arts TV, It's Sew Easy TV and Make It Artsy. She also has been an executive of a specialty market retail industry for 20 years, and she teaches niche retailers how to grow their businesses through technology. Cheryl has recently started a new business focused on sewing and products for cosplayers. Follow her adventures at www.muppin.com and www.sewmuchcosplay.com. This is the first of at least two conversations with Cheryl. She has joined our Quilting Army, and so we are hoping she comes back to chat often!

Bob Ruggiero, Director of publications and Public Information for Quilts, Inc. sat down with us to talk about Quilt Market (the quilt industry show, which is in Houston every Fall, and then moves around in the Spring) and Quilt Festival (the public show in Houston in the Fall, and this year, in Chicago in the Spring). He talks about the role of Quilt Market in the quilting industry and so much more.

A preview of what the new research podcast "Just Wanna Quilt" is all about. We will chat about all things quilting -- with quilters, quilt entrepreneurs, famous quilter, industry folk, historians, scholars, and so much more. Oh, and we talk about copyright and other intellectual property issues just for fun. We are more than a podcast! We are a Quilting Army. Join our Facebook group - www.facebook/justwannaquilt/

A five-minute overview of the new podcast, Just Wanna Quilt, a research podcast coming out of Tulane Law School. We are interested in all things quilty, and we are interviewing everyone -- to understand why they quilt. We are also interviewing quilt entrepreneurs​, famous quilters, quilt historians, and quilt industry leaders.​ Our host is Dr. Elizabeth Townsend Gard, a law professor specializing in intellectual property, and more specifically copyright, and she just wants to quilt.