I Love Notions

Latest Episodes:

Shari Butler - Doohikey Designs Aug 28, 2023

Show notes

Doohikey Designs® is the work of artist Shari Butler. Since childhood she has always been involved with the arts and crafts. Whether it’s from tickling the ivory keyboard, singing a song, or doodling on a piece of paper, She always has something brewing in her creative mind and spirit.
Shari’s beautiful work is populated with vintage like characters and whimsical designs that are inspired from her childhood. With the opportunities of freelancing with some national companies, she was inspired to follow her own dream and to search for her own creative niche.
Shari fell in love with quilting, sewing, and the idea of fabric. She loves and is inspired by the idea that someday when someone makes a quilt with her designs it will be passed down from generation to generation.
Her style is vintage with a modern twist in her surface designs. She is always exploring the arts, and how to increase her skill set through all different types of media. As a surface designer, she’s always in the creative mode. You never know what she will be designing next.
When she discovered the community of quilting, she found her passion and dream job in designing fabric. She now is pursuing creating notions, embroidery patterns, pet products, and more under her brand name, Doohikey Designs®.
Shari is the creator of Binding Babies® a new craft and quilt notion.
Shari has become a business nerd, and has taken after her father's entrepreneurial spirit. She is excited to serve you better by bringing, and creating products that you will love.

Calista Ngai - Wonderfil Specialty Threads Aug 28, 2023

Show notes

Wonderfil Thread is a family owned company founded in 1988. They're a Canadian business that began with a single rayon embroidery thread line that has expanded to include threads as fine as 100wt and as heavy as 3wt!
Now an international company participating in over 100 events worldwide each year, you may have visited the Wonderfil booth at your favorite quilt show. Their current thread lines include cotton, polyester, rayon, metallic, and wool. And, they've expanded to notions as well! We hope you enjoy this interview with Calista Ngai of Wonderfil Specialty Threads!

Natalie - Sew Hungry Hippie Aug 22, 2023

Show notes

Natalie is a former Army Nurse Corps Officer turned (self-proclaimed) tree hugging, granola eating "hippie". She creates patterns for sewing and quilting projects, lots of tutorials, and other quick makes that are modern and fresh, with the aim of helping everyone through - no matter their skill level. Sewhungryhippie is all about MAKING. Just get started and stop worrying about the rest. FOR REAL.
Among other things, she is known for her COLORFUL and easy to sew vinyl selection -- she has you covered if you're new to sewing this material! She also carries amazing hardware, zippers, and notions! She has great style, and will only sell what she would use and would buy herself.
Please enjoy this fabulous interview with Natalie of Sew Hungry Hippie!

Swan Sheridan - Swan Amity Studios Aug 21, 2023

Show notes

Swan Sheridan lives in Tucson, Arizona with her super hero husband and teenaged daughter. She has a passion for all things textile and has dabbled in everything from spinning wool to dying fiber. In 2001, Swan made her first quilt in preparation for the birth of her first nephew. In the interests of covering a mistake in that first project, she used a little applique at the center of the project and perhaps it was that combination of piecing and applique that acted as a catalyst. Quilting has been the preferred obsession, ever after.
Swan began designing her own quilts from the beginning, making patterns on freezer paper and working to figure out her pieces from scratch. In 2009, with her daughter in preschool, Swan began to refine her applique skills and set out to push her skills to the limit, but always with unique designs. Soon after she took a job with Bella Quiltworks in Tucson, offering her the opportunity to be immersed in the quilting world in a whole new way.
Swan began producing patterns for sale in early 2013 and regularly exhibits her work in local and national shows. She teaches in Tucson and around the country, offering classes in appliqué, color, machine quilting, painting, and decorative stitches.
On any given day, you can find this quilt artist half buried in fabric, brandishing her needle and thread, and otherwise surrounded by implements of creativity.

Daniela Stout - Cozy Quilt Designs Aug 21, 2023

Show notes

In this interview with Daniela Stout, we talk about her Strip Tube Ruler (and Junior!) and how they came to be.

Daniela Stout is the owner of Cozy Quilt Shop in El Cajon, which opened in 2003. Daniela was a marketing manager for a book distributor, and dreamed of running her own business with her husband Rick. Rick had the business know-how and Daniela had a passion for quilting. After many months of dreaming, planning, and exploring, they took the leap. And have loved it ever since.

Why “Cozy Quilt Shop”? Their kids call a blanket of any kind a “cozy.” When they are cold, or when they are sick, they ask for a cozy. It's a name that means home and comfort to the Stout family. And that’s just what they wanted for their new store.

As the business grew, they launched a line of patterns called Cozy Quilt Designs. They also launched the greatest “of-the-month” program called "Strip Club!" Each month they offer a coordinated bundle of about 40 – 2 ½” strips and a new original pattern to help put the strips to use. They have a lecture once a month to debut the new sample and present the pattern. It's a lot of fun for everyone and everyone is welcome. While they put this event on hold because of stupid covid and stupid cancer, it’s back and you should absolutey go and join the fun!

As you may have gathered from the “stupid cancer” comment above, Daniela was diagnosed with cancer. It was on her 49th birthday, November 10, 2020. Ovarian cancer. Stage 3b. It was a bumpy path with some very low lows. As with all cancer journeys, it was a frightening time. But we are happy to report things took a turn for the better, and we are expecting the words "remission" and "maintenance" to overshadow chemotherapy and infusion.

Daniela is truly an inspiration to many quilters, and quilt shop owners... we're so happy to share her story this week on the podcast!

Julie Luoma - Off the Wall Quilt Aug 14, 2023

Show notes

Julie accidentally started quilting in 2010 and hasn't looked back. She has taught all across the US and brings a fun, relaxed teaching style to every venue. From publishing 2 books, traveling around the country, inventing new quilting toys to teaching, lecturing and running a business, she brings a wealth of life experiences along with her own style of quilting. Currently, she and her husband live in Florida where they run Off the Wall Quilt, a company specializing in custom rulers and templates. They’ve raised 3 children, hosted 12 exchange students and moved across the country. Traveling to quilt shows, they’ve seen most of the USA and in between visited a few other countries. Julie sees life as an adventure and is eager to see what comes next.

Christa Watson - Christa Quilts Aug 14, 2023

Show notes

Christa Watson is an enthusiastic, award-winning quilter from Las Vegas, Nevada who enjoys teaching others to find joy in making “perfectly imperfect” quilts from start to finish. She's an author, traveling teacher, pattern designer, fabric designer, occasional quilt judge, and quilting industry ambassador. She is a cheerleader for the "do-it-yourself” machine quilting movement who believes that quilts don't have to be perfect to be functional and beautiful.
Christa has been making her living in the quilting industry for over 20 years, and she believes that if you can dream it, you can do it! Follow her online @christaquilts, christaquilts.tv and christaquilts.com.

Helen Stubbings of Hugs N Kisses Aug 14, 2023

Show notes

Hailing from the picturesque landscapes of Hobart, Tasmania (Australia) meet Helen Stubbings—a pioneering force in the quilting universe, celebrated for her ingenious techniques that seamlessly blend innovation with approachability. Helen's journey is a captivating exploration of artistic passion meeting practical brilliance.

As the creative genius behind "Hugs 'n Kisses" since 2001 Helen has redefined the art of quilting through her ground-breaking appliqué paper and English Paper Piecing (EPP) iron-on products. These revolutionary methods have transformed traditional quilting into a realm of modern convenience and limitless imagination.

With a warm and inclusive teaching approach, Helen has empowered a global community of crafters to embrace her game-changing tools. Her workshops, books and patterns serve as guiding lights, illuminating the path for enthusiasts to effortlessly create intricate designs using the precision of appliqué paper or the ease of EPP iron-on shapes.

Helen’s main passion is the ‘therapy of stitching’ and she strives to both provide methods and tools to achieve this, whilst championing the vision of ‘making a difference’ through our craft.

With over 500 patterns, 7 books, and several notions developed to make the process enjoyable and achievable by all, Helen has travelled the world teaching, sharing and educating for many years. Her quilts have won many awards across Australia and the USA and her methods and notions are used by quilters in all corners of the world. Her skills have also extended to fabric design, thread collections and surface pattern design.

Years of tutorials and how to’s are provided by Helen to assist you with their HNK products and EasyHNK techniques at the links at iLoveNotions.com. Find on our YouTube channel, on our website and at the online academy.

I Love Notions Season 1 Trailer Aug 01, 2023

Show notes

We're so excited to announce the very first Season of I Love Notions is launching August 15th!