Adria Good - the growth of a longarm quilter

Adria Good has been quilting for a very long time! She's quilted through getting married...kids...homeshooling...basketball coaching...all the things.

Her story is one of learning and growing.
New idea?  Research and learn.
New upgrade?  Practice, and expand capabilities.
New challenge? Take it one step at a time. You CAN do the hard things.

Listen to hear all these stories and more.  Adria has grown from sewing simple plush toys with her first sewing machine to working at an industrial longarm quilting machine. She now produces YouTube video and online courses, teaching women all over the world the art of free motion quilting.

Adria can be found in all these places:
Facebook
Quilting school
Instagram
YouTube
Tiktok

Want to try free motion quilting but don't know where to start? Here's 3 simple steps to get going.

Transcript

Susan: 0:49

Welcome to Measure Twice, Cut Once, the podcast about life and business lessons, from a quilter's point of view, I grew up making quilts alongside my mom in the traditional methods, cutting with scissors and cardboard templates, sewing without the benefit of squaring up, and then of course, hand quilting. Fast forward a few years and these days I can be found behind my longarm, Stella, either quilting or teaching the art of quilting entirely freehand. Quilting has become my livelihood and it is still my joy. So Measure Twice, Cut once will bring you stories from my experience, lessons learned, and crafting journeys from other makers as well. Quilters. Are you wanting more quilting designs, more tips, and more help and community? ADVANCE, my membership for quilters may be just what you're looking for. There's brand new content delivered each and every month, and it varies. Sometimes new freehand designs, sometimes quilt alongs, guest teachers, case studies, and more. It's a more in-depth version of my quilting reality show on YouTube. One recent lesson is on creating a do-it-yourself quilt journal with guest presenter Joan Parker. In it she shows us very simple ways to track all of our works in progress, create micro goals, and just get'em done. Advance is a monthly subscription and you can join or cancel at any time. Click the link in the show notes for more details. I love organization. I am always looking for ways to make my sewing tools easier to find, easier to see what I, in fact have, just plain easier to use. My sewing table, which is a repurposed desk, has a couple of drawers and I've utilized silverware organizers to keep like things together. Silverware organizers, of course, just have long, slim compartments, but it works really well for marking utensils or scissors... rulers...screwdrivers... You name it. It's a great way to keep them all visible and ready to use,

3:04

Adria Good has been quilting for a very long time. She's quilted through getting married, kids, homeschooling, basketball coaching, all the things. Her story is one of learning and growing. New idea? Research and learn. New upgrade? Practice and expand capabilities. New challenge? Take it one step at a time. Adria has grown from sewing simple plush toys with her first sewing machine to working at an industrial long arm quilting machine. She now produces YouTube videos and online courses, teaching quilters all over the world, the art of free motion quilting. Let's meet Adria now.

Adria: 3:44

thank you so much for having me. I'm excited.

Susan: 3:47

I am too. I've been following you for a long time, but it's just in recent months that it seems like you've come across my screen an awful lot of times and I thought, I bet we'd have something in common to talk about. So let's do it. Let's maybe start at the very beginning. A very good place to start. What brought you into quilting or sewing?

Adria: 4:09

Well, it has been about 18 years that I started long arm quilting, and it even goes back a little farther than that whenever I was in high school. And I'm not gonna make this a forever long story but when I was a senior, my parents got me a sewing machine. for Christmas, and my dad couldn't understand why, because I had no interest in sewing whatsoever. and my mom was a sower. My grandma made wedding dresses and costumes and all kinds of things, but after they got me that machine, I kind of took off with it and started making different things. And at that time, I was already thinking about getting married. My husband and I had been dating for quite a few years, and my mom knew that a sewing machine would come in handy. So that's how I started into the sewing realm. So was

Susan: 5:08

that kind of garment sewing At that time? It

Adria: 5:12

was more little things to sit around, like a little stuffed frog and little patterns like that. Yeah. More crafty. and the only quilting my mom had done, and my grandma were mostly tied quilts. where you would tie with yarn, so not a lot of piecing. And then after I got married, my cousin had contacted my mom and said that she was making a. Family heirloom quilt, and would we each be interested in making one house block that she could take and incorporate into a family heirloom quilt. So everyone was all for it and everyone went shopping and bought fabric. And then we all decided we all wanted to make a family heirloom, quilt We didn't wanna just give away a quilt block. So that kind of got us started into piecing. And after going to the quilt shop, my mom had seen a stack and slash real simple quilt pattern. And, uh, really liked the pattern and thought it would be something easy that we could try. And so after the whole house block, project was finished, we decided to try this stack and slash and it was my mom, my grandma, and my aunt, and some other friends and family. and we met in my mom's garage and she said, just bring so much fabric and this is what we're gonna try. And that started our quilt guild and we still meet, uh, once or twice a month, to this day. So that's kind of started our quilt group.

Susan: 6:53

That's great. So did you find that everyone had, did you all agree on that first project and like it, or do you find that there's really varying interests and styles among your group?

Adria: 7:04

At that time, we were all very new to quilting and piecing, and so that really did spark the fire to everyone. Then down the road, there are some that absolutely hate applique and there are some that absolutely love it, and everyone, they each have their color schemes and their different styles that they like. So it's been neat to see through the years everyone kind of develop their little niche.

Susan: 7:32

It's so fascinating to me that to people who don't make quilts, right? When you say I'm a quilt maker, they usually think of that as grandma's hobby, right? But in fact, it is such a broad, broad range of tastes and styles. There truly is something for everyone. You mentioned applique, then there's the people that like foundation paper piecing or English paper piecing by hand. Or the ones like me who love strip piecing and doing it fast and mass production and there's something for everyone. It's so fascinating.

Adria: 8:03

Well, since we were all meeting at different times and starting projects and finishing quilt tops, we then began to accumulate quilt tops, and we were doing a lot of home machine quilting, a lot of straight line quilting. But as you get piecing bigger quilts, it gets harder and harder to do that. And there are many people that do it beautifully on their domestic machines, and I think that's pretty amazing. Cuz I've done some and I know it's fairly difficult. It is. So at one point my mom decided to look into a longarm. And we had a quilt shop not too far away, so she went and did some investigating and researching and decided to purchase an HQ 16.

Susan: 8:51

So just in case we have any listeners who don't know what a long arm is, and since your mom is researching, let's give them a quick definition of what a long arm quilting machine is

Adria: 9:01

they come in many different shapes and sizes, but in general it would be. Like a domestic machine, but elongated and turned so that you would be standing at the end of, this giant sewing machine, but it would be, uh, fixed on a long table and runs on wheels so that you would load your quilt onto a frame and then move this long arm machine across the quilt to do the quilting. Good

Susan: 9:30

description. Okay. On with your story.

Adria: 9:34

So mom decided to buy this HQ 16, and the only place she really had to put it was in the garage, which is attached to the house. And it was heated, so it worked, and all the boxes came and it. The, shop owner was to come and help set it up, but unfortunately she had an injury and was not able to come. Well, we weren't wanting to wait. So we put in the D V D and figured out how to set everything up and we got it going and couldn't wait to start actually using the longarm.

Susan: 10:13

That sounds like a lot of fun. Now, having just assembled one myself, with my husband, not all by myself, I have a pretty good understanding of what that entails. It is an Ikea bookshelf times 100

Adria: 10:27

Exactly, exactly. And leading up to that point, we had been practicing designs on paper and getting ready and very excited about this whole idea of having a long arm. So once we got it all set up, we would just load muslin and, you know, start playing around, practicing the things that we had been drawing. And there was a ministry at our church and they were sending out quilts to different organizations. and we thought, wow, what a great way to practice. Instead of just filling up muslin and not really knowing what to do with it, we could make these small little lap quilts and it would be a great size to practice the designs that we were learning. And those would just be like a nine patch block made into a 12 patch quilt. So very simple, big blocks, quick and easy to put. So that's how I did a lot of my practicing and learning new designs.

Susan: 11:30

I've done the same thing and honestly to this day, I recommend that to my students because it seems like every guild has some compassion or charitable type organization attached to it where they give away quilts. Quilters are generous people and they're always looking for people to quilt their projects. And like you say, they're small, they're not terribly threatening. And it's a great opportunity to try out new designs and yeah, just practice. Get your hand in.

Adria: 11:56

So we worked on some of those charity quilts and then started working also on some of our own quilt tops that we had accumulated. And on my Facebook page, I have shared a picture of one of my quilts that I tried my very first feather and it's great to look back. I've come a very long way, since that first feather.

Susan: 12:19

It's good to look back. I agree. And I feel like that's really, really encouraging for novice quilters to know that it's not magic quilting feathers. They seem to be the milestone. Quilting feathers is not magic. It is simply a matter of step-by-step learning and practice, isn't it?

Adria: 12:35

Absolutely. Well, at that time I had four kids. I had kids really quickly all in a row, and my kids were all, you know, still very little. I think my oldest was maybe six, so they were 6, 5, 4, and three.

Susan: 12:53

Wow!.

Adria: 12:54

And I was also homeschooling. So we would get our homeschooling done and then we would head over to my mom's house and I would get to go out and work on the long arm machine and we would take turns practicing and things like that. But eventually we talked about me possibly starting a business, and we came up with a plan that I would do a rent system to use her machine. So a certain percentage of what I brought in would go to her, and I only had about five designs that I was ready to offer to customers. Just simple meander loops, you know, some flowers and leaves and stars. And we knew enough people that we thought maybe we could get some people that were interested in having their quilts long armed. So that's what we ended up doing for about a year, that first year of business. And I'd load up the kids head to her house, and they loved it cuz it was grandma's house and they got to have a great time. And it was wonderful too cuz she usually ended up making dinner as well. So I was making out really great on that side of the deal. But we did that for about a year. And I started getting very busy, very consistent work coming in to the point where we decided it would be best if I bought the long arm from her and moved it to my house. So that was the next step. And she then went and bought another HQ 16. So now we both had long arms and she was working on her own tops as well, and. I also started another thing to help with gaining new clients. There was a quilt shop in town and I was getting to be friends with the quilt shop owner, and we got talking about the long arming and she actually let me set up a pickup and drop off system at the quilt shop. Every so many weeks or whenever someone had a quilt, I would either meet them there and discuss what they wanted on their quilt or they would just drop it off with a note and I would pick it up and we would, do that type of, uh, relationship for getting their quilts done.

Susan: 15:08

Again, quilters are seriously the most generous people, and I know, shop owners recognize it. It helps both of us, but my local shops do the same thing. They provide that availability to have secure, usually a locked closet or something like that, drop off and pick up, and we sure appreciate it. It makes it a lot easier when there's distances involved.

Adria: 15:28

Yes. For sure. And so several years went by and I just continued learning more and more free motion, and that is all I have done. I've never had a computerized machine, so I just continued to try new designs and continued to work on my feathers and also all the different types of feathers until it was time to take the next step, and I was ready to upgrade to an Avante which has a little bit wider throat than the HQ 16. And my husband is a construction guy, so he, uh created my quilt studio in the basement. So he moved in a new machine down there and I had a great place to store my batting and a large cutting table, and it just made it, uh, more functional as well.

Susan: 16:19

That does make it a lot easier, doesn't it? So I'm wondering, of course, how many, and this includes that timeframe and really to the present, how many quilts do you think you have freehand quilted?

Adria: 16:30

Oh my.

Susan: 16:30

Do you keep track? Do you keep track at all?

Adria: 16:33

Have not kept track. Um, the last few years, probably the last three to four, maybe more years. I started doing a list where I used to just, if someone would call, they'd bring it and drop it off, and I would just do that constantly. But then I got to where I had 40 or 50 quilts at my home all lined up, and it got to be a lot. So I decided, well, maybe I'll do a list instead. That way I don't have that many quilts here and have to store them. And so I would open my list usually in January at some time, and within two weeks I had a year's worth of work lined up.

Susan: 17:17

So people didn't necessarily drop them off or mail them to you, they were booked at that point, right? Yes. Got it. Yes. That makes sense. Mm-hmm.

Adria: 17:26

And been about six years now. I've had my YouTube channel and my kids are the ones who suggested that I start a YouTube channel. And I wasn't really sure how to do that. Uh, I knew I didn't really want to be on camera and teaching necessarily, but I did wanna show the quilting. And so what developed was just filming my quilting and putting it to music, and that seemed to be a real hit.

Susan: 17:59

Mm-hmm. It sure is, and that is certainly where I first met you was, you know, in watching some of your videos because you just show the whole process without, I mean, there is some editing in your entire video, but when you're quilting a border or a segment, we just get to see the whole thing in real time as it's progressing. And honestly, there's, there's a level of teaching just in that, just in showing how you do it. And I appreciated that Well, I was very excited that the YouTube videos were doing so well. It was right before I started the YouTube channel that I upgraded one more time and got a Gammill long arm and it has a 26 inch throat. So it was another upgrade so that I could do wider spaces at a time. Still not computerized, you know, still all free motion quilting and one of the bonuses of that machine, it has the channel locks, and those are really great for doing the piano key borders and other straight line quilt. I agree. I do love those. And, and for some of our listeners who may not be as familiar with that brand, there are other machines that have channel locks, but what Gammill does so well is they have magnetic ones. So literally at the push of a button, that magnet clamps down on one set of rails or the other, and then it leaves you just able to sew in one direction. So you can do perfectly vertical lines in a sequence or perfectly horizontal lines in a sequence just at the push of a button on and off. And it is a really great feature.

Adria: 19:34

Well, after doing the YouTube channel for a couple years, I started getting comments and questions as to where do I sign up for your classes? And I didn't have any classes so that was very interesting to me. I, I hadn't really thought about doing that. I was just very busy with the long arm business, and also homeschooling the kids. So through all this time, we went through different styles of homeschooling and I was just so thankful that I could do a business at home and still have that opportunity to homeschool my kids. And so things were very busy. I also coached girls volleyball and some basketball throughout those years and I never had really stopped to think about doing any type of teaching for long arm,

Susan: 20:27

and I'm really curious to hear this because it seems to me that the usual trajectory in the quilting industry anyway, is that you learn how to do something and learn how to do it really well, or you develop a product and then you go on sort of a teaching circuit with it, right? So either you become a vendor at quilt shows or a teacher at quilt shows, and that's how you build. You establish your authority, you build a base of followers, you get known and visible. And I'm just so curious how you came to the point that you would rather do online or digital courses instead of that traveling. Well, this is kind of funny because I felt like I was in this little bubble of my basement. You know, I was quilting constantly for people and really enjoying it. Yes, it was stressful at times. There's always gonna be issues with, is it for a show? Is it something really intricate? Um, even with the YouTube videos. I probably wouldn't be stressed at all to make a video about meandering, but when it comes to feathers and stuff that is more tedious and intricate, there's still a level of stress that I have, even though I've done many, many quilts. so once I got thinking about possibly teaching, uh, it was right around 2020 and a lot of people were doing the classes, and I just didn't know about doing live. I was more interested in doing a prerecorded class of some type and. I ended up just taking a poll because at this point I had, a lot of people on my Facebook page and Instagram as well, and I thought, well, let's see what people want or if they'd even be interested. I really didn't know, so I had asked a question to my Facebook followers, you know, would you be interested? in long arm classes and I was really blown away by the response, yes, we would love that. That would be amazing. And I thought, wow. Okay. I, it sounds like there's quite a bit of interest. And once 2020 came around, I thought, well, it's time to ask another question. Would you be interested in live or would you be interested in pre-recorded courses? And I would say 98% of the comments were; we would like pre-recorded something that we can do on our own time. And I thought, okay, well that sounds like something I could probably do. I've had the same experience. And it makes sense really because you're learning a skill. a skill that requires practice to execute, and you want to be able to watch it over and over again to press rewind and watch it again, and watch it again, and watch it again. Right? So that's the whole advantage of having it pre-recorded more than maybe an informational lesson might be. Right? Yeah. Then too, just the logistics of trying to, um, show live the quilting at such a giant machine as we use. Right. You can't just have one camera pointed toward your working surface because you're moving 10 or 12 feet in the course of your recording. So all those things come into play. So pre-recording makes complete sense to me.

Adria: 23:42

Mm-hmm. Well, there was a lot to learn because I just didn't know. I wasn't, like you said, I wasn't really affiliated with anyone. I didn't have a crew Right. It's just me back here, figuring this all out. And thankfully, my one son is really into computers and so he helped me get a computer and what to get and how to get it set up and something that had lots of memory, all of that technical stuff. And then my other son is very much into film and editing. He also has a YouTube channel, and so he gave me a lesson on editing software and getting that all set up. But the big question for me was how do I film, you know, this lesson and then make it available to people? That was the big question in my mind. How does that work? So that was the next step of my research and reaching out to other quilters that I've become friends with. and getting their opinions, and I came to find, Teachable was a great platform that I could upload videos and create a course that would be available to people.

Susan: 25:02

And what the platform does, and I think probably most people listening have used them over the last couple years of the pandemic, but courses are usually offered through this third party type of platform that hosts them. So then every student can just log into that platform. It's not directly on your website, and it makes a convenient hub. So all year courses can be there, and in fact, students can have courses from different teachers all on that same h ub. That's what the platform means to us as course producers. It's super helpful

Adria: 25:34

and to me it answered those questions too. How do you handle credit cards? How do you handle payments? How do you handle all of that? And thankfully, do handle that and they do a wonderful job of being available. For live chat if I have a question or just answering questions in general, they just have been wonderful and I really like their platform. Uh, all of my courses are downloadable and that makes it lifetime access for the students so they can download it and have it to go back to at any point in time.

Susan: 26:08

Yep. Love that. So good. And that is just of supreme benefit, I think, to those that are learning how to quilt because as I said earlier, it is a thing that you must practice to learn and to be able to go back and view it again and again in some ways gives it more value than even an in-person class. As wonderful as they are to get out there and meet a quilter. You only get to see it the one time, and it's often diluted by the 30 students that are in the room. But when you go to these pre-recorded classes and have that lifetime access, it's the perfect learning tool in my mind.

Adria: 26:44

Well, once I figured out the platform and the editing software and things were starting to all come together, next question I guess was, what do I teach? how do I start this process of teaching classes? And I just decided, you know what, I'll start where I started with meander and loops and simple designs. And so I just picked out seven designs that I felt were the most simple to learn. And that's where my first course came to be, which is called Build Your Portfolio. And so the idea behind it is to start out simple, get a base for your designs, and then the next course kind of built on the first course. And so then you're learning ribbon and double bubble and just adding to, the designs that we learned. And I just continued to create courses, sort of the way that I learned them simplest, and then continuing to get more advanced as we go.

Susan: 27:53

that seems really wise. I'm curious too, you mentioned earlier that there was quite a learning curve as you're getting into teaching online, so I wonder if you would outline for us what some of those things were. You've mentioned, you know, learning the software, the video editing and learning what equipment you needed, but how was it to learn things like: how to present or teach something in a sequential order or how to be on camera, you know, and to be clear and to be friendly looking on camera, that does not come easily.

Adria: 28:23

That was definitely a struggle for me and for those who have done my courses, they have seen that I only do about two and a half minutes at the beginning of actual videoing of myself talking, doing an introduction, and then usually about two minutes at the end. So most of my filming is of my hands, and there will be a drawing section and then a quilting section for each design that we're doing in the course. But definitely the on camera has been a struggle for me. I'm not necessarily a public speaker, it's definitely something I, I struggle with, but I do have some experience as far as the teaching and, and coming up with the process, and I think that coaching volleyball has actually really helped me with that as well.

Susan: 29:17

And honestly, I think homeschooling does too. I was a homeschooler as well for about 15 years. And the idea that I had four children too, and they had different learning styles. So you were always trying to present a concept this way and then another way, and then to show it and then to give an example. And I think that all plays in our favor. We are just used to doing that now. So when we go to show a quilting design, we do the same thing. Think about it this way. Think about it this other way And offer those options that appeal, one of them will get through, right?

Adria: 29:52

Yes. That is a great example and I really did enjoy our homeschool experience. We had many different avenues that we went down. But all in all, I'm just so thankful we were able to, and my kids are glad we did too. They don't have regrets as far as, you know, I wish we would've been at in a school and something that kind of stands out to me is teaching them speech class. And I did have speech class. I went to a Christian school and we had speech class there. And so I had, you know, ideas and guidance as far as helping them learn how to do speech classes. And we created a little pulpit in the living room and I would call their name and they would have to walk up and do their presentation with, you know, us as their audience, and it was funny to watch that process because at first, everybody's trying not to giggle and hard to be serious. But they ended up coming up with really great speeches and just having them actually do it and go through that whole process. Uh, they were each able to give wonderful speeches at their graduation ceremonies, and so it was really neat to see that process, and then it, it has helped me as well.

Susan: 31:13

I a hundred percent agree. I think that, it's easy to overlook how essential or important of a skill that is, but it's the little things like being able to walk naturally when you're going on to the stage, being able to not have that nervous giggle, and there's no way to get past that other than to do it over and over and expose yourself to it, right? How to have a gracious smile at the end, how to graciously accept applause. All those things are really important skills and there's no shortcut to learning them, but by doing.

Adria: 31:45

Yep, absolutely. And then this learning process as far as creating the courses, you know, I will admit there was times where it was like, take number 10, let's see how this one goes.

Susan: 31:56

Only 10?

Adria: 32:00

So yes, definitely a learning process as far as being able to relax and be able to be yourself. And in the last course that I put out, it was the beginner custom quilting course, and that was the first course where I actually did lectures. And so I was talking about why to do custom quilting and what the difference would be from this quilt compared to this other quilt. And we just talked a lot about the different reasons why, like why would you c do custom? And that was the most I had been on camera and it actually did help me a lot. It helped me to relax and not, not stress out so much.

Susan: 32:44

Again, the best way to learn it is by doing it, but yeah, it's not really comfortable when you're in the process, is it?

Adria: 32:52

No Nope. Not at all. it's getting better and I'm just so thankful for the, the feedback that I've gotten from my students and I really love the fact that we can talk. You know, it's not just, here's a course, go watch it and see what happens. I have created a Facebook page for each of the courses or course groups, so you can join that Facebook page after your purchase and be in that group with other students that are doing the same course, and you can share your pictures. The students in there are just so encouraging to each other, and it's great to see, you know, this person might be struggling with their leaf design and just can't get it, and other people will hop in and, oh, I'm struggling too, or, this has helped me. and then I can address those issues as well. I can hop in, do an extra little video at times and say, maybe this could help. Maybe this is a little extra thing that you haven't tried yet. So having that communication with the students has been really amazing.

Susan: 34:01

We talk and we hear so often about the pitfalls of social media and social media platforms have become kind of large monsters. However, this is one example and there are many, but this is one example of how they have enriched our ability to communicate with each other. And it's a perfectly free platform. And you and I both use them to advantage, because it's a gathering place. And everyone, certainly, everyone in North America, I feel like, but many people around the world know how to use them. How incredible that we can easily be in touch with someone in Europe and someone in Australia and someone in India, and talk back and forth and share our ideas and our skills back and forth, and I am so grateful for that opportunity.

Adria: 34:48

I just have really enjoyed creating those bonds with the students and there are some that have been just working their way through each course as it's coming out. And to see the growth from when they started to now has just been so exciting and so encouraging to me to see that the courses are really helping quilters develop and add to their designs. I have some students that only did pantographs. That's all they knew. That's all they were really able to do.

Susan: 35:25

And a pantograph, just by definition, means that you're at the back of the machine and you have a laser light shining down onto a paper pattern, so you're not watching the needle and where it's stitching, you're literally tracing a paper pattern and the needle is off on the other side of the machine following suit and it's like training wheels. And those who have done them a lot, it's difficult to let go of that and simply be driving the machine entirely free motion. it's so worthwhile though. So worthwhile.

Adria: 35:55

Well, it's been neat to see those who have, I don't wanna say they felt trapped doing pantographs, but it was...

Susan: 36:03

Felt limited maybe?

Adria: 36:04

Yes, yes. Limited is the right word. And you know, I've seen them go from being in that limited area of just pantographs to really branching out and now they're doing feathers and they're doing an all over echo design or whatever it is and mm-hmm. just the confidence that they're building instead of, you know, being limited to that pantograph where they're just following and tracing a design and now they get to.

Susan: 36:37

Yep. So good. So good. Okay. I'd love to hear a little bit about your recent studio...is it makeover? Is it addition? I, you've seen pictures on your social media of this new area where you're working. Tell us about that.

Adria: 36:51

this area has, it's in our basement. My quilt room is right next to the area. If you've seen the pictures, in my long arm room, I don't really have an area to set up my sewing machine now that I have my computer and my filming stuff set up there was just not a great place for me to actually sew. And the new area that we have, been working on and it's pretty much all done now, is a six foot long countertop. And I have my sewing machines set up there all the time now. It's wonderful. You know, you don't have to put it away and, and bring it out when you need to. It can just be there. Uh, so it's right out the door from my long arm room, right into the sewing area, and that room has been, So many different things. It's also, the other side of it is my laundry room, which used to be the kids' school room. And I can't even tell you how many times it has changed. Thank goodness my husband does construction And so when I get these ideas, I can run them past him like, Hey, what do you think about this? And he also, if you saw the pictures on my Facebook page, he's into some arcade games and so on the other side of my sewing area is his little corner of arcade games, which is kind of fun. I think it's a neat thing's too.

Susan: 38:18

That's awesome. Yeah.

Adria: 38:20

But I have really enjoyed having that space to sit and sew and, um, watch some, great movies while doing that too. That's something I really like to do is watch pretty much old movies, things that I've seen a million times that I can just have on and.

Susan: 38:38

I agree. And I've seen too that you have some other interests. You've mentioned things at your church. I saw you were dressed up like a clown in one of the pictures. We might hear more about that, but I also wanna hear about your soap making.

Adria: 38:51

Oh yes. Well, I have Sensitive Skin and I was purchasing a soap bar that was like a commercial bar that was way too much money. I just didn't wanna spend that much on a bar of soap.

Susan: 39:06

And the reason for that would be to get away from additives, perfumes, that kinds of thing. Colors, right?

Adria: 39:12

Yes, yes. Okay. Got it. And in the recent years, I've started developing a lot more allergies to things. So I was needing something Yes. With fewer ingredients and no fragrance, things like that. And I do have a naturopath doctor, and she had given me a bar of homemade soap. and it really got me interested. Like, Ooh, I wonder how you do that, you know? So I did some research and started looking, on Pinterest and on YouTube and different things. I found a really simple recipe and gave it a try, and I absolutely loved it. I loved the bar that she had given me, and then to be able to make something like that, I found really interesting and a lot of fun, and I've been doing that for maybe six years or five. I don't, I don't know exactly, but many years now and I really just do it as a hobby, not necessarily as a business. But, uh, when I do make a lot of batches, I usually only do it maybe once or twice a year and make multiple batches, and I do offer that to friends and family as well.

Susan: 40:24

Awesome. Well, Adria, it's been so encouraging to hear some of your story and some of your growth over the years. I wonder if you have a small gem of wisdom that you'd like to leave with our listeners. Can be about quilting, soap, making, crafting, or anything else in life up to you!

Adria: 40:41

You. Well, one thing I would say as far as the long arm quilting goes is that we're not a machine. We're not a computer. We are free motion quilters. And that's what I like to tell my students. It's not about perfection. When I look at my own quilting, I see all those little spots that I think that could be better or that wasn't perfect, but it doesn't need to be perfect. And I really hope that people can work past that feeling of having. You know, have perfection in a design because it's not necessary at all, and it's not even attainable So we are our own worst critics as far as that goes. And

Susan: 41:27

we want it to look handmade, don't we?

Adria: 41:31

yes. I definitely prefer the whole free motion look and opposed to a computerized look. But you know what, if someone else loves computer, That's wonderful too. It's not that it's wrong or not the right thing. We all have different preferences. And I think another thing too is I just can't imagine what the world would look like if we were all exactly the same. There would be no variety.

Susan: 42:00

It'd be very flat, wouldn't it?

Adria: 42:02

Exactly. So just because I prefer one thing and you prefer another, doesn't mean it's right or wrong. We all have our own preferences

Susan: 42:09

So true. Well, thanks so much for joining me and I hope we can do this again one day.

Adria: 42:15

Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.

Susan: 42:19

Thanks so much my friend for tuning in. If you're considering building a craft-based business, know that, like Adria, you can learn the things you need to know. You can grow and research and learn from others, and do things you've never done before. You may just surprise yourself. Listen. If you have friends who you think would enjoy this podcast, would you take a moment and share it with them? You can share this particular episode or all past episodes and easy choices of where to listen can all be found at podcast.stitchedbysusan.com. I'm Susan Smith, and until next time, may your sorrows be patched and your joys be quilted.