About this podcast
Co-hosts Tori McElwain of HeyTori and Andi Stanfield of True Blue Quilts share real talk about what it takes to grow a successful quilting business while balancing full-time work, family life, and creative energy.
Whether you're into quilt pattern design, longarm quilting, teaching workshops, or selling handmade products, you'll find practical tips and honest conversations here. We cover everything from digital marketing and course creation to time management and the mindset shifts needed to build a sustainable, fulfilling side hustle.
This show is your go-to guide for running a profitable quilting business on the side - with encouragement, strategy, and plenty of real-life stories from the stitching trenches.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 119 episodes
- When Tech and Quilt Design Collide: A Look and Quiltler with Chris White · 50 min · Season 7 Episode 8Send us Fan Mail Andi and Tori step outside the quilt-only lane this time and talk with Chris White, the developer behind Quiltler, a quilt design app that runs on iPhone, iPad…
- What We Learned About Paying for Coaching · 39 min · Season 7 Episode 7Send us Fan Mail Coaching can be a real shortcut or an expensive detour, and the difference often comes down to what you bring to it. In this episode, Tori and Andi share lessons…
- Teaching Is the Business with Lynn Christiansen · 53 min · Season 7 Episode 6Send us Fan Mail Lynn Christiansen of Emerald Falls Quilts learned to quilt with a coworker, sewing a table runner in the school copy room. Years later, she left teaching behind…
- The Best Place to Show Up Online for Quilting Businesses · 34 min · Season 7 Episode 5Send us Fan Mail Video is one of the few places where your quilting business keeps working for you long after you hit publish. In this episode, Tori and Andi talk about why…
- Building a Quilting Empire: Meet Carolina Moore · 59 min · Season 7 Episode 4Send us Fan Mail Andi sits down with Carolina Moore — pattern designer, notion inventor, author, and newly minted YouTube Silver Button recipient — for a wide-ranging…
- Getting Started on YouTube: Quilting on Video · 36 min · Season 7 Episode 3Send us Fan Mail Andi has big news—she's releasing Quilting on Video: Your Guide to Grow and Monetize on YouTube, and Tori puts her in the hot seat to talk all things video…
- Behind the Scenes with Kaitlyn Fritsch · 1 h 1 min · Season 7 Episode 2Send us Fan Mail Join the free "Do You Have a Book in You?" Webinar here: https://selfpublishingincubator.com/bookclass Meet Kaitlyn Fritsch, the technical editor behind dozens…
- We're Back for Season7! Big Changes, Fresh Start, and Industry Events · 27 min · Season 7 Episode 1Send us Fan Mail Season 7 Premiere: Big Changes, Fresh Start, and Industry Events You Can't Miss Tori and Andi kick off Season 7 celebrating seven years of real talk about…
- Season 6 Recap - Our Longest Season yet! · 26 min · Season 6 Episode 21Send us Fan Mail Six seasons. Over a hundred episodes. Three years of real talk about building a quilting business on the side — and Tori and Andi are not done yet. In this…
- Was it Worth it? What 5 Quilting Professionals Learned at h+h Americas · 1 h 9 min · Season 6 Episode 20Send us Fan Mail What happens when a tech editor, a marketing coach, and three quilt pattern designers and teachers walk into the h+h americas Trade show? These are five quilting…
- h+h 2026 - Conversations from the Show Floor · 34 min · Season 6 Episode 19Send us Fan Mail h+h Americas is a huge fabric and fiber arts industry trade show. Andi and Tori spent the week in Chicago and met a bunch of amazing people! In this episode…
- Pixel by Pixel - How an Engineer Grew Her Quilting Business with Brooke Stambersky · 1 h 4 min · Season 6 Episode 18Send us Fan Mail What if the best marketing strategy for your pattern business had nothing to do with Instagram? Brooke Stambersky of Brooke's Bitchin' Stitches started her…
- Why YouTube Is My #1 Platform for Quilting Business Growth · 20 min · Season 6 Episode 17Send us Fan Mail Andi flies solo this episode to share why YouTube has been her go-to social media platform for the past two years — and why she thinks it should be on every…
- Beyond Distributors & Social Media: How One Quilt Pattern Designer Built a Successful Business · 24 min · Season 6 Episode 16Send us Fan Mail What do you do when distributors keep saying no and social media isn't getting your patterns in front of the right people? In this solo episode, Tori shares the…
- Mosaic Applique and the Pivot That Travels with You with Cindy Bader · 34 min · Season 6 Episode 15Send us Fan Mail What happens when the business you love physically can't come with you? In this episode, Andi sits down with Cindy Bader of Patterns on the Prairie to talk about…
- Media Kits, Elevator Pitches, and Cold Outreach for Quilters · 32 min · Season 6 Episode 14Send us Fan Mail What actually goes into a media kit — and do you even need one? In this episode, Tori and Andi break down the nuts and bolts of building a media kit for your…
- From Accidental Pattern Designer to Subscription Box Creator with Monika Henry · 38 min · Season 6 Episode 13Send us Fan Mail What does it look like to build a quilting business almost by accident? In this episode, Tori and Andi sit down with Monika Henry of Penny Spool Quilts to talk…
- Pattern Designers + Quilt Shops: How to Build Partnerships That Work for Everyone · 25 min · Season 6 Episode 12Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Tori and Andi dig into a topic they've been hearing about from both sides - the relationship between pattern designers and quilt shops. Are they…
- From Pillowcases to Publishing with Kathryn LeBlanc · 51 min · Season 6 Episode 11Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Andi sits down with Kathryn LeBlanc of Dragonfly's Quilting Design Studio (and author Kathryn Mykel) to talk about what it really looks like to…
- Quilt Market Is Gone. Now What? · 31 min · Season 6 Episode 10Send us Fan Mail Quilt Market is gone. After decades as the destination event for quilting industry professionals, the fall show has been canceled indefinitely, and Tori and Andi…
