The first Fat Quarter set in this week’s giveaway is a new Color Stack called Cappuccino. It pulls in mod designs from the Alexander Henry Fashionista group and pairs them up with fun stripes, dots and medallions from Valori Wells, Joel Dewberry, Annette Tatum and Denyse Schmidt. Lots of yummy, creamy tan, pink, grey, and orange. I feel like I should be wearing a beret and sewing this quilt up in a hip coffee bar.

Patricia Bravo, fabric designer and owner of Art Gallery Fabrics, makes her debut appearance at Pink Chalk Fabrics. Yay!!! The quality of the quilting cotton is gorgeously soft and rich. Paradise features deep violet, cactus, teal and aqua.

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Last Week’s Fat Quarter Set Winners:

Annie (blog comments) and Kim (newsletter subscriber)

I’ve sent you each a private e-mail. Congratulations!

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How Fat Quarter Tuesday works:

• Every Tuesday I’ll feature two fat quarter sets from Pink Chalk Fabrics that will be given away the following week.
• The first winner will be selected from those who opened their Pink Chalk Fabrics e-mail newsletter during the week.
• The second winner will be selected from all comments left on the blog for the week (comments from all posts, not just the giveaway post).

You can sign up for the Pink Chalk Fabrics Newsletter here.

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I discovered after last week’s inaugural post that drawing a winner from customers who shopped in the store would be considered a lottery because it requires a purchase to be eligible. Lotteries require special licensing, restart!

The first winner will be drawn from newsletter subscribers that open their weekly Pink Chalk Fabrics e-mail newsletter. No purchase required. I decided to go with those that open the e-mail vs. all newsletter subscribers to successfully give the fabric away. All newsletter lists have a certain number of inactive subscribers. I don’t want to create a situation where I’m always re-drawing names to get a winner that responds. If you clicked during the week then I know you’re receiving the newsletter and will be head-over-heals ecstatic to respond to the e-mail telling you you’ve won the Fat Quarter Set.

pink chalk fabrics ~*~ new arrivals ~*~ free patterns ~*~ on sale

This week’s Pink Chalk Fabrics newlsetter featured the above photo, a fabulous crib quilt using Cloud9’s new Forest Friends Organic Cotton Flannel. Here’s a link to the tutorial on the Cloud9 blog showing how to make it. There’s a LOT of inspiration there. The laundry will have to wait.

pink chalk fabrics ~*~ new arrivals ~*~ free patterns ~*~ on sale

Fat Quarter Tuesday. A weekly giveaway. Here’s how it works:

Every Tuesday on the blog I’ll announce two fat quarter sets for giveaway.

The following Tuesday two winners will be selected. The first winner will be drawn from the pool of customers that placed orders in the shop that week. The second winner will be drawn from people that left a comment on any blog post that week. Two chances to win!

Updated August 26, 2010: I did a little research on the term ‘no purchase required’ for giveaways. In order to stay clear of federal prison I’m tweaking the rules for the random drawing. One set will still be given away to people that comment on a blog post for the week. The other set will be drawn from our newsletter subscriber list. No purchase required to be a winner. Thank you!

You can sign up for the newsletter here.

Winners will be announced on the following week’s Fat Quarter Tuesday post.

I’ve been wanting to do a weekly giveaway for some time now. I hope this idea is simple and easy to play along. You can either be a newsletter subscriber or comment and you’re entered to win.

This week’s booty: Laurie Wisbrun’s Urban Circus and Cloud 9 Organic Forest Friends Flannel.

pink chalk fabrics ~*~ new arrivals ~*~ free patterns ~*~ on sale

The upgrade was successful and the shop is now back online. What an effort. My husband is a genius. I love the new features. He did everything I asked for plus all the boring technical stuff needed behind the scenes. I can say without a doubt it’s harder to do an upgrade than it is to install a new shop from scratch.

We’ve done a lot of testing but you may find things that are broken. You know where to find me! kathy {at} pinkchalkstudio.com  I would appreciate a quick note if there’s something significant. Or a typo. My pet peeve and I never catch my own. We’re working through the category/image links that aren’t working.

The logo is updated too. I’ve been all over the map the last couple of years with trying to hire various people to re-design my logo. Because, hey, of course the one I designed myself with free Adobe fonts couldn’t be good enough! But it is. And Seth Godin agrees with me. So there.

Before You Spend a Lot of Time on a Logo (this older post has a broken link, here’s a good one for Pixellogo)

Logos (classic Seth Godin)

Your Brand is Not Your Logo (focusing on what’s important)

Actually, it’s just a jaggy picture (a look at the 2012 Olympic logo)

Seth also wrote a post about not changing your logo just because you’re bored of seeing it yourself everyday. That was the post I was trying to locate and couldn’t. I kept that in mind as I felt the urge to update my logo this go around. I brightened some colors, updated the positioning of the tag line and replaced the script font for ‘fabrics’ with something more readable. Different but still the same.

It feels like a new beginning.

pink chalk fabrics ~*~ new arrivals ~*~ free patterns ~*~ on sale

And we’re looking for a new team member. Does this describe you:

• detail oriented, organized, accurate and high energy
• self-directed and can take initiative to make things work better
• provide patient, helpful and sincere customer service
• comfortable using computer programs including Excel and Word. Photoshop familiarity a plus!
• excellent oral and e-mail communication skills
• enjoy working where new things are always happening

Hours are 8:30 am to 3:00 pm, Monday through Friday. Job duties include cutting fabric, preparing customer orders for shipment, applying postage to mail packages, and adding new fabric and pattern listings to the online store. This is an entry level position with potential to grow into more specialized areas including customer service, inventory management, and social media marketing.

Please send me an e-mail at kathy {at} pinkchalkstudio.com to learn more about this exciting opportunity!

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We’re nearing the lights out phase of our technical store upgrade (planned for Saturday morning). If you visit this weekend and the store’s not online you’ll know why. Thank you!

pink chalk fabrics ~*~ new arrivals ~*~ free patterns ~*~ on sale

Whew, the interview was fun (which I’m amazed I’m saying). Pat Sloan is an incredibly nice person to talk with and a very talented interviewer. She made it easy and enjoyable. Piece of cake.

I had a LOT of butterflies show up 2 minutes before air time when they called me on the phone to queue me up. I suddenly realized it was ‘live’, which is obvious, but not something I thought much about beforehand. It hadn’t seemed like anything to be concerned about until I heard the bumper music play and Pat began her lead in. Yikes. One take. No do overs.

The Podcast is now recorded and available for listening or downloading at your leisure. You’ll need to select the 8/16/10 recording. See instructions on her front page for downloading.

Pat has two giveaways on her blog right now. Sarah Vedeler’s new CD and a Wee Woodland FQ set from Pink Chalk Fabrics. You have till Friday at noon (August 20) to enter.

Good luck and thank you for all the nice comments from those of you who have already listened !

pink chalk fabrics ~*~ new arrivals ~*~ free patterns ~*~ on sale

I’m going to be on Pat Sloan’s Creative Talk Radio this afternoon. The show begins at 4:00 pm Eastern.

Pat features two guests each week. The fabulous Sarah Vedeler will be on at 4:00 and I go on at 4:30. I’m a little bit nervous but very excited. You can also listen to the shows any time you want. I downloaded an interview with Cherri House and thoroughly enjoyed it. Pat’s a talented interviewer and creates a very fun show.

See you on the airwaves!

pink chalk fabrics ~*~ new arrivals ~*~ free patterns ~*~ on sale

Shea from The Empty Bobbin is a blogging friend of mine. Look at this awesome picture she took! I checked her post history to find out when she first started her blog because I feel like I’ve been following her creative journey forever. Her first post was July 2007. And guess who commented on her first post? Me. That gave me a smile. Sometimes there’s just that internet kismet and you know immediately that you like that person by the work they create and share and their voice that speaks so clearly from the keyboard.

She invited two friends and her mom over for a Mail Sack Party. I felt so joyful inside reading her post and looking at the images that captured the day. A bit misty eyed too. I have a very difficult time expressing in words how I feel about seeing the things that other people create using a pattern I’ve written. It has everything to do with being connected in some teeny, tiny way to the happiness and creative energy they release into the universe when making their project. Tingles I tell you!

The world of sewing never ceases to surprise me with the gifts it brings.

Thank you Shea!

pink chalk fabrics ~*~ new arrivals ~*~ free patterns ~*~ on sale

I’ve always been a firm believer that the business success I have the potential to achieve is up to me. That a colleague or competitor’s success does not and can not negatively effect my own. In fact, if we join together and share our knowledge there are opportunities beyond anything each of us could reach individually.

I was recently on the receiving end of some extremely generous knowledge sharing. I attended Deb Lutrell’s Boot Camp for Shop Owners in Quitman, Texas. Stitchin’ Heaven is a premier example of a quilt shop operating on all cylinders. In business for over 10 years, Stitchin’ Heaven is a strong brick & mortar destination shop, a thriving online business, and delivers a Block of the Month operation that still has me in awe.

The bottom line is that Deb Lutrell is one smart business woman. Confident, successful, and genuinely excited about teaching other shop owner’s how she does business. She loves the quilting industry, her customers and her colleagues. She teaches both the detailed nuts and bolts of how Stitchin’ Heaven operates and her philosophy that drives the business. Did I get my money’s worth? Absolutely, and then a whole lot more.

Being a sole owner of a creative business sometimes leaves me feeling very alone. Going to boot camp reminded me that I need to continue to nourish and cultivate the supportive network of individuals I’ve met and continue to meet within the quilting industry and outside of it.

I left boot camp feeling energized and confident about what I need to do to grow and move my business in the direction I envision. It reminded me that I get to define the business so it fits with my personal life philosophy and goals. To stop worrying about what everyone else is doing. I need to say that again just to make it sink in: stop worrying about what everyone else is doing. Truly words to live by. To reflect on and embrace what makes me unique. To enjoy every last moment of the journey. To be fearless and brave.

That’s a lot of stuff for a 3 day class! Deb’s next boot camp is June, 2011. She also teaches sessions at Quilt Market (go whether you’re a shop owner or designer, you’ll learn lots).

Niki writes the Stitchin’ Heaven blog. She did a short interview with me and now I’m a Stitchin’ Heaven Friday Feature!

I also just have to say that I loved being in Texas even in July. The hospitality was amazing. I got to eat green chili enchiladas, hush puppies and fried okra. Yum.

pink chalk fabrics ~*~ new arrivals ~*~ free patterns ~*~ on sale

Jacqui sewed up this fabulous blouse using the new cotton lawn from Alexander Henry. This particular print is Regent Peacock Black Pink.

She used the Quadrato (#6) pattern from the Ottobre Design Woman magazine Spring/Summer 2/2010.

A drawstring in the hem as an alternative to cinching the waistline.

LOVE the silky drape. The cotton lawn gathers beautifully.

The sleeve detail on this blouse is lovely. A 3/4 sleeve length with a very unique drop on the cuff. The sleeve pattern is cut to be longer in back than in front.

Thank you for the inspiration Jacqui!

pink chalk fabrics ~*~ new arrivals ~*~ free patterns ~*~ on sale