How Much to Charge for Longarm Quilting: Lessons from Linda Thielfoldt

0:00 So Linda, let's learn a little bit about you while you're here.

0:27 I live in Rochester Hills, which is a suburb of Detroit in Michigan.

0:37 Okay, and how long have you been longarm quilting?

0:42 Since 1999.

0:45 1999? Did they have longarm quilting in 1999?

0:48 Yes, they did. And just for reference, there was no stitch regulator.

0:53 There was an on off button. There was a speed button.

0:57 And if you were lucky, there was a light.

1:01 Gotcha. And did you have a gamel way back then?

1:07 My first machine was not a gamel, but my second and third both are gamels.

1:12 Okay, okay. So did you start your business with that first machine?

1:17 No, I didn't start my business until I got the gamel.

1:20 It's a funny story. I got that machine from a lady who was doing decorator type sewing,

1:26 you know, she was doing like bedspreads and it was a really old machine.

1:31 It had an on off switch and no light. But it was really cheap. It was like $600.

1:39 And I practiced on that. And then it quickly became obvious that I needed something

1:45 a little more robust. So we flew to Missouri. There were no dealers back then,

1:51 and I actually bought my first machine from Ken Gamel himself.

1:55 We've come full circle now because it's the same way again now where people buy

1:58 direct from the factory. Although we have a little more support now than just a 1-800 number.

2:05 Yes, yes. As I know well, I talk to them each day.

2:11 So Linda, did you say you have two gamels now?

2:19 No, I sold the other one. I'm down to one, which is fine.

2:25 And do you still have, is it a hand guided or what type of machine?

2:29 No, it's a Statler.

2:31 Okay, okay.

2:32 Yeah, my first one was a hand guided. Again, no switch regulator, you know,

2:37 we were so excited we had a needle up and down button.

2:41 And channel locks in one direction. So I thought I was really uptown with that one.

2:48 Thanks to our associate producer, Holly, the episode that you were in before is episode 17.

2:56 Okay.

2:57 I went looking for it. I could not find it.

2:59 Did you get a message from Holly?

3:00 I sure did. So I've just upgraded her status to executive producer.

3:07 Okay. Wonderful.

3:09 Well, Linda, what has been new or exciting in your quilting business since we talked to you last?

3:18 Well, interestingly, there's been, I think, a little shift in what I'm seeing. Primarily,

3:24 I have been known for years as a custom quilter. I've quilted show quilts forever.

3:31 You know, I've got gobs of ribbons hanging up on the walls. And so

3:34 my core business was always very intense show quilting. And I've seen a shift. And I don't know

3:42 if it's budgetary or time or family or what's driving it. But I used to see every quilt from

3:51 customers, something that was high end custom. And now I'm seeing more mid range and edge to edge,

3:58 which is kind of good. Because, you know, if you're doing a high end custom,

4:03 it's in that machine for a long time. And I'm not super fast. You know, I love to mix

4:09 both hand guided and computer assisted. So that's been kind of a pleasant thing that I'm seeing. And

4:19 I don't really know what the reason is. I can surmise. But that's something that I've seen

4:24 the last couple years.

4:26 So that's what you're seeing more of a request and demand for is the edge to edge.

4:33 Yeah, I mean, I still have quite a few customers that every quilt they bring, they want it,

4:37 you know, quilted to with an inch of its life. But that used to be every quilt,

4:43 you know, and I would just pray someone, please bring me an edge to edge.

4:47 Mm hmm. With having had a real solid background in doing show quilts,

4:56 you must have found some kind of shortcuts or ideal ways to talk with a customer about what

5:04 their budget is for this quilt, and what their vision is. Can you let people in on some of the

5:10 some of the things that you found that work well?

5:13 Yes, I have kind of an intake sheet that asks some very specific questions. How's this quilt

5:20 going to be used? What are your goals for this quilt? What do you envision it to look like?

5:27 And you'd be amazed when you start asking in depth questions of your customers,

5:32 how much input they really want to give you. Whereas if they just say, Oh, well, do something

5:37 custom, I don't know what you know, you're like, you know,

5:41 where do you go with that? Yeah, well, yeah. And then if you miss it, they're unhappy, you know.

5:49 But, you know, it's it's communication. And it I think it's important. And a lot of

5:55 customers don't really know what's possible. So my studio is full of sample quilts. I have

6:03 every range of quilting. And I think that's a super important thing, because especially if it's

6:08 a new customer, and they don't really know you, to be able to say, Well, what do you think of this

6:13 border? Or what do you think of this edge to edge? Or this is an edge to edge with a border,

6:17 you know, where you can actually show them some work that they can visualize. A lot of people are

6:22 not good at visualization. I think that's why a lot of people make kit quilts.

6:26 They see that they like that. But they can't envision it on their own. So I think it's

6:31 incumbent upon us as you know, professionals to help them navigate that. And then budget,

6:38 budget is a huge deal. I mean, I say, Okay, what's what's the limit that come right out and ask them

6:43 what's the limit? And if they tell me, well, 150, then we're not talking custom right off the bat,

6:48 I'm not gonna waste my time. Right? Was it scary for you the first couple times to ask people what

6:54 the budget limit is on their quilt? No, I started out right away with what's your budget? What do

7:01 you want to do with this? What is this cool for? That's the first question. Who's it for? What's

7:05 it for? And what's your budget? And have you ever had anybody who acted offend offended when you

7:11 asked that question? No, I never have. I'm looking back over all the years I've been quilting. I've

7:18 never really had anybody to say, Whoa, I have no idea. Because usually people have a pretty good

7:26 idea, you know. And then if they're not sure, I say, Well, how much did you spend on the fabric?

7:31 This is a good question, too. Well, I got probably $300. So you spent $300 on the fabric, you want

7:39 to put $100 quilting job on there. It kind of makes people think about, you know, what they

7:46 really want the quilt to be. Wow, those are great tips. They really are. I think your

7:53 insight about how, you know, communication is important. And I think a lot of times people don't

7:58 think to ask the question of what's your budget. And that really helps you get on the

8:04 same page with your customer. And I think the matter of factness with which you, you know,

8:12 just naturally approach that is probably quite valuable, too. Because as Andrew was alluding to

8:19 asking if it was awkward, or, you know, if anybody got offended by that, if they did get offended by

8:27 that, I would think that it would be with a person that was already uncomfortable asking something

8:34 like that. But it seems like a key piece of information, a key piece of the puzzle,

8:39 when you're getting ready to make their, their project, you know, the, you know, what is the

8:44 budget? Well, the other question that I think is equally important is what's the use of the quilt?

8:50 Because if you want to make a really snuggly baby quilt, then that's going to determine what kind

8:55 of batting I'm going to recommend. You know, if I if you're doing a wild quilt, I'm going to

9:01 recommend a totally different batting for that. So those are some pieces of information that

9:07 are valuable for me to give them the best outcome for their quilt, because they may not know.

9:13 You know, I had a I had a customer, she's an engineer. And I never met her, she sent me

9:18 quilts, she lived in Hawaii. And she would send me these detailed schematics of this design here,

9:24 and this design there. And sometimes I would just go, Oh, this is not what this quilt is calling

9:29 for. But she was so emphatic about it. And her sister got cancer. And she called me up. And she

9:37 said, Linda, I'm sending you this quilt. I don't have time to design the quilting. Can you just

9:41 quilt it however you think it's supposed to be quilted? It's for my sister. And I need it really

9:45 quick. And so you know, I did what I thought the quilt should have. And I sent it back to her. And

9:50 she said, Don't ever let me tell you how to quilt the quilt again. So there's the flip side to you

9:56 know. Yes. Well, Linda, is there anything over the last year and a half since we last talked,

10:07 either in the industry or in your own business that has surprised you or changed? And is there

10:15 anything different you're doing now than versus the time when we first spoke? Yes, yes, yes, yes,

10:22 yes. The thing that I'm, it's as an industry overall, not just the long arm machine quilting,

10:29 but there's a lot of quilt shops that I don't know if it's just in my region, but I'm hearing

10:35 about it in other places too, that quilt shops are closing, or they're closing their brick and

10:40 mortar and they're going to online only. And what I've noticed here in Michigan is a lot of the

10:48 shop owners are older, and they've owned the shop for 30 years or for however long,

10:54 and they're retiring, and nobody's buying the business. That's been really surprising to me.

11:00 Because quilting is still super popular. So I just think there's so many options that you have

11:07 to really think about offering something different, you know, in order to be a solid brick and mortar

11:13 store. So do you think, do you think the online form of business is

11:22 overtaking, or what's, what do you think? I think it has a lot stronger presence than it did

11:29 prior to COVID. I think that really changed a lot of things in a lot of ways. I think that,

11:39 you know, you take quilt shows, for example, we had so many prior to COVID. And, you know,

11:44 a lot of them closed. And, and for a lot of the vendors, that's their marketplace, that's their

11:48 store. And so that's been the thing that kind of shocks me because I've been doing it for so long.

11:55 And it's such a huge part of my life. But yet, you know, I just was at a guild doing a presentation

12:02 last last week and the week before two different groups. And show and tell was just fantastic

12:08 quilt after quilt after quilt. So I don't see any lessening in the quilt making,

12:15 which leads me to believe that, you know, they're buying the fabric somewhere.

12:21 We have one question that I think I got, I let it sit there a little too long.

12:28 That while you were talking previously, this listener is asking, if you can share what

12:35 battings that you will use in those kid quilts, or the wall quilt, you mentioned

12:42 different choices of batting, etc, they said. Sure. I don't know if you were aware of it. But

12:47 several years ago, I did a batting study, I tested 80 different quilt bats, it was on my own dime,

12:54 no manufacturer paid me, I got free samples of batting, 80 different samples came from

13:01 just six manufacturers. And I tested them exactly the same way. And it was shocking to me,

13:08 things that I thought I knew about batting, that I didn't know about batting. So that led me down

13:15 the path of, okay, this is what I want to put in this quilt, this is what I want to put in this

13:19 type of quilt. So for me, if you want a snuggly baby quilt, then I'm not using 100% cotton,

13:25 I'm going to use an 8020 or even a 5050. Because you want it to be snuggly and envelop the child.

13:32 If you're using a wall quilt, then I want to use cotton with scrim, because the scrim is that

13:39 interior mesh sort of if you think of like bridal illusion, that they needle punch the cotton fibers

13:46 into and that holds it straight and flat. And if you've got a quilt that you're hanging on the wall

13:51 and it's going to be up there for a number of years, it is not going to sag.

13:55 Right, because a scrimless batting is very stretchy. Exactly. And it's also,

14:02 scrim is much nicer to quilt with, because you can pull on that, you know, you get a wrinkle in the

14:06 middle of your machine, you don't want to flip up the thing, you know, you just want to tug it on

14:11 the end, boy, it just smooths right out. Now, how do you consider the density of the quilting?

14:18 Because if you quilt too densely on that kid's quilt, it's not going to be snug snuggly anymore.

14:24 Do you have any rules of thumb for how many inches apart for the lines of stitching? Yes, when it's

14:29 a when it is a baby quilt, for example, I am never going to use a pattern that is smaller than six

14:35 or seven, eight inches. You know, if you're talking about an edge to edge for that very reason,

14:39 because the more quilting, the stiffer the quilt. So and if you look at a lot of the patterns that

14:46 are out there that are geared toward children, there's a lot of space in between just by the

14:52 the nature of the design. So I think it's a pretty good marriage. Interesting.

15:03 Well, what is your current approach to marketing social media? Do you advertise

15:11 differently now, like with social media? Well, as you know, I'm an avid quiltmaker

15:18 and I'm constantly posting them on social media. If I quilt a quilt and I have permission,

15:26 I never post anything without permission. I will post that as well. I to be honest with you,

15:32 I don't do as much advertising as I did in the beginning. In the beginning, I was everywhere.

15:38 I mean, I had flyers. Now, you got to remember, this is no Facebook, no Instagram, you know.

15:46 So I did something that was maybe a little devious. Can I admit it? And you won't judge me?

15:52 Well, see, you better admit it. Let's see what it is first.

15:57 So I made little bookmarks, okay, of my business. And I went to the library and I tucked them in

16:04 the pages of the quilt books. And I actually got some business that way. But again, that's,

16:12 you know, 1999, 2000, so. Well, what a thoughtful touch, you know,

16:17 because they're going to need a bookmark as they're reading this book.

16:22 I never got a call from the librarian, so I don't think I got in trouble.

16:26 But as far as marketing, I do a lot of email. I have, you know, a very robust list that spans

16:34 all those years. And I get a lot of, because I travel and do guild presentations, I do get

16:42 customers that way too, because they see a particular quilt that I've brought. Which is

16:46 why if you're just starting out, show and tell at your local guilds is super important. Because

16:52 quilters are visual for the most part. And they see something, they go, wow, that's really good.

16:57 That's what I want in my quilt.

17:01 So notwithstanding your covert library activities of the past,

17:09 nowadays, are you primarily, what is your strongest, you know, promotion of yourself

17:16 nowadays? Is it the guilds? Or is it social media?

17:20 I think it's probably 50-50. But in years past, it was more social media. I wrote a blog for a

17:31 number of years. I've been a slacker since COVID in that regard. It took me a while. COVID was

17:37 really hard. I, so many friends in the industry, you know, lost their business. And it was really,

17:42 really difficult. And I just wasn't inspired. So I need to kind of regroup and, you know,

17:50 look at that again to see if it's something that I want to continue. But I was always posting tips

17:55 and tricks and, you know, little video clips and things. And it takes time, you know.

18:00 So I'm curious, when you started your business, it was with a hand-guided Gammill.

18:06 Yes.

18:07 And then it was how many years before you went to the Statler?

18:13 Four years.

18:14 Four years. Okay. So you built your business with the hand-guided or at least you started.

18:19 No, I, well, okay. So my goal was not to be in business. I didn't want to be in business.

18:26 And yet here you are.

18:27 I had an advertising company that was running and, but I made quilts and I had 40 quilt tops. And I

18:35 thought, you know, if I pay someone to quilt these 40 quilt tops, I'm halfway to buying a machine.

18:40 So I'm going to buy the machine and then I'm going to quilt, you know, however many more

18:44 to get it paid off. And then it just took off like crazy. And then I ended up selling the business

18:52 and doing this full time. And then I started traveling and teaching and, you know, the whole.

18:57 So why would you choose to be a quilter over being in advertising?

19:01 Oh, that's a long conversation, but it's a very demanding industry. It's very stressful.

19:10 I had pretty significant health scare. I'm not going to lie. And when you get that two by 12

19:16 upside the head, you know, and you get a little sign from above that says, girl is 14, 16 hour days

19:25 are not good for your health. And so it really made me think about what my life was. And the

19:32 cool thing about machine quilting as a business is you get to decide. You get to decide how many

19:40 quilts you want to do in a week. You get to decide if you want to take a week off. You get to decide

19:44 if you want to quilt till two in the morning. Whereas in the corporate business world, your

19:51 daily agenda or plans are set by someone else. So that had a huge appeal for me.

20:00 It sounds like there's a in the quilting business that you

20:05 have gone to

20:07 there's more of a

20:10 self-determination and some peace

20:13 Involved. Well, even though I owned the company, you know and had I had employees I got to make payroll

20:19 I got to worry about where the next sales coming from. I you know, whereas all I had to worry

20:24 All I have to worry about is me

20:26 you know and

20:28 That was a lot less stress. So for me, it was really a godsend quite honestly

20:35 What does your work rhythm look like in a typical month?

20:39 Well, I am really a weirdo

20:42 I'm I'm a night owl and I'm not a morning person

20:47 so I

20:49 Get up. I have my coffee do my little devotion then I maybe make breakfast

20:55 If it's a gym day I go to the gym then I come home and then my day starts

21:01 But I've been known to quilt, you know, my husband will come down and say

21:06 I'm going to bed now, you know, and I'm like, oh my gosh, it's 12 o'clock. I don't know what happened

21:13 But I'm you know

21:15 When I first started I was juggling the company and and and a lot of quilters do that, you know

21:21 Maybe they're a nurse or they have an office job and they quilt part-time and then you know

21:25 That balance starts to shift where you're spending more time doing this than your other job

21:30 That's when you have to make that decision about what am I really going to do?

21:34 But I like to stay on a quilt, you know until it's done

21:40 I have a weird little story from when I was hand guiding

21:43 I was quilting this quilt and I had an interruption or I had to go somewhere and I I did you know

21:50 If you're gonna do the border and you're gonna freehand it all the way around, you know, you start over here

21:54 You go over here you go down here

21:55 So then the next day I came back and I started over here go across the bottom come up and meet where I ended

22:01 well, I was doing hand guided feathers and

22:04 I got another machine and

22:07 They did not match. Mm-hmm. I

22:11 Sensed where that was going

22:14 Shoot. Well, fortunately it was my own quilt

22:17 So rather than frog all that out I just cut the borders off and put the binding on

22:25 Yeah, that's a lot of ripping you wouldn't want to do that no, so tell me a little bit about

22:30 When you went from a hand guiding to the Statler

22:33 Now, are you a very?

22:35 Was the computer maybe it wasn't scary at all for you

22:39 No, I'm I've been my own I a T person for years because when you own your own company

22:45 It's like okay

22:45 I either can figure out how to do this or I can pay somebody big bucks to do it and

22:50 There were certain things that I'm like, well, I can learn how to do this, you know

22:55 So no, it wasn't scary for me. And as a matter of fact, I

22:59 Took to it rather quickly and I I you know, I bought mine directly from Paul

23:05 and

23:06 there weren't a lot of

23:08 Resources, you know, there wasn't all the classes and stuff. No

23:12 Now today it's so much easier. I mean you can watch a video

23:17 you know and

23:19 But I took to it right away and I still

23:22 you know, I was taking the belts off and the belts on take the belts off because I was going back and forth because I

23:28 always look at

23:29 how I determine what I'm gonna do on that quilt whether I'm gonna use a computer or me is

23:35 speed efficiency and outcome

23:38 So if I can do it quicker

23:41 Hand-guiding

23:42 Then I can click around and do all the stuff you have to do then

23:45 That's what I'm gonna do if it gives me the same outcome sometimes, you know, the computer is better

23:51 So I'm always weighing those things out

23:54 That's why I think it's super important

23:55 Even if the person starts off with just a statler like they don't know anything about hand-guided. I think it is

24:02 Invaluable to learn how to hand guide because there are just times when it makes so much sense

24:08 Mm-hmm. That's just me on the soapbox

24:11 What would you say is the ratio of you know computerized versus hand-guided that you do?

24:19 Well, a lot of it depends on the quilt but again it all goes back to that same equation

24:25 Efficiency and outcome. Yeah

24:28 and it

24:30 It depends on how much I got a click around, you know, because sometimes I can just sew it faster

24:36 I was in a lady's studio a couple of weeks ago and

24:41 She had a she had a vision to a 22-inch machine beautiful hand-guided machine

24:47 Sitting in there at a T at an angle with her statler machine and she explained to me that

24:55 when she had

24:56 Had her hand-guided machine upgraded to a statler

25:00 She was worried that it would be sitting there doing edge to edges all day and she would have nothing to do

25:05 And so at the same time of upgrading to the statler

25:09 she bought this smaller machine to do her her hand guided work with and her question to me was

25:16 Since as it turns out I do all my hand guiding and all my custom and all my edge to edge on the statler

25:23 That poor other machine is just sitting there not being used. She said what would it take to turn that one into a second statler?

25:30 Yeah, and that would be the same for me because to go back and forth on one, you know, I'm on one quilt so

25:38 For me, I would never own a purely hand-guided machine

25:43 There's just it's such a perfect marriage in my mind

25:48 Between the technology and I mean we use technology for everything else. Sure

25:52 How long ago did you you did the ascend upgrade then? I did not

26:00 You got in a send retrofit

26:02 No, I just have a statler. Oh, you have a regular statler. Yeah. Oh

26:06 Well, very surprising to me. You see the person who would be very particular about how her stitches look

26:13 Well, you know interesting to talk after the podcast

26:17 Interesting. I know well, trust me. It's it's I've been kind of waiting to see I'm I'm the person that never buys the new model car

26:25 The first year it comes out I like to wait and see how things kind of you know

26:30 flesh out and so I've been talking to some of my friends that have them and you know people that I know in the industry

26:35 and

26:36 You know, I'm I'm I'm toying with the idea

26:39 I'm not I have not ruled it out and I have not ruled out a whole new machine either because my machine is old

26:45 And it's been babied and well taken care of and I've done every upgrade aside from the ascend

26:52 I've been I've put on new motors. I think I'm on my third computer

26:58 so

26:59 But it has the most perfect stitch and I'm an absolute

27:04 Maniac about tension. I have it dialed in my machine and I are we are in a perfect marriage

27:10 So there's a little there's a little bit of nervousness about that. I got to be honest with you because we don't like change do we?

27:17 Only when it's good. Yes

27:20 Well, we have

27:22 One person is asking a question being located in the midst of a big sports state. Are you doing a

27:29 lot of Michigan State University of Michigan quilts and Pat is asking and saying I'm a

27:36 MSU

27:37 Spartan living in Georgia and wondering if which schools you have quilted

27:43 Very

27:45 Oriented questions all of the above and

27:48 My husband's from Nebraska. So I get a few of those two from family, you know people back in, Nebraska

27:56 so I have to I have to split my allegiance to

28:00 MSU and

28:01 Huskers gotta be honest. Mm-hmm. Yeah, Jim and on our

28:07 conversation about the ascends and has just commented on here that

28:12 Her first machine was the ascend last August and she loves it much more to learn. But so far she's done 46 quilts

28:22 Yeah, I've heard nothing but good things so it's it's on my list but I I've had a little bit of a paradigm shift

28:30 personally

28:31 I've taken more time this year for charity quilts

28:36 I I was really starting to look at my stash and it was kind of

28:42 Starting to close in on me a little bit and you know when you've been a quilter for 50 years

28:48 you know you you tend to collect a lot of fabric and

28:53 So my goal this year was to do a lot of charity quilts, I'm up to 42 right now

28:59 Wow, that's a lot. Yeah, that's more than one a week

29:03 well

29:04 you know, you can the beauty of having a giant machine a 30 is

29:10 You know, I can just string them one right after another on the same roll, you know

29:16 Share the backing. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I'll just sew them together, you know

29:20 Yeah, then just back and forth back and forth. Yeah, I was gonna ask you

29:27 Because you've been in business for quite a long time

29:31 It how would you characterize your I mean it's it's basically full-time

29:37 Work at this point, right? Um, I'm I'm kind of transitioning to what I would consider to be three-quarter

29:45 I'm taking more time for me. I'm taking more time for my health. I think that's at my age

29:52 Super important. I work out five days a week at a gym

29:57 and

29:58 I don't want to be that little old lady that you know

30:02 Can't get up out of a chair without help or grabbing the table. So I've taken much more

30:09 Concerted approach to you know being fit and healthy and

30:13 I've always been kind of an exercise person

30:18 But never to this level

30:21 So but I think that's that is important to with the machine because you're crawling around

30:27 You're pulling up batting you're

30:29 Hafton rolls a batting, you know down to cut the thing if you don't have this cool rack that your husband made you

30:36 You got to be you know, you got to be aware of that. And the other thing is

30:42 If you are doing any hand guiding the more fit you are upper body

30:47 The the easier it is, you know, I can I can quilt for eight hours straight and not even feel a thing

30:53 Mm-hmm and a lot of what you're alluding to they're kind of refers back to the

30:59 Self-determination the the piece of being having control of your own schedule, you know

31:06 Yeah, and and that is I think one of the most underrated

31:12 conversations

31:13 That you know when I was selling machines full-time

31:17 for gamble

31:20 That was the thing that I tried to impress upon my customers because

31:26 There is so much power in that and so much peace that comes with that that you can't

31:32 Unless you're in it if you've never been self-employed

31:35 It's really hard to describe how amazing it is to say, you know what?

31:40 I'm gonna go outside and spend the day in the garden today and

31:44 Maybe tonight when it's dark out, I'll be you know in my studio quilting

31:48 I mean that that's a that's a common thing for me. I'm not I'm not the kind of person I was

31:53 But now at this point in my career, I'm not the kind of person I'm in my studio at 830 and I'm in here until 5

32:01 You know, I did that for a lot of years

32:04 And when you're building a business, you know that may might make perfect sense. Oh, it's Rick. I think it's

32:10 Absolutely. I mean you got to be intentional, you know, you can't just sit down and watch

32:15 You know stream five TV shows in a row and you know, I mean you you got to be involved. Mm-hmm

32:22 So you said that you had over 40 charity quilts done this year, which is awesome

32:29 How many customer quilts then I mean some of them are very intense, right? You have the same quilt on the frame for days

32:36 Well, yeah to be honest with you. I think I'm only at about 25

32:42 Because I have gotten a lot of higher custom and I and I did I did intentionally

32:48 take less because I felt really like I I've been so incredibly blessed by this quilting industry that I felt it was

32:57 Incumbent upon me to put some of that out there

33:00 And so I've never ever in my all the years. I've been quilting. I've never

33:07 Set down that kind of goal and been that intentional about it, you know

33:11 I made some here and there I quilt some for a good customer, you know for their charity or whatever

33:16 But to commit to making the top

33:20 Quilting it binding it, you know the whole thing. I mean that that it just felt really good

33:25 I'm I'm kind of taking a pause from that. I have two left to bind and then it's you know, full speed ahead

33:32 Well, I I think it's fair to say that

33:35 No true success

33:38 Can never be measured in the bank account

33:43 Maybe failure sometimes can be measured in your bank account. Oh, yeah, but true success goes way beyond

33:52 Keeping the bills paid, you know, a lot of people can do that. Yeah, I've been working on one show quilt. That's mine

34:00 It's actually behind me on the wall

34:03 Now it's finished the applique and the piecing are finished but I've been working on that since January and

34:09 doing the charity quilts at the same time and

34:13 so

34:14 I'm really excited to kind of move back into you know, where I'm getting back into being more productive

34:24 Not that the charity quilts weren't important but you know

34:27 And I think that's a very important thing that Andrew mentioned that the true success is

34:35 not

34:37 Entirely determined by by the bank account it definitely I mean, you know, we we do need to meet our needs

34:45 but a

34:47 lot of the things that you are talking about Linda are

34:50 Really reflect on the essence of what's really important in life, you know

34:57 Yeah, and some of us it takes us a while to learn that

34:59 You know, we have to get a couple two by fours up the head before we catch on to the fact of how important

35:04 Yes, but you know the quilting the quilting business. I'm interesting little

35:09 story a lady brought me this quilt it was

35:14 so horribly appeased it was a

35:16 I can't recall the name of it, but it was like a double wedding ring on steroids with points and I mean intersections and it I

35:24 Don't know if you've ever had fried bologna in your life, but you know, it gets a hump in the middle

35:27 Well, every single block was like that and she said well Linda

35:32 I'm not a quilter, but my mother made this and

35:36 Is there any way we can quilt that I've been to two other quilters in town and they said they wouldn't touch it

35:41 And I said well if you're okay with an overall meander and you're okay with you know

35:48 Some really well hidden tucks here and there I think I can do it

35:51 I did it and you know took a lot of ingenuity and soup cans and spray starch and you know

35:58 all the tricks that we've used and

36:00 I can't tell you how great it was, you know, it was like a hundred and fifty dollar quilt job

36:07 To make this woman cry

36:10 You know, it was a PETA to quilt

36:13 but that quilt gave me more satisfaction doing that for her than some of the

36:21 Really intense quilt where the customer is just like oh my gosh. I love it, you know

36:25 So there's that side of it too, you know that it's not just what you give away

36:29 But what you give to someone else that they weren't expecting

36:36 So

36:38 Looking back over the years that you've been in the quilting business

36:43 What what's maybe been one of the most challenging?

36:48 seasons and and

36:52 And and how did you get through that

36:55 Well mine the most challenging was the year that I broke my shoulder and my ankle in a ski crash

37:03 I had a huge backlog of quilts. I

37:07 Was totally destroyed physically and

37:11 I didn't know what the outcome was gonna be

37:15 I couldn't stand I couldn't walk and I couldn't use crutches because it was they were both on the right side

37:22 And I actually called customers and said come get your quilt

37:25 I don't know if I'm gonna I don't know when and a lot of them were like I'm on to 20 other quilts

37:30 I don't care, you know, just keep them and whenever you get to it when you can. Yeah, and

37:37 It was a full 10 months before I was really back to snuff

37:41 So that year was probably my most challenging and it was not just challenging on a physical level, but I missed the people

37:49 You know, I that's one of my most favorite parts about the job is you get to know the quilter you get to know their

37:55 stories you get to know who the quilt is for and why they made it and you know that that is the part of

38:01 Doing this job that I think is a little bit underrated

38:05 You know the relationships that you build

38:07 Well, people don't know it until they get into it

38:11 You know, what's funny is that for me?

38:13 That's a lot of what gives me satisfaction in my work because I've been in thousands of quilter studios

38:20 Talking with them about why they love their work and a dirty quilts that they've done and the quilt for their mother

38:26 you know and all this stuff and

38:29 People who don't understand my job. They're like, oh man, you're out there on the road day after day

38:34 12 hour days sleeping in hotel rooms, you know, that must be a terrible job. No, it's the best job I've ever had

38:41 You know, but you would have to know what makes it so crazy fulfilling, you know

38:47 yeah, and I don't you know when I've taught the business classes for for 20 years and

38:54 That's something that you can't teach somebody, you know, you can't really explain that to them, you know

38:59 Oftentimes I talk about you know, the financial side of it because a lot of people don't really get a grasp

39:06 They think well

39:06 I'm gonna charge this much and it's gonna be you know

39:09 this many quilts and I'm gonna do the math and I'm gonna make this much and

39:12 they don't really take into account the big picture of

39:16 What I refer to as hard and soft costs, you know

39:20 and

39:22 You never really talk about what you just talked about, you know

39:26 There's no really way to quantify that to somebody in a class and say this is gonna be something you're gonna see

39:32 You know, and I suppose it's different for everybody, but I'm very much a people person. I need people

39:37 So you alluded to you know, obviously the income earning potential of being in the quilting world and and operating your Statler machine

39:47 What do you tell people? I mean, do you tell them from your own personal experience about what the you know?

39:54 What the hourly or monthly or annual earning can be or how do you because obviously it varies from person to person

40:00 and what they earn.

40:01 Yes, it does.

40:02 And I in my business class, I have been very upfront.

40:06 I know what I want to make an hour and I'm not working for any less.

40:08 And it just kills me

40:12 when I see quilters that, you know, spend

40:17 30 hours on a custom quilt and charge somebody,

40:21 you know, $350 or whatever, you know, it's like

40:26 go work at McDonald's, you'll make more money, you know.

40:30 And yeah, they're hiring down the street at $17.85 an hour.

40:34 Same here, same here.

40:36 But it it really gets me wound up

40:40 when I hear quilters say, well, no one's going to pay that.

40:46 Well, you're making an assumption when you call your plumber

40:49 to come out and, you know, fix the leak you have.

40:51 He tells you it's $125 to show up and it's $35 or $55

40:56 or whatever the rate is an hour to fix it.

40:59 They don't they don't feel bad about, you know.

41:04 I have been I have said this for decades.

41:07 Literally, it's not your job to make somebody's hobby more affordable.

41:11 It's your job to make a living or to supplement your income,

41:15 whatever your financial situation is, you know.

41:18 And I think a lot of times, at least I hear that from students.

41:21 Well, nobody would pay me that.

41:23 Well, have you asked?

41:26 So what is your hourly target?

41:28 My hourly target right now is $45.

41:33 Seems reasonable.

41:35 Well, when you think about the cost of the machine, cost of insurance,

41:39 cost of my website, the cost of my phone, you know, electricity, heat, whatever.

41:47 When you really do the math and I call those soft costs,

41:49 a lot of a lot of quilters don't really think about that.

41:53 I mean, if you don't have an insurance policy on your business,

41:56 you are at a huge risk because if your homeowner's insurance company

42:01 finds out that you're running a business from your home

42:04 and you don't have a business rider or a separate business policy

42:07 and someone slips in your driveway.

42:10 And it happened to a good friend of mine who's actually in business.

42:15 She didn't get sued by the person that fell.

42:17 She got sued by their insurance company.

42:20 Yes. I'm going to do a shameless plug for our Accelerate program.

42:25 If people are wanting to operate a quilting business,

42:31 one of the best things you can do is to sign up for the Accelerate program.

42:35 You get a coach for 12 months

42:38 who walks you through building your business and helps you make sure

42:41 that you do it right.

42:43 And all of these all these topics are pretty important.

42:46 And they're thoroughly covered in the in that program.

42:50 But a lot of it, a lot of times people think about that program

42:54 as just like a series of classes.

42:56 And of course, the classes are are there in our portal.

42:59 But I think the coaching is the most important aspect to that, because,

43:05 you know, going at your on your own without a wise mentor

43:09 is never really a good plan.

43:11 So well, and if you've never owned a business before,

43:15 you don't even think about some of the things that you have to think about.

43:18 I mean, if you I mean, I started my advertising company from nothing.

43:22 So I if there was a mistake to be made, I made it.

43:27 So I took that and just followed the steps

43:31 that I knew worked over into, you know, my quilting business.

43:36 But yeah, that that sounds like a great deal, because I mean,

43:39 I have a golf coach, you know.

43:42 Yeah, I'm an exercise, especially when you're starting something.

43:45 Oh, absolutely.

43:46 You know, that's the best time to have a coach,

43:49 because they can make sure that you don't make the common mistakes

43:52 that everybody makes. Right.

43:54 Well, and quite honestly, I would say if someone's even considering

43:59 I mean, I don't know how it works as far as on your end, but

44:02 that would be something to go through even before you start out.

44:06 You know, like if you're saying, OK, I'm going to get this machine.

44:09 What do I have to do? What do I need? What are the steps?

44:11 You know, I think that would be really valuable.

44:13 We often have people order that program at the same time

44:15 as ordering their machine. Yeah.

44:17 So that they can get started. Yeah.

44:21 It doesn't take a whole lot of things

44:25 to pay back the cost of the coaching because it's it's very valuable.

44:31 So what is what's one thing that you know today

44:37 that you wish you had implemented sooner?

44:40 Oh, yeah. Well, this one is this is an easy answer for me.

44:44 When I first started quilting, as I mentioned, I had 40

44:48 actually had 42 quilts in my walk in closet

44:53 waiting to be quilted. They were mine.

44:56 My second year in business

44:59 at the end of the second year in business, I had 38.

45:04 Hmm. OK. Get very far on those.

45:07 No. So I did not schedule my own time.

45:11 I did not schedule my own quilts.

45:13 And and it wasn't until I started competing nationally

45:17 that I actually started scheduling.

45:20 But the only reason I scheduled is because I had a show deadline

45:23 and I was making a show quilt.

45:25 And I'll be honest with you, I still have two of those original quilts

45:30 that are not quilted.

45:33 Do you love them less?

45:36 Well, you know, there's so much that's changed in the in the colors

45:40 and the look, and I can't bring myself to part with them,

45:43 but I can't bring myself to quilt them either.

45:45 It's ridiculous. I know.

45:48 Linda, a lot of the people that are watching are

45:54 in the earlier stages, you know, some places that you've already been.

46:00 What what would be some advice that you would give someone wanting to

46:04 start a quilting business these days?

46:07 Well, the first thing I would say is you need to make some quilts

46:12 and you need to, you know, have quilts ready.

46:15 So when you get your machine, if you're brand new, you have quilts to work on.

46:19 I don't care if they're charity quilts, I don't care what they are.

46:22 Get your feet wet.

46:23 Get your skill set up.

46:26 You never want to start out.

46:29 OK, I'm going to tell on myself.

46:31 So when my first gamble got delivered at the end of my driveway,

46:36 that's how we did it in those days.

46:39 We got put together.

46:40 The guy left and said, here's how you turn it on.

46:42 And here's the light. And here's, you know.

46:44 And my husband was on a three day business trip.

46:47 And I'm like, oh, my gosh, I think I have just made a huge mistake.

46:52 So, you know, it was hand guided, no stitch regulator.

46:55 And I had made this diamond in a square Amish looking quilt.

46:59 I never quilted anything, you know, with a with any intensity as far as custom.

47:05 Everything I did in my very first machine was just meander and all over stuff,

47:09 you know, and so I started quilting it.

47:13 And I somehow in my

47:17 in my rushing to, you know, so excited. Right.

47:21 So when I was quilting the feathers, I went up the spine like this

47:25 and I went down the spine like this.

47:28 Instead of like this.

47:31 I'm a whole stinking quilt.

47:36 Because I I wasn't ready for this giant quilt, OK?

47:42 I should have practiced on something smaller to learn the feathers.

47:46 I mean, I had quilted some feathers on my domestic machine,

47:48 so I knew what the shape was.

47:51 But it's a different animal when you're moving the pencil

47:53 than when you're moving the paper.

47:55 And I wasn't ready.

47:58 And I was really hoping that that quilt would be something

48:00 I could use to advertise my business.

48:03 And when I when I got it all done, I was like, oh, my gosh, Linda,

48:06 this is terrible.

48:07 I was so upset with myself.

48:08 I just took it right out and throw it in the trash.

48:12 That's too bad.

48:14 Well, the worst thing about it is it would have been a great teaching sample

48:17 when I started teaching.

48:19 Yeah, you do. You know, there is.

48:22 But it's an example of I wasn't ready.

48:26 Yeah, this was a quilt that I wanted to take to my guild

48:29 and show off my quilting skills.

48:32 I one of the quilts that's in my home.

48:35 I got it at a charity auction where the it was a silent auction

48:41 and they were they were raising money for the hospital for buying

48:44 some neonatal equipment or something.

48:47 Anyway, it's one of these dinners and there's a silent auction.

48:50 And anyhow, this quilt was there and I really liked it.

48:54 I like the colors in it. I like the quilting.

48:57 It was obvious that it couldn't have been done on any machine

49:00 that wasn't a statler.

49:01 So I knew it was a gamble quilt.

49:03 And so I bid on it and I and I've and I've got that quilt now.

49:07 But afterwards, the woman who made it, Linda, she came up to me afterwards

49:12 and she told me that she had made the quilt and

49:17 oh, wait, you've got the same name.

49:19 But anyway, different lady.

49:20 And and she she said, you know, this was the first quilt that I made

49:27 after taking the classes on my statler machine.

49:30 And I wanted to use all the things that I'd learned in the classes.

49:34 Yeah. And she loved the quilt and I love the quilt.

49:37 But here her friend, the first time she saw it, she she held it up

49:42 and she's like, oh, wow, that's beautiful.

49:44 Too bad that the density of the quilting

49:47 is not consistent throughout the quilt.

49:51 And that landed on her like a ton of bricks, because in fact,

49:56 there were some areas that were more densely quilted

49:58 and other areas that were more lightly quilted.

50:01 And, you know, it's a rookie mistake.

50:03 It's something that you only do a couple of times and then you never do it again.

50:07 Right. But we're all going to make rookie mistakes.

50:10 That's that's what you do when you're new.

50:14 I have a little tip that I share with all of my

50:17 all of my students when I teach machine quilting, whether it's on,

50:21 you know, if you have a statler or you have if you want to learn something new,

50:26 you need to do it often.

50:27 You need to do it every day.

50:29 And when I was first starting what I did, you know how you get the customer quilt

50:33 and you got four to six inches if you're lucky on either side.

50:36 Well, I would take a little strip of batting and a little piece of fabric

50:40 and pin that onto that overage.

50:42 First, I would ask my customer if they were doing anything with it

50:45 and if they minded.

50:46 I always put it under the guise of so I get your attention.

50:49 Perfect. You know.

50:51 Oh, yeah, that's fine.

50:52 And do what you need to.

50:54 And I would practice whatever technique it was,

50:56 whether I was manipulating a statler design or I was doing something freehand.

51:02 And, you know, on my 30, I've got a fairly good

51:05 stretch that I can do just that little bit every single day is amazing.

51:10 You know, even if it's just,

51:12 you know, skewing a block or using one of the different,

51:15 you know, features of the statler where you can change a pattern

51:19 or go around a pattern or maybe you want to do a fill or, you know,

51:22 just learning the different aspect of the machine.

51:25 It's a small little thing.

51:27 Doesn't take you any time at all, but it's every day.

51:30 And then you get it in your brain.

51:32 So and on that note, I would also recommend,

51:36 in addition to the Accelerate that Andrew was talking about,

51:40 the new owner training that you can also find on Gamble.com is

51:45 a treasure for for somebody that's very new starting out.

51:50 Everything is on video shows you how to do everything.

51:53 So I would I would definitely recommend.

51:55 Well, the other side of that, too.

51:58 And you guys have done an amazing job with the road trip

52:02 sessions.

52:05 I've heard such great feedback from from students that they've gone

52:10 two day, three, whatever the time frame is that they could fit in their schedule.

52:15 There is nothing like hands on, you know, when you

52:20 if you're having trouble understanding something

52:22 and the person's right there showing you and then you do it.

52:25 That just for a lot of people really click.

52:28 So I think anytime they can slot themselves into a hand

52:32 hands on session, that's really valuable, too,

52:35 especially if you're starting out and the whole, you know, computer screen,

52:40 the whole thing just seems like overwhelming, you know.

52:44 And any any any tutorials, anything that you can walk through,

52:48 that's a tutorial, you know, that's really helpful, too.

52:52 And it's an investment in you and it's an investment in your business.

52:57 And if you just start out and fly by the seat of your pants,

53:00 you're going to make the mistakes. Mm hmm. Yeah.

53:05 Well, we're getting close to the end of our time.

53:08 I had one other question for you.

53:10 Is there anything in particular that you're working on this year

53:14 or looking forward to for this year, like maybe a big show quilt or something?

53:19 Well, yes, I mentioned the show quilt.

53:21 It's the one that's right over my shoulder there.

53:24 I expect that to be in the machine for

53:28 quite a few hours. I'm really excited about it.

53:31 I have not been inspired

53:34 for that level of quilting for a couple of years,

53:37 but I'm really, really excited to get back to it

53:39 and really do some intense quilting.

53:41 And then the other thing that I'm really looking forward to

53:44 is I have quite a few guild events this year.

53:47 So getting out with the people that always makes me happy.

53:50 So that's always a fun time. Awesome.

53:54 Cool. Well, you know, you mentioned having been on social media

54:00 and do you want to share your Facebook name

54:04 or Instagram handle or however?

54:07 I'm not very up on social media.

54:09 I try to stay away from it, but I have to get on.

54:12 You're a wise man, Andrew.

54:14 It can be really, really beneficial, but it can also be a huge time suck.

54:18 So where can people find you, though?

54:21 Well, my professional page on Facebook is The Quilted Goose, Linda Tealfold.

54:28 And Instagram, I think, is the same.

54:32 And then, you know, my website,

54:35 if anybody really wants to reach out to me or if you are a guild

54:38 and you want to bring me in, my email is info at the quilted goose dot com.

54:44 Fantastic. So at the Quilted Goose.

54:46 Shameless plug there.

54:48 Yeah, might as well.

54:49 Well, you know, I really appreciate you taking the time

54:53 to to share this with us, you know, as people are,

54:58 you know, making decisions about their own life, where they want to spend

55:01 their time and what they want to be doing.

55:04 I think it's incredibly helpful for people who've kind of walked that path

55:08 before to to share what it's been like.

55:11 So, well, I have zero regrets and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

55:16 And if I was to do it again, I would buy two machines.

55:20 I would have one strictly for edge to edge and one for custom.

55:24 And they would both run.

55:26 So if you have the if you have the means,

55:30 highly recommended.

55:32 Well, it's not like the machine won't pay for itself.

55:35 No. And and that is an absolute truth.

55:38 Both of my machines have paid for themselves in less time

55:41 than I thought it would take, honestly.

55:45 Yeah. Well, Linda, thank you so much.

55:47 I think this this interview has been a perfect balance of the tangible

55:54 and the intangible elements of of your experience

55:59 with with your Gamel machines.

56:01 And we really appreciate the time that you've taken with us today.

56:06 Well, thank you so much for having me.

56:07 I hope that the insight maybe gives somebody a little more enthusiasm

56:12 for starting down the path that I've been on and have been incredibly blessed by.

56:15 I best thing I ever did, honestly.

56:19 Awesome. Well, thank you so much, Linda.

56:21 And we'll see everybody again in two weeks. Right back here.

56:25 OK. Thank you. Bye bye.