Why do we sew? Everyone's story is different. We interview sewing stars & industry professionals, quilters & embroiderers, menders & makers to bring you inspiring stories that give you all the feels. Listen while you sew or on the go and learn about sewists from all walks of life; what motivates their passion; how they innovate their craft; and more. Then go make something great!

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Solver of embroidery puzzles, Bringing Bliss with Quilting, Valori Wells

Valori Wells is a professional quilter, author, fabric and pattern designer, painter and photographer. She was born into and raised surrounded by fabric from birth by her loving and creative mother. She has been designing fabrics for about twenty years, and her products can be found all over the world. She has written a total of twelve books, nine alongside her mother and three by herself. Join us as we talk about Valori’s younger self, her first exposure to sewing, the balance between professional and personal life, hand-carved blocks, building connections in the community and more.

[02.30] Younger self – Starting the conversation, Valori shares a brief bio about herself and the journey she took to decide she wanted to design fabric.

[07.42] First exposure – How Valori absorbed fabric her entire life without even realizing it

[15.11] The balance – The importance of balancing professional life and personal life

[20.57] Hand-carved blocks – Valori shares how she fell in love with block printing and the Japanese block printing tools she uses.

[28.06] Favorite tools – Valori’s favorite tools in her sewing room

[35.33] Creating Connection – We dive into how Valori and her mom started doing virtual classes during the COVID-19 period to build a community connection.

[42.17] Open-minded people – Valori explains why she thinks she has the most amazing people in the industry.

[50.00] The satisfaction – It’s not always about the destination but the journey. What you're doing at the moment brings all the bliss.

Connect with Valori:

Twitter: - twitter.com/valoriwells
Website: - valoriwells.com/
Facebook: - web.facebook.com/valoriwells/


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Solver of embroidery puzzles, Reen Wilcoxson of Embroidery Garden The act of creating with Melissa Mora, Melly Sews Sharing pieces of myself through quilting, Karie Jewell Quilts Walking the line between fashion and craft with Liesl Gibson, Oliver + S Patterns Healing through sewing with Ellen March, Sulky of America From graphic design to quilting full-time with Karlee Porter Having it all (just not right now) with Sue Hausmann, America Sews Continuing the sewing legacy with Amy Barickman, Vintage Made Modern The art & science of sewing with Barbara Emodi, author of Crafting for Murder Sewing for the Bride with Rae Cumbie, of Fit for Art Patterns Providing embroidery solutions with Eileen Roche, of Designs in Machine Embroidery The luckiest quilter alive: Elizabeth Beck, Tandem Quilting Co. Making an Imprint with Sewing with Jennifer Tryon, HomeMade Zandra Shaw Fighting anxiety & depression with machine embroidery, Zandra Shaw of EmbroiderShoppe. Abby Glassenberg co-founded Craft Industry Alliance and now serves as its president. Bringing beauty into the world with Dale Allen-Rowse, Quilting Cowboy Smocking, embroidery & heirloom roots with Martha Pullen From casinos to cruise ships to custom sewing with Amanda Carita, So Sew English Fabrics Mostly self-taught, making things & selling them with Jessica Barrera of Sallie Tomato Cheryl Kuczek, of Paradiso Designs, designs eclectic style sewing patterns for handbags and clothing Master of curves (& folding khakis) Jen Carlton Bailly of Betty Crocker Ass Couture costumer, artist & fashion designer Anna He of Seattle Cosplay From the Air Force to YouTube Sewing Star: Becky Thompson, Power Tools with Thread Have a handmade happy hour with Cathie Filian, cathiefilian.com Sewing as therapy & finding a community with Desiree Habicht of Desiree's Designs Accidental successes, big-ass books & making things for mom - Mark Montano Addicted, smitten and obsessed with making quilts - Suzy Williams of Suzy Quilts From peek-a-boo to patternmaking and perfectionism with Angela Wolf Breaking away from home-ec sewing with Michelle Morris, That Black Chic Finding a path to joy through quilting with Mary Fons, self-proclaimed Quilt Nerd "It's not about WHAT I made. It's about the MAKING." - Suzy Williams of Suzy Quilts THE HOST Jason Prater loves to hear about why people sew. As the President of Sulky, and an industry veteran of 25+ years, it seems like he's heard it all. But there's always a new story, a new reason, a new event that sparks a new interest in sewing, and he's happy to share those stories with you. Jason brings extensive industry knowledge and his enthusiastic personality to the podcast. His infectious energy will have you reflecting on your sewing story, and you'll want to run to the sewing machine to start making something new.

"I love the Sulky brand. It is like painting with threads." - Desiree Habicht of Desiree's Designs

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We're alway looking for people who sew (or relate to sewing/apparel/textiles in some way) and have interesting, heartfelt, or unusual stories to share.

CONTACT US

"There is nothing better than sitting down and getting an idea and then using your own 2 hands to make that come to fruition. - Mark Montano at www.markmontano.com

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