An archive of sewing tutorials and inspiration

     

Sponsors, Goals, and Plans for Pile O' Fabric

The last few months at Pile O' Fabric have been a whirlwind of excitement. I have been quilting up a storm, working on some fun secret projects and plans, I just completed the Beginner's Quilting Series, we're coming to the end of the Totally Groovy QAl, we're in round two of the Kona Swap and I am planning a fun new series as we speak.

PTS9 Progress

As much as I love quilting and sewing, I don't think I would love it as much without you! I have made so many friends throughout this journey which is really the icing and cherry on top of the cake. When I blog it is my chance to share about something I am truly passionate about, with folks who inspire me and keep my wheels turning. I am so thankful for you.

I am also very thankful for the partnerships I have made with my sponsors. I know for that last few month's I have had quite a few giveaway's and new sponsor posts, as I was just beginning to take on new sponsors. I have almost met my sponsor max so the new sponsor posts will be tapering off soon. But, I wanted to share with you a little about why I have taken on sponsors and my hopes for this blog.

My Goal at Pile O' Fabric

My ultimate goal at Pile O' Fabric is to connect with fellow quilters and inspire them to continue learning, to step out of their comfort zone, try new techniques, join new events, try new products, and fall even more in love with quilting than they were. I try to do this through inspirational projects, tutorials, sewing events, product reviews, etc. I hope that the series and posts I have had thus far have reached this goal.

Sponsors

Taking on sponsors has aloud me to continue sewing, to share about products I love, and help support some really wonderful shops.

When I decided to bring on sponsors it was for many reasons. First I knew that my sewing budget in comparison to my quilting desires wasn't going to last long haha. So in order to be able to continue, I would need to start trying to make this blog a little business. But, at the same time I didn't wan't my focus of the blog to change. So when taking on sponsors it was my goal to take on shops I truly love, that sell things I like to use, and have wonderful customer service.

Some sponsors I approached because I loved shopping at their stores. Then some shops approached me, and only after getting to know them and their shop did I consider sponsorship. Sponsorship at Pile O' Fabric is paid for, which includes a sidebar ad, email ad, and this original post. Any other posts, and sharing of the sponsors is just out of love for their shop. Most of the fabric I use I pay for completely by myself and rarely do I get fabric for free, if I do I will always let you know.

When I share about a sponsor or sponsors product, I never do it out of obligation, but out of a true love for that sponsor or product. So believe me when I tell you if I am going to support something, it means I truly love it.

Reviews

I have had the opportunity to review a few books in the past, and really enjoy doing this. C&T Publishing has a program called the Creative Troupe which allows bloggers to receive a free E-book in exchange for a review on their blog, Amazon, CTpub.com, and Good Reads. I have really been a fan of Stash Books and so when I heard about this program I was ready to sign up.

I find good solid reviews very helpful when I am shopping for products, in fact if a product does not have a review I most likely won't buy it. So to be able share about products with you is wonderful. But, what I want you all to know is that I vow to review products with a honest opinion. So if that means I have to give something a bad review, than that is what I will do in all honesty.

Giveaways

Who doesn't love a giveaway? I myself have only ever won one giveaway, which was for some Aurifil thread and it completely changed my sewing life! Over the last few months between New Sponsor Posts, and the Totally Groovy QAL I have had a TON of giveaways. Now giveaway's are fun, but I know they can get old when they happen non-stop. So I have tried to keep a balance between giveaways and solid regular posts.

Weekly Giveaway's - Fabric Giveaway Friday

What I have decided to do is to host a weekly giveaway. Every Friday there will be a Fabric Giveaway here at Pile O' Fabric. This will allow the super fun giveaways to continue, but it also helps keep me organized and allows for me to blog about other fun things throughout the week. Each week one of my sponsors will be providing fabric for the giveaway. The fabric will be chosen by myself, based on may favorite items in their store.

Each week the giveaway will begin Friday morning at about 8am MST and close Tuesday at 12pm. Announcing the winner in a new post is something I seem to always get behind on, so I will announce the winner on Facebook, and Twitter every Wednesday, I will also email the winner personally and I will make mention of them in the next Friday's giveaway.

Most giveaways are open to everyone near or far. But, occasionally they may be open to USA participants only. So be sure to keep an eye on the Giveaway Rules, before entering. The only required entry for entering will be to answer a given question in a comment on the post. Following the sponsored shop or myself will only be extra entries and completely up to you. In fact I really encourage you to follow only if you truly want to not just because you want to win.

I use Rafflecopter for all my giveaways, this really helps streamline the process and saves me time. I am planning in the near future to have a Tutorial on how to properly enter a Rafflecopter Giveaway, since I know it is still a little difficult to get used to.

The first Weekly Giveaway will actually began today in a separate post and will be introducing a New Sponsor.

Blog Series

One of my most favorite things to do here at Pile O' Fabric are blog series. I have done Quilting & Sewing Event's 101 and the Beginner's Quilting Series. Both were incredibly fun for me to write, and I love having a little structure. So with the end of many fun events and series, I am already thinking up ideas for my next one.

I am thinking about doing a series on Technique Tutorials. I am always fascinated by new quilting techniques and always hungry to learn more. So for this series I think some posts will have tutorials written by myself and then some posts I will share about a tutorial on a technique by someone else. We will cover a myriad of different topics on Machine Quilting, Hand Quilting, Embroidery, Piecing, Designing, Finishing, etc. Here are some ideas…

  • How to Scale a block up/down
  • How to Machine Piece Hexagons
  • How to Transfer Embroidery Designs
  • How to Sketch your own Quilt Design

Now I still have some thinking to do, and I would really really love your feedback. What techniques are you interested in learning?

Well I do thank you so much for being here, reading this and supporting my little blog. Like I said before I am so thankful for you :) If you would like to share about Pile O' Fabric with others I have created a little Pile O' Fabric button…

Pile O Fabric

If you have any questions please feel free to email me at alyssa@http://blog.pileofabric.com

Alyssa

Alyssa Williams

Alyssa Williams

Creator of Pile O' Fabric

Alyssa Lichner is a graphic designer turned avid sewist. She writes modern quilting tutorials and shares techniques and inspiration on her blog, Pile O’ Fabric. Alyssa has a passion for exploring different techniques and applying them to modern designs. She is thankful to have the opportunity to share these techniques, through her tutorials, patterns, and classes with quilters around the world. She always encourages her readers and students to challenge themselves to try new things and to approach quilting with a fearless attitude.

Questions/Comments