Check Out Amanda Bauer’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda Bauer.

Hi Amanda, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
A lifelong artist and crafter, I didn’t start quilting until around 2013. I was determined to not add more hobby supplies to my cramped space, but my mom dragged me into it. Once I got started though, I couldn’t stop. Because budgets were a factor, I started out quilting my own projects on my domestic sewing machine – a barebones Singer that my husband had given me (unwillingly. I might add – he thought of it as an “appliance” and thought I’d get mad later) for Christmas when we first got married.

Along with quilting the projects, I jumped head first into designing quilts as well – the first design I created ended up as one of the first patterns I wrote – Underwater Basket Weaving and is my favorite top to piece today. Super fast and it’s fun to put together! Anyway, fast forward to today and I am working hard to grow my business so that I can inspire other quilters to go out and create!

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Nope – I think the largest struggle has really been realizing that this is my business and my journey. while I can observe and note what/how other people have achieved their success, and perhaps incorporate things they have learned, I don’t HAVE to do things the way other people have done them. I have been focused on building a business that works for my family and me in the long term.

I will be honest and say that I have been very blessed to have an amazing support system, so making decisions that feel foolish in the short term has been easier. For example, not diving in headfirst to long arm quilting for hire doing strictly edge-to-edge (computerized, and hands down the most popular choice for customers) work, but instead doing fewer quilts but focusing on custom quilting. Being able to put pattern design and other scalable things ahead of quilting overall has been a privilege. The growth has felt slower, but I have no regrets!

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I honestly have sort of a split personality when it comes to quilting. I love to design complicated-looking designs, and then break them down into the simplest possible way for a maker. I love to incorporate negative space in my designs to let the quilter have fun playing around – which can take the design to a whole new level! I also love to sit down, not necessarily think too hard and just crank out a project sometimes – or to create patterns that make it easy for someone to shop their stash and create a last-minute gift over a weekend.

Regardless of what type of pattern I’m creating, my ultimate goal is to not have my pattern wind up in someone’s UFO (Unfinished Object) pile because they are frustrated – so giving solid instructions (and a healthy mix of graphics and words, for those folks who like to make based on one or the other) is important to me. I also like to tailor the techniques I use to make sure that I am factoring in the maker’s valuable resources – money and time.

If using a particular tool will save loads of time, I will use that. If using a particular technique is going to waste a bunch of fabric, though – I will choose something more practical. Overall, and I will die on this hill, I am a big fan of asking yourself the question “why”, prior to even starting a project. This question will absolutely impact every decision I make, and I encourage makers to look at their own “whys”!

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Accept that you will feel like an imposter at times – and know that even that business owner/creator/influencer that you have admired from afar also has the same issue at times. What started working for me (networking is something that has been WAY outside my comfort zone forever – an introvert at heart for sure!) was to simply get comfortable with being uncomfortable. It sounds trite, but it is true. Once I started just reaching out, it became that much easier.

It was just about a year ago that I reached out to a fellow pattern designer when I realized that she is local to me – I recognized the gym she posted working out at. Fast forward to now, I have an amazing network of incredibly talented and supportive creatives and a bunch of us attended the Fall Quilt Market last October. It was amazing!

Another small bit of advice would be to get yourself a ‘wingman” to be brave within super uncomfortable situations. That was such a help at Market – I am amazed at what a difference that made, and to be honest I’m not sure I would have been as successful with my networking if I hadn’t had that support going in.

Pricing:

• $12-30 patterns

Contact Info:

• Website: www.quiltitlist.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/aleebcreative
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/aleebcreative