Category: JUKI Spotlight

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JUKI Spotlight: Rocking with ‘String and Story’!

by sewinwithjuki1 Comment on JUKI Spotlight: Rocking with ‘String and Story’!
Photo credit: Klara Cu

Like many, HollyAnne Knight, Founder & CEO of “String & Story,” began quilting as a hobby. From an early age, HollyAnne found herself often being creative. She had hobbies that ranged from oil and watercolor painting to ballet and ballroom dancing and even picked up knitting along the way. Around her art, she focused her passions on education, earning her degree in English Literature, Secondary Education, and Linguistics. If there was one word to describe HollyAnne, it would be a Rockstar, just like she calls her students and sewing friends.

Photo credit: Klara Cu

Surrounded by her family, HollyAnne has been married to her husband John for eight years, has two sons Jem and Ian, and a home filled with their loving pets a dog, two cats, and two fish tanks.  With a mutual passion for traveling, HollyAnne and her family are currently one state away from hitting all 50 states and capitals of the United States!

When HollyAnne was expecting her second child, she decided it was time to find a new hobby to focus on since her current hobby of oil painting wasn’t easy with a toddler and pets around. In comes her friend, who lent her their small sewing machine, and HollyAnne found herself picking up a hobby she hadn’t done since elementary. One of her first projects was a t-shirt quilt her mother had been mentioning wanting, and HollyAnne had taken on the challenge. After a few mistakes with a rotary blade, she had finally completed her rag-style quilt and learned some lessons along the way. As she continued to enjoy quilting, she stumbled across the world of modern quilting and fell in love with the idea of “free motion quilting.”

What started as a small Etsy shop that sold stationery and knitted goods, continued to grow with her as she caught a bit of an entrepreneurial bug. After creating her Mom’s T-shirt quilt, HollyAnne started getting requests from others for their own. Upgrading from her old sewing machine into the JUKI J-150 QVP, she became obsessed with its durability, dependability, throat space, and stitch quality. As she started working on her pieces and growing her business, she began learning to free motion quilt. With her passion for teaching, HollyAnne created online courses to teach and rebranded the name to “String & Story.”

Photo credit: Klara Cu

While the inspiration for the name was created by a trend happening at the time, the idea behind it flourished. With the goal being to show that we were all connected, and can continue to empower one another as we’ve done in the past.

“Spaces like quilting have historically been female-dominated, a rare area where women were considered experts, where information passed through social networks and collective power was used for everything from keeping families warm to expressing social commentary to organizing political activism. String & Story is about continuing that legacy into the modern era– for socializing, learning, empowering, and organizing.”

Currently, one of HollyAnne’s business ventures is her Free Motion Quilting Academy. A String & Story’s signature online course is a 12-week free motion quilting education program to guide students from being nervous beginner FMQ-ers to confident, intermediate FMQ Rockstars, as HollyAnne would say. To date, she’s been able to instruct and help 2000 students on every size, shape, and brand of machine imaginable. Only opening enrollment periodically, HollyAnne encourages people to attend sewing and quilting classes to grow more confident in their projects.

“I LOVE teaching FMQ and other quilting techniques, but my FAVORITE thing is watching my students try new things, master their mindset, and so often learn something they didn’t think was possible.”

Photo credit: Klara Cu

The future of Strings & Story is bright as HollyAnne states, it’s only getting started. With ideas of expanding her digital course and online shop, she hopes to start adding in-person event classes as the COVID-19 pandemic wanes. If you’re interested in staying up to date with HollyAnne, her classes, and more, find her on social media (Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest) @stringandstory today and via her newsletter at www.stringandstory.com/newsletter!

JUKI Posts, JUKI Spotlight

JUKI Spotlight: Finding your Passion with Ponderosa

by sewinwithjuki1 Comment on JUKI Spotlight: Finding your Passion with Ponderosa

Today we’re introducing and spotlighting Paige Anderson, the face behind Ponderosa. Paige’s sewing story begins before she was born. Her family has a strong tradition and makes sure their sewing skills pass with each generation. Starting as an ecologist, Paige studied the ponderosa pine trees for her candidacy. Inspired by her past work in the eco field, Paige wanted a way to tie her love for nature with her quilting, thus naming her brand after the beautiful pine tree – Ponderosa.

Inspired by trees, the back to the land movement, 2000s alien movies, and womanhood as a whole, Paige focuses on bright colors that merge well to create pieces that flow and feel balanced. As time has gone by, she’s found inspiration in multiple things from vintage fashion and home goods to ceramics and murals. Currently, Paige’s work focuses on freeform curves and semicircles.

As a mother, Paige transferred her career from ecology to creating a business as an artist. While she first feared that a journey like this wouldn’t be feasible, she found this to be her truest passion!

“After having my child, I switched gears from being in the ecology field to wanting something I could do with my daughter in tow. Up until that point, I had always told myself that being an artist wasn’t a feasible career path for me, but… it’s the only one I’m passionate about. “

Ponderosa was created to bring quilting into the everyday world. Working on our JUKI TL-2010Q, Paige knows the importance of speed! Designing and creating accessible goods like bandanas, keychains, pouches, and totes, Paige has been able to share her products again and again. Off the path of trends, Paige likes to focus on what speaks to her personally! Her proudest work to date has been a large quilt project she’s currently working on based on a landscaping painting she created, a difficult task she’s proud of, but one Paige says might not happen again!

The future of Ponderosa is a bright one, JUKI lovers! Paige’s next dream goal is to open up a maker’s co-op in Olympia, Washington. Currently, Paige is looking for a space with an abundance of natural light, room for makers in the back, and a retail space upfront. With her friends in tow, Paige is currently working on her master plan and hoping to make this dream a reality. She hopes to see you there once this dream is completed!

If you’re interested in learning more about Paige and her work, visit her on her pages! We’ll link them down below for you.

Click here to Ponderosa Creative Instagram!

Click here to shop Ponderosa Creative!

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Business Spotlight: The Stitching Store in Tennessee

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Celebrating National Small Business Month with JUKI Dealers

Owned by a team of family and friends, we’re proud to share The Stitching Store located in Covington, TN! Recently The Stitching Store has changed ownership to a trusted friend, Nicole, who recently purchased the shop. Being an employee before buying the shop, Nicole was able to gain experience in the sewing and quilting world.

Inspired by her mother, who created beautiful outfits and crib set for Nicole’s newborn daughter, she joined the world of quilting. Close to her mother, Nicole shared with us her favorite memory of being in the shop is her mother sewing her heart out every day there.

Offering a range of services, The Stitching Store is an excellent place for all your quilting and sewing needs. Feel free to stop by and turn your gorgeous quilt tops into quilts with their machines, where they offer both edge-to-edge quilting and free motion for more delicate tops. Find comfort in their classes available each month that focus on basic sewing and quilting and are held on a one-on-one basis to focus on you.

When you’re doing the project on your own, they can help there too! Having various sewing machines and models to choose from, they offer free lessons when you purchase one of their sewing machines and a two-year warranty on your favorite JUKI’s! Whether you’re looking for fabric, notions, patterns, or custom-sewn items, they make sure to supply what you need.

Make sure to check out their repair offers as well. When you’re having trouble with your machine, their trusty teammate Randy is there to help. Able to work on both old and new sewing machines, find comfort in knowing your sewing machine is in good hands.

If you’re in the area, make sure to stop by and say JUKI sent you! Visit them at http://www.TheStitchingStore.net to learn more about what Nicole and her team can do for you today!

*Photo Credit: The Stitching Store Facebook Media Page

If you’re interested in The Stitching Store check them out today and follow their information below!

887 Highway 51 S
Covington TN
P: (901) 476-2030

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Business Spotlight: The “Go-To” with The Quilt Peddler

by sewinwithjukiLeave a Comment on Business Spotlight: The “Go-To” with The Quilt Peddler

Celebrating National Small Business Month with JUKI Dealers

Here at JUKI we appreciate and support our vendors who get to work with you JUKI lovers! That’s why we’re taking today to tell you about Marianne, owner and shop runner for ‘The Quilt Peddler’ in Tallahassee, Florida.

Starting when she was a teen, Marianne found herself in an economics course learning about sewing. Move forward to high school and she’s begun making a little side business helping other students alter their blue jeans to the current trends. Continuing on Marianne found that sewing was a great way to make income, and it was something she enjoyed. From reupholstering furniture to hemming pants, she found use in anything she could fix.

After changes in her life, Marianne turned to sewing as an idea to help her family, but instead, she found it to be her calling. Starting at Bernia Connections, she found herself enjoying her work, and learning more about the industry each day. With the encouragement of her boss who was about to retire and her family, she decided to open up shop, introducing ‘The Quilt Peddler’ to Tallahassee! Around now for two years, the shop has grown into a holder for everything sewing; from fabric to machines and accessories, ‘The Quilt Peddler’ has become a ‘go to’ for many.

“Guiding the customer through the process to determine the best machine for them is one thing that keeps people coming back. Understanding and being able to explain solutions for a customer’s concerns, even if they only need to know how the blind hem foot works, has made us the ‘go to’ for information.”

Visit Marianne and her shop today to learn more about what sewing machines work best for you, whatever project you may have. When asked what sets them apart from other shops Marianne had one thing to say, “The competition for my shop does not have the same level of expertise that we offer at The Quilt Peddler,” and after hearing her story we see why!

*Photo Credit: The Quilt Peddler Team

If you’re interested in The Quilt Peddler check them out today and follow their information below!

Phone: 608-822-6822
Email: quiltpeddlerllc@gmail.com
4420 US Highway 18 East
Fennimore WI 53809

JUKI Posts, JUKI Spotlight

JUKI Spotlight: The Little Green Bean

by sewinwithjukiLeave a Comment on JUKI Spotlight: The Little Green Bean
Credit: The Little Green Official Site

Located in Minnesota, you can find Missy Luukkonen, owner of the Little Green Bean! Born and raised in Duluth, Missy fell in love with sewing in high school and has been sewing crafts, quilts, and many other projects for over 20 years. This is all thanks to an extraordinary teacher.

Starting as a hobby, Missy was working full time in a profession she loved and coming home to sewing projects as a way to relax. What began as something to do in her free time slowly grew with each new project. Missy was making burlap tote bags when she started an Etsy shop for the fun of it, not realizing how well it would grow! After saving up her Etsy shop money and taking her husband and two sons on vacation, she thought the shop would be a great side business, but it continued to evolve.

Credit: The Little Green Bean – Instagram

As time went on, she found that her side gig was becoming a full-time job. Once she realized her small business continued growing, Missy decided to take a chance on her dream. Thus The Little Green Bean was here to stay! The products on her online store are constantly changing by customers’ suggestions. Missy makes these suggestions come to life with the help of her husband, who now happily works and runs the shop as well.  After her husband, Chris, joined, they settled on a great dynamic, Missy handles most of the designing, and Chris does the production. With both partners jumping back and forth with ideas, they make an accomplished team.

One project they’re very proud of is the “Monthly Gnome“! Each month, Missy and her husband create a sweet gnome, that is new, and original in design. These little gnomes can be a one-time purchase or a monthly subscription if you’re a collector.

Credit: The Little Green Bean – Missy

Missy’s shop has continued to evolve as she’s always working on different ideas. Ever since Missy was a child, she was always making something. Not being afraid to try new things, Missy goes for it when a new idea pops up. While getting the perfect pattern may take several attempts to perfect, she’s always ready to learn along the way. One type of project she tends to stay away from is clothing, “I have never liked sewing clothes though, I’ll make PJ pants for my kids, but that’s about as far as I go with clothing!”

We recommend checking out Missy’s breath-taking workshop on her socials! Wanting her work area to be different from the rest of her home, Missy imagined her space to be bright and happy. Using fun and bright colors, Missy was able to create a space that was inviting and fed her the good energy she likes to work with. Cleanly organized and with perfect space for her JUKI’s the TL-2000Qi and MO-6700, every day Missy spends her time in her cottage and garage making the next big thing.

To learn more about Missy and her family business, check out her website here! Make sure to check into Missy’s socials as well for an inside look into her shop and home life at on Pinterest and Instagram.