Moving Your Home and Business: Meet Our Roundtable Guests

This month I hosted a roundtable discussion with a few Longarm League members to discuss the process of moving with your longarm. Our guests had a wealth of advice, both on physically moving your machine, as well as guidance on working through shutting down your business in one location and reopening in a new location.

While the full recording is available to our members, we asked our roundtable guests to share a little more about themselves and some moving advice with our blog readers.

Without further ado, let's meet our guests!

Chris Batten, Looped Quilting Studio

Located: West Richland, WA
Machine and software: Innova

Where to find Chris
Website: https://www.loopedquilting.com/
Instagram: loopedquilting

Chris is currently moving and getting settled in West Richland, WA, where she'll continue offering digital E2E quilting services.

Stef Kingery, Jack & Theo's Quilting Co.

Located: Montana
Machine and software: HandiQuilter Amara w/ProStitcher

Where to find Stef
Website: https://www.jackandtheos.com/
Instagram: @jackandtheos

Stef specializes in T-Shirt / Memory Quilts, but adores all things quilty!  She's a Longarmer, Bespoke Pattern Maker, and Barn Quilt Painter.

Julia Ward, Quilting Jules

Located: Atlanta, Georgia
Machine: Gammill Optimum with Intelliquilter

Where to find Susan
Website: https://www.quiltingjules.com/
Instagram: @juliamcteer

Julia provides digital edge to edge longarm quilting and T-shirt quilts, as well as binding services.

We thought it would be fun to ask our roundtable guests to share a little more with you about themselves and their advice on moving a business.

Moving

Q: What's the longest distance you've moved your longarm?

• Chris: "150 miles"
• Stef: "1,400 miles from Illinois to Montana"
• Julia: "From Virginia to New Mexico"

Q: What's one piece of advice you'd give someone who's thinking about moving their business?

• Chris: "Watch this lesson! It is full of so many helpful tidbits!"
• Stef: "Schedule a tech on both sides, it's worth every single penny! Saves a ton of stress and unknowns."
• Julia: "With the right prep, you can do anything!"

Q: What's something fun or positive that came out of moving your business?

• Chris: "I have made new friends at the local Guild."
• Stef: "New spaces bring a different creative energy - I love finding out what that will create."
• Julia: "It’s been so wonderful to have previously local clients willing to mail their quilts to me because they like my work so much. It’s a big confidence boost!"

Just for fun

Q: What's your favorite part of making a quilt?

• Chris: "The quilting!"
• Stef: "Fabric pulls and cutting up things - tie for most creative part / meditative part = fave!"
• Julia: "The quilting, of course!"

Q: What is your favorite notion for longarm quilting?

• Chris: "Chom Chom lint roller- it is magical!"
• Stef: "My stitch ripper ;)"
• Julia: "Snagmagic needles"

Q: What other hobbies do you enjoy aside from quilting?

• Chris: "Paddle boarding and hiking"
• Stef: "Reading, cooking, gardening, hiking trails and painting"
• Julia: "Reading and National Parks"

League member Meredith Adolf also joined us for the roundtable discussion - we'll be featuring her on the blog next month when she helps answer League members' tax questions. We can't wait!

If you'd like to watch the replay of this discussion, check out our other lessons, or have access next month to our Q&A on small business taxes, we'd love to have you join us in the League! Whether you're interested in starting your own longarm quilting business, or wanting to improve your current business, check out our Rookie Season course! You can see all the details, read about how the course has helped previous students, and get started here.

Thanks so much for talking with us this month ladies and offering your hard-won advice, it was a pleasure!