Let us Reintroduce Ourselves: Meet 2026 Andi & Tori

In this episode of Quilting on the Side, Andi and Tori reflect on their journey since the podcast's inception, discussing significant changes in their businesses, personal growth, and the evolution of their creative identities. Tori shares her transition to full-time coaching and the launch of her self-publishing incubator, while Andi highlights her success with YouTube and the development of her quilting patterns. They explore the realities of running a quilting business, the importance of work-life balance, and the lessons learned along the way, culminating in advice to their past selves.

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Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Business Evolution
03:46 Tori's Transition to Full-Time Business
11:05 Andi's Journey and YouTube Success
17:00 Tori's Rebranding and New Identity
24:12 The Reality of Quilting as a Business
29:43 Work-Life Balance and Daily Routines
36:31 Reflections on Pattern Design
42:32 Advice to Our Past Selves

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Co-Hosts:

Tori McElwain @heytori.tech & https://www.heytori.tech/

Andi Stanfield @truebluequilts & https://truebluequilts.com/ 

Transcript

Andi (00:05.902)
Welcome to another episode of Quilting on the Side. This is very exciting to be in season six and approaching our 100th episode. And we thought this would be a great time to reintroduce ourselves because our audience has grown. Thank you, thank you for tuning in. And our businesses have changed as well. So.

Tori, kick us off. What's changed in your business since we started this endeavor?

Tori McElwain (00:40.612)
So I, when we first started, I was running the DMMC, the Digital Marketing Magic Coaching Program. It was probably in its first couple of years. I'm trying to think back of what, 2023, but that was when I was sleep deprived. had a baby. Yeah, it was baby time when baby wasn't sleeping. And I was, my business was my lifeline. Like it was the thing that made me feel like a person, not just a mom, not just.

Andi (00:54.562)
right?

Tori McElwain (01:08.868)
a tech trainer, is the other thing I was doing. I was still working full time at a tech company as a trainer. And I was filling my days with learning about computers, learning about the back ends of things, software, and eventually I started learning about AI through that as well. And do a lot of copy paste, a lot of mind numbing type of work, which was great because I was sleep deprived and kind of needed that. And I used my creativity to write a book.

During that time when we first started I was I was working on my my book and that's when I realized like I needed to write instead of trying to show up live every single week for ten weeks for the For the course that I was always running. So that's where I started and then now I Am full-time in my business. I have a new program to go along with the DMMC And not to go along but it's a I'm doing the same role

but in a different capacity. I'm coaching marketing for those who are self-publishing. So we have a self-publishing incubator. So we have business owners. We didn't say it had to be business owners. So this could be open to everyone, but currently we have a few quilting business owners in our self-publishing incubator. We're helping them get their book written and published. And I'm helping with the marketing part of it. that's...

That's probably the biggest change. have two main programs right now, the DMMC and the self-publishing incubator and no full-time job. And I'm still quilting on the side. That's my fun. It's my fun now. But Andy, how have you changed from when we started to where we are now?

Andi (02:45.484)
Yeah!

That's awesome.

Andi (02:54.05)
I was deep into my little bit different collection when we started the podcast. It was a new series of blocks that I wanted to focus on a six by nine inch size, which is a little bit different. It's unusual since most quilts are built around squares. And along that journey, I needed a new tool. So I designed and

found a production site for my little bit different ruler, which I'm holding up. It's nice and bright orange and it helps make half rectangle triangles, which was the whole point. And so that's kind of where my designs have landed most recently is with those half rectangle triangles and those little bit different block sizes. And I'm not publishing as many patterns. I have

kind of slowed down. in, I think I described it recently as a germination period. Full disclosure, I was inspired by Tori's self-publishing incubator and I've got a book in the works and I am just so thankful for this collaboration and this space because showing up on the podcast,

is allowing us to discuss all these business ideas and continue to learn and grow. So I'm just thrilled that we're still here after all these years and episodes. So it's been exciting.

Tori McElwain (04:33.58)
It has. Did you want to go?

Andi (04:39.778)
Well, we can dive right in to a little more about our businesses because the big news is, hey, Tori is launching. You've done a rebrand, a refresh.

Tori McElwain (04:56.228)
So because I have completely stepped away from pattern design and teaching, which I was still doing up until 2025. It's currently 2026. So I was still had my last guild and I think it was January or February 2025. And that was the last, the last teaching quilting gig I had. And then I went.

full time into digital marketing and my book, just helping the workshops unleashed, how to design engaging and successful workshops for quilters and crafters, going full in on helping quilters and crafters with their offers and getting them out there. And that turned into the self-publishing incubator. But I was still kind of hanging onto my patterns.

So I was like, still have patterns and I have this book. And I kept hearing that I needed to get in a distributor. So I think I still had that pattern design mindset where I couldn't be successful without a distributor, which now I realize is not the case. Those distributors are very, very helpful. It is not the case. So I would still love to partner with the distributor if they would like to hold my book, but I can no longer, I don't have the bandwidth to push patterns in a book.

So the book has taken over everything. It's been a wonderful thing to have. I am so happy that I went down that road. It was a great job for past Tori to like focus on this book and let the patterns go. And I'm stepping into this new identity of Tori the coach. And that's where Hey Tori comes from is that people would message me asking, Tori, and they'd ask me a question. So I've fully rebranded to Hey Tori. So after this episode comes out within the next

couple of weeks, I'm changing absolutely everything over. So it was a slow change. We started with just my name, because I couldn't figure out what I wanted to name this, this new venture that I was doing. So I just kind of stuck with my name for like a year and a half, which made it easy to turn it to Hatory. So, yeah. So Hatory is fully launching. I am no longer doing any pattern design. I think I'll still bring them for H and H for the, we call it the sample it where we sell things at the table.

Tori McElwain (07:10.776)
just to see if I can get a little more funds to help pay for the trip. And, you know, so if you want a Tori McElwain exclusive pattern printed, that's going to be the place to get it. Because that's the last thing I'm going to try to do is just bring them to H &H and offer them at wholesale for those that are at Sample It, along with my book. So if you want my book at wholesale, come to H &H. I'll be at Sample It. And it'll be at my booth too. So there will be multiple places to find that. But I'm fully going in.

I am separating myself from pattern design completely. even, had an Instagram going with, that had pattern design. was mainly using it as examples to show the DMMC members, like how I would set up Instagram, some real ideas that they could do, things like that. And I've kind of shifted that to being my fun place. I'll share, if I do want to share my patterns just for inspiration or because I still have them on PDF, then I can do that there. And...

And right now I'm using quilting as fun. It's I'm using it in a new way than I've ever done before. So before I would quilt when it was my hobby, I would quilt because it was fun. It was pretty. I was making pretty things. It was like practical. Like I like the fact that it was a practical, creative endeavor. Now I'm using it to process.

So there's a lot going on. I'm feeling a lot, like there's a lot going on with my family. I have a son with, you know, high needs that I've shared before. And like having a space where I can process things healthy, in a healthy way. I've been kind of missing that. And I turned to quilting again and I have been creating, and it started with the fiber fix fam challenge that I joined in January. So this is very new. I've been journaling.

which I've never done before. And that was an idea brought into that challenge. It was like, hey, keep a journal of your things you're making. And we're making little postcards. And so they're little, they're very little, but they're helping me be creative. They're helping me process. They're helping me create other create other quilts. So I've got some creative quilts going there. I guess they're art quilts, which I hesitate to say, because I never really made one. So I'm using things that aren't just fabric, which is crazy to me.

Tori McElwain (09:25.06)
I've always thought this would be something outside of my zone of creativity, but this has been it's been great to have quilting back on the side and then I wanted to have a place to share those so I turned quilt underscore patch Which I was using as a as a side account turn that into my more personal This is my projects and my patterns. If you want to follow just the fun stuff that I'm creating You can follow me there. Otherwise everything is now. Hey Tory

So everything is now, hey, Tori, it's Coach Tori. I have a YouTube now that's heytoridottech. Everything is heytori and I'm really diving into the digital marketing aspect of everything. I think that's like the full, I think that's full circle. So, ahead and share yours, Andy. Your business has had some ups and downs and some turns.

Andi (10:09.11)
Yeah, that's awesome.

Andi (10:14.604)
Yeah, yeah, it has. And mainly because it is, Blue Quilts is a side hustle. I still have a full-time job that is outside the quilting world. you know, sometimes you just don't feel like working two full jobs. you know, I just have to accept that I'm just gonna, you know, plod along at my slower pace and...

you know, maybe I'll miss some of these big opportunities because I don't want to spend every evening locked away in my quilt room making samples and, you know, doing all the social media tasks and blog posts and etc, etc. But I have found consistency with my YouTube channel and I am live every Wednesday night. And it's perfect because it ties into the

whip Wednesday phenomenon that has been around forever when crafters make, you know, bring out their works in progress and you love having that alliteration of W's there in the middle of the week. And it really does allow me to get things done. So even if I'm in a creative slump, you know, didn't, was busy with other things over the weekend.

If I can sit down and sew on Wednesdays, I get energized and that has really carried me through. I have found some wonderful friends and collaborations with other quilting YouTubers and that just has really helped maintain my YouTube channel as an income stream in my business and allow me to

share new patterns because I was doing a collaboration in December last year. I launched a new holidays sampler of my little bit different blocks and was able to create some new patterns with my half rectangle triangles. So yeah, it just, you know, I continue to be inspired by the quilt.

Andi (12:31.95)
world and you know this series that I've done it just is it's one of those things that you start designing and that just sparks your creativity for additional designs. So 2025 was overall pretty successful. I had a couple designs in the Lumen fabrics which took over Island Batik which I had been associated with a few years ago.

They picked up a couple of my designs in their catalog and so I got some wholesale orders which was new for me to have that going. yeah, it wasn't, you know, huge numbers but again, I'm okay being a small fish in this big quilting pond so that's okay. And I am looking forward to...

networking at H &H. I get to be in person with Tori. That's going to be really exciting and just I've committed to using it as a network opportunity and I'm gonna throw the invitation out to our audience. If you are at H &H, come find me. We're gonna be doing our ever popular pop-up.

Tori McElwain (13:52.234)
rapid.

Andi (13:52.31)
rapid fire questions, you know, and do one or more podcast episodes around that H &H experience. So we're definitely looking forward. know both Tori and I are looking forward to seeing people in person and having those conversations around quilt businesses, your questions, and what's working now in the quilt industry. So it's been really fun. And I'm

committed to sharing the little bit different ruler and those half rectangle triangle designs into the future.

Tori McElwain (14:29.316)
I love that. love listening to your evolution. Cause I know when we started, you had your hand in a lot of different things and you were, and correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like you were trying to figure out where to niche. Cause we were always talking about niching and you could have niched in so many different things. And so you tried this and you tried that. You tried this and you enjoyed different pieces of it, but then you found your own little bit different. And I'm excited that that's your niche. Cause I think that is really cool. And her ruler glows guys.

Like I purchased I didn't tell her I was gonna purchase I just purchased it I was like hey I need one and it closed like it is so cool

Andi (15:04.152)
Yeah, you can.

Andi (15:08.0)
showing the edge of it, so if you're listening to this you'll have to go to the YouTube channel to see that little bit of glow and I yeah I don't know exactly what they do in the manufacturing process but when they etch those lines in there they really catch the light and it does kind of glow in daylight you don't even have to turn the lights out.

Tori McElwain (15:34.02)
Like it glows in my basement. I thought it was so cool. I was like, I didn't know this glowed. But yeah, we'll be at Booth, going back to H &H real quick, Booth 1707. So you can find us at Booth 1707. HeyTory is my new business name officially. I am no longer the cool patch by Tory. I am now HeyTory. Me and my VA are working very hard to get everything moved over before H &H. So.

Hopefully you don't ever see the Quill Patch by Tori again. You'll be saying, Tori, because it's so much shorter, you guys, to write, hey, Tori, than the Quill Patch by Tori.

Andi (16:02.328)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Right? Yeah. Yeah. So that leads into some more in-depth questions that we will take a minute to discuss. What made you realize you were ready for that pivot to get away from pattern design and embrace the hey Tory and the coaching aspects?

Tori McElwain (16:28.58)
I, well, at the very end of 2025, if we're going back just a few months, when I completely stopped, that was just time. I didn't have the time to think about patterns. I didn't have the time to stock them, the funds to print them while also funding everything else that I have going on. was just, it was just time. And I held onto them because I love them. Like, I love the patterns that I created. I think they're really cool. I love to share them. love to-

I loved to make them and design them. But so it was hard. It was hard to let go. But if we're talking about way back when, when I saw it was time to pivot to even just starting digital marketing and not really launching any more patterns, it was when I hit burnout. I, I'm one of those people that don't rest well. And I showed that before that I am not a good person. I'm not a good wrestler.

There's a lot that goes into that, but I'm not a good wrestler. So I would go, go, go, go, go until I hit burnout. And then I would be like, oh no, what's wrong with me? Why can't I do this anymore? And then I'm learning more about like psychology, more about mindset, more about energy in general, more about, you know, what my body can and cannot take. Especially as I've aged, because then when I first started I was 27, like 27 or...

I was like 27, was 28, 27. I don't was like late 20s. And then now I'm like mid 30s and I'm like, whoa, the energy shift, especially after having two kids and now like having two little kids, like, okay, my energy's just not there. I couldn't touch fabric. I didn't want to jump into EQA and play with blocks. I didn't want to bring out my fabric. I didn't want to touch it. Like that's when I knew I needed something different. And I was like, okay, am I done? Am I just done with business? Like, is this something I just want to stop doing? And I'm like, no.

Like my whole body was like, no, this is so much fun. It's so interesting and, exciting. And I want to learn more about it. So I dived into the business part of it. And what really pointed me towards digital marketing were the people asking me questions. Like I said, like, Hey Tori, where the questions coming in, like how did you, and it was mainly around classes at the time. So how did you launch classes online? How are you like getting people in the classes? How are you doing Instagram? How are you doing this? How are you doing that? So I was able to start.

Tori McElwain (18:54.114)
building up coaching on the side, on the side of pattern design. And then when we moved, because that was also a time when I had a baby, we moved when she was six weeks old. it was a lot going on. And it made it an easy pivot to be here and be like, okay, I need a full time job, but I also want to keep doing this because that is what's so much fun for me. And that's what, where I feel like I get to be me is in this business. I'm not mom, Tori. not.

You know, tech trainer Tory, I'm not wife Tory, I am business owner Tory and I like that version of me and I wanted to give her a space to be. And that's when I saw myself growing in that. then, and I want to, I do want to go into this where I quit my full-time job, not because I had all the funds lined up. I was not one of those people that are making six figures. I'm not.

But what happened was a combination of what my family needed, what the job wasn't providing for me, the toxic environment that was being created from a new manager at that, place I was at, and the fact that I had this brand new idea for the self-publishing incubator. So it all lined up. And even now, my salary, what I'm able to pay myself is not making up for my corporate salary, but the time freedom.

and the fact that I can be there for everything my family needs is what is paying the difference. So I quit in May because I couldn't stay home with my kid. They wouldn't let me. It was a hybrid position that was mostly remote and they were looking to bring everybody back in the office during that summer that I needed the time off. I couldn't find a program for my son to be in full time. He wasn't qualified for certain.

Andi (20:29.826)
Mm-hmm.

Tori McElwain (20:50.488)
programs that would be wonderful for him. He wasn't severe enough and he wasn't ready for your normal camps with the noise and all the things. And so I had to stay home with him over the summer and we had fun. Like, I'm not like, I love staying home with my kid. Like we have a lot of fun. He's so much, he's so interesting. We learn all the time. We love to learn both of us. So it makes it really fun to like garden and stuff like that. And then,

So that all lined up and that's why I left my job and went full time in my business. It's the time freedom. I am able to pay myself what my family needs me to be paid. And it's, I don't know the right word. It's liberating. It's where I get to shine. I get to be working my genius, I guess, if you're leaning back into that, the great leap terminology there. The book, The Great Leap, is what I'm referring to.

But I get to work in my genius. get to have fun. I get to have that time freedom, support my family, all of it just kind of lined up right there. So if you're wondering about going full time in a business, you do have to look at all the different pieces. You have to look at the whole picture and not all of us are making six figures, especially in the quilting industry. We had a really interesting discussion. had an interesting discussion with a few industry leaders about this, about how, what

Could the industry support, could it support full-time teachers still? Could it support pattern designers? Can it support fabric designers? And it's yes, but it's a lot of work. Like that passive income idea that was huge and pushed in marketing over like 2021, 2022, even into 2023, that is no longer the case. Like this is, there isn't a business out there. I mean, there's probably a few, honestly, but like.

Passive income is kind of a thing of the past, think. So getting a full picture of what you're looking at and whether or not you're going full time in your business, you're keeping it a side business, I think it's really, really important. And I want to be very clear on where I stand and why it was a pivot for me, especially with that question, because I want to be transparent with our audience. I want them to understand that there are outliers who are making six figures in this industry who are doing amazing and knocking it out of the park, but they are the outlier. They're not the norm. And quilting on the side,

Tori McElwain (23:13.698)
seems to be more than norm, and that's where we shine, and that's why we're here. We want to help you create a sustainable side business that maybe you could take into full-time business, if that's where you want to go with it.

Andi (23:25.004)
Yeah, for sure. So that makes me very curious. Now that you are self-employed, what does a normal workday look like?

Tori McElwain (23:36.612)
Normal work day. Okay. Oh, this is really interesting. So when, um, when I was thinking about quitting my job, I was going, I was listening to podcasts and stuff about like, yeah, I needed to chill out. Honestly, I had anxiety like because of so many different things. I was listening to be like, okay, what do I need to have in place to quit this job? Because this is not healthy. This is not healthy for me. Like this environment that they have, they had created and I had created for my own self. So, um,

Andi (23:47.03)
No.

Tori McElwain (24:08.066)
I thought about what would my everyday look like? And I'm living it. And it's crazy because I'm living it. So I wake up and get the kids out the door, right? That is our main mission every morning. Get the kids out the door. I spend an hour and a half driving these two to school and daycare. That's the time freedom part of it. That's what my family needed from me. I needed to allow them to sleep because guys.

Waking up at five o'clock every day to take your toddler to daycare to spend 12 hours a day at daycare, it was hard on everyone. So, because I also had to get my oldest up and take him. So it was like this sleep deprivation that just anyway, sorry, I could go into that like all day long. And so, okay, so I spent an hour and half every morning dropping my kids off to school and sometimes two hours from ice and snow. We're in Michigan, so sometimes the weather's crazy. And when I get home, I get to eat.

Andi (24:51.256)
You

Tori McElwain (25:04.194)
And I make sure I eat because I used to not eat. I used to just go straight to work. I'm like, no, you're spending 20 minutes making yourself eggs. And I have this like little egg routine that gets me into the, into the mindset to start working. And then I work, like I get to sit down and I usually start off with what do I need to do today? Who am I meeting with? what am I, am I teaching today? Am I training today? Am I doing accountability? What am I doing today? And then I'll go into prepping for all of that or marketing. So what are, what?

Deliverables my creating for somebody down the down the line of the week. What am I getting questions, right? Do I need to do research? What podcast episode do I need to be editing this week or preparing for this week? Like that's where I go into and I get to work and work for solid three hours I take a lunch break, which again, I have to be very strict with myself. Don't skip your lunch Tory I do tend to work in front of my work and eat at the same time, but I'll give myself that and then

I come back, I work for another couple hours and then if I have everything done, sometimes I'll quilt a little. Like sometimes, like if I have everything done, I'm like, ooh, I have like 30 minutes. What can I, what can I do today? Like, is there something creative I could do? Um, and then I go get my kids and it takes two hours every day to pick up my kids. And then I get home. We do dinner stuff. We do homework. We do all the things, get bedtime and go to bed. But usually between get home,

And when I go to bed, there's usually a meeting or two. So I usually have a meeting in the after dinner or in the evening after they go to bed. And that's like, that's an average day for me. I have that time freedom where I can work in the evening versus during the day. I only have about a solid five hours to really work during the day. And the rest of time I'm driving.

It allows things like my husband got a flat tire last week and I was able to go pick him up and drop off and help him figure out the whole get the car fixed thing. Last week I fell and hurt my shoulder. I was able to go to the doctor, put my appointments on, know, reschedule them for the next week and be like, hey guys, I can't meet today. I gotta go to the doctor. hurt myself. I was able to send out an email to my book club members and be like, hey, I'm not able to type. I'm struggling to lift my arm because I got the...

Tori McElwain (27:24.974)
dumb shoulder injury where it's the ligament that holds your arm up. So like using a mouse hurts like it comes with headaches that are just insane. But all of that saying like I don't have a manager to to to report to. I don't have PTL I have to worry about anymore. I don't have you know, it's not going to affect my pay like it was before and all of that other stuff. But I do have to keep showing up because if I don't show up, I don't get paid. So there's a little bit of that.

But I hope that that was a lot of detail and I hope that's the detail you were looking for.

Andi (28:01.1)
Yeah, no, it's always so interesting to hear how other people are juggling all of the responsibilities of the modern woman and working moms and all of that kind of stuff. And I'm just thrilled that you are finding time to do a little quilting on the side, as we like to say and encourage people because that's what feeds our soul is those creative outlets. So it's wonderful.

Tori McElwain (28:28.644)
I found that when my husband does fun things, I sew. So like he has friends he likes to do game board stuff with like a game board board game. Or game stuff with so like or he'll he has like a certain little hobbies that he likes to go do and I'm like, okay, while you're doing that, I'm gonna sell like even if I'm tired, I'm gonna try to sew first and see because usually if I'm tired and I start sewing, I get excited and the energy comes back. So yeah, I've been learning a lot about that.

Andi (28:31.916)
Yeah.

Andi (28:36.782)
you

Andi (28:55.052)
Yeah, playing with fabric is always a boost.

Tori McElwain (29:00.15)
Yeah. So Andy, want to ask you a few things too. So what was the biggest shift from when we started this podcast to now?

Andi (29:00.28)
Well, thank

Andi (29:05.006)
That's it for it.

Andi (29:14.644)
I think it is just the pace of things. was releasing, you know, I was doing this block of the month and so I was releasing a new pattern every single month and that came with blog posts, that came with YouTube videos and tutorials and all.

the things and, you know, social media promotion and that kind of stuff. And I've really stepped away. I, you know, rarely post on my own Instagram and Facebook accounts anymore. You know, everybody can find me on YouTube. That's where I have decided to show up. So, yeah, that the pace of things. I did the sampler in December.

of 2025 and...

Andi (30:14.647)
airplane.

Tori McElwain (30:17.858)
It's okay, AI cuts it out. You don't need to stop.

Andi (30:20.622)
Are you sure? Because I can barely hear. Sorry about that. Yeah. So just, you know, releasing those patterns when it, when the opportunity arises, rather than forcing myself into such a busy schedule and just, you know, the acceptance of a side hustle is not

going to generally bring in full-time effort. And I have to go back and find the statistics. A YouTube coach that I followed for many years talked about the amount of hours versus the income. And it was like, if you're only spending five to 10 hours a week on something, then you're probably only gonna make.

you know, maybe 20 to $50,000 a year from that effort. But if you are spending 20 to 30 hours on something, then you can be into that high six figures kind of high five fit. You know, like I said, I don't have the exact numbers that she used, but it was just that having that clear expectation that, okay,

I'm not willing to put in those extra hours, so I need to adjust my expectation and not keep beating myself up for not making those huge dollar amounts because it's always a trade off, you know, as much as and then like you were saying earlier with the passive income that we think that we're just, you know, the dream is that you

Tori McElwain (32:03.138)
Yeah.

Andi (32:13.912)
grab that golden ticket and all of a sudden the riches pour in. For most of us, we have to put in a lot of hard work to reap minimal benefits. So I'm enjoying my life. So don't take this as complaining about it, but it's just we're trying to give people a real perspective. And I'm here and I'm loving all the...

Tori McElwain (32:37.731)
Yeah.

Andi (32:42.732)
the community that we're building with the podcast, with our Lister interactions, with my viewers on YouTube. It's been great fun.

Tori McElwain (32:51.364)
Well, think it that passive income mark, I'm going to call it marketing because it was pushed so hard by so many people over years. I think it was a disservice to the realities of running a business. I, I think that that was really harmful in a lot of people's mindsets and starting a business. What this is going to be easy. I can do this two hours a week and it's going to make money and yeah, it might make a little, but it's not going to make nearly what you might think it makes, especially what the marketers are the big names were pushing at the time.

And then it was a lot easier to do what they were talking about. And now it is not. So it's an interesting shish. And there's a lot of factors that go into that. So it's really interesting. It's really interesting. Oh, so I have more questions for you though. So this one's interesting. I want to hear, what did you believe about pattern design then that you don't anymore?

Andi (33:21.645)
Yeah.

Andi (33:32.62)
Yeah. OK.

Andi (33:47.902)
gosh.

Andi (33:52.994)
There are so many pieces to pattern design. And it's...

hard to figure out. I'm not always great on self reflection on the spot. It's. Yeah.

Tori McElwain (34:12.962)
Okay. I know you've stepped away from it. So if it is it not you're still finding creative or is it something where it's more like you'll get when you have sparks of creativity, you'll go back to it type of thing.

Andi (34:26.542)
Yeah, I think I used to believe and I definitely acted like you had to have something new all the time. And now I am leaning into using my existing library of patterns, you know, and it's like, this is what's in my catalog. And, you know, we can always freshen things up.

with new fabric and new color schemes. That's the great thing about quilting and about working with fabrics is there's always new fabrics. You can go back and recolor a design. You can take one aspect and it can carry you through the year because we all have those images of what colors go with each month, each season. so you could take your one design.

and recreate it 12 times in 12 different colors for the months and there you have it. So yeah, think it's taking myself off that hamster wheel of creation and utilizing the resources I already have is a huge weight off my shoulders. So I would encourage other designers, whether it's one or two designs.

six, eight, know, whatever the number is, just, you know, relax a little bit and pour your energy into getting those existing designs in front of more people versus always throwing new things. You know, at some point it becomes spaghetti at the wall and you're never even looking to see what's sticking. You're just throwing more spaghetti.

Tori McElwain (36:20.974)
love that. We love repurposing here. Repurpose, repurpose, repurpose.

Andi (36:23.286)
Yep. Yeah, exactly. Exactly.

Tori McElwain (36:28.452)
All right, and then I would love to hear, and I think we might know the answer to this, but I'm curious if you step away from what I'm thinking, but what was your biggest win in the last year?

Andi (36:41.396)
goodness.

Andi (36:47.021)
Bye.

I think it is the new book that I started. there's, I mean, there's several things. I was a part of several summits and that is always fun. I love showing up in community and talking about quilting. So that's exciting. And I did have...

great benefits from those. Enlarging my audience, you know, product orders, people were excited about the little bit different rulers. So that was exciting. I had the wholesale orders from one of my traditional patterns. It's one of those things that, you know, the pattern that was in the catalog used traditional square blocks. But, you know, that was well received. So that was a win.

But yeah, I'm most excited about the book that I started that will be coming out later in, hopefully in the fall of 2026.

Tori McElwain (37:53.02)
I'm so excited for this book. think you guys are going to love it. So I would love to move into questions that I think our audience are wondering about us, from us. So I'm just going to kind of, let's just like rapid fire. I'm thinking, okay. Okay. So are you making more money now than when you started?

Andi (38:11.081)
huh.

Andi (38:19.114)
I am holding steady, I will say that. And yeah, I would, that would be a deep dive into my accounting to go back, because I've honestly been doing this True Blue Quilt celebrated its 10 year anniversary last year.

And like I said, it is, you I started with my first book on monochromatic quilts and I was doing some in-person events for that. But yeah, I think I have moved up at least one level on the income ladder since then. So how about you?

Tori McElwain (39:00.772)
Yay. Well, for a side business, I feel like that's reasonable. OK. Yes. I think about the question for second. Yes. Yes, I am making more money than when I started. My goal is to still make more. But what's interesting is that my goal isn't monetary at this point. So that's interesting. But yes, I am making more than when we started.

Andi (39:06.751)
Mm-hmm

Andi (39:11.21)
Yeah.

Andi (39:25.101)
Mm-hmm.

Andi (39:28.526)
Yeah. So aside corollary to that question, is it more profitable with your marketing coaching business than pattern design?

Tori McElwain (39:47.064)
Well, pattern design specifically, yes, but not teaching. it's almost the same as what I was making teaching and long-arming. It's almost the same. The difference is the energy. I have a program now that they pay monthly and I don't have to worry about launching. So much. I do have to launch. I do have to like, you know, let people know what I'm doing. Like, not a lot of people know that I have the DMMC unless I guess I listened to the podcast. Maybe I'm very, very bad about.

Andi (39:50.317)
Okay.

Andi (39:55.522)
Mm-hmm.

Andi (39:58.914)
Mm-hmm.

Andi (40:04.514)
Mm-hmm.

Andi (40:13.763)
Ha

Tori McElwain (40:16.92)
Marketing with the digital marketing coaching I've been doing and I had a little epiphany actually last month when I was helping them with their ideal customer I was like I spend so much time thinking about their ideal customer. My ideal customers ideal customer that I don't think about my ideal customer I'm like, okay, so we need to like spend some time to deep dive this but yeah, that's that was a big thing for me was like all over. This is an interesting question. Do you ever regret?

Andi (40:30.126)
Sure, yeah.

Andi (40:40.686)
Mm-hmm.

Tori McElwain (40:43.096)
going into the quilting or going into quilting as a business.

Andi (40:48.694)
This is really interesting and it may be that, you know, that that 10 year period that it really I've been I've been doing this and I'm just, you know, on that on that treadmill of business activities. You you always have to be out there to find your customers. And yes, so I've thought about, you know, is it time to quit and just let this be a hobby again? You know why?

why am I always putting myself out there and it's, you know, the imposter syndrome, the fear of rejection, all those kinds of things that bubble up. no, don't, overall, I don't have any regrets, you know, it's a hobby and a craft that I really enjoy and I'm a teacher.

in my core, so I'm always going to be telling other people how to do, how they can do the same thing. So yeah, I don't have any major regrets. What about you?

Tori McElwain (41:56.738)
No, I don't regret it. I don't regret it at all. I think, so James Woodmore said something the other day that I was like, I laughed because I'm like, he's right. Being an entrepreneur, being a business owner is about self-improvement. Like, and that's exactly what I found in running this business and going into quilting as a business. And it taught me digital marketing, which I would have never ever, ever gone into if I hadn't even tried a quilting business. And even if I tried,

Andi (41:57.518)
you

Tori McElwain (42:26.424)
Like at the beginning I shared, I've shared a fun story before about how I was like, maybe I'll try cupcakes or maybe I'll try quilting. I don't think I could have had such a good experience with cupcakes as I did with quilting. So no, regrets.

Andi (42:40.718)
Good, good. What is something interesting behind the scenes that you can share with our audience?

Tori McElwain (42:50.052)
I am learning all the time, all the time. I am listening to podcasts, I am reading books, I am learning constantly. I, there's never enough to learn with digital marketing. And I love that. It's kind of like what's working now, what's working then and what you learned two months ago is gonna change. And now that with AI, things are changing so fast, it's hard to keep up with. And I found...

like newsletters that I'm really liking that I think are keeping me more up to date than I have in the past. I've got a routine of podcasts that I listen to that I think really speak to how we in the quilting industry need to market because there are some things out there about marketing that they just don't work with quilters. It's like, no, that's not a thing. That's not gonna work. So don't spend your energy there. Like things like that where it's kind of like, who do I listen to? Who do I learn from? And that's a lot of behind the scenes where I spend a lot of time.

learning so that my customers don't have to go do all that. They can come to me and be like, hey, this is what I'm doing. I'm like, okay, this is what's working right now. This is what we can try. This is what we're going to tweak. This is, know, so I can bring the information to them rather than them having to go learn it themselves. So I think that's probably the biggest behind the scenes other than I can't rest. Like I'm still struggling. I'll figure it out guys. I promise. I'm getting closer. But Andy, is there anything behind the scenes for you?

Andi (44:02.115)
Yeah.

Andi (44:10.734)
I guess as I look around the room and...

behind the scenes, I'm a mess. I'll just say that. I am very much the horizontal organizer. I have to have everything on display like a museum so that I can pick and choose and I will work on a project and then just take that pile and put it on the ironing board and get ready for the new pile. don't actually put things away. And I know, you know, in the back of my head, I'm hearing my mom just...

Andy, could you just clean up? I taught you better than this. It's yeah. So it's an ongoing. I know, I know everybody, everybody can commiserate, I'm sure, about their their piles and all the fabric they've collected over the years. And yeah, one of these days, those someday projects are are huge. So yeah, no, it's it's.

Tori McElwain (44:57.006)
I'm sure you're not alone in that. You're totally not alone.

Andi (45:17.294)
I've built a very cozy life and I'm so grateful that my family doesn't get too irritated with me for taking over half the house with my fabric and my long arms. So yeah, it's great.

Tori McElwain (45:32.59)
So I have a question for you to kind of wrap up our reintroduction episode today. I would love to know what advice would you give yourself? When we are on, know, Andy at episode one, what advice would you give her knowing what you know now?

Andi (45:47.853)
ever.

Andi (45:51.742)
Yeah, I would congratulate Andy for her willingness to just show up and babble sometimes it feels like to people to and just encourage her to keep up with this format that apparently is working here as we

Said we're approaching a hundred episodes, which just sounds incredible To you know, we we've landed on this format where Tory and I chat and share our thoughts on some specific business topics and we're also so Thrilled to bring you fun interesting guests and I am so excited for the people that we are going to be talking to

over the next few months of Quilting on the Side, we've got some great guests lined up and yeah, so I would just, know, pat, pass to Andy and Tori on the back and say, good idea, keep going and you know, we're excited for the future. So what about you? What advice would you give to pass Tori on day one of Quilting on the Side podcast?

Tori McElwain (47:15.178)
I would give her a hug and tell her she will sleep again. And that the format that we've chosen for the podcast was a great idea. The whole seasons thing, taking breaks, and to trust herself more because she does have an intuition, which got drowned out there for a while. I will say, but she does have an intuition, Tori you do. And if this Tori listen to the future.

Andi (47:16.398)
Okay.

Tori McElwain (47:44.548)
You can do this and stick with it. It'll all work out. I that's what I would want to hear at episode one, Tori, and be like, your intuition, you got this, and you will sleep again.

Andi (48:01.134)
Yeah, for sure. sure. Yeah, sleep is essential. And I would like to prompt our listeners to do some reflection themselves. Think back to those early stages of your business. Spend some time celebrating how far you've come, the wins that you've had. And just, yeah, take some time to reflect on

your evolution. That's what this really, this episode is a celebration of our evolution as podcasters, as quilt business owners, as coaches and any last reminders.

Tori McElwain (48:47.076)
Have fun and don't forget to do some quilting on the side.

Andi (48:50.402)
There we go. Thanks so much.