Hi, I'm Nicole Gilbert and this is the stop scrolling start sewing podcast. Each Wednesday, join me as I share the ins and outs of that quilt life.
If you don't have a sewing machine, you can bust out a pretty fly YCM. Or you're just want to hear the latest quilting news. This is the podcast for you.
Hey, folks, Nicole here and welcome to season three, Episode 16 of the stop scrolling, start selling podcast, whether you're listening on the way to work, or watching on YouTube, thank you so much for spending a bit of your day with me. So we are in the thick of it kind of we could see the light at the end of the tunnel for this holiday season. I have been having a blast, as I'm sure all of you have as well. And this is probably our last shorty episode. We'll be back to life super long episodes after the New Year. I just want you to spend more time with your family. Also, you could just binge watch me and get it done. Pretty quick that way. All right, folks. So since it's the end of the year, beginning of 2023, I wanted to do a urine review slash goals. I do it every year. It's one of my favorite episodes. One because I get super excited and reinvigorated to dive in. And to because I look back and I'm like holy cow. Look at all the stuff that I've done. And also it they're great archival purposes for me because I'll be like, Oh girl, you did not write English paper piecing until way later than you said you would. But you know, that kind of stuff is good. So we're diving on in Year in Review. So 2022 It's been really all that's I mean, I am so grateful that I can say that this has been my best year yet. It's not lost on me that when every year is the best one yet. It just means that I'm growing and I'm learning and I'm in a better place than it was a year ago. So super grateful. Super excited. And hopefully, I can continue every single year to say this has been my best year yet. That is the goal. Okay, so what did I do this year that was just phenomenal. This year, I led the to the pink butterfly quilt Quilt Along which I can't even I can't even believe that was this calendar year. Holy smokes, it feels forever ago, I learned I learned a lot doing that quilt along, I learned a lot about myself. I learned a lot about the makers who choose to sew alongside me and learn from me. It allowed me to hang out with some of my like Ride or Die quilting girls, I don't always with a solo long or Quilt Along have a weekly q&a. I usually only do it for quilts that I think are going to have some challenging portions to them, or people. People are intimidated by them. And that's kind of what I thought with the Tula Pink butterfly. I think it's an intermediate quilt. And there's you know, there's curved piece things and fabric choices huge and there's just a lot into it. And so I did a weekly q&a. And by doing that weekly q&a, I got to learn and speak to new people and bring new people into like my multiverse, which I love. But then I also have some of my rider dies that you know, participate or purchase or just, you know, listen, do they do all the things always and I'm so grateful for them because I wouldn't have a business without men and women like them. So that was just It was fun. It was for me. Yes, I was teaching the whole time. I was working and providing value. But oh my gosh, it was such a good time. And I cannot wait for the next quilt that I choose to do in in that manner with with a q&a session where I get to really like get to know people. Those are my favorite. Now being a baby lock educator this year, has been it's been a masterclass in what it takes to truly be Good educator, my fellow educators have made me better at what I do. Working with retailers has been such a blessing to add a new perspective on how people are learning what machines they're buying, what newer quilters and sewers are looking for, you know, teaching in quilt shops, which is something that I've always done is different than teaching in a dealership, in a retailer. Just different, there's a different there's a different I don't know how to say it, really, it's the onus of what you're teaching and why you're teaching is a little bit different. And so you can do the same exact thing with a different purpose. And it just, it's really interesting. The psychology behind it. So that's always it's always fun to do this. And every year I'm learning. And that's it's great. The podcast is bigger and better than ever, this season, we have evolved to include a YouTube channel. So if you only watched me on YouTube, there's like a lot of episodes out there in podcast land that you can join in on, because I have been doing it for several seasons, off the YouTube. And now I'm on the YouTube. For those who have only listened to me on the podcast via podcast subscriber, you can check out the YouTube because this year, some of those episodes were like talk about things and I'm explaining things I'm actually showing them to you, you can actually see them, which is, you know, invaluable. Whereas this is a visual art form. So visuals, let's let's be visual. I traveled this year, way more independently. I've been I've been traveling a lot for years, mostly as representatives for companies. But this year was the first year where I attended shows representing me like being like, Hi, my name is Nicole Gilbert. I'm a podcast, host designer and educator, where usually it's Hi, I'm an educator for blah, blah, blah. I'm an educator for blah, blah, blah, how can I help you with that? Blah, blah, blah. And so it was exciting. And I wish I had done it more sooner, because it changed how I interacted at the shows, things I look toward at the shows how I processed what I found at the shows, which is really cool. A little nerve wracking because you're just like, all of a sudden there's like weird imposter syndrome that creeps in because you're just like, Am I worthy to be here as me and not as representative of this company? And spoiler alert, everybody is totally should be there. I mean, not everybody. I mean, if you were a plumber, it'd be weird if you were at Qualcomm, but you know what I mean? Like, it felt good. And when I stepped into that role, just the amazing things that flooded my way it's exciting. It's it's it's truly exciting. So overall, I see a lot of growth for myself. There's still so much to learn. But I am excited. I'm excited and things are good. Now goals for 2023 Lots of new fun things are happening and hopefully will continue into the new year. I am continuing this sampler spree slow long. I have had so much seen fun seeing all of the blocks that everyone's created. There's still plenty of time to join. There's like no behind in the sampler spree solo along like we're just all chugging along. On the YouTube channel. There's a ton of tutorials for the blocks that we've already done so you could dive in whenever there are literally more people in this Sologne private group than I've ever had in a private group before which is really exciting to me. So there's lots of people to bounce off of. Some of them are I ride or dies are in there because they're just awesome and they put participate in everything and they're just so much fun. And it's just, it's a good time. So, sandwich free, slow long is continuing into 2023. That's how slow it is. It's in multiple calendar years. My goal for the YouTube channel is to increase viewership on the YouTube channel by at least 100%. Double or Nothing, y'all.
If you haven't checked it out yet, please do and hit subscribe. You see what I did there. But seriously, I think that it's an excellent vehicle, it's a great way to see and learn new things. It's also like you don't know what you don't know, this is something I've always taught my students. And in the past, I've been like, don't learn how to sew on YouTube. And it's not because learning how to sew on YouTube is bad. It's because you don't have the feedback that you would from an in person, instructor or online course instructor where you know, hey, I'm going to be able to ask these questions, and she's going to answer my questions then. So, so that that is all still valid information. That being said, sometimes, we don't know what we don't know. And so with the YouTube channel, I'm helping people understand more of the process, understand their sewing machines better. And then armed with that information, go to the people, you know, go to the people you trust, go to the people you like, and get the rest of the story. As far as the podcast goes goals for the podcast, I'd like to grow the podcast by at least 75% and be a little bit more modest here. That's also because my podcast is a lot larger than the YouTube channel at the at the current moment. I'm always looking for new topics, and new guests. So if you have an idea of like, I want to hear about this, let me know. Because that's how I can continue making this podcast, something that you love, and come back for more. And that's how we'll all get better. Okay, so that's the YouTube, that's so long. That's the podcast each year, I always say that I'm going to bring a few new techniques closer to my heart. So one thing is going to be for me to use my embroidery machine to applique. I know, okay, for those of you who embroider, you probably think I'm crazy, because I don't do that yet. I mean, I person, I have an embroidery machine. I do not use it to applique. But it's because I like to do raw edge applique. And I like to do needle turn applique and hand applique which you might think is crazy fancy, that's fine. But I adore it. And so I really want to also start doing like embroidery applique so that I can really mix up the looks that I'm getting from a lot of my applique pieces. And this also cracks me up. Because if you go way back in the archives of these old podcast episodes, you will absolutely 100% Hear me saying applique is just not my jam. And this is the perfect example of Never say never. So that's why in these goals episodes, I say I'm bringing something in because you never know what's gonna stick. If you don't like it, if you don't love it, don't do it again, but try it once. You'd never know what you're going to absolutely adore. Okay, so in general, I also plan on doing way more embroidery, both on machine and by hand. Speaking of hand, I'm going to be doing quite a bit of air travel over the next year and lots of nights in a hotel room. And sometimes when you're you know traveling for work, the last thing you want to do is then work in your hotel room. But you also don't want to like go out because you're just like I have been peopling all day I cannot people anymore. And that's where my hand embroidery is going to come in. Because I was doing English paper piecing and while I greatly enjoy that what I don't enjoy is the fact that there's only so far that you can travel with it. So once you get to a certain Key Point in English paper piecing project, I cannot travel with a giant quilts like when you're putting it together. And so I have literally three different English paper piece projects that are 95% Done. And it's because it's no longer convenient to carry them everywhere with me to sew them. So I think a little hand embroidery cross stitch. These are two different things I know they're two different things before you come for me. I know how to do borders and cross stitch are different. But that's where those things come in as women try doing this year. I also I feel like I've started like 10 sentences with I also, I also have several quilt patterns that will release next year, which is like blowing my mind guys. The things are happening. All the things, all of the things are happening. So I am very excited. But whenever I am reviewing goals and new things that are happening, I have to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. For every moment of your time that you choose to spend with me. It means the world to me, and I just I absolutely adore it. So have a very happy new year. You have just finished another episode of the stops rolling start sewing podcast. Thank you so much for hanging out with me and make sure you never miss an episode by hitting subscribe, wherever you listen to podcasts, or on YouTube. And if you have a moment, please leave a review on your favorite podcast provider. It helps more listeners find me to join in on the fun. Now stop scrolling and start selling