Today we’d like to introduce you to Georgia Stull.
Hi Georgia, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I have been a sewist as long as I can remember. I made some of my clothes in high school. I made extra money by sewing clothes for others. After I made my wedding dress, I started making wedding dresses and formal wear. I enjoyed it for many years–until I just couldn’t deal with brides anymore! So, I started stitching up home decor. Lots of draperies, bedding, and pillows. But it’s very physical to mount draperies and I needed to find something else.
I pieced a quilt top for my oldest son’s wedding gift, and I took it to a quilter. The quilter knew that I liked to sew and graciously talked to me about his machine. He also told me about an international quilt show (MQS) that was happening in Overland Park. As we left the quilter’s studio, my husband, Ivan, said, “You could do that!” I replied, “Sure, if you bought me a machine!”
Two weeks later, he showed up at noon on a Friday and said, “Let’s go to that show and get you a machine!” The show was a great opportunity to look at all the machines. My husband encouraged me to get the top of the line- a computerized machine that was made in Missouri, Statler by Gammill. Honestly, I wasn’t sure I could learn how to use the computer. I had never used a longarm quilting machine and I had limited computer skills. But my husband believed in me and encouraged me! We bought the machine, and I will admit that it was a bit overwhelming at first. There were limited opportunities to learn how to use these machines twenty years ago! But I am an all-in or all-out girl. I was all in and determined to master longarm quilting. I worked and worked at learning my craft and I was taking in customer quilts 6 weeks after my machine was delivered! I finally realized that the longarm quilting machine was just a very big sewing machine. My quilting skills continued to improve. Most years I am able to quilt about 300 customer quilts each year.
Shortly thereafter, I was asked to be a beta tester for the software. That was certainly a learning curve for me, but it helped me to really know and understand everything about the software. Needless to say, my computer skills improved significantly!
About a year later, I contacted a dealer and asked if they would ever need me to “train” customers how to use the Statler by Gammill. They immediately said YES, and I was part of the first training for the newest software very soon after. I had the opportunity to teach at a conference and realized that I loved teaching, and it seemed that my student’s responded positively to my classes. I have had the opportunity to teach on four cruises, all over the US, in Canada, Australia, England and Wales. One time, I taught a class with 95 students from 13 countries. Wow! I bought a machine, and it changed my life!
I love owning my own business! Setting my own hours and setting my business in the direction I want. But it’s hard work. You have to be your own cheerleader. You have to be bold and put yourself and your skills out there for others to see. Sometimes, you have to fake it until you make it. Face challenges so you can grow your skills. Be willing to give anything a try!!! Sometimes, you get tired. very tired but I am so blessed. My husband has always been a great helpmate and a wonderful cheerleader.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
So many things fell into place in ways I never expected. But, at times, it has been very difficult. Lots of hours of hard work, lots of tears trying to learn the skills that I needed and also trying to learn and keep up with social media and what’s new in the quilting business.
Teaching opportunities generally provided lots of written feedback at the end of classes. I tried to study the comments and look for ways to improve my classes. I have always tried to be open to new ideas and new products that help me as a longarm quilter. I also look for every opportunity to help others along the way. The quilting community is a wonderful giving community. I do all I can to help others. There are days that can be exhausting but it is always worth it.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am proud to say that I am a quilter that uses a computer! When I started my quilting journey, there were so many comments about computerized quilting not being “real quilting.” There are some that still believe that to be true, but I don’t worry about those people anymore!
Machine quilting is an art form full of creativity and endless possibilities. My computerized quilting machine is a tool. My ability to use the tool directly affects the quilts that come off of my machine! A friend of mine, Page Johnson, always says, “Just because you have an oven, doesn’t mean you can bake a cake.” It takes skill to master quilting, no matter whether you use a computer or not. There are some things that are a bit more difficult using the computer! I am always looking for ways to make it easier and more efficient. That’s my teaching motto, “Efficiency and effectiveness without compromising quality!”
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I absolutely love teaching! But I still feel like throwing up right before I start the class! I work very hard to be super prepared but that bit of anxiety is always there at the beginning. As soon as I get started though, all that preparation takes over and it’s all good! I think that anxiety is because I always want my students to get the very best. I realize they make a huge commitment to purchase classes. It’s actually a double commitment because they not only pay for a class, but they aren’t quilting. That means they aren’t making any money!
Pricing:
- There are two kinds of quilting. Edge-to-Edge quilting. That is the same design repeated over and over. That is usually a quicker, easier process. Therefore, it’s more economical.
- Custom quilting requires much more time and skill, and is therefore much more expensive. Unfortunately, many customers don’t understand why custom quilting is so expensive. Usually, 5-6 times the cost of Edge-to-edge quilting.
- Many quilters just set a price without actually evaluating if they are making any money!! I timed my quilting process for an entire year to be able to set a price that allowed me to have a successful business. I charge what I need to and if a customer wants a cheaper quilter, I am ok with simply saying, “I understand.”
- Shortly after I started teaching how to quilt, I realized many quilters simply do not make money! They rotate money– make money, buy supplies, make money and buy supplies. I did a ton of research and started teaching business classes for quilters! I always hope I can help another quilter have a successful business.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://heartlandquiltworks.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/georgiastull/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Heartland.Quiltworks
