What an incredible year for the Ruby Ruler™
About a year and a half ago, I had a spec of an idea. To design a functional quilting and design tool that could be used to creatively utilize the many fabric scraps I had in my stash, accumulated over years of sewing patchwork. My thinking was, if I have this many scraps and fabric cuts that need to be used in quilts, there must be others out there with the same problem.
Buy the Nuts and Bolts printed pattern with a Ruby Ruler™
I took a big leap of faith- that I could design, trademark, and market a product. Take it from inception to market. And that became the Ruby Ruler™.
I learned so much in the process of creating this ruler. Not the least of which was:
- How to convey my design idea to the manufacturer without sounding like an idiot (translation- be careful not to overuse words like “cute)
- Package a product for proper retail display (I got feedback from brick and mortar shop owners I admire, and worked to make a product that they could easily display and feature in their shop.)
- Convey my own excitement of a product to those who like what I do. Whether we’re good at it or not, effective marketing is critical as an online business today. I took marketing classes and read everything I could to help me along the way. And I am STILL learning!
Outback is a free pattern available here.
Its been an amazing experience to bring this product to market. Creating workshops to show students how to understand and use color value effectively in their quilts has been so much fun. Color is something that has always come pretty easily to me. I didn’t occur to me until just a few years ago that its not intuitive for everyone.
Made using the Sessoms quilt pattern by Carolyn Friedlander.
Buy the Stepping Stones PDF pattern
I am very excited to begin the second year of the Ruby Ruler™. Also on its way? A new Ruby design product! Its in work and will be ready in a few weeks. Stay tuned!
If you or your guild would be interested in having me come and teach a workshop or give a lecture on my quilt design process and how I use the Ruby Ruler in my design work with color value, check out this page or email me.
In the meantime, thank you to everyone who has purchased a Ruby Ruler™, told others about it, shared it in your workshops, and posted a project online showing how you have used it to design your quilt projects. Thank you. Thank you!
Buy the Starflake printed pattern with a Ruby Ruler™
Shop the Ruby Ruler and patterns™
P.S.- All of the quilts on this page have been designed using the Ruby Ruler™.