Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Chatroom up

We have finally fixed our new chat room, and I am very pleased that it will be in use from now on, barring any further catastrophes. Becki at Quiltropolis worked tirelessly on fixing it up for us and she is my hero tonight! So, come visit the chat room, our pubs little snug. We have evening activities every evening this week at 6pm CST and we will hold regular games in the chat room following Grand Opening week. I hope to see you there!

www.thequiltandneedle.com/chat

Monday, December 3, 2007

We are OPEN!

I was up all night getting our fabric and kits into the store. We only finalized the layout and design last night about 11 PM, so it was a loooonnnngggg night. But TOTALLY worth it!! Our vision for a pub online has come true and I hope you all feel at home here. Really, this is where everyone knows your name, eh?

www.thequiltandneedle.com

Let me tell you about a few things that did not get finished by today. If you go into our chat link, then you will notice that it is currently taking you to a Quiltropolis site that has a group of rooms for their clients. This is temporary. We do have a chatroom but we ran across some glitches in the testing phase and our programmer (the great and all powerful Becki at quiltropolis) is attempting to help me work them out. It is a fabulous chat room, with lots of emoticons, avatars, and even file sharing in private messages. And I have some game ideas for that already!!

Also, you will notice that three of the five departments in our store don't have anything in them. We do have a few quilts for sale, and I will try to get those up today. Our exclusive line of patterns from Shanoa Quilt Designs have not come out of the print shop yet, but look for them soon. We also have some cute little gift items that will be in the store soon.

Finally, look for some cosmetic changes on the forum soon, as I hunt for a 'skin' that matches our new website. Please don't be frightened if you log on one day soon to find a whole new color scheme. We also have lots of new emoticons to upload and a few new features to work through.
So my dear friends, this is it - what we have all been waiting for. I hope you enjoy using it as much as I have enjoyed creating it.

Your friendly online quilting pub owner,
Jess

Thank you's that need noting...

Like so many other roads I have traveled, building The Quilt and Needle was a longer, bumpier ride than I ever imagined. This interactive quilting community would not be in existence if it wasn't for the much needed help and support of some very special people:

Josh Ward at Josh Ward Designs, brought my vision to life, gave my words and fabric somewhere to sit. If you ever need an awesome website designed in under 20 seconds, he is your guy. Cliff Olle gave the best advice on so many aspects of building an online community, as did my brother, Rick Eicher, and Becki at quiltropolis. Kaitlin Olle (always and forever spelled with an i) brought our logo to life and helped begin to form a picture in my head of what all of this would look like. Cheryl Clifton, a good MIL and fabulous friend, and my sweet BIL Jason Smith, manipulated our graphics time and time again and inspired so many of the little details on this website.

Jax, Blue, Belle, Aristotle, and my 25 fish suffered for 8 months while I ignored them to build this. Sorry guys, I will make it up to you! My friends and fellow conspirators at Block Central - you supported this project from its conception, were the first ones to glimpse my often awkward ideas, and encouraged me to keep going. Thanks for being my first and so loved patrons. My handful of proofreaders - thanks for catching my misplaced modifiers and apostrophes.

My friend, my teacher, my confidant, my Mom, Nawma. You gave me wings, helped me fly, and often scraped me up off the pavement when I fell in front of a car. Lastly, my love, my life, Billy and the ruler of my world, Sammy. You guys are the ground I stand on and the reason I reach for the stars.

-- Jess

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

In the beginning...

After much ado and further consideration, I have decided that the best way for The Quilt and Needle patrons to stay connected is through a blog. So, here it is!

WELCOME

The Quilt and Needle is designed as a friendly online quilting pub. What is a quilting pub you ask? Well, that is simple. If you have ever been to a neighborhood tavern, pub, or other gathering hole, then you understand that the friendships and camaraderie found in these places is amazing. Your fellow patrons become friends and companions that you share some of your most enjoyable moments with. Entertainment, gossip, and support are provided all around, as well as good food and drink. My most treasured moments as a quilter have been in the company of my quilting friends, locally and abroad. Therefore, I wanted a place where quilters from around the world could come after work, after the kids have gone to bed, early in the morning, in the middle of a long day, or whenever, to enjoy the company of others who share their interest. I found myself longing for a neighborhood pub with quilters in mind, a place I could share moments with the most kindred spirits found in the quilting world. If I built it here in my town though, how would my friends from Australia and England come each day? This led me to the world wide web, and eventually to blogging. So come on in, make some friends.

As a member of an online quilting guild, I enjoy the projects I share with my friends across the globle. I have always wished for a place that we could find some of the items needed for our projects (kits, fabric, etc.) in a common location, as we often try to coordinate colors and prints for swaps, etc. The Quilt and Needle store will provide project kits, fabric, and other quilting supplies for the projects that we enjoy together. However, if you join one of our projects, it is not required that you buy your supplies from The Quilt and Needle store. The store is there for your convenience, and for your shopping pleasure.

P.S. We are pet friendly!! Come on in, all of God's Creatures!