Hi Friends, I’m Joy!

I’ve been blogging since 2008 here at Joy’s Life. I started writing about Cricut and Silhouette, which led me to release my own line of polymer stamps and a DVD teaching people how to use vinyl. I was so honored when people bought and craft stores carried my products. It was a thrilling and fun experience. I was happy to have created things that people enjoyed, and to have taught people things they wanted to learn. I enjoyed that part of my crafty journey, but after many years I felt burned out. I started doing sponsored posts for a variety of companies, usually revolving around food, but also some DIY. I did that for years, until I was totally burned out. Then I took a break from blogging. THAT was just what I needed.

Then I took a break from blogging. THAT was just what I needed.

While on break, I took a job outside the home, which was a real change for me. It was great because it was interesting and it led me to find a new part of the state that I loved. I loved it so much that it opened both mine and my husband’s eyes to moving there. So, we spent a year building a new house, and we moved there! It was such a change because we’d lived in our previous house for 20 years, and raised our three kids there. It was sad to leave, but happy to begin a new chapter in our lives.

That email changed my life.

My local quilt shop was looking for someone who could do all the things I was good at. Someone who could do videos, quilt/sew, work with customers, inventory and even work with vendors to order fabric and supplies for the store (wooo hooo, that was fun!). I replied and went in to work two days later…and you know what? IT WAS WONDERFUL!

I loved EVERYTHING ABOUT IT! Plus, I made some GREAT NEW FRIENDS!

It’s beautiful. So, that’s a world that I want to be a part of.

And another new beginning is my studio life! I’m so happy to have discovered my new passion … it’s quilting & sewing! I LOVE that what I make can last for years and years. There’s just something so fulfilling that comes from making something that can warm someone physically and emotionally. Plus, there really is joy in the journey of creating, and to me, that journey is the reward. It’s kind of amazing when I talk with others, and hear what their quilt means to them or why they created it. Often people will talk about their struggles or celebrations, their losses and how they are moving forward, their joy in finding their way – growing in their craft and spirit. It’s beautiful.

So, that’s a world that I want to be a part of.

Longarm Quilting

When we built this house last year, we added a studio just for sewing and longarm quilting. My longarm, a Bernina Q24 with Qmatic on the long, pro frame was delivered in May 2022, and I LOVE IT! You can read about the delivery and see the stages of assembly on this post. I’m really excited to share with others by helping them finish their quilts in a way that continues to tell their story, because I believe every quilt, like every person, has a story to tell, and that it is important.

Love, Joy