Welcome back stitchers! Today host Lisa Woolfork interviews Diane Roney, a quilter, sewist, and graphic AI artist. Diane shares her sewing journey, including her first outfit at the age of 68. She also discusses her brand, Diane Roney Creates, which encompasses various creative endeavors. Diane talks about her Soulful Stitchers coloring book and the process of creating it. What does it take to be a multi-hyphenate creative? Why does a jumpsuit bring so much joy? Why do Brother printers keep everything extra proprietary? Diane and Lisa get into all of this and more!

Takeaways

• Don't let fear hold you back from pursuing your passion for sewing.
• Embrace your creativity and explore different artistic mediums.
• Share your knowledge and help others in their creative journey.
• Be patient and celebrate the successes of others, knowing that your time will come.

The Black Women Stitch 2024 Wall Calendar is available NOW! Do not miss out on your chance to and get your stitch together with a year of artistic inspiration!

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Lisa Woolfork is an associate professor of English specializing in African American literature and culture. Her teaching and research explore Black women writers, Black identity, trauma theory, and American slavery. She is the founder of Black Women Stitch, the sewing group where Black lives matter. She is also the host/producer of Stitch Please, a weekly audio podcast that centers on Black women, girls, and femmes in sewing. In the summer of 2017, she actively resisted the white supremacist marches in her community, Charlottesville, Virginia. The city became a symbol of lethal resurging white supremacist violence. She remains active in a variety of university and community initiatives, including the Community Engaged Scholars program. She believes in the power of creative liberation.

Instagram: Lisa Woolfork

Twitter: Lisa Woolfork

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Diane Roney

Meet Diane Roney, a creative coach and small business owner with over 20 years of experience in the industry. With a passion for all things creative, Diane has built a name for herself as a multi-talented artist, designer, and educator. Diane's extensive skillset includes Creative Stamping scrapbooking, Digital artistry, Quilt design, sublimation and DTF Printing, Quilting coaching and education, seasoned Greeting card design, Afrocentric African Inspired gifts, and social media content creation. Her ability to combine these various mediums has allowed her to create unique and captivating pieces that have garnered attention from clients and fans alike. As a coach and educator, Diane is committed to sharing her knowledge and expertise with others, helping them to unlock their own creative potential and achieve their goals.

@dianeroneycreates on Instagram

Diane's Website

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Lisa Woolfork 0:10

Hello Stitchers! Welcome to Stitch Please, the official podcast of Black Women Stitch, the sewing group where Black lives matter. I'm your host, Lisa Woolfork. I'm a fourth generation sewing enthusiast, with more than 20 years of sewing experience. I am looking forward to today's conversation. So sit back, relax and get ready to get your stitch together!

Lisa Woolfork 0:34

Hey friends, hey! It is Lisa, from Black Women Stitch and the Stitch Please podcast. And, as I say every week, this is a very special episode, because this episode brings me in connection with none other than the OMNI Creative, Diane Roney. I say OMNI Creative because Diane is a quilter, and a sewist, and a graphic AI artist- digital art, illustrations, coloring book, and all sorts of classes and instruction, including creative consulting. And so I am delighted to talk with Diane today about one of her latest publications that I saw that I absolutely love, Soulful Stitchers, but also a really cheerful Soulful Stitcher herself, in the form of a brand new jumpsuit that I have got to see why she was so excited about. Because I was thinking, "This clearly couldn't have been that hard, considering all that you already do!" But she said it was indeed a story. I am so glad to have you here, Diane! Welcome to the Stitch Please podcast.

Diane 1:45

Well, thank you Lisa, for having me! You know something, I am just humbled. I really am, because when you called me, I was like, "She wants to talk to moi?!"

Lisa Woolfork 1:53

Absolutely!

Diane 1:59

So thank you so much!

Lisa Woolfork 2:01

No, I am delighted to be in touch with you today and to talk about the multifaceted nature of your creating. Now I wonder if you can just get us started with what is your sewing story? How did you get started? How did sewing come into your life?

Diane 2:17

Well, okay, you're not gonna believe this. When I was younger, I wanted to sew. I do not come from a family of sewists, okay? My aunt sewed a little bit, and I kind of dabbled when I was a child, and then, after that, it just kind of ended. And when I look at all the sewists that I'm seeing now and the multitude of years of experience they have, it was upsetting me, because I've always wanted to do it, okay? I was fearful of patterns, I had measurement challenge, and I don't know how to read them, okay? So when you saw me in that jumper, and why I was so excited, because, at the age of 68, that was my very first outfit I ever made!

Lisa Woolfork 3:09

Wow.

Diane 3:10

I literally cried when I did this, and I was at a friend's house, and we were talking, but she'd been hearing me yap about sewing for days and years. She said, "Okay, Diane! Enough is enough. Come over to my house, we're going to make the dress make, this jumper, and I looked at the jumper and said, "I can't make this!" She said, "Yes, you can." And so when you saw me jumping for joy is because I actually did it. And this was my very first outfit ever––

Lisa Woolfork 3:40

Wow.

Diane 3:41

––made.

Lisa Woolfork 3:41

Listen––And at 68! I'm telling y'all, don't let anybody tell you that it is not your time. Do you hear me? Do not let anyone tell you it is not your time. And also, I might add, don't tell yourself that's not your time.

Diane 4:01

Exactly, because I was telling myself this for the longest time because even being a quilter and even starting to sew, I was so enamored by all the people that I see now who are sewists, and I'm like, "Oh my God, if I could just be like them! If I could just, you know, have that flair or just, you know, taking a pattern, and cutting it out, and putting it together, and I was like, "I'm just so envious some days!" And I'm sitting there going like, "Okay, this is crazy, Diane! It cannot be this hard." So that's why you saw me jumping in the grass because, literally, I was crying prior to filming that because I was so excited, just the–– it just came over me that I actually–– and all these years of something that I wanted to do, I actually did.

Lisa Woolfork 4:48

And I just appreciate the way that you did not give up on yourself. And if you are a Patreon supporter, thank you so much for supporting the Black Women Stitch Patreon. Patreon support is absolutely critical to keeping the doors of the podcast open. It is how I am able to compensate people who are helping me. And so just know that any donation you give to the Patreon goes to pay other creatives of color who are helping me--my project manager, my content creation person. But what you also get, Patreon people, is a chance to see Diane jumping for joy photo of this jumpsuit. Like, so tell me about the pattern. Do you know what pattern it was? Was it self- drafted? How did this piece come about, after your friend said, "Listen, you gonna get–– you done got on my last nerve with this 'you can't sew nothing'! Yeah, I won't tolerate it another day. Here we go."

Diane 5:43

Let me tell you, she called me and she said, "Okay, I need you to get over to my house." I said, "Okay, fine." She had this pattern, I guess, and she said, "We're going to make this, it's very easy." And I'm looking at her like she's crazy. So I'm over there, and I say "Okay, well, where's the pattern? And how do I cut this thing out?" So she says to me, "Well, we're not going to do it the traditional way. We're going to do it with the projector."

Lisa Woolfork 6:04

[Gasp] Oh, my gosh!

Diane 6:08

I was like, "Oh, Lord." I'm like, "The projector?!" I said, "Oh, I'm just starting out, and you want to deal with the projector, okay?"

Lisa Woolfork 6:15

Oh, that is amazing! Diane does not like to start things on the easy status. She's like, "You know what? Why don't we start at the highest level possible? Let's do that instead."

Diane 6:28

You know what I'm saying? Just jump right on in! Just jump right on in, and let's just do the thing, right? So she's got this thing all set up, this projector, and I'm like, "Oh, how is this going to work?" So she has the computer ready, and she's got this pattern. I think it's a pattern that's out of date right now, but she said, "Now lay the fabric down there," and I put it on the thing. She said, "There it is." I'm like, "Really? So how am I to do this?" So she said, "Take the Rooney pattern and start cuttin'!" I'm like, "Okay, here we go!" And so that's what I did. And then she said, "Now"–– and then I, then it clicked in my head because, you know, when you're quilting it's right sides together. So I was like ding ding ding! "Oh, I get this now! Okay, here we go." So I started putting it all together, flipped it over, started sewing the thing. She said, "Now you're done. Now go sew up the sides, and, you know, she helped me with the sleeves and everything, and we were done!" Like we spent the whole day doing it! I was so excited. Isn't that wild?!

Lisa Woolfork 7:24

Oh my gosh. I love that. I just love that so much. You know what's funny, Diane, I can tell you, you, who have just made like your first outfit for yourself, after years of quilting and doing other art things, have done something that I have not yet managed to do, after over 25 years of sewing clothes. And I have yet to figure out the projector. I have spoken with my good friend Aaronica Cole.

Diane 7:51

Yeah, that's who I saw first!

Lisa Woolfork 7:53

Yep, she's the projector sewing queen, and she is like, "Lisa, you can do this!" Listen, I was like you! Like, "How's this gonna work? I don't understand. I gotta get my measurements!" And then Aaronica was like, "Lisa, calm down, it'll be fine!" I said, "You know what? I just–– what I need to do is to write for some kind of travel grant to have Aaronica Cole come up here to this studio." Listen, because the rest of it all seems like sorcery. I see other people doing it, but have not figured it out for myself yet. So that makes it even much more of a happy jumper. We are looking here at the image of Diane, looking just so joyful in her blog post that she wrote, "The jumper joy ride", and I am excited for it. But let's talk about your project overall. Your brand is called Diane Roney Creates, and there are three words that you are using there to, in some ways, I guess as a motto for your business-- "Craft. Cultivate. Create." Can you tell me a bit about what those three words mean to you, individually, and what they mean to you coming together, so much so that you created a brand for it?

Diane 9:07

Yeah, um, you know, the brand has evolved so much over the years. And when people started–– my marketing manager and people started talking to me about niches, and they tried to tell me to narrow it down to one. And I said to them, "I can't do that, because that's not who I am." I mean, I started out back in the day with snaps, graphs, and stamps, and then it went on to, you know, helped choose fabric, and it wasn't quite resonating. So I sat down with a friend of mine, and we started to come up with a name. And then she said, "The name is––it's you! You're it! You are Diane Roney, and you create."

Lisa Woolfork 9:57

Yes!

Diane 9:58

And it made sense. And the circles represent the melanin of African American people, the different skin tones. So then we went into, "Okay, craft." Craft means overall existence of what a crafter does, and that is everything. Cultivate means to take it from the craft inception and cultivate it into something dynamic, to think about it, to–– what does it resonate with you, when you say, "I'm crafting something"? And then, once you've got that in your mind, then you start to create it. That gives you the finished product at the end. So there's a whole process of inception. So that's why I encompassed it all with this Diane Roney Creates, because I will never know from one minute to the next or one day to the next, what I'm going to be working on.

Lisa Woolfork: 10:51

Yes.

Diane: 10:54

And when they told me to settle it down, I said, "I'm sorry, that cannot happen, because that's just not who I am." So that's how Diane Roney Creates became to be. And that will now be the brand forever.

Lisa Woolfork: 11:06

I think it's such a beautiful umbrella term. Of course, everybody wants to have a particular, you know, niche, you know, that you–– but your area of focus is creativity, which is huge! That's so huge! You know, and so the idea that your creative expression is such a fundamental part of your brand, makes perfect sense. That "create" could be a beautiful container for so many things. And I love the use of the words here, "craft, cultivate and create", because they're action words, you know, like that–– when you're in the doing of something.

Diane: 11:46

Correct.

Lisa Woolfork: 11:47

Yeah, so you're very involved in all of them, but things like "craft" could also be like a noun, like, you know, you identify a craft, identify a thing you want to do, and then you cultivate that idea. And then you go and create it. I mean, it's just such a beautiful–– it's like, even the the name of your brand, is like an invitation to a process.

Diane: 12:07

It is.

Lisa Woolfork: 12:07

You know? And that–– I think that's just really very powerful. I wonder if you could talk a bit about the beautiful, Soulful Stitchers coloring book. There's so many things I love about just the mere cover. First, I love that it is Black women on the cover! I love that it is unapologetically Black women. You are not trying to say, "Well, I don't want to alienate anybody who isn't Black. You–– no, no, no. You say, "I want to affirm those people who are Black and who do want this, and if anybody else does, come and buy it as well!" But yeah, I really love how you seem to be starting and centering Blackness. I also love how your sewing machines are properly oriented to how a sewing machine actually looks, because I have seen so many like, you know, little videos or images, and they're like, "Oh, this is so cute!" And I look at it, and I'm like, "But there's no way to operate that machine, because she's standing behind it. That doesn't make–– it doesn't make sense." So I really love that! Can you talk about your process of creating the Soulful Stitchers book?

Diane: 13:17

I work with a friend of mine, and we were talking one day about coloring books. And I've always been a colorer; I color a lot. I like coloring books; I have a plethora of crayons, markers, you name it, because to me, coloring gives me a sense of peace. It gives me a sense of relaxation. And I sat with her, and we were talking about it for a minute because she was creating coloring books, and I–– she said, "I think you need to make a coloring book!" And I was like, "No, what would I make a coloring book of?" So I stopped for a minute. And one thing about me is, you know, I meditate a lot on things, and spirit has always guided me in everything I've done with this business. And so I stopped for a minute and all of a sudden, spirit said to me, "A coloring book for African American women, but make it quilting/sewing related."

Lisa Woolfork: 14:13

Yeahhh

Diane: 14:13

And I was like, "Okay." And I said, "Well, how am I gonna do that, because I'm not an artist to draw this.

Lisa Woolfork: 14:22

Right.

Diane: 14:23

So I went to the phase that I'm in now, of AI. And I talked AI into creating for me the images.

Lisa Woolfork: 14:34

Oh, that's so wonderful!

Diane: 14:36

And when I saw the–– I would say what I wanted it to do, and I would type it in, and I said, "Okay, I like that picture, I like that picture," and then I sort of meshed them all together, and I kind of, like, edited them a little bit and, you know, made it into a coloring book, because they were coming out like real pictures. I said, "No, no, no. It has to be a coloring book. I don't want to see the gray, you know, I want someone to be able to color it." And that's how it all came together, and I just started going with the different pages and what I wanted to do. And I said–– and it had to be for African American–– it just had to be that. It couldn't be anything else. And I wanted everybody to get an opportunity–– when you go to a retreat or something like that, sometimes you're there sewing all day, but I wanted people to sort of take a break for a little bit, open the coloring book, get your creativity going with the crayons, and the markers, and the paints, or whatever it is, and just experiment with it!

Lisa Woolfork: 15:32

Yes!

Diane: 15:34

So I wanted to share my joy of coloring. And that's how it came to be!

Lisa Woolfork: 15:39

I think that's really wonderful, and it just is another example of your overall process by–– you created something that you thought would work really well and would kind of close a gap, or meet a need, for the creative and sewing community at large, and I can definitely see, as you're saying, like you said, if you're at a workshop or an event or something like that, and you want to take–– "Okay, let's take a brain break! Everybody grab a page and some cray–– and we're just going to spend some time just filling this in, just to kind of help our brains settle in.

Diane: 15:47

Yeah! Just relax a little bit. Sometimes when we're running so much, we just got to learn to just kind of like, sit back, take a break!

Lisa Woolfork: 16:18

Learn to be still! And I think that that is one of the things that I believe sitting at a sewing machine gifts for you, for me, and a coloring page, right? You cannot do a coloring page and be walking around, running around places. Like you need to be still. You need to be still.

Diane: 16:37

And I think, too, when I put some of the phrases in there, too––

Lisa Woolfork: 16:41

Oh, nice!

Diane: 16:42

Like when I put in there the different kinds–– I don't really call them affirmations, but, you know, just these kind of words of wisdom that you can embrace and kind of think about as you're doing it. And, like, what does it mean to you? And so many people said, "Oh, this page resonated with me!" And, you know, I really liked that. So it was really, you know, kind of a thought-provoking thing to do, and I'm glad I did it.

Lisa Woolfork: 17:07

I am too! I really am too, because I think it's also, like, a really great gift for like somebody who loves to sew.

Diane: 17:14

It is!

Lisa Woolfork: 17:15

Yeah.

Diane: 17:16

And that's what so many people have told me. They've ordered them for that reason alone or, you know, someone's birthday or just a, you know, quilt guild or something like that, they want to, you know, do whatever they want to do with it. And that's why I said, "Well, sure, why not?" And they love it, so––

Lisa Woolfork: 17:29

So can we just go through the list of all the things that you create? I'm gonna tell you the things that I remember.

Diane: 17:35

Okay.

Lisa Woolfork: 17:35

So you now–– you make clothes. We're going to put that down that you make clothes, because you did make a jumpsuit.

Diane: 17:40

Yeah, one jumpsuit! [Laughing]

Lisa Woolfork: 17:43

Shhhh! You don't gotta tell them that! You could say you made more than one after that. Okay, so you made–– you sew clothes.

Diane: 17:51

Yes.

Lisa Woolfork: 17:53

You make quilts.

Diane: 17:54

Yes.

Lisa Woolfork: 17:55

You do digital art design, AI assisted art, coloring pages and that type of creation. You do sublimation––

Diane: 18:05

Yes.

Lisa Woolfork: 18:05

––which is one of my favorite things.

Diane: 18:07

Yes.

Lisa Woolfork: 18:07

You also use–– I think you said you use a Cricut. So you do paper crafting, scrapbooking, and those types of things.

Diane: 18:14

Yes.

Lisa Woolfork: 18:15

Am I missing anything? Do you tat? Do you–– are you doing, like–– do you knit? Do you–– I mean, I feel like–– not that you need to, considering that you–– I've already–– I got one hand, all full! My whole hand is full, just counting off some of the things you did, so–– or do, so.

Diane: 18:30

I'm looking around my craft room, thinking like, "Okay, what else do I do here?" No, I think that's probably about it! I used to crochet, but that's not really where I'm at right now. Right now I'm in the process of really working with the digital AI piece of it, because I'm seeing–– my mind is running in so many directions with it that I'm now creating patterns for like fabric. And I'm seeing a whole different thing in my brain about, "Oh, okay! I can see where this is going now!" And it takes you right there. And it's like, this is where I'm heading in that kind of dir–– but I love it! I mean, I love it all! You know, I really do. You know, I'm enjoying–– I was, at one point, trying to do DTF and I was like––

Lisa Woolfork: 19:15

Oh, I was so interested in that too!

Diane: 19:17

But then that machine and everything. I was like, "I can't handle that right now." And that's just––

Lisa Woolfork: 19:20

I was very interested in it, so interested, and DTF, y'all, is direct to film.

Diane: 19:25

Right

Lisa Woolfork: 19:26

One of the challenges of sublimation is that it has to be put on a 100% polyester substrate, or other hard substrates. It doesn't have to be fabric, but that means you can't really print white. And so getting a printer that prints white, lets you put things on black shirts, it yada yada yada but you know, inkjet printers tend not to have white ink in them because they work on an RGB scale or whatever.

Diane: 19:56

Right

Lisa Woolfork: 19:56

And so, this new idea of printing direct to film, in addition, you can buy a printer, there's one called I think Oki,

Diane: 20:04

Oki, and then there's a, there's a few others. Other just plain DTF, where it just, you know, it lets you print on see Siser does it, too, with the vinyl. There's all this stuff that goes along with it. And I just didn't find it to be––

Lisa Woolfork: 20:18

Diane, you're not buying that.

Diane: 20:20

Now, I will tell you, though. I will tell you. I'm leaning, leaning in the Glowforge. I'm leaning.

Lisa Woolfork: 20:28

Girl, listen!

Diane: 20:29

That is like––

Lisa Woolfork: 20:31

Girl, listen to me. I wanted a DTF. I want–– and I have no space. So what I–– what my saving grace was, Diane, for me, was I found out that there's people that sell transfers. You send a custom image, they will print your DTF, your direct to film, transfers.

Diane: 20:54

Yeah.

Lisa Woolfork: 20:54

And they're not that expensive. And then you can just–– 'cause there's a hack, you can do it with an inkjet and you got to put this powder over it.

Diane: 21:01

No, I'm not doing that. I tried that. It didn't work.

Lisa Woolfork: 21:01

And I was like, "Nope, I don't." I don't. I believe it does indeed work for–– I'm willing to concede that it works for other people. I bought all the stuff, and it's still in the package. So it has not worked for me because I have not tried.

Diane: 21:04

I just send it off to my guy. My–– I uploaded him a little while ago, all my artwork. He said, "Your transfer will be ready tomorrow." I said, "Great! There we go. We're done."

Lisa Woolfork: 21:25

I, too, would like to find a guy. I have seen quite a few people on TikTok that I've been following. And I'm like, "Okay", because I have tons of art as well. And I would love to put it places. But no, I really love–– I really like what that can do, and I'm glad that there are folks who it works for, and they can make it easy, so that you could just make a phone call.

Diane: 21:44

Right. Hello!

Lisa Woolfork: 21:46

And then you can focus on what you like to do!

Diane: 21:49

Thank you! And (unclear) then I'lluse my heat press. I'll use my heat press when it comes in here. I take the shirt, I put it on there, and we're done. Wrap it up, we're good!

Lisa Woolfork: 21:58

And it's good to go! I just love that so much! I did want to ask you about this image. And this is the image of this printer.

Diane: 22:05

Oh, yes.

Lisa Woolfork: 22:07

So are you at your home studio? Are you at a maker space? Tell us about this printer, because I looked at that and was like, "Lisa close your eyes. Lisa, mind your business. Lisa. Lisa, keep your eyes on your own paper. Lisa, you gotta roo–– Lisa, where would you put such a thing? Stop it. You don't have to have everything you see, Lisa!", is what I told myself.

Diane: 22:30

Well, you know, let me tell you. When I first saw this, I first heard it. I am at a warehouse, at the store, in this picture. And I ran over there because I needed to see it in person. And so I went over there and the guy said, "Diane, go have at it! You know, look––", and I'm looking at, I'm going like, "Oh, my God! This is just great." And the reason why I looked at it–– I liked it because, once again, the ideas flowed through Diane's brain cells, okay?

Lisa Woolfork: 23:02

Yes.

Diane: 23:02

And I said, "Okay, it does fabric, and it's on a fabric roll." And in my mi–– the concept in my head was for me to, like, make, you know, like little pouches and bags, and I was going to utili–– I'd utilize it for my quilting because I can–– you can pick it, and you can create designs on it. And now that they have the Artspira App, you can take your pictures and you can make all kinds of different designs. You can twist it in all kinds of different places to make it totally different. That's what really enamored me.

Lisa Woolfork: 23:39

I'm just gonna pause you very quickly before we go on. Tell us what we are looking at. Y'all, we are looking at a printer. Can you tell us the name of this printer and what it is meant to do?

Diane: 23:50

Right. It's the Brother PrintModa Fabric Printer. It also is a regular printer. It uses regular ink.

Lisa Woolfork: 24:02

What?!

Diane: 24:03

It uses regular ink, that you would put in your regular, you know, Epson and your regular bru–– you know, regular–– it's an inkjet printer! That's what it is. There is no special ink that's involved with it. It just–– what it does when it hits the fabric. That's basically all it does. The top tray is for regular paper, and then the bottom tray is like a long roll. It's about $99, I think you get five yards of it.

Lisa Woolfork: 24:32

Okay.

Diane: 24:33

And you roll it through the thing. And then you use the Artspira App to create the, you know, whatever it is you want to print out on it, and you just print it out. It cuts it; it can do different sizes. I think that size right there's eight and a half by 11.

Lisa Woolfork: 24:49

Okay

Diane: 24:49

But you could formulate it on the app for different sizes. And then you just print out what you want. On the back of it is a coating and you peel it off so that when it comes off, it feels like fabric, it feels like a piece of fabric. You can wash it, you can you can roll it up in a ball. You can do whatever you want to do with it! But it feels like a piece of fabric. They do have another covering that, if you were going to make a bag or something like that, so that it doesn't smudge. I found that it doesn't smudge. But for legal practicalities, if you want to put something on top of it to maintain it, so it doesn't rub against you, whatever, you know––

Lisa Woolfork: 25:26

Right.

Diane: 25:27

They had to do that. But I love the thing! I mean, I LOVE this thing! I–– the only problem–– I did find a problem!

Lisa Woolfork: 25:37

Okay.

Diane: 25:38

With the–– what I had in mind was, I wanted–– the app now has something on it where you can digitize your art, okay? I put my piece of art into the app, I did digitize it, and I wanted to take it to my embroidery machine.

Lisa Woolfork: 25:57

Yes, yes, yes.

Diane: 25:59

Here's the problem, and I'm talking with Brother about this because I'm real upset. You can only wirelessly send it to a Brother embroidery machine.

Lisa Woolfork: 26:12

Yes, that's what I bet. I was just gonna say, I was like, "I bet those formats do not––"

Diane: 26:18

It's a P–– you can use a PES, whatever a regular embroidery machine does. The only problem, it's just going to go to a Brother machine. And I told them, I said, "This doesn't make sense!" I said, "If I'm paying for the app, it's not coming from the printer. It's not yours. It's, like, it's mine. Why can't I just use it–– why can't I just send it off, put it on a jump drive, and just put it in my machine and let it go?

Lisa Woolfork: 26:39

So what we're talking about, y'all, is the format for different sewing machines, that many sewing machine companies have different formats. I think Pfaff and Brother are kind of the same format, and then Viking has, like, they have HUS and it's all the different–– it's all these different ones. I've used a Baby Lock, and Baby Lock, I think, uses PES

Diane: 27:02

Yeah. Yes. Yeah.

Lisa Woolfork: 27:04

It also makes sense, you know what I mean? At the end of the day, it makes sense that Brother will want you to have a Brother machine, and that's one of the advantages of having a Brother high-end embroidery machine is that now it works with this printer. Okay, maybe you can't wirelessly transmit your design. Yes, just note, there are the sewing machines, y'all, that have USB connectivity and––

Diane: 27:25

Correct. It will go to my ScanNCut because it's Brother.

Lisa Woolfork: 27:30

That's right!

Diane: 27:31

It will go–– you know, it goes directly to my ScanNCut, without a problem, but I just felt that when I was mentioning this on their site, it just seems to me that would make sense that I could be able to do that but probably hasn't gotten back to me.

Lisa Woolfork: 27:45

Listen, I would not give up. I would not give up.

Diane: 27:49

I told Brother, "Why don't you send me the new Luminaire while we're in contact!

Lisa Woolfork: 27:52

Exactly. Exactly. If you want me to have it so bad. What is that machine, 17?

Diane: 27:57

17, 20,000. Yeah.

Lisa Woolfork: 28:00

Yeah. 17, 20,000. Yeah, they could just send that right on over.

Diane: 28:04

Send it right on to my house! I'll be happy! I'll be more than glad to promote the thing for you and tell you what it does. Because I like the printer

Lisa Woolfork: 28:11

And you want it to do what they need it to do. You know what, it is pretty amazing, if they have figured out how you can scan an image into an app and get it to digitize it, as an embroidery design. Are you–– is that real? Are you–– is that, like–– my mind is boggled because, y'all, again digitizing–– I forgot to mention machine embroidery is a thing that you did, but machine embroidery to digitize– it is a skill!

Diane: 28:39

It's a skill! It really is a skill. When you're using something like–– if, you know, if I'm using, you know, my very expensive Floriani Software or a couple of the other ones I have and this one does it on the app. And I looked at it, and I was like, "Oh my God, it's so beautiful!" I was like, "Wow!" I just wanted to see it in the machine; that's all I wanted to do.

Lisa Woolfork: 29:00

And so are you saying then that all of the Brother things that go through the machine that you have there, you're not able to put in any of your other sewing–– any other embroidery machines, or it has to be––

Diane: 29:12

It has to be a Brother Embroidery Sewing Machine. It's crazy to me!

Lisa Woolfork: 29:13

You know they do that, too, with Disney. Brother will–– they sell a Disney machine. They sell like a–– I think they have a Laura Ashley machine, or something like that, where there's exclusive designs that only live in that machine.

Diane: 29:24

–– in that machine.

Lisa Woolfork: 29:35

And that's it; you cannot put them anywhere else.

Diane: 29:37

No, no, and that's what I was explaining to them. I was like, "Well, how many machines do I have to have?" And I have a very expensive Baby Lock Destiny Machine, right?

Lisa Woolfork: 29:45

Girl, what?!

Lisa Woolfork: 29:48

That Destiny was–– I was admiring that Destiny! And I just gotta say, child, that Destiny was not my destiny. My destiny was to pay for college tuition for children. That was my destiny. But one day when I'm–– when retirement is my destiny, I will be able to have one of those top of the line ones at another time in my life.

Diane: 30:11

And that's another thing, for someone that doesn't sew, she's got this thing over there. It's like, "Okay, what's going on?"

Lisa Woolfork: 30:17

That's what I'm saying! I can't believe you hoppin' around, so happy about a jumpsuit, and you got a Destiny! Destiny sitting over there, like that is not a five figure machine. Like, come on now!

Diane: 30:27

My friends enabled me! They were neighbors back in the day when I bought that machine. I must have been high on something when they had me do that.

Lisa Woolfork: 30:34

You was high on life. That's why you was so happy! It does stitch beautifully. You have got to admit that. It does stitch beautifully! It really does, especially in the embroidery.

Diane: 30:46

Yeah.

Lisa Woolfork: 30:47

And so now, you've really talked a bit about your work, the things, the things that you've created, the things that you want to create next. Tell me about what it means to transition from creating your own work, to guiding and helping other creatives realize their dreams, through coaching and classes. What made you take that step, to move from your own–– prioritizing your own work while also building connection with others? Did that come from your early days as a scrapbooker?

Diane: 31:16

You know, I've always been the type of person who is more involved with people. I think it comes from my background, you know, being in journalism and, you know, working in television and radio and, you know, just kind of being around people a lot. And I enjoy–– it gives me such an enjoyment to be able to help somebody. I just do it freely. I, you know, when people ask me questions, they say, "Well, Diane, you should pay people for that!" It's not so much about being paid for something. It's about the joy that you're giving back something. When you give back, what you give out comes back to you in other forms. So, I really don't look at it like that. If someone asks me a question, I joyfully either help them find the answer, do whatever. So I didn't necessarily start out doing it that way. But when people started asking me, it was just–– that's just my personality, basically. I get a big thrill out of seeing somebody else succeed at something and be happy with it. So I don't look at myself as, like, a master quilter or anything like that, because I see other people that I look at, and I'm going like, "I want to be like them." It was always something that I've dealt with. It's like, oh, but you say, "Diane, you're so good at this!" I'm like, "Oh, okay, yeah, well, maybe, sorta kinda."

Lisa Woolfork: 32:36

Girl!

Diane: 32:36

I don't see. I don't see what other people–– my husband says like, "You don't see what other people see, do you?" I'm going, "No, I don't." I really don't see it. But I'm humbled by it, yes. I am very, very humbled by it. And I'm very thankful to the universe for giving me these abilities, at a later time in my life, because when I was younger, I didn't do any of this. And–– but to help somebody else come along, who wants to be a crafter, who wants to quilt, wants to–– I will give them the benefit of what I know. And what I don't know, I'll find the answer and bring someone in to help me do it.

Lisa Woolfork: 33:12

Yes, yes. And I think that by approaching it in such a methodical way that says, "Okay, I don't know how to do this, so I will take the steps that I need to take to learn. And now that I know this information, and I develop my own ways of doing it, I can share those with other people." That's how we keep the whole spirit of the enterprise alive. That's how we keep sewing and quilting and creativity alive, by letting people know how to do things, so that people don't struggle or labor in silence and get frustrated and say, "Okay, never me–– never again, this is ridiculous!"

Diane: 33:49

Because that's what happened to me a lot. You know, I would ask people questions, and they would feel like they had to hoard everything to themselves. They wouldn't share knowledge. Knowledge is to be shared. You know, you holding it to yourself, or to think that when I tell her something, she's gonna go further with it than I am. That's not your destiny.

Lisa Woolfork: 34:08

Exactly.

Diane: 34:09

Even if you say it to me, what you're telling me is what's meant for me, but you still have yours.

Lisa Woolfork: 34:16

Exactly. I feel like there should be no scarcity in creativity, because there is no scarcity in creativity. There is always, always more than enough.

Diane: 34:28

Because I see it when I do my digital art. I see it when I–– other people are doing digital art. Mine is not gonna be the same as yours. You know, what I'm thinking and what you're thinking are two different things. So why would you be upset about that?

Lisa Woolfork: 34:28

Yeah, and I think that that comes with, I think, either maturity or just self-sovereignty, just being aware and confident within yourself. To not feel like just because somebody else has something, doesn't mean that you won't ever have it, you know. I can definitely say I am not someone who looks at another person and says, "Oh, I want to do what they do", or "I want to have what they have," or–– no, I don't–– that's not for me. But what I do appreciate having is possibility models. I do like looking at people and seeing the things that they're doing. And I'm like, "Oh, that's so amazing! I'm s––", whenever I see like, you know, a friend or someone that I know, a colleague, having something exciting and majorly positive happening to them. I'm like, "This is great news. That means that because God is in the blessing business. And she's nearby, she's right next door, doing something amazing!" You know, I celebrate that, you know. Like, because then my turn is gonna be next.

Diane: 35:31

Exactly! That's all you gotta do! A little patience.

Lisa Woolfork: 35:31

I love it. Be patient. Now we're gonna have to wrap up here because I could talk to you for 17 more hours, easily, especially when we get into the Glowforge and which one you might get. Are you gonna get the internal vent; are you gonna get the outternal venting? Like, what are you gonna do with your Glowforge? We could talk about that. We'll talk about that when you get your Glowforge. How about that?

Diane: 35:31

Okay. All right.

Lisa Woolfork: 35:31

And then, though, I want to wrap up with our favorite question, which is the slogan of the Stitch Please podcast, is that we will help you get your stitch together. Diane Roney, of Diane Roney Creates, what advice do you have for our listeners to help us get our stitch together?

Diane: 34:42

I would say be happy with who you are, and where are, and just do it. Not to be fearful but just to look within yourself and just say, "Hey, I can do this. I can do this!" And I say that to myself every day, "I can do this," and know it's going to be okay. And even if you fail at it, so what? You know, I fail at a lot of things, but I will master–– I'm going to master cutting a pattern, and all you ladies out there and gentlemen, okay! Diane Roney's coming to see you (not sure of word here)

Lisa Woolfork: 37:59

That's right, Diane Roney–– you'll be seeing more jumpsuits from Diane. Well, again, on that note, thank you so much, Diane! Let us know where we can find you. Where can we find you on socials and online?

Diane: 37:59

Um, the website is www.dianeroneycreates, that's the webpage. I am on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, all under my name, Diane Roney.

Lisa Woolfork: 37:59

All right. Well, we will see you then. Diane, this has been such a delight! Thank you so much again for spending your time with us.

Diane: 37:59

Thank you so much, Lisa, for having me! I'm really humbled. Like I said before, thank you so much, and God bless.

Lisa Woolfork: 38:01

And God bless you as well. Thank you. This has been so great! You've been listening to Stitch Please, the official podcast of Black Women Stitch, the sewing group where Black lives matter. We appreciate you joining us this week and every week, for stories that center Black women, girls, and femmes in sewing. We invite you to join the Black Women Stitch Patreon community. With giving levels beginning at $5 a month, your contributions help us bring the Stitch Please podcast to you every week. Thank you for listening, thank you for your support, and come back next week, and we'll help you get your stitch together!