Introducing the Cutting Table: A Digital Mini Magazine
I am so excited to finally announce what the Suzy Quilts team has been hard at work building behind the scenes — The Cutting Table Mini Magazine! This has been a passion project built brick by brick for over two years and I can't hold it inside for another minute. Subscriptions are now open!
This new publication is a monthly digital mini magazine subscription filled with our favorite things including inspiring tutorials, in-depth articles, expert video interviews (you can listen to them like a podcast!), and even a monthly book recommendation with discussion questions.
In addition to a new themed issue each month, subscribers of The Cutting Table will also get a free quilt pattern, exclusive discounts from over 15 of our partners (ranging from notions and fabric to longarm quilting), and two-week early access to new pattern releases.
Subscribers will have unlimited access to all past issues AND be able to interact with the authors of those issues through writing comments and questions. In a nutshell, when dreaming up our biggest hopes for The Cutting Table, we centered our ideas around creating an actual space — a magical space where you can hang out, learn new things, and find inspiration to perk up your day!
Our mission is to help you prioritize your creativity. Some of my fondest memories of learning to quilt were standing beside my mentor’s cutting table as she gave me instructions or taught me a new sewing technique. From my first moments as a crafter to over 20 years later, I still find comfort and joy every time I get to stand at my own cutting table.
Above is the Luminous pattern. You get this as a free download when you subscribe!
How Can I Subscribe?
Subscriptions are now open! Monthly subscriptions are $12.99 and annual subscriptions are $129.99 — that's your best deal because annual subscribers get two months free each year!
Be sure to sign up for our newsletter to be notified first about the launch!
A Video Tour of The Cutting Table
But enough reading. You want to see it, right? Let me take you on a little tour...
The Cutting Table: Issues 1-3
The wait is over and we've got ants in our pants after holding this secret in for so long! As I mentioned above, each monthly issue will be centered around a theme. When you sign up you will have access to not just one issue, but three!
Can you guess our first three themes based on these covers?
What Is The Cutting Table?
The Suzy Quilts website that you’ve grown to know and love for years is going to stay exactly the same. You will still have access to all of the past content as well as new free sewing tutorials, articles, and product reviews, plus our weekly newsletters, our popular sew alongs and new quarterly pattern releases.
The Cutting Table is a new digital mini magazine that you can subscribe to on a monthly or annual basis. Each month, you’ll get a fresh themed issue with:
- Tutorials that make you say, “I neeeed to make that!” Our team of creators is passionate about quality. We know that you’re busy and the time you set aside to be creative is sacred. We don’t take it for granted that you are spending your precious time with us! We are throwing everything we’ve got into making sure you love these tutorials.
- Articles from textile history to color theory to advice from creative experts, we research and uncover new depths in the topics you care about. We deeply value the heritage of quilting and see it as its own rich tapestry from which we can learn. Can discovering textile designers and quiltmakers from other places and times help us better understand our craft? We think so!
- Expert video interviews from other fiber artists or sewing experts each month. Each interview is transcribed and timestamped so you can search for keywords or specific areas of interest. Think of these videos like a recording of your new favorite podcast!
- A book recommendation that has been thoughtfully selected for our readers. Each book synopsis concludes with discussion questions for you to think about or even talk about with a book club!
- A letter from the editor (me) discussing the common threads running throughout the issue and why we selected its theme.
Issue 1 Sneak Peek!
Ready for a sneak peek of our first issue? It's simply Meet the Cutting Table! And no one knows more about that than Suzy Williams (me) and our Managing Editor, Laura Hopper.
In the video below Laura and I talk about how The Cutting Table came to be and what our subscribers get. We're a chatting duo, so hit play when you've have a half hour to watch or listen.
After recording this video, we adjusted the branding of The Cutting Table to be more descriptive and now call it a mini magazine. Stay tuned next week for our new article A MiniHistory of Quilt Magazines, which includes the fascinating story of early quilting magazines. And just because I can't help myself, here's another sneak peek of one of the tutorials you get...
LeMoyne Star lumbar pillow tutorial in Issue 1.
The Nuts & Bolts: What Included In a TCT Subscription?
When you subscribe to The Cutting Table, you get more perks than just monthly issues.
- 1 Monthly Newsletter: You never have to guess what’s new in The Cutting Table each month — simply open your inbox and it’s all right there.
- 3 New Posts: Every month you get access to three exclusive tutorials and articles from the skilled and knowledgable creative minds on the Suzy Quilts team.
- 1 Free Quilt Pattern for signing up: As a sign-up bonus, instantly receive one exclusive quilt pattern PDF that includes both throw and baby sizing.
- Expert Video Interview: Enjoy learning from other fiber artists and sewing experts each month from a pre-recorded interview-style video.
- Exclusive Discounts: Subscribers get exclusive discounts from our trusted partners including longarm quilting, fabric, and more.
- Book of the Month Selection: Get inspired and grow your knowledge from book recommendations ranging from quilt history to modern fiber arts.
- Early Access to Patterns: All new Suzy Quilts pattern releases will launch TWO weeks early for The Cutting Table subscribers!
- Unlimited Access: As long as you are a subscriber, you have unlimited access to all past and future issues. The digital mini magazines will always live on The Cutting Table website.
Kid's tote tutorial in Issue 3.
How Is The Cutting Table Different?
On the Suzy Quilts blog, we focus on three things:
- Helping people learn to quilt for the first time through accessible tutorials, additional sewing tips, and helpful product reviews.
- Guiding quilters through the process of making a quilt with a pattern, step-by-step, in our free sew alongs.
- Teaching quilters how they can use quilt patterns in interesting ways beyond quilts to create things like bags, stockings, pillows, and more.
With The Cutting Table, we removed all our constraints and said yes to our imaginations! Each issue is full of whatever projects and articles excite our team, all centered around a cohesive theme. Some upcoming themes are organization, bags, self-care for quilters, color, and photography. We can't wait to share these and more with you!
Learn our best tips, including a video, in The Ultimate Guide to Picking Fabrics for a Quilt in Issue 2.
Looking forward to the Zine!
Ooh… this is exciting!!
I am very happy for you and your new adventure!
This sounds great. I’ll be looking to subscribe on March 1st.
How exciting! I love the two of you giggling and scheming together, and how much fun you’re clearly having creating this new playground.
Congratulations!! Looking forward to it
No surprise here…I knew you had to have another forum to educate us. I can’t wait! I am so excited for you and Laura and us quilters! Question…can we join at any time?
I’m so glad you’re excited! Yes, after March 1 you can join any time 🙂
If we join after March 1st, do we still get access to all of the past issues? My birthday is May 1st 🙂
Yes, and happy early birthday!
Do you have a tutorial on how to help from getting a BOW in you straight line sewing?
Thank you A
I have a post with straight-line quilting tips. Is this what you’re looking for?
This is very exciting. I have March 1 on my calendar to subscribe.
You should highly consider removing the term zine. Please research into this term to fully understand that zines have been around for a long time allowing marginalized voices to be heard. Let’s call it what it really is, a membership.
Hi and thanks for your thoughtful comment! We’ve made an adjustment to The Cutting Table based on some early feedback. More to come!
Will you stop the blog ? French, I don’t speak english, I think a webzine is too much for me.
But I liked your blog and when you explain a lot of things .
Hi Cath, no, we will not stop the blog. The Suzy Quilts blog as you know it will stay exactly the same. The Cutting Table will be an additional product that you can choose to subscribe to on an annual or monthly basis.
This is great!
I love SuzyQuilts! I want to be a charter member of the Zine! Thank you for sharing your passion with us!❤️❤️
Exciting! I look forward to signing up!
Exciting…….. but how will this new project work for your International followers who will not have access to discounts etc available in the States?
Great question! All subscriber benefits will be available to everyone. Most of The Cutting Table discount partners ship internationally. As The Cutting Table grows we will work to add internationally-based partners to our list of discounts so our subscribers around the world can benefit even more.
Thanks Suzy. Unfortunately, shipping from the States is always extremely expensive which is why we have to source locally in the UK, but I wish you every success with your new venture, you deserve it!
Well I was really way far off from your exciting news that you hinted at on Instagram….. this IS very exciting and I’m in! I cannot join a quilt guild, its not me but you will be my new quilt guild! Plus I need that tote pattern for my Stampede “hat” (if that’s what you call it) so it doesn’t get ruined in my suitcase. I hope that pattern is the 1st month’s! Please say YESSS! congratulations on this new adventure!
I’m so glad you’re excited! That hat tote tutorial is in Issue 3, which will be available as part of the subscription, along with Issues 1 and 2 on March 1! Wahoo!!
So excited! Loved the video! Suzy, you ARE that mentor to us quiltketeers! It was a treat to learn more about Laura. Fun times ahead learning from both of you and the quilting community that you plan to share with us!
I’m so excited for Suzy quilts and for all of us. Looking forward to the fun adventures in quilting to come!
Excited for you and us🥰I have learned so much being here since 2020. Ready to grow and sew more in 2023🥳 🧵 🪡
I am so excited for you both! AND I’m so in!
I am not sure I understand what a digital zine is. Is it just the newsletter? A take on magazine?
A take on a magazine is a great way to look at it. Barnard College, home to a zine library, says, “A zine (pronounced zēn), short for fanzine or magazine, is a DIY subculture self-publication.” What is so exciting about this digital zine is it lives online so you can access it anytime and anywhere. Past issues don’t expire. You can interact with old and new issues simply by posting in the comments.
Can’t wait to sign up! I need the tote bag with the hat ! How great!
Can’t wait to sign up. My birthday was Feb.7. I was 81. This sounds so exciting. Love all your patterns.
Happy belated birthday, Jill and thank you!! 🙂
So looking forward to this! Your style and design are such an inspiration!
It’s pretty expensive for those of us on a fixed income; will you still be offering free tutorials that can’t afford the subscription?
We understand! The Suzy Quilts website is staying exactly the same, this is just another product you can choose to get! If you’re subscribed to our free newsletter, you’ll still always be notified of the latest free blog posts 🙂