Monthly Archives: June 2013

Confessions of a Non-Long-Arm Quilter #1

Quilt Therapy Posted on by

I do have a long-arm in storage, but it cannot go in my sewing studio until the studio is complete!  My hubby has SO many projects to handle, first and foremost is making sure our kids are where they need to be and when…and fulfilling his roll in the local Cub Scout Pack – on top of his weekend lay minister work that keeps him on the road at least eight hours each weekend.  Driving kids to an fro is added to his daily schedule – and there’s just not enough time to get anything outside of a day at home so he can get in the quilt studio to work.

I am not a quilter.  Have never professed to be one.  I tried my freehand and that was a nightmare of epic proportions.  So, I use my quilting foot and try not to make circles because my circles become some strange and interesting patterns that never resemble a circle!

I traded with a gal I know in Utah (www.spiritgoat.com).  She wanted some square quilted table toppers in exchange for her sending a gift of her products to a friend.  She sent the gift but that was in 2010 and I had just been diagnosed with MS and our lives will never be the same!  Her quilted projects got pushed to the side for more important matters such as researching to understand my new diagnosis.  I feel REALLY BAD about making her wait for more than two years for her table toppers but I decided to try my hand at some simple quilting for her table toppers.  Part of this will be revealed today and tomorrow will give you the finished project.

This is a very simple Rail Fence table topper….edited to be the size she preferred:

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Becky’s Rail Fence Table Topper just pressed.

Next it was time to draw the lines on the quilt, for me to follow while I quilted:

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These are the pens that I really like – the lines you draw on your quilt disappear when you press the fabric.  If you look close enough, you can see the lines I drew:

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Becky’s Table Topper with Lines to follow while quilting.

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Once I drew the lines, it was time to make my quilt sandwich!

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After drawing my lines, I pinned the heck out of the project – I would have basted it if it was bigger, so I just used pins to hold the three layers of fabric together.

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Want a LIVE ACTION SHOT?  I begin quilting the table topper while using my quilting presser foot.

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Becky’s Quilted Table Topper – time to press it to remove the lines!

After I quilted the project as I wanted, it was time to look at the lines I’d drawn, to make sure I hit all of them with precision.  WHAT?  I am not looking for precision!  I want to be an exceptionally good quilt quilter, no matter where the other websites and/or quit projects are “out there”.  I want to be an exception to all of the ‘quilt-related’ folks – an exception to the rule.  Perfection is not necessary to me, as there is only One who was perfect – hence I’ll settle for an exception!

Come back tomorrow to see the almost-finished project!

Mug Rug Inspiration

Quilt Therapy Posted on by

When my foster mother was wintering with us, she bought a new Brother sewing machine as well as the quilting presser foot.  I gave her a couple of 12″ blocks to practice with and she did a great job of learning how to quilt with a domestic machine as opposed to a long-arm.  As these two quilt squares you see below have been staring at me (probably mocking me), I have been trying to figure out what to do with them.

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My foster mother just wanted me to bind them – but, that just didn’t ‘feel’ right to me.  Finally, I figured out what I wanted to do with them!  I cut them diagonally, corner-to-corner twice and will make four mug rugs out of each block!

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Ah yes, my hat it has three corners, three corners has my hat!

Ooops, don’t know why that song keeps running through my mind when I set these triangles apart.

Once I have the binding on them, they will make a perfect mug rug gift set for anyone who likes using larger-than-a-coaster mug rug!

What’s Happening in the Quilt World 2/52

Quilt Therapy Posted on by

I am kinda liking this type of quilt fun, sharing of information from the world of quilting outside of what’s going on (or not going on) with my quilting.  Hope you’re enjoying it, too!  I have numbered these posts based on the number of the week’s post as well as the number of weeks in a year.  Not sure I’ll be able to keep up with this every Monday, but I’m going to try!

Without further ado (aka my yakking), let’s peek in on what the quilt manufacturers are up to in the “free pattern” category:

I do not receive any type of payment or fabric from the above-stated companies.  I am merely providing a service to my blog readers to share links they perhaps didn’t know about.  These are from the manufacturer’s web pages.  If you have a favorite quilt fabric manufacturer who I missed, please add it in the comments and I’ll take a look at it!

Funday Friday!

Quilt Therapy Posted on by

Do you ever just want to jump off a cliff and feel the wind in your hair and then the water at your feet?  I remember many moons ago that we did just that.  I seem to recall is was on one of our Boundary Waters Adventures (in northern Minnesota) that we hijacked a canoe after a day of moving from one campsite to another, and went cliff diving.  I was scared, not so much of the jumping but that the water wasn’t deep enough…even though a couple of the guys who were with us had already made the big leap and came up just fine, never touching the bottom of the lake.  I made the decision that I was going to do it – and I did!  I did it!  I conquered my own fears and just let go.  SO. EXHILARATING!  I cannot tell you how many times I climbed up the cliff, only to feel that wind in my hair and the water hitting my feet.

So, let’s talk about jumping off our quilting cliff and finding something fun to do on a Friday – Funday Friday!

As if I need to repeat myself again, you should know that I am a traditional quilter.  I do not make showpieces, I make quilted love.  I haven’t a competitive bone in my body.  My quilts are meant to be used until they’re in tatters and I’m asked to make a new one to replace an earlier one that has been loved so much that the user asks me for another one.

I use Electric Quilt software to design my quilts.  But, my EQ7 (and earlier software versions) they have premade quilts for you to make.  Nothing special, just FUN!  Funday Friday!

Let’s go out on that cliff’s edge and look at jumping into making a contemporary log cabin quilt.  Want to?  Just so you know, the quilt I made for my wedding is a traditional log cabin quilt as it’s my very favorite to work with.  Although my children keep running off with my quilts, I managed to save our wedding quilt (this week, at least).  Let me tell you, if you make this contemporary Log Cabin block, the block placements in your quilt take on many different variations on the same block!  Here is the contemporary quilt block:

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Let me show you another simple-to-sew contemporary log cabin block:

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Amazing, right?  They are the EXACT. SAME. BLOCKS!

Now, here are some layout designs from the block patterns above – all of the quilts use the same block – just different fabrics!

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Go ahead – DO IT!  Take a ride on the wild side and get back to quilting basics on Funday Fridays!  I can make one of these quilt tops in about two hours – what about YOU?!

Quilt Shop Marketing for Fun and Profit

Quilt Therapy Posted on by

Because I have a degree in Consumer Economics, I spend a lot of time watching the buying and selling of quilt fabric and related quilt gadgets.  One of the easiest way to find out how your consumers are doing is to watch their habits – when do they buy the most, what they purchase and how often should you put some type of eNewsletter together and send to your buyers.  None of this is simple but once you get the hang of it, your sales will increase and your virtual marketing ‘should’ change the fabric and gadgets that you order for sale.

For instance, your shop has gadgets.  Lovely gadgets that will make a quilter want said gadgets.  BUT, you  have to ship them – and this is the most important Consumer Economics lesson you can learn – people buy gadgets at local places and not so much via an online shop.  Why?  Because there is an instant gratification factor.

Or what if your last six-month sales report shows most of your customers purchase fabrics from one colorway and some mix and match what they want to purchase.  How do you purchase fabric for both groups?  The answer is pretty simple – you buy from both but you also offer folks to mix and match to their quilted heart’s desire.  You would not need to purchase a whole colorway of batiks (an example), but perhaps you can purchase half of them and see how the sales go.  Personally, I usually stick to one colorway for a quilt but like the jelly roll batiks for the binding.  Most especially a quilt is of one or two basic colors, the zing is with the binding!

Another consumer suggestion is to allow your customers to have some fun on your website!  For example, you could hide a coupon within the pages of your website.  If your customers find the coupon, they can use it on a single purchase.  Any time you get a customer who has money to spend, make sure you can keep them on your website for longer periods of time. Mix it up and have fun with it!  I guarantee your customer base will grow with this type of quilt shop fun.

The bottom line is, if you want to make sales and compete with other shops, you need to do a bit of research on your previous clients’ purchases as well as using social media to get more consumers going to your website.  And add a little fun into the shop’s online presence.  If you can do this, on top of everything else that it takes to run an online quilt shop – you will find success through sales!

Skye2012

 For additional Quilt Shop Marketing ideas, please visit www.QuiltShopMarketing.com!