Ambition to return to sewing/antiquing

The last 18 months or so I have been running my 2 businesses 100% on my own. If you make rag quilts or make quilt-as-you-go quilts you may know that I sold pre-cut batting, flannel, and minky squares on eBay and Etsy. It is hard work especially when I hold a full time job that at times can cause me to vacation my online shops. Not to mention understanding rules and getting things shipped in a timely manner to get the best benefits as a seller. I liked helping people who hate to cut but love to sew. However I am just not having fun jumping hoops all the time. I spent last summer being a slave to my business and did not have time to work in my garden or just enjoy sewing. This fall my work as an athletic trainer caused several weeks of shop closures that gave me a little taste of freedom from the cutting.

The month of December I tend to put the shops on vacation or hide the cutting items due to (don't judge) the fact that there can be some problematic transactions due to the holidays and I choose not to deal with that!  The older I become (just hit the 50 mark this year) the more I want to enjoy what I call my hobbies/extra income. I also have an antique shop on Etsy and sometimes do a booth at at local mall. Yes- I like to stay busy. So I have made a decision to discontinue my cutting services a few weeks ago and am announcing this now. I have made a long list of what my ambitions are for the future.

My list of things I want to make to fill up my shops:
1. Rag Quilt Purses
2. Rag Quilt Pincushions
3. Rag Quilt Dog Beds
4. Soup Bowl Cozies
5. Potholders
6. Clothesline coiled bowls
7. Homespun Candy Canes
8. Rag Quilt Bible Covers
9. Swag Garlands
10. Jelly Roll Rugs
11. Fabric Wallets
12. Rag Quilt Pillows
13. Finish my UFOs
14. Homespun String Blocks for quilt

My list  of things I want to do:
1.Write more patterns
2. Consolidate my existing patterns into a book form.
3. Paint/finish my master bathroom
4. Grow my antique shop on Etsy
5. Move sewing rooms
6. Garden the summer of 2020
7. Hang my Grandmothers quilt frame up
8. Cut springs from old bed frame to sell
9. Plant more trees on our property
10. Learn how to embroider

Those are my lists for now.....I will post updates I as go.

For the time being I am working on a lovely black and white rag quilt that will be done soon! It barely fits on my design wall at the moment!

Artfire and Bonanza buying options Spring 2013

I am gearing up for Summer and have re-opened my Studio on Artfire and my Booth on Bonanza sites. I am not sure sometimes what sites to offer things on. What attracts buyers to use one site over another? I assume either the buyer is accustomed to a particular site or is turned off by another. Personal preference is ok with me. I think being on multiple sites is valuable for getting my stuff out there in front of the viewer. In the past I have shut these two sites down during slow times, but I am hoping to keep them open if business grows. We will see!

What other sites do quilters use these days? I am already on Etsy and eBay.

Rag Quilted Bible Covers Spring 2013

 

 

A few years ago I wrote instructions on how to make a Rag Quilted Bible/Book Cover. Since then I have been making some and offering them for sale.

 

 

This orange one was a custom order.

 

 

Earlier this year I tried making one in a patchwork style and it turned out super cute. I made 2 of these and they sold already.

 



 

Here are some pictures of ones before sewing:



 

I had cut out 36 Bible covers to make....

 

LOVE my homespuns!!

 

I always cut off more than I can chew......but I stuck with it!

 

And ones completed:

 

 

The inside with a Bible in it.

I have a few more to finish and will post pics of those when I am finished. In the meantime if you are eager to try out my copyrighted pattern you can find it on my epatternshoppe site. You can download the .pdf right from the site!

You will also find most of these Bible covers on Etsy or eBay if they have not sold yet.

Winter Project #1

I am having a tough time keeping up with this blog....I work too much I guess. Spring is around the corner, so maybe there will be a break in the current events?

 

I have heaping full boxes of scraps from all the rag quilts I have been making. Not to mention from the cutting services I do. And to top it off from all the rag quilt kits I have been putting together. Yeah I need to quit working....just to clean up my mess!

 

This winter I found a weekend to sort through much of my homespun scraps and was able to tie strands of this scrap fabric onto jute twine to make some rag swag garlands. Here are a few to show off, but there are many more.....I made them all that weekend to lessen the stash. HAH right. I have since added to it. I need to hire people now just to keep up. I could seriously run a factory in my basement.... well anyway we won't go there at least for now.

 

Check my Etsy or eBay listings for more rag swag garlands.

 

I am much better at posting and keeping up on my Facebook page. Check that out to see what I am up to from week to week. I need to boost my "Likes" there, so feel free to click "Like" when visiting.

 

Mail or email?

When you are online looking for a pattern or instructions/tutorials on making something that has caught your interest, are you more apt to look for something that you can download right then and there or do you prefer it be physically mailed to you?

I know there may be several issues involved either way. I am just curious. When it comes down to it what do you prefer?

We all look for Free items, I do too, but when it has to be purchased what is your preference?

Please comment-I appreciate your feedback.:)

Rag Quilted Christmas Stocking Tutorial

My new Rag Quilting Tutorials are listed and available on  Etsy.

Today I am featuring my Rag Quilted Christmas Stocking Tutorial. These are pretty simple and quick to make.

Seriously,  I am sitting idle at 9 pounds lost on day 14 of  The 17 Day Diet. The diet is still going great- I am just disappointed because the needle on my scales seems stuck! Oh well! My pants are more roomy so why complain?  Right?

Busy weekend, leaves, and rag quilting Creations 39-41

Leaves to the left, leaves to the right.....

All raked now and ready to be swept away by the city sweepers!

Goodbye leaves---see you next spring!

(I am sure I will have to rake more in a week or so- out 2 trees are loaded still.)

Over the weekend I spent most of the time sewing. It has been several months since I have been able to sew and create like this:
I did finish a couple of purses : Snowflake Dazzle and Prim Santa Noel

and


a twin size rag quilt that still needs clipped.

as well as a UFO that has been sitting on the shelf for a long time! These are rag quilted burp cloths for the football lover!

Monday Mentions Featuring Sew Strange Bits N Pieces

It is Monday again....oh sorry to remind you. Well anyway I have some goodies to share with you. My good quilting friend at Sew Strange Bits N Pieces has got some really nice Christmas Rag Quilts for sale in her eBay shop. She is another RQQ (Rag Queen Quilters) member.

Snowman White Stars Blue Snowflakes Rag Quilt RQQ™

Green Gold Christmas Tree Dots Snowflake Rag Quilt RQQ™

12 Days of Christmas Black Green Man Rag Quilt RQQ™

In addition to her Rag Quilts, she offers a service to cut fabric and batting-
her motto is:
"I'll Cut It, You Sew It, They'll Love It!! Building treasures...One Piece at a Time"

Go visit her - You will be glad you did!

"Wednesday Wants" Featuring Quilts_By_Lee

Today' featured Rag Quilter is Quilts_By_Lee

She has been a Rag Queen Quilter (RQQ) member for over 3 years and has made some really amazing creations during that time. Lee has many eBay listings that give to charity. It is such an amazing thing to be able to give on a regular basis.

Check out her work: she is available to custom sew you anything Raggy, and she has lots of Dallas Cowboy fabric stashed! I am sure of it! My hubby especially loves that!! (They may be struggling right now, but nothing lasts forever!)

BTW she has some sales going on right now....so don't miss this opportunity!

Definitely things you would WANT!!!

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Love this!!

Blue Patchwork Rag Quilt Table Runner RQQ™ QCG

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This is just Gorgeous!

Christmas Rag Quilted Table Topper RQQ™ QCG

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Newly Listed:

Brown and Hot Pink Large Rag Quilt Tote RQQ™ QCG

Tuesday "Who's Dey?" Keepsake Baby Clothes Rag Quilts

Well it's another RQQ sister. That's who. (Sorry Bengals)

Rag Queen Quilter Sister

Grandma*Barbara

has some wonderful listings on eBay right now. If you are searching for some unique Christmas Gifts using keepsake baby clothes -get in touch with this seller/quilter. She will create some really wonderful rag quilted items for you.

Here are a few of her listings:

Raggy Christmas Holiday Table Topper 30"x30" RQQ QCG

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CUSTOM MEMORY RAG QUILT from YOUR Baby Clothes RQQ QCG

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MODA Fabric Rag Quilt Fall Colors 52"x61" RQQ QCG

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Labor Day Sale

This is the first time I have offered a holiday sale on eBay on flannel and batting squares that I cut. The sale is for one day only.

Another new flannel color added this week

Check out the latest addition to the flannel fabric stash:

Khaki Marble

I can cut your flannel squares for you. All you have to do is sew.....

Offering new colors!

New flannel fabric color added to my eBay store last week: Gray Marble.


Khaki Marble is also available and will be pictured soon.

Busy day for sure!

DH decided I needed to start cutting fabric and batting squares again, so I spent most of the day getting listings back up on eBay and Etsy. Summer break will be here in one week! And I will have time to cut, cut, cut!!

This evening I mowed the lawn, weeded the garden some and barely made it to safety getting in the garage at dusk because there were some skunks headed at me. I freaked out to say the least! It looked like a mama and 2-3 babies. Joy! I wish the neighbor took better care of her property because they were coming from her place.

Here are some listings I have up tonight:

Purple Minky Squares

Marble Blue Flannel Squares

Batting Squares

Happy St Patty's Day!

Today it was so sunny and warm out. I realized some tulips and daffodils were coming up. I had dug into the hard, dry ground last fall to plant those bulbs and got discouraged at how tough it was to dig a 6" hole with the ground so hard. So I ended up putting the bulbs in the shed and forgot about them. After seeing the shoots coming up today I checked the batch in the shed and most of them were ok and starting to sprout....so what the heck! I started digging holes and setting them in.....so now I wait and hope to see if they survived! I will post pics later if they do! Fingers crossed everyone!




Here is my latest creation for sale on eBay: Rag Quilted Purse 9-Patch Style
2010 Creation #14