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!

Life Changes....

This is a very tedious subject for me to write about. As I look back to my last blog I am reminded that my plan 2 and 1/2 years ago was to continue blogging some free tutorials among other things. My life changed the following day as my then husband of almost 10 years told me he was leaving me finally. I was completely thrown for a loop and life changed for me instantly. We were miserable together and his psychiatrist recommended we separate. He moved 1200 miles away 2 weeks after the announcement. I filed for divorce soon after. It was time to move on.....

Fast forward to present day! New man, new house, new car, new job, new everything. My mother even lived with me for a year. She started helping me with my online fabric cutting business and after she moved to her new apartment we moved all the fabric with her. I am so blessed for her and the changes that have taken place. It definitely feels great to be happy again.

I lived in town before and now live in the country on 3 acres. I have a vision to create a 9-patch garden behind the house. I started a small strawberry patch already to see if I can get them established for next summer. My plan is to grow fruits and vegetables to live on eventually. It may end up being a seasonal market type of thing.

Sooo back to me blogging. I have visited this site several times, thinking I would dive back in, but the timing was not right I guess. We are settled into our new house and I have unpacked most of my sewing and quilting things. My sewing room is not exactly how I want it yet, but its a start. I did sew some last week and listed a candle mat on etsy yesterday.

So I am getting to where I want to be again....blogging on what I am doing and sharing some of my ideas and creations.

Thanks for reading!
Theresa

Strip Style Rag Quilt

Every time I go into Joann's Fabric Store I have to visit the remnant bin. Most of the time I am looking for another homespun piece to add to my collection, but one trip I spotted a really cute frog print in flannel to take home.

Months later I am sorting through remnants and come across the frog print, so I matched it up with coordinating colors and started cutting them into strips. At that point I stashed the strips away yet again, until one day in May of 2013 I stitched them together. I had written a strip style pattern a few years before and wanted to create more strip style rag quilts to use as props for the pattern.

During the sewing I accidentally sewed through my quilting pins on the plastic part. This was a first. Had to cut it out with the seam ripper and re-sew that spot.

The finished quilt turned out super cute.... and as of right now it is still for sale if you are interested. See it here: Frog Rag Quilt

If you would like to make your own strip style rag quilt and want to purchase my ePattern here it is: ePattern.

Thanks for reading!

 

Creations from 2013

I went all the way back to May 2013 to see what I had not posted about. I am so behind! Spring cleaning to blog you might say.

This past year I spent much of my sewing time on custom orders. I am amazed at what all I did accomplish in 2013 as I glance back at my Facebook timeline and my camera that holds my pictures. 

I will start where I left off in May of 2013 and go from there.....

 

Strip style Rag Quilt Purse with Cardinals

 

 

Here I have the squares and pockets sewn and ready to assemble.

 

 

For this purse I selected a vintage caramel/brown marbled button that went very well with these fabrics.

 

 

 The inside pockets and padded bottom.

 

I have started making my purses with longer straps. I have used rag quilt purses with shorter straps and just really appreciate having that extra arm room especially when I wear a heavy winter coat. It just fits better.

 

If you are interested in making a strip style rag quilt purse I have my very own pattern instructions for sale in my etsy shop. Thanks for stopping by!

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.

 

The Twin Christmas Rag Quilts are done!

The Twin Christmas Rag Quilts are done! 

This weekend was absolutely lovely! Sunny and 70 degrees both days and I was able to finish some of the yard work before old man winter shows up. After the sun went down last night I sat down at the sewing machine again and stitched until my eyes started going cross-eyed. LOL. Back up this morning to finish this lovely set and spent the day washing/drying them. 

This is the first one.

 Close up of the pillow shams which turned out so cute!

Muslin on the back

This is the second one folded on the chair.

I really love the way they turned out!

Custom orders can be placed at my Etsy shop. Christmas is right around the corner!