Most people’s treadmills collect dust or dirty clothes – mine collects papers. Lots and lots of papers. Old tax forms, receipts, parking stubs, bills and design drawings are precariously piled into this (dubiously) impressive pile. In other words – a mess.
Since the tax man cometh, I have decided to get a grip on this mess and maybe let my treadmill see the light of day. *gasp* So off I went to Staples to get my first file tote and files for this business. My oldest son, under the guise of helping Mommy, gleefully took the heaps of paper out to the living room and dumped them on the floor. My youngest wisely avoided the whole process and insisted on a movie. Smart kid!
Then the sorting, the shuffling and the shifting began. I quickly realized that even though I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, they do not teach you useful things in college like making a decent filing system. Instead I learned things like how to fire people who are in Unions. Go figure.
So I now have all of these papers sorted into a filing system only I understand and a treadmill that is now supporting all of my new packing materials I ordered from U-line. So much for my New Year’s resolution to walk more!
Too often I get e-mail from people asking how they can start up a business selling quilts. It never fails to amaze me that people think I will tell them all my secrets! I am not in the business of helping create competition for myself – I want all of the customers! 
But if you are truly looking to start your own business, I do have a few general tips I would give:
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Be prepared for lots and LOTS of hard work! This will not take off overnight. You are looking at a minimum of 2-3 years for things to start to get rolling. This is a long term commitment and not a get rich quick scheme.
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Join any quilt guilds in your area. Fantastic groups with lots of experience and resources. There are bound to be some pros there.
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Attend classes at quilt shows and talk to the celebrity quilters. Listen to their stories.
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Research on-line stores and get good quality sites to link to you.
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Pay someone to build your store. Just because you love your teenager does not mean they know how to best design your store!
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Join any Crafts Councils or Art Councils in your area.
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Talk to gallery owners and other crafters.
Hopefully these ideas will get you started. This is definitely not an all encompassing list but if you are serious about becoming a crafts-person, it should get you pointed in the right direction.
Good luck!
I am thrilled to announce that Miss Grace’s Ladybug Quilt is FINISHED!! I am so incredibly excited to have been able to work on this really beautiful full size quilt for a very special young lady’s 4th birthday.
As part of the Chinese tradition of the Bai Jia Bei, or 100 Good Wishes Quilt, Miss Grace received many different pieces of fabric from loved ones when she was a baby. Her mother, Pam, and I worked on designing a special quilt for Miss Grace that would incorporate these special fabrics, her favorite colors, and love of watermelons!
The design of my Ladybug Baby Quilt was the starting point for Miss Grace’s quilt. Each of the ladybug’s wings are made from the Bai Jia Bei fabrics and Minkee fleece makes up the bodies. More Minkee fleece was appliqued in the cornerstones as watermelon slices and buttons make up both the watermelon seeds and the spots on the ladybug wings.
Some interesting facts about this quilt include:
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Over 80 hours went into making this quilt (I stopped counting after that!)
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76 ladybugs
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152 ladybug wings and antennae
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304 buttons for the ladybug spots
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600 3″x3″ squares in the background
I’m gonna take a nap now!
At a loss for what to make my friend Alison for Christmas, I was thumbing through Carol Doak’s - Mariner’s Compass Stars book when that proverbial light-bulb went off. So I called Alison and asked her, “If you could travel to any country in the world, what would it be?” She replied, “Australia.” Perfect! Problem solved.
Each of Carol’s paper pieced stars in this book are named after countries and, since Alison’s favorite color is purple, we get the Purple Australia Bag. The focus fabric is a Michael Miller Fairy Frost and the accents are a fat eighth bundle I won in the volunteer raffle at my guild’s quilt show this fall. Both sides of the bag are the same with solid black framing the bag and making up the handles. I made piping out of the fairy frost fabric and edged the top of the bag.
Here’s a close up of the block.
When you stop and think back on an entire year, you may think that you have not accomplished much. But when you begin to write it all down, you start to realize that you were busier that you thought! Here is a partial list of what I am proud of having accomplished in 2007:
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Through my own SEO, I am now #2 on Google search results for “baby quilts” – not bad for a novice!
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Made over 40 quilts for my business!
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Entered my first quilt show and won a third place ribbon!
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Had an (almost) entirely handmade Christmas
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Started this blog October 24, 2007 (30 posts and 700 hits to date)
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Sold quilts at 7 craft fairs
And on a personal note: I was a mom to 2 awesome boys and a wife to a terrific husband. None of this would have been possible without their continued love and support! Now to see what 2008 will bring…
