Hello again motivated do'ers. Welcome to another
Tuesday To Do party hosted by Quilt Schmilt.
Oh my goodness, it's MARCH!
Right now my head is swimming but happily so. There is
nothing like getting one's taxes in order to get a better grip
on things! And I really am. (It's a bit of mental exercise but
we all feel better for exercising, right?) Perhaps the biggest
take-away from meeting with our accountant is being told
that yes, this business is going legit so I need to start acting
accordingly--basically, it's finally time to be serious. Scary?
Not really. It's so much better than hanging out in limbo!
And with hubs being my business manager,
(he doesn't know he's earned that title yet),
and seeing how things are going, he's completely on
board (always was), and even encouraging me (ditto).
Ha! like I need pushed to quilt??
Gracious! Enough of the chit-chat!
Let's check in with my last list:
1) Finish little E's quilt Goodnight, Evie
DONE.
I chose this for my project to work on in my Quilt Path
class so I was able to conquer two things at once.
With 5 1/2 hours driving time and 3 more to the class, it was
very helpful to be able to at least come away with a finish!
As a reminder I chose a pattern that produces two
quilts from one layer cake, and I was in the process
of seeing just how many quilts I could really get out
of this layer cake. Because when it comes to finding
the most frugal way to cut something out, I have it
down to a science. Now, that's a bit ridiculous when
I'm always trying to cut down on my stash but I tell you:
It. is. a. game I cannot resist, a puzzle to be solved!
And it's just also the way I was raised
and old habits die hard, ya know?
So, ANYhoo (the caffeine is kicking in), I started first by
just adding a row of stars to this quilt and I think that,
because the other is just a 9-patch, I'll go until I run out.
I've had to set it aside for obvious reasons, though.
I failed to get a picture of the back but you can see the
fabric here, along with the first label I made on the Pfaff.
It took me a few tries and pulling out the book to get it.
A month has gone by since I had the intro class on my
new sewing machine and...well, need I say more?
(This font is a little bigger than my old machine so I'll
have to get that spacing down a little better.)
The quilting design is from Wasatch Quilting where my
APQS rep, who has 30+ years of experience, says she gets
all of her designs. She's never had an issue with any of
Nancy's creations so she just sticks to this as her source.
I don't remember the name but it has clouds, stars and
a half-moon that is smiling.
2) Get ready for tax appointment
DONE.
So much progress here: I pulled together the whole year.
And in doing so, I am finally getting an idea of how to
organize the business side of all of this. It has been driving
me crazy not having a system! But how could I create one
when it's all new territory and I wasn't even sure where it
was all headed? Well, after a year of taking things up quite
a few notches, I now have a better picture. I'm sure it
will continue to evolve but it's nice to be on a track.
I won't say it's a "right" track because the cool thing is
that it is what I make of it so of course it's right, right?
And anyway, Rome wasn't built in a day and all that.
Everything has been turned in to the accountant,
and we all know that feeling, right?!?
3) Finish blog hop quilt top and write post
No progress on the post; some progress on quilt.
4) Golf as weather allows
Only one round this week but it went well
Some Random Tues-To-Do housekeeping things:
I've decided to choose one thing that must be done
and give it a little extra spotlight on my list.
I'm also changing the numbers of my post labels to match the
week of the year (instead of the number of actual TTD posts for
he year.) This gives a little more fluidity between my blog and
my spreadsheets where I keep track, by week, of fabric, blocks
made and other business stuff (I'm into technical terms).
It's kind of a system of checks and balances: my blog
can be a back-up for info.
(Someday I'm going to go back and add in key terms
to my posts. Why did I ever stop doing that??)
Week 9
* * Priority! * *
Finish blog hop quilt top and post
2) Work with Quilt Path
This has been slower-going than I'd hoped. The two
mini quilts up there at the top of my post are just
waiting until I feel like I'm ready to go. I also have a
other items lined up for practice and 2 tops ready.
Once these are done, I should be ready to
officially start taking orders.
3) Create a new Quilt Worksheet form
I've mentioned my Quilt Worksheets in the past.
On these, I follow the progress of each project and include
the pattern, source, fabric amounts, changes and so on.
It's a great form for quilt-makers but as a quilt-seller,
I need to keep track of more info.
4) Start on next shop quilts
I won't have time for weeks but I'm just thinking ahead.
A little update on how Etsy is going:
In going over the past year one thing stands out glaringly:
Etsy takes a bigger chunk than I realized and I'm going to
need to continue raising my prices. I don't like it but the
cost of everything is going up, right? It cannot be helped.
(A request for a version of my Autumn Shimmer)
Also, I have some requests by Etsy customers. I don't
do special orders but these are a bit open-ended and
I'm making exceptions for various reasons. No one is
I'm making exceptions for various reasons. No one is
obligated here but I still intend to get them out asap.
(A request for a larger version of West Point Stars IV)
And hey, warm fuzzies at my work generating requests!
And finally, last week I shared my first Wilson & Wilson
in lieu of not having a pic of the one I just purchased but
I remembered to capture my new one for today's post.
This mother-daughter team puts quilts in many of
their works so they're fun to have in my studio.
I chose this one for the pumpkins--go figure.
Alrighty time to stop chatting and start doing!
Happy quilting!
Happy quilting!
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