…to squeeze in one last post before we adjust the clocks and it’s April.

I’m off to the Caroline Bay Quilters show tomorrow. Not quite sure what to expect as I don’t normally go to things like this, but I had some customers in today that loved what they saw and I know a couple of the ladies in the group…. Kind of excited but it’s a balanced with practicality because I’m in the middle of beading. So as much as I would love a long visit it will be a short one so I can get on with some editing. 🙂

When I got home from the shop this afternoon I decided to give myself a couple of hours off… so I went to lie down and read a book… anyhow nearly 3 hours later I woke up – had a feeling that I really needed that sleep. I feel much better now.

Tomorrow starts the next batch of photo a day challenge. I think I will participate this time. So will see how I go. I will be loading them to FB (not sure if I will do the FF page or my personal page yet) but I might ‘collect’ them all here on the blog under it’s own tab.

So am off to do some work tonight to make up for my nap….

Marni

I’m sitting here all dressed up for dinner tonight.

It’s dad’s birthday today. We are having a family dinner up at Terrigal, some restaurant that my sister likes. I’m not one for going out to dinner much, more a homebody with my bottle of wine and chinese takeaway.

And so I find myself sitting here contemplating a few things, trawling Facebook catching up on what happened today and checking the last of my emails for tonight…

This week at the shop has been an interesting one – not only have I had my second and third quilting jobs come in but we’ve reinforced our promise for that good customer service. I hope my customers are having fun when they come in to see me. You seem to be coming back to see me so I must be doing something right. 🙂

I’ve been making plans for May and June – these 2 months are going to be HECTIC with a capital H. In May the first 3 weekends are booked out with markets, and June is Darling Harbour. Dad and I are planning some surprises for DH, I won’t reveal anything yet – you have to come and see me as it’s better that way.

I have had lots of enquiries about kits for a couple of my older projects (photos below) – I am in the middle of sourcing fabrics to make up these kits so stay tuned.

Anyways – I’d better go and finish getting ready for dinner.

Marni

Random.

I love the word. I love what it means, and I love how we use it in everyday language.

I like to think that my life is a mix of random and planned acts. That I have some semblance of control but that I am also at the mercy of whim and fate, destiny and luck.

I have a few friends who bounce through life happy to go along for the ride. They have plans for their lives – but they are vague notions for the future. Personally, I think that was okay 5-7 years ago but as we are all heading towards our late 20s and the big 3-0 maybe some plans would be a good idea.

I plan. A lot. I write frantic lists of things to do everyday because I am always forgetting things. Even if it’s a little thing like my phone or my camera charger. I’m good on big things but it’s the little things that make life easier that I forget on a regular basis. I am getting better at remembering mainly because I am more organised and much more disciplined than I was as a teenager.

Hence why I plan quilts, but also allow the randomness to play its part.

I don’t like to force a design. For me that means following someone’s rules (fabric choice or patterns), but at the same time I like to be guided by something (fabric choice or pattern). My custom quilts are that wire balancing act between me as a designer and what the customer wants.

When you come in to talk to me about a custom quilt there are a few things I need to know –

a) colour – much easier if you have a sample of what you want rather than try to describe it to me

b) size – this means I can work backwards from the finished quilt size and tailor my design into the measurements.

c) the no’s – this is anything you don’t want in the quilt – be it a particular colour or shape, something that may have certain bad memories, that kind of thing

d) budget – there is no point in me designing a specific quilt for you if you can’t afford it.

e) timeframe – this gives me a deadline, whether it be the birth of a baby, a change in season or the arrival of a long lost friend from overseas. I need to know dates. I have to juggle the design time, sourcing materials, cutting, piecing, quilting, basting etc and make sure it is possible. If you can give me 6-8 weeks that is preferable. I add two weeks to the birth of a baby as they have a bad habit of arriving early so 10 weeks prior to the due date (unless its a small quilt less than lap quilt size then the normal time is fine). 🙂

If you are interested in purchasing a custom made quilt I am opening up the ordering time from now until mid-April. I wish to have all orders finished by the first week in May with anything ordered by the end of March finished by the end of May. No custom orders will be taken and done in the months of May and June – unless they aren’t needed until the end of August onwards.

Each order is different – there are no standard prices as it does depend on the fabrics chosen.

Roughly prices for the quilt tops, backing wadding, thread and my time are:

Cot quilts – $100 – $150

Play mats – $150 – $200

Lap quilts – $200 – $280

Single – $250 -$300

Double – $300 -$400

No Queen or King size made at this stage.

Quilting –

Cot $35

Playmat $65

Lap $85

Single $105

Double $135

Queen $165

If you supply some of the fabric this will lessen the cost – but all fabric must be washed, ironed and 100%cotton.

I know this sounds like a lot of rules to make something but believe me it makes the whole process run more smoothly. And more enjoyable for us both. 🙂

For any custom orders please ring (02) 4325 2638, email frankensteinsfabrics@hotmail.com or come and visit me in store.

Night.

Marni

I’ve been reading a lot of blogs and following many people on Facebook who have been participating in challenges of various kinds.

There is the photo a day for a month, weekly themed blog posts and postal challenges run by bloggers from all over the world.

This challenge movement is fascinating to watch. The volume of participants, the interpretations of the themes and the consistency that people accomplish.

Most of us wouldn’t stick out something that went for a month – for example exercise. I for one am readily willing to admit I cannot stick to exercise or diets. I hate the rules of both. They feel restrictive and claustrophobic. But for some reason these ‘creative’ challenges are appealing to the masses and we all follow suit – and stick to it.

The photograph a day is an interesting one – people get a list of the month’s themes and each day take a photo of that theme and upload it to Facebook or Tumblr or wherever they are displaying their images. I am fascinated by the concept of the photo challenge as it appeals to the instantaneous nature of the world we love in. Everything is quick, we want it now and we tell everyone about it as soon as it happens via our choice of social media. Watching a couple of FB friends in this challenge I am struck by the differences in their interpretations of the daily themes. All at various stages in their lives, all creative women in their own right.

Today’s theme was red. A dramatic, strong, rich colour. I waited to see what these ladies took photos of. A stunning array of red glass, the last flowers on a bottlebrush.

I think if this photo challenge continues I will take it up next month. I find photography a very truthful medium. Capturing things you don’t see with your eyes or your heart.

But in the meantime I think I will set a challenge myself. I was thinking of things that would give a set – like numbers 1-10 or the alphabet. I wanted it to be creative – so was thinking of a challenge where we had to make things. Something small that had the numbers in it – like a necklace with one really amazing focal bead, and matching pair of earrings for two etc… A small quilt with four pieces. A bag with three pockets.

I need to nut it out a bit more but if anyone would like to join me just send me an email.

I’m off to be early tonight (first night this week!) as I am off to the show in the morning. I have a 2 hour train ride from Gosford to Rosehill and need to get up early…. 🙁 not exactly a morning person….

Marni

So here we are at the end (almost) of February. Has 2012 been what you expected thus far?

Mine has and hasn’t, if you know what I mean.

I have been much busier than I was predicting but not in the way I thought I would be busy if I was busy…. (you might have to read that sentence twice, my brain had to think it thrice)

I went into the shop with the aim of selling quilting supplies to quilters. Fairly straightforward, you might say. But since the store opened over 4 months ago it has been mixed custom. I have the quilters coming in and buying supplies, or buying fabrics to do other crafts/hobbies but I have also had custom quilt orders.

Not exactly something I expected. I thought about it and hoped that if an order did come along I’d be in a position to fill said order. But I hadn’t counted on exactly how many orders….

Since we opened there has been 3 custom quilts, 1 custom kit, 2 off the rack quilt purchases, 2 UFO orders from before the shop (that have been WIPs as they were somewhat more technical than the others), plus roughly a dozen commissions from the magazines for various things (toys, quilts, cushions, jewellery, runners, fascinators etc)

Everyone says to me – ‘it’s good to be busy right?’ and you know what? It is! It’s the best thing EVER. Because not only am I getting to do the one thing I love day in, day out but because people are ordering custom made quilts from me I can do all the designs that have been percolating in my head for years. I hate to be idle. It drives me MENTAL. Even when I’m sick I’m doing something. Anything to not be languishing.

I was reading a book the other day called Necroscope by Brian Lumley (WARNING: The covers of the books are not pretty). It’s a horror/sci-fi/mystery intrigue kind of book. The protagonist, Harry Keogh is the necroscope – this means he can talk to the dead. Not talk as in ‘feel’ their presence or receive messages from the other side but talk to them as if they were sitting across the table from him… Anyways… the thing that struck me about this story was where Harry is explaining the dead to someone saying “what they did in life they continue to do in death”. In my head I went wow – I can keep quilting when I’m gone, ghostly sewing machine and rotary cutter….but then that part of my brain that tells me when I’m being dumb piped up and went ‘pffft as if’.

Maybe I’ll just haunt a patchwork shop when I’m gone… 🙂

So back to the custom orders…

Below is the custom order that was picked up last weekend. It is a single bed quilt for a 4 year old girl. It’s stipple quilted in baby pink and is backed in pink with white spots. The binding is a multi-coloured stripe. (Apologies for the dodgy photo – I was in a hurry and dad isn’t tall enough, hence the missing top border LOL)

And here it is all wrapped up with the matching pillowcase made from the leftover fabrics…

Anyhoo…

I’m off to go through my notes for tomorrow’s appliqué class.

Marni