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