Yesterday my daughter showed me the first ultrasound pictures of her baby. It was so cute and so tiny at only a few weeks. It looked like a tiny person lying on the floor with their feet up on a wall and their arms above their head in a really relaxed position. My daughter said the baby was constantly moving during the ultrasound. It was a very bright moment in an otherwise ordinary Sunday.
After I got home I checked my email; one of the nice ladies had sent me a link to the city business loan programs. I looked at it and found a new micro-loan program run by the city that looks promising. I’m not going to get my hopes up though. There are several things I need to accomplish before actually talking to officials about loans.
August is normally a really busy month for me. The fair, the Nashville show, Christmas quilts, and other projects usually keep me on the go. I also have a lot of paper work to sort and record. So now I’m off the computer and into the studio…..
Monday, July 30, 2007
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Short post today
There were two quilts that left here without getting their picture taken but these are the other finished quilts from this week.
I had hoped a couple of days ago to post about how I schedule and make custom made quilts. I had to choose between computer time and finishing those quilts for my customers. Needless to say, I choose to work on the quilts instead of sitting in front of a computer screen.
Speaking of computer time, it really can eat away at the hours! I tell myself I will just get on for a quick look at email or to look at blogs and before I know it half a day has gone past. Then I am mentally kicking myself for spending so much time at the computer because I realize that a deadline is half a day closer without me ever accomplishing a thing. Shame, shame, Anita! I could have done a whole lot in the time I sat in front of the computer screen!
With that said, instead of writing a long post today I’m going back into the studio to work on a couple of fair entry quilts before my daughter picks me up for our Sunday shopping.
I had hoped a couple of days ago to post about how I schedule and make custom made quilts. I had to choose between computer time and finishing those quilts for my customers. Needless to say, I choose to work on the quilts instead of sitting in front of a computer screen.
Speaking of computer time, it really can eat away at the hours! I tell myself I will just get on for a quick look at email or to look at blogs and before I know it half a day has gone past. Then I am mentally kicking myself for spending so much time at the computer because I realize that a deadline is half a day closer without me ever accomplishing a thing. Shame, shame, Anita! I could have done a whole lot in the time I sat in front of the computer screen!
With that said, instead of writing a long post today I’m going back into the studio to work on a couple of fair entry quilts before my daughter picks me up for our Sunday shopping.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Realistic schedules
A good friend has asked me how I manage (schedule) my time between machine quilting, custom made quilts, and having a personal life. Instead of typing a very long email I decided to put it here. Machine quilting is my job, creating tops is my hobby. It’s very, very easy to forget this so I remind myself of it daily.
A refresher of my time management is definitely in order for me too. I confess! I did let the machine quilting take over my life. Twelve to eighteen hours, six days a week, is a bit much don’t you think?
How did it happen? Well, let’s see….I hated to say no. I over booked. I believed I was super woman. I wanted that money. There are lots of reasons why machine quilting gradually took over my life. I rarely visited my kids and grandkids. I rarely had a day out with friends. I rarely shopped except for enough food to keep me alive for a month. I rarely cooked a nourishing meal. It was when my daughter told me that my quilting was more important than her or her brothers I decided to wake up!
In my opinion, time management is the backbone of a professional quilter. Unless we are disciplined in our work hours and learn to say NO we can find ourselves frustrated, fatigued, overwhelmed, stressed out, ready to quit, and looking at a very dirty house.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like saying no to a customer. It’s like saying no to a good friend and I really hate disappointing a friend. I want them to continue to be my friends. At the same time I have to be realistic. I asked myself, “Would I work at an outside job that many hours?” What would be the point of working so many hours if I couldn’t enjoy my friends and family?
I have to tell myself every day that this is a JOB. Not my life.
I like to work early so currently my working hours are 8 am to 4 pm, Tuesday through Saturday on the quilting machine. Why do I set work hours when I work at home? For the same reason a fabric store has hours of operation or a factory hires for a certain shift. It’s the time I have set for my business to operate. It creates a separation of the business part and the personal part of my life. I treat my business the same as I would if I had my quilting machine in a building clear across town. When the day started I would be there opening the door. When the day ended I would lock the door and go home. Crossing the furkid gate between my studio and the rest of the house is the very same thing as commuting across town to open a business. Home stays at home while I put in my work hours.
How many quilts can I expect to finish in one week? That’s asking me to predict the future. How many days will I be sick? How many days will I need to rush to the hospital for my mother? How many quilts will be so large I can barely fit them on the machine? How many customers will want highly custom heirloom on a large quilt and how many will want quick pantographs on a baby sized one? Gee, my psychic powers seem to have failed me.
I know of machine quilters who have 50 or more quilt tops hanging in their studio waiting for the quilting. The thought of having that many tops in my possession for such a long time terrifies me. To be responsible for so many tops belonging to someone else for up to a year is very scary to me. What if there is a flood, tornado, or fire? Could I save all those tops plus my furkids? What if tiny eight legged critters decide to take up residence in there? Oooo scary!
To be facing that much work would also have me in a panic the rest of my life! I would absolutely work myself to death trying to finish them all. Where do those quilters find the storage space? They must have very large studios. I don’t.
A better idea is to schedule only 2 or 3 quilts per week and only accept a couple of weeks work at one time into my studio. Yes, yes, I know this sound like very low numbers. The number may be higher for someone with an automated machine or with very fast pantographs. It could be 1 per week if someone specializes in highly quilted heirloom work. For me 3 is a realistic number per week.
Before I ever schedule a quilt; I need to know which weeks of the year I will not be working. Do I have a vacation planned? Will I be teaching a class? Am I going on a retreat? Will I be gone during Christmas? All this has to be subtracted from the number of weeks in a year.
I don’t use an actual calendar for my waiting list. I have a form I created which is just a bunch of lines on sheets of paper. It’s not dated. Here is what it looks like….
How does it work? I have one sheet per month of the year. The sheets have from 3 to 12 numbered lines plus 2 or 3 unnumbered lines. During months I plan to be away; the sheet will have fewer numbered lines. One line equals one quilt. A customer calls to put their name down for what ever month they plan to have a top finished. If the person has more than one top I write their name down more than once. What are the unnumbered lines for? I will explain that in a minute.
I came up with my paper waiting list several years ago after reading a comment made by another machine quilter. The comment was --- “A customer’s inability to plan ahead does not make it my emergency.” I remember at the time thinking how double edged that statement was. How could a customer plan ahead if the machine quilter has 50 tops already hanging there in the studio? I thought about it and thought about it until I realized a top doesn’t have to be finished to be on a waiting list. So my paper waiting list was born.
I will call the customer a week or so before I get to their name. This gives the customer time to finish up the top, if they haven’t already; plus, work it into their schedule to bring it to me.
What happens if I get to a person’s name but they haven’t finished the top or don’t have all of the tops finished? I can skip over a name for a few days if needed so it can be finished then come back to it; but, only within a reasonable few days. If the person tells me they simply can’t finish then I erase the name, write it for a later month, and have myself a day off. My saying is “I can remove a name from the list with an eraser but I can’t write one name on top of another.”
When do I fit in the custom made memory quilts? How do I manage to get them pieced and quilted on schedule? Remember, quilting is my job, piecing is my hobby. When I am asked to piece some custom quilts they are immediately scheduled onto my machine quilting waiting list with the customer’s name. In effect; I become my own customer. If the month is already booked, I use the unnumbered lines at the bottom. Names on unnumbered lines mean I am in for some overtime during that month.
The piecing is done before or after work. My actual machine quilting day may not start until 8 am; but, I may be in the studio at 5 am working on a personal quilt or a custom quilt. My work day ends at 4 pm; but, I may go back in there after supper to work for another couple of hours; or maybe not. I may get onto the computer to read list mail or surf around looking at other blogs. The point being….before and after work is my time; I can use it for anything just like anyone with regular work hours.
Ok, time for me to get back to the quilting machine. Eileen, does this help? Is it helpful for anyone? I will try to post something in the next couple of days about the custom made quilts scheduling.
A refresher of my time management is definitely in order for me too. I confess! I did let the machine quilting take over my life. Twelve to eighteen hours, six days a week, is a bit much don’t you think?
How did it happen? Well, let’s see….I hated to say no. I over booked. I believed I was super woman. I wanted that money. There are lots of reasons why machine quilting gradually took over my life. I rarely visited my kids and grandkids. I rarely had a day out with friends. I rarely shopped except for enough food to keep me alive for a month. I rarely cooked a nourishing meal. It was when my daughter told me that my quilting was more important than her or her brothers I decided to wake up!
In my opinion, time management is the backbone of a professional quilter. Unless we are disciplined in our work hours and learn to say NO we can find ourselves frustrated, fatigued, overwhelmed, stressed out, ready to quit, and looking at a very dirty house.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like saying no to a customer. It’s like saying no to a good friend and I really hate disappointing a friend. I want them to continue to be my friends. At the same time I have to be realistic. I asked myself, “Would I work at an outside job that many hours?” What would be the point of working so many hours if I couldn’t enjoy my friends and family?
I have to tell myself every day that this is a JOB. Not my life.
I like to work early so currently my working hours are 8 am to 4 pm, Tuesday through Saturday on the quilting machine. Why do I set work hours when I work at home? For the same reason a fabric store has hours of operation or a factory hires for a certain shift. It’s the time I have set for my business to operate. It creates a separation of the business part and the personal part of my life. I treat my business the same as I would if I had my quilting machine in a building clear across town. When the day started I would be there opening the door. When the day ended I would lock the door and go home. Crossing the furkid gate between my studio and the rest of the house is the very same thing as commuting across town to open a business. Home stays at home while I put in my work hours.
How many quilts can I expect to finish in one week? That’s asking me to predict the future. How many days will I be sick? How many days will I need to rush to the hospital for my mother? How many quilts will be so large I can barely fit them on the machine? How many customers will want highly custom heirloom on a large quilt and how many will want quick pantographs on a baby sized one? Gee, my psychic powers seem to have failed me.
I know of machine quilters who have 50 or more quilt tops hanging in their studio waiting for the quilting. The thought of having that many tops in my possession for such a long time terrifies me. To be responsible for so many tops belonging to someone else for up to a year is very scary to me. What if there is a flood, tornado, or fire? Could I save all those tops plus my furkids? What if tiny eight legged critters decide to take up residence in there? Oooo scary!
To be facing that much work would also have me in a panic the rest of my life! I would absolutely work myself to death trying to finish them all. Where do those quilters find the storage space? They must have very large studios. I don’t.
A better idea is to schedule only 2 or 3 quilts per week and only accept a couple of weeks work at one time into my studio. Yes, yes, I know this sound like very low numbers. The number may be higher for someone with an automated machine or with very fast pantographs. It could be 1 per week if someone specializes in highly quilted heirloom work. For me 3 is a realistic number per week.
Before I ever schedule a quilt; I need to know which weeks of the year I will not be working. Do I have a vacation planned? Will I be teaching a class? Am I going on a retreat? Will I be gone during Christmas? All this has to be subtracted from the number of weeks in a year.
I don’t use an actual calendar for my waiting list. I have a form I created which is just a bunch of lines on sheets of paper. It’s not dated. Here is what it looks like….
How does it work? I have one sheet per month of the year. The sheets have from 3 to 12 numbered lines plus 2 or 3 unnumbered lines. During months I plan to be away; the sheet will have fewer numbered lines. One line equals one quilt. A customer calls to put their name down for what ever month they plan to have a top finished. If the person has more than one top I write their name down more than once. What are the unnumbered lines for? I will explain that in a minute.
I came up with my paper waiting list several years ago after reading a comment made by another machine quilter. The comment was --- “A customer’s inability to plan ahead does not make it my emergency.” I remember at the time thinking how double edged that statement was. How could a customer plan ahead if the machine quilter has 50 tops already hanging there in the studio? I thought about it and thought about it until I realized a top doesn’t have to be finished to be on a waiting list. So my paper waiting list was born.
I will call the customer a week or so before I get to their name. This gives the customer time to finish up the top, if they haven’t already; plus, work it into their schedule to bring it to me.
What happens if I get to a person’s name but they haven’t finished the top or don’t have all of the tops finished? I can skip over a name for a few days if needed so it can be finished then come back to it; but, only within a reasonable few days. If the person tells me they simply can’t finish then I erase the name, write it for a later month, and have myself a day off. My saying is “I can remove a name from the list with an eraser but I can’t write one name on top of another.”
When do I fit in the custom made memory quilts? How do I manage to get them pieced and quilted on schedule? Remember, quilting is my job, piecing is my hobby. When I am asked to piece some custom quilts they are immediately scheduled onto my machine quilting waiting list with the customer’s name. In effect; I become my own customer. If the month is already booked, I use the unnumbered lines at the bottom. Names on unnumbered lines mean I am in for some overtime during that month.
The piecing is done before or after work. My actual machine quilting day may not start until 8 am; but, I may be in the studio at 5 am working on a personal quilt or a custom quilt. My work day ends at 4 pm; but, I may go back in there after supper to work for another couple of hours; or maybe not. I may get onto the computer to read list mail or surf around looking at other blogs. The point being….before and after work is my time; I can use it for anything just like anyone with regular work hours.
Ok, time for me to get back to the quilting machine. Eileen, does this help? Is it helpful for anyone? I will try to post something in the next couple of days about the custom made quilts scheduling.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
A day off
I don’t have any finishes for today. I actually took a day off, can you believe it? I know, I know, I normally take Sunday for shopping and visiting but this was a Monday I took off.
I looked at my work schedule then looked at my kitchen; the kitchen won. Even though I had just gone to the grocery, I still had groceries in the bags from three weeks ago. The quilt work could wait one extra day while I cleaned out cabinets and put away food. I worked in the kitchen because that is where I left off back in January when I was last working on my house.
I always check the “use by date” on a can or box before using foods. Also; I date food with a permanent marker when I purchase it. I rotate by putting the newest in back. Or….at least I thought I did! I couldn’t believe my eyes when I found unopened spices with a written date of 2004 on them. Obviously I don’t use those spices so I won’t buy them anymore.
I took out my appliances and cleaned the dust off every one of them. I have a small fortune tied up in appliances that make cooking a breeze if I only take the time to use them. You see this…
I found it on a top shelf of a cabinet, way in the back. I haven’t used it since 2000 when my daughter graduated high school. Instead of putting leftovers from supper into containers in the fridge, I made the little sandwiches to be used for school lunch the next day. Yup, gonna use it again….for me. It makes no sense to keep it if I’m not going to put it to use.
While I was cleaning I kept asking myself “Why is it I could do so much with so little before my last child left home? Yet, now I don’t seem to manage very well.” Simple really, I got so busy working I forgot to be frugal. I paid for convenience in order to finish just one more quilt. So I’ve decided to go back to the old ways I used when I had very little income. I survived then, I can survive again.
The kitchen is not completely finished. I’ll get back to it again in a few days, I hope. By the end of the day I was exhausted and felt really, really good! Nothing makes me feel better than a really clean and organized house, even if it is only one room.
Ok, I’m off the computer now and headed for work. The studio gets my attention today. I have a fair entry quilt to finish.
I looked at my work schedule then looked at my kitchen; the kitchen won. Even though I had just gone to the grocery, I still had groceries in the bags from three weeks ago. The quilt work could wait one extra day while I cleaned out cabinets and put away food. I worked in the kitchen because that is where I left off back in January when I was last working on my house.
I always check the “use by date” on a can or box before using foods. Also; I date food with a permanent marker when I purchase it. I rotate by putting the newest in back. Or….at least I thought I did! I couldn’t believe my eyes when I found unopened spices with a written date of 2004 on them. Obviously I don’t use those spices so I won’t buy them anymore.
I took out my appliances and cleaned the dust off every one of them. I have a small fortune tied up in appliances that make cooking a breeze if I only take the time to use them. You see this…
I found it on a top shelf of a cabinet, way in the back. I haven’t used it since 2000 when my daughter graduated high school. Instead of putting leftovers from supper into containers in the fridge, I made the little sandwiches to be used for school lunch the next day. Yup, gonna use it again….for me. It makes no sense to keep it if I’m not going to put it to use.
While I was cleaning I kept asking myself “Why is it I could do so much with so little before my last child left home? Yet, now I don’t seem to manage very well.” Simple really, I got so busy working I forgot to be frugal. I paid for convenience in order to finish just one more quilt. So I’ve decided to go back to the old ways I used when I had very little income. I survived then, I can survive again.
The kitchen is not completely finished. I’ll get back to it again in a few days, I hope. By the end of the day I was exhausted and felt really, really good! Nothing makes me feel better than a really clean and organized house, even if it is only one room.
Ok, I’m off the computer now and headed for work. The studio gets my attention today. I have a fair entry quilt to finish.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Charity quilts?
Have you been wondering what I’ve done this week? Here are the pictures from this week….
Ok, blogger is still not letting me move the pictures around as before. It has all this html jibberish instead of pictures so there isn't any way for me to know for sure which one is which. The last of the five memory quilts are finished and gone. There is a pink whole cloth quilt brought to me to quilt after it was already bound. There are pictures of the hugs and kisses quilt I am making for the fair. It is on the machine right now. There is a customer quilt top I finished.
Friday I managed to find time between quilts for phoning financial planners. I can never figure out if they are planners or advisors. Anyway, I stayed on the phone half the day; most said “so you’re a quilter, nice hobby” or something similar. I did find the perfect planner for my daughter. I’m anxious to see how those two will work together.
Three of the planners talked with me a long time by phone. All three of them said the same thing…. Stay where I am for now. Fix up the house first. Save money for a down payment to move.
Even if people were buying houses in this area; my house would not sell in its present condition. This week I will be calling to get estimates on repairing the damage to the exterior and then vinyl siding. I do hate paying for estimates though. I believe estimates should be free.
The overhead lights in my studio have quit working. I replaced the bulbs but it seems the ballast has gone bad in both so they need to be replaced. This limits the hours I can work to only daylight hours for now. Calls to electricians for estimates on electrical work are going to be done this week too. This means more payments for estimates. There goes the savings again….
I’ve been asked by Farnsley-Moorman Landing to create an art/pictorial quilt they can auction next spring during the Mayor’s Derby Brunch. Actually, I’ve been asked by six different charities if I would donate an art/pictorial quilt for them to auction.
This is very flattering and certainly would get me recognition around this area. There are a lot of important people attending these auctions. Many of them could become potential customers in the future.
I had to really think hard about all the requests for charity quilts though. Giving to charity is something I do regularly. I work it into my budget. I have my favorite charity the same as other people do. So… if I were giving cash instead of art quilts would I donate to those charities? Hmmm….If I convert the hours needed to create an art quilt into income dollars then add the cost of fabrics and utilities; no, I can’t afford to give that much of my income to six different charities. Charity does not keep a roof over my head or food on the table. Phone calls to say NO are in order this week too.
Now that these decisions have been made I think its time to get off the computer and get ready for a day of shopping. If I don’t buy groceries I won’t be eating. My daughter will be here in about an hour, got to get my shopping list together.
Ok, blogger is still not letting me move the pictures around as before. It has all this html jibberish instead of pictures so there isn't any way for me to know for sure which one is which. The last of the five memory quilts are finished and gone. There is a pink whole cloth quilt brought to me to quilt after it was already bound. There are pictures of the hugs and kisses quilt I am making for the fair. It is on the machine right now. There is a customer quilt top I finished.
Friday I managed to find time between quilts for phoning financial planners. I can never figure out if they are planners or advisors. Anyway, I stayed on the phone half the day; most said “so you’re a quilter, nice hobby” or something similar. I did find the perfect planner for my daughter. I’m anxious to see how those two will work together.
Three of the planners talked with me a long time by phone. All three of them said the same thing…. Stay where I am for now. Fix up the house first. Save money for a down payment to move.
Even if people were buying houses in this area; my house would not sell in its present condition. This week I will be calling to get estimates on repairing the damage to the exterior and then vinyl siding. I do hate paying for estimates though. I believe estimates should be free.
The overhead lights in my studio have quit working. I replaced the bulbs but it seems the ballast has gone bad in both so they need to be replaced. This limits the hours I can work to only daylight hours for now. Calls to electricians for estimates on electrical work are going to be done this week too. This means more payments for estimates. There goes the savings again….
I’ve been asked by Farnsley-Moorman Landing to create an art/pictorial quilt they can auction next spring during the Mayor’s Derby Brunch. Actually, I’ve been asked by six different charities if I would donate an art/pictorial quilt for them to auction.
This is very flattering and certainly would get me recognition around this area. There are a lot of important people attending these auctions. Many of them could become potential customers in the future.
I had to really think hard about all the requests for charity quilts though. Giving to charity is something I do regularly. I work it into my budget. I have my favorite charity the same as other people do. So… if I were giving cash instead of art quilts would I donate to those charities? Hmmm….If I convert the hours needed to create an art quilt into income dollars then add the cost of fabrics and utilities; no, I can’t afford to give that much of my income to six different charities. Charity does not keep a roof over my head or food on the table. Phone calls to say NO are in order this week too.
Now that these decisions have been made I think its time to get off the computer and get ready for a day of shopping. If I don’t buy groceries I won’t be eating. My daughter will be here in about an hour, got to get my shopping list together.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Art quilter or quilt maker?
Here is today’s finished quilt…count down is at 23.
I woke extra early this morning. 1:30 am. The neighbors had their music blasting. It’s too early to go to work. Not able to go back to sleep I spent time on the computer looking at blogs of quilt artists. I wanted to see what makes a person a quilt artist compared to a quilt maker. There is a difference; yet, if I were to describe either of them they are the same.
I am equally happy looking at bed quilts in a quilt show and looking at art quilts on the walls of a gallery. It’s the way the quilts are put together that fascinates me most. I love seeing the bits and pieces of fabric that are used in both bed quilts and wall quilts; but, it is the stitching that draws my eyes. I look at a quilt of any type and immediately focus in on what thread was used, what stitch pattern, how well executed, and how did it enhance the quilt design. It doesn’t matter if the stitching is done by hand or by machine. The fascination is the same for me.
On an outing with one of the Nice Ladies a few weeks ago we went to an art gallery across the river in Indiana. It was hard for me to focus on the art of the quilts because I wanted to get up close enough to see the stitching. Dollar store glasses are no help. My prescription glasses are still not right and I can’t see with them. My daughter said to me once; “Mom your work is really great, imagine how much better your work would be if you could actually see what you are doing?” Yes, I do spend a lot of time bent over very close to the machine needle watching what I’m doing and using a magnifier above the needle. It’s just hard to go get my eyes dilated then try to cross a busy highway to catch a city bus.
I have a few hundred books and magazines around my house. My books are a full range of quilt types. I pick most of them up used at various places. Some have been given to me, some I have bought. I have traditional type quilt instruction books from the 70’s to a book I bought a few weeks called journey of an art quilter which is all about surface design.
When I pick up one of the books to look at the quilt pictures my fascination is with how the layers were put together. I’m constantly asking myself why the maker may have chose one stitch pattern over another. This is rarely discussed in any of the books. Most say quilt as desired. Even the blogs of quilt artists don’t talk about why they choose one stitching pattern over another. Why is that? Is it because they believe the stitching is less important than the fabrics used and how it’s pieced?
I bought two used books a couple of weeks ago; both deal with the use of thread and stitching design to enhance a quilt. One book shows the use of metallic threads to add sparkle to an art quilt and the other shows how different the same bed quilt looks with the use of different stitching designs. I find both these books fascinating.
I guess this fascination with stitching patterns is why I have a desire to be an art quilter. I want to use the thread and the machine to create art like this….
http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/album/551950128fMKNij?start=24
Sorry but it's not on my computer anymore. I had to go to webshots to get the link for you to see it.
I love to draw. I’m not very good at it; but, I love to do it just the same. My drawings are very cartoon like as you can see. This is because when my kids were young we all watched an elementary school TV art class. It was for a school class but we watched it at home. The teacher’s drawings were geared toward an elementary school student. You know; circles for eyes, simple lines for noses, etc. So that’s the way I learned to draw. Hmmm….maybe the library has some drawing books. Naw, I don't have time to take on another hobby right now, maybe later.
Ok, enough talking about art, I think I will go mop the floors or something until time to start working.
I woke extra early this morning. 1:30 am. The neighbors had their music blasting. It’s too early to go to work. Not able to go back to sleep I spent time on the computer looking at blogs of quilt artists. I wanted to see what makes a person a quilt artist compared to a quilt maker. There is a difference; yet, if I were to describe either of them they are the same.
I am equally happy looking at bed quilts in a quilt show and looking at art quilts on the walls of a gallery. It’s the way the quilts are put together that fascinates me most. I love seeing the bits and pieces of fabric that are used in both bed quilts and wall quilts; but, it is the stitching that draws my eyes. I look at a quilt of any type and immediately focus in on what thread was used, what stitch pattern, how well executed, and how did it enhance the quilt design. It doesn’t matter if the stitching is done by hand or by machine. The fascination is the same for me.
On an outing with one of the Nice Ladies a few weeks ago we went to an art gallery across the river in Indiana. It was hard for me to focus on the art of the quilts because I wanted to get up close enough to see the stitching. Dollar store glasses are no help. My prescription glasses are still not right and I can’t see with them. My daughter said to me once; “Mom your work is really great, imagine how much better your work would be if you could actually see what you are doing?” Yes, I do spend a lot of time bent over very close to the machine needle watching what I’m doing and using a magnifier above the needle. It’s just hard to go get my eyes dilated then try to cross a busy highway to catch a city bus.
I have a few hundred books and magazines around my house. My books are a full range of quilt types. I pick most of them up used at various places. Some have been given to me, some I have bought. I have traditional type quilt instruction books from the 70’s to a book I bought a few weeks called journey of an art quilter which is all about surface design.
When I pick up one of the books to look at the quilt pictures my fascination is with how the layers were put together. I’m constantly asking myself why the maker may have chose one stitch pattern over another. This is rarely discussed in any of the books. Most say quilt as desired. Even the blogs of quilt artists don’t talk about why they choose one stitching pattern over another. Why is that? Is it because they believe the stitching is less important than the fabrics used and how it’s pieced?
I bought two used books a couple of weeks ago; both deal with the use of thread and stitching design to enhance a quilt. One book shows the use of metallic threads to add sparkle to an art quilt and the other shows how different the same bed quilt looks with the use of different stitching designs. I find both these books fascinating.
I guess this fascination with stitching patterns is why I have a desire to be an art quilter. I want to use the thread and the machine to create art like this….
http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/album/551950128fMKNij?start=24
Sorry but it's not on my computer anymore. I had to go to webshots to get the link for you to see it.
I love to draw. I’m not very good at it; but, I love to do it just the same. My drawings are very cartoon like as you can see. This is because when my kids were young we all watched an elementary school TV art class. It was for a school class but we watched it at home. The teacher’s drawings were geared toward an elementary school student. You know; circles for eyes, simple lines for noses, etc. So that’s the way I learned to draw. Hmmm….maybe the library has some drawing books. Naw, I don't have time to take on another hobby right now, maybe later.
Ok, enough talking about art, I think I will go mop the floors or something until time to start working.
Friday, July 13, 2007
What happened to my house?
Hey! Blogger is letting me make titles again. No finishes today. The one on the machine is taking longer than I thought.
I’ve had a couple of really nice friends ask me about what happened to my house. Why it has the hole in the side? It’s termite damage. The damage was already done before I started paying for termite treatments three or four years ago. Why haven’t I had it fixed? Good question.
To answer this question I have to explain; I don’t have any debts other than the normal living expenses like utilities, mortgage, etc. I don’t use credit cards because I don’t like spending next year’s paycheck today. My problem is not financial debt. It’s financial mismanagement.
It seems every time I manage to save the money for things like repairing the house something comes along to wipe out my savings; unexpected things that just happen. For example, a little over a year ago I had almost saved enough to have vinyl siding put on the house. Then my son committed suicide. Although several people gave money instead of flowers, his burial still took everything I had in savings plus what I earned for a few weeks. I still hope to save enough to get a brass marker put on his grave.
I seem to be the one that everyone in the family or my friends depends on when it comes to financial help. I love my friends and family…so I help. Actually this is one major factor in my decision to quit quilting for others. Not the only reason but a major part of the decision. Stress was also a factor. I didn’t really want to quit quilting. I love doing it but….If I don’t earn it, I can’t give it away. Why keep torturing myself to work 12 hours 6 days a week only to let it slip through my fingers? No one ever pays me back. I won’t go into all the details of who got what from me the last few years, just that it’s a lot.
I don’t want people believing I gave everything away and didn’t spend any on what I need. Let me tell you about that instead. I first discovered the termites had eaten most of my house when the floor collapsed under the bed. It fell about 4 inches and was enough to scare me! Under that floor is an 8 foot drop because there is an unused cellar under it. I had a carpenter fix the floor and joists in the back half of the house and paid for termite treatments. Savings wiped out.
I had a furnace and central air installed after using kerosene heaters and window fans for several years. Savings wiped out.
I had electrical wiring replaced in half the house with overhead lights installed in the studio. Savings wiped out.
I put in snap lock flooring through the whole house so all my floors were the same instead of mismatched plywood and painted boards. Savings wiped out.
I have a Gammill instead of the Singer I used for 20 + years. Of course a new machine requires new gadgets to go with it. Who ever heard of three dollars each for bobbins? Normal machine bobbins come in packs of 6 for a dollar. Lots of new gadgets required for a new machine. Savings wiped out.
The kitchen stove (gas) dies so I buy a used electric one. The outlet in the wall doesn’t actually work. I get the wires installed from the outlet to the breaker box. Savings wiped out.
Daughter’s financial aid for college runs out. She still wants to finish. Savings wiped out.
Mother needs to be moved to a nursing home, her things are moved into storage until I can dispose of them. She also doesn’t have burial insurance so I buy some. Savings wiped out.
Trees grow so fast that the limbs start lying on the roof and banging against the windows during a storm. I pay to have them cut back. Savings wiped out.
I could go on and on and on with examples of what happens to my savings. That would probably bore you to death. I know how to budget very carefully. I’ve done it for years. I’ve been a tightwad and penny pincher since sometime in the early 70’s when it was popular. I can squeeze a dollar so hard you can hear it scream clear across Louisville and probably all the way to another county. But; at the same time I have hard time keeping money in my hand in order to squeeze it because of my soft heart.
What I honestly need is a way to protect my income from ME! And; my soft heart for family and friends. That’s what I’m hoping a financial planner can help with. I need a voice (other than my own bouncing off four walls) to talk out whether or not to spend money before I actually spend it, or before I give it to someone needing financial help.
I do not want someone to take over my bank account. What I don’t really understand is savings accounts or investment accounts and how they work. What is safe, what is risky? I need a knowledgeable voice to explain how to decide when money should be locked away in a savings and when it’s best to spend it on a necessary item.
A financial planner is the most logical person to know about these things. They are the money professionals just like I am a quilting professional. When a topper has a question about how a technique is done I can help them. When I need help with something I have to start looking for the right professional…. hopefully there is a financial professional out there somewhere who is also a topper.
As for me moving to a bigger space, it ain’t gonna happen. At least not unless I stop having financial crisis' to wipe out my savings. My time away from machine quilting for others is going to give me the time necessary to contact the professionals. The time I need to sit down with those professionals and work out the details of a good financial plan to achieve my goal. The time I need to get my plan started working and moving toward that goal. I just hope the customers come back after my time off.
Ok, enough rambling for today, I should be in there working.
I’ve had a couple of really nice friends ask me about what happened to my house. Why it has the hole in the side? It’s termite damage. The damage was already done before I started paying for termite treatments three or four years ago. Why haven’t I had it fixed? Good question.
To answer this question I have to explain; I don’t have any debts other than the normal living expenses like utilities, mortgage, etc. I don’t use credit cards because I don’t like spending next year’s paycheck today. My problem is not financial debt. It’s financial mismanagement.
It seems every time I manage to save the money for things like repairing the house something comes along to wipe out my savings; unexpected things that just happen. For example, a little over a year ago I had almost saved enough to have vinyl siding put on the house. Then my son committed suicide. Although several people gave money instead of flowers, his burial still took everything I had in savings plus what I earned for a few weeks. I still hope to save enough to get a brass marker put on his grave.
I seem to be the one that everyone in the family or my friends depends on when it comes to financial help. I love my friends and family…so I help. Actually this is one major factor in my decision to quit quilting for others. Not the only reason but a major part of the decision. Stress was also a factor. I didn’t really want to quit quilting. I love doing it but….If I don’t earn it, I can’t give it away. Why keep torturing myself to work 12 hours 6 days a week only to let it slip through my fingers? No one ever pays me back. I won’t go into all the details of who got what from me the last few years, just that it’s a lot.
I don’t want people believing I gave everything away and didn’t spend any on what I need. Let me tell you about that instead. I first discovered the termites had eaten most of my house when the floor collapsed under the bed. It fell about 4 inches and was enough to scare me! Under that floor is an 8 foot drop because there is an unused cellar under it. I had a carpenter fix the floor and joists in the back half of the house and paid for termite treatments. Savings wiped out.
I had a furnace and central air installed after using kerosene heaters and window fans for several years. Savings wiped out.
I had electrical wiring replaced in half the house with overhead lights installed in the studio. Savings wiped out.
I put in snap lock flooring through the whole house so all my floors were the same instead of mismatched plywood and painted boards. Savings wiped out.
I have a Gammill instead of the Singer I used for 20 + years. Of course a new machine requires new gadgets to go with it. Who ever heard of three dollars each for bobbins? Normal machine bobbins come in packs of 6 for a dollar. Lots of new gadgets required for a new machine. Savings wiped out.
The kitchen stove (gas) dies so I buy a used electric one. The outlet in the wall doesn’t actually work. I get the wires installed from the outlet to the breaker box. Savings wiped out.
Daughter’s financial aid for college runs out. She still wants to finish. Savings wiped out.
Mother needs to be moved to a nursing home, her things are moved into storage until I can dispose of them. She also doesn’t have burial insurance so I buy some. Savings wiped out.
Trees grow so fast that the limbs start lying on the roof and banging against the windows during a storm. I pay to have them cut back. Savings wiped out.
I could go on and on and on with examples of what happens to my savings. That would probably bore you to death. I know how to budget very carefully. I’ve done it for years. I’ve been a tightwad and penny pincher since sometime in the early 70’s when it was popular. I can squeeze a dollar so hard you can hear it scream clear across Louisville and probably all the way to another county. But; at the same time I have hard time keeping money in my hand in order to squeeze it because of my soft heart.
What I honestly need is a way to protect my income from ME! And; my soft heart for family and friends. That’s what I’m hoping a financial planner can help with. I need a voice (other than my own bouncing off four walls) to talk out whether or not to spend money before I actually spend it, or before I give it to someone needing financial help.
I do not want someone to take over my bank account. What I don’t really understand is savings accounts or investment accounts and how they work. What is safe, what is risky? I need a knowledgeable voice to explain how to decide when money should be locked away in a savings and when it’s best to spend it on a necessary item.
A financial planner is the most logical person to know about these things. They are the money professionals just like I am a quilting professional. When a topper has a question about how a technique is done I can help them. When I need help with something I have to start looking for the right professional…. hopefully there is a financial professional out there somewhere who is also a topper.
As for me moving to a bigger space, it ain’t gonna happen. At least not unless I stop having financial crisis' to wipe out my savings. My time away from machine quilting for others is going to give me the time necessary to contact the professionals. The time I need to sit down with those professionals and work out the details of a good financial plan to achieve my goal. The time I need to get my plan started working and moving toward that goal. I just hope the customers come back after my time off.
Ok, enough rambling for today, I should be in there working.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Today's finished quilts
Here are today’s finishes…. The countdown is 24? I think I've lost count.
Blogger is still not letting me reposition the photos. One is a clothing quilt from the 5 I am making and the other is a topper’s quilt I put on the machine Saturday. See how heavily it is quilted? It took 3 days to finish.
I always feel as if there is a race going on between me, my waiting list, and time. Time always moves fastest with the waiting list a fast second. Me….I’m left way behind. Today I feel as if I’m catching up to them again. Maybe it’s just that I am a little more relaxed today. My 24 year old grandson is on his way home to Alaska. I love him dearly but his being here has been very stressful.
Now that he is not occupying the fabric storage room; I can get in there to sort through for what I might use in my guild challenge quilt or one of the charity quilts I’ve committed to creating. Or maybe I will have time to quilt one for the fair. We shall see…. First, I have to make phone calls to the next few people on the waiting list.
I know the toppers in the quilt world wonder why the waiting lists of machine quilters are so long. I’ve even read on the internet the anger over it taking as long as a year to get a top quilted.
I’ve thought about it and thought about it for many years but have yet to come up with a really good way for predicting how many names to put onto my waiting list each month. If I over book I’m continually stressed about staying ahead of the work and want to quit. If I put too few names on the list then I worry about paying the bills on time. Maybe while I am taking my vacation from quilting I will come up with a solution.
Later….
Monday, July 9, 2007
No finishes today
No finishes today. I put a quilt on the machine Saturday and haven’t finished it yet. It is getting a lot of quilting.
We had our guild meeting yesterday. It went pretty well I think. Before going to the meeting; I took the time to type up some research I had done about how to create a prize winning quilt. Hints like bindings should be filled and the best way to add a hanging sleeve. Maybe I was being too pushy by taking this on as a project but someone had to do it. The group invites new members when a member quits. The new person has no idea what the objective of the group is and no one seemed to want to take the time to explain….except one thing…that we are trying to win a quilt contest.
In my opinion, there is far more to it than just creating a quilt to enter. The group must become a team the same way any team works together; just like being on a baseball team or a soccer team. The quilts must become eight parts of a whole and work together. No one can join a team without at least being told what the game is about and how it works. I hope no one took offense at me taking that initiative. But…. Someone had to do it.
I picked out a few fabrics for my quilt and so did a couple of other people. I have not only this quilt to finish by spring but also 3 other pictorial quilts to have finished at about the same time for charity auctions. I have to finish quilts to enter into MQX and MQS in the spring too. The Christmas rush has started already. As the saying goes… Christmas in July. I’m looking forward to finishing up in time for me to actually enjoy Christmas with my family this year.
Ok, time to go to work again. I can’t finish that quilt until I get in there and do it….
We had our guild meeting yesterday. It went pretty well I think. Before going to the meeting; I took the time to type up some research I had done about how to create a prize winning quilt. Hints like bindings should be filled and the best way to add a hanging sleeve. Maybe I was being too pushy by taking this on as a project but someone had to do it. The group invites new members when a member quits. The new person has no idea what the objective of the group is and no one seemed to want to take the time to explain….except one thing…that we are trying to win a quilt contest.
In my opinion, there is far more to it than just creating a quilt to enter. The group must become a team the same way any team works together; just like being on a baseball team or a soccer team. The quilts must become eight parts of a whole and work together. No one can join a team without at least being told what the game is about and how it works. I hope no one took offense at me taking that initiative. But…. Someone had to do it.
I picked out a few fabrics for my quilt and so did a couple of other people. I have not only this quilt to finish by spring but also 3 other pictorial quilts to have finished at about the same time for charity auctions. I have to finish quilts to enter into MQX and MQS in the spring too. The Christmas rush has started already. As the saying goes… Christmas in July. I’m looking forward to finishing up in time for me to actually enjoy Christmas with my family this year.
Ok, time to go to work again. I can’t finish that quilt until I get in there and do it….
Saturday, July 7, 2007
More finished quilts
Today’s finishes…. The countdown is 26. Or at least I think it is?
Remember the clothing quilts I created a few weeks ago? Well, this is two of them. I started with only creating 3 then it was increased to 5 by the customer. I still have to finish piecing two. I hope to do that this weekend. I want them all quilted and bound by next weekend if I can.
The other is a customer made top.
This post is short because I want to get an early start in the studio and I can’t think of much to say this morning. My mind is still stuck on working out details of paperwork.
Blogger is not letting me put a title on the page today. I hope they work the problems out soon.
Friday, July 6, 2007
Filing of paperwork started
I hope the pictures show up for the readers of my blog. I think the count down is at 29. As you can see from the first two pictures; I need more practice on my backtracking over stitching. On the front it looks pretty good but on the back with a contrasting thread it is awful. A close up picture really shows up the bad stitching. The first two pictures are the back of the red log cabin with stars quilt.
I opened my front door and stood on the porch this morning about 4 am to listen to the birds sing and see what the weather is like. I do this almost every morning waiting for the coffee to brew and before I sit down at the computer. Anyway, there is this boy about 12 or 13 running up and down the street with his pants and underwear down around his knees. He was saying something I couldn’t hear very well and his friends are on the porch across the street just laughing away. He spots me and says “oh, hi” and continues to go up and down the street showing his birthday suit. Definitely NOT what I wanted to see at anytime let alone at 4 am! I shut the door and went to the computer.
I think the problems of the email have been solved. Blogger is still working on the problems of adding photos. I can add them but I can’t be sure of where to put the descriptions while composing an entry.
My brother brought me the rest of the things of my mother from the storage bin. I spent an afternoon going through all the papers. Shredded most but I also found some family pictures. These were truly a treasure because some were baby pictures of myself I didn’t know about.
My grandson from Alaska is finally going home! I love him but he has out stayed in welcome and its time for him to go. I bought the plane ticket yesterday and he leaves Tuesday morning. I will need a few days to recover from his visit.
I haven’t gotten around to making an appointment with a financial planner yet. I’ve had too many other things to deal with the last few days. When I sit down to talk with someone about money I want a clear head and as little stress as possible.
The next day after going through my mother’s papers; I took a day to go through some of my own papers. I only worked on the business papers; personal papers can wait for awhile. I have everything sorted by month for last year. I didn’t realize until I started sorting that I hadn’t done any filing last year at all. I just wrote everything in a notebook then tossed the papers into a shoe box. This is not good for a person who likes to be well organized.
I’m going to post pictures and ideas about how to prevent paperwork pile up as soon as I find a solution that will work for me. I have to give it some thought. Maybe by the time I figure out a great organizing solution blogger will have worked out its problems too.
Ok, time to get off the computer and get to work. My SIL will be here this morning for another day of quilting. I need to get done as much as I can before she arrives.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
My computer does not like me anymore
Ok, just when I get used to working with something on the computer it all gets changed around! Without notice! Buttons that used to be there for clicking have disappeared. New computer jubberish has taken the place of the photos. Do these people sit around all day scheming to make life misserable for the rest of us?
I have pictures to share, several pictures in fact. But when I load them into blogger all I get is computer jibberish; no photos. I need to see the photos in order to type up a description.
I did check the blogger help line to see if they are working on the problem. Yes, there is a notice posted that they are aware of it and are in the process of making improvements.
So.... until blogger is fixed I can't send pictures and it may become difficult to create a post. I will do what I can and catch up when the changes to blogger have been fixed.
I have pictures to share, several pictures in fact. But when I load them into blogger all I get is computer jibberish; no photos. I need to see the photos in order to type up a description.
I did check the blogger help line to see if they are working on the problem. Yes, there is a notice posted that they are aware of it and are in the process of making improvements.
So.... until blogger is fixed I can't send pictures and it may become difficult to create a post. I will do what I can and catch up when the changes to blogger have been fixed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)