My First Etsy Custom Order for a Handquilted Quilt!

It all started with a post to my team mates, The Etsy Angels, of the quilt that I was making for myself. CBLandCompany { Lisa } loved it and decided to order one from me for herself....She loved the colors of mine but wanted a different background. After sending her a sample of the fabrics, she decided to go with hunter green!

Here are samples of the colors and the blades to the fans...I cut 150 blades from 5 different fabrics and sewed them together to make 60 fans.....2 for each of the blocks. I am guessing about 10 hours work here.



Next I cut 30 blocks from the hunter green cloth and appliqued the fans on by hand...each set took1 hour, that is 30 more hours.

Then the stripes were cut from the deep burgandy print and sewn around each block to make the quilt front....3 hours work there.

The quilt front, back and batting were then pinned together and the handquilting began...It took me 1 hour to handquilt each block...it is hand quilted all around the blocks and then the fans....30 hours work!

Last but not least the binding was cut, sewn in strips, folded pressed then added to the quilt....2 more hours....

Ta Da....My master piece....and I hope Lisa's!!!!

I have never sat down and made a quilt and kept track of the hours that I put into one ...this is just a rough sample because while making the fans I was watching TV, doing other things so not quite sure how long it took to cut and make each fan blade! I would say I have about 75 hours into this quilt and loved every minute of it........would I do it again? In a heart beat!!!! Do I make any money at it ...no way!


Ok...so my pictures are not in order but I hope you can see the work that I did.....love to hear your comments.....I take constructive critism well!

I would love to make you one of your choice.....just contact me and we can work out the arrangements!

My Day at the Community Craftfair and Yard Sale

I have been doing craftfairs and placing my items in shops on consignment for a number of years and I get calls from people looking for me to join their events. I recieved an email from a lady that was organizing a huge yardsale, craftfair and bake sale in their area and the money for tables and registeration was to go to their Mental Health Group Home. It was to span a huge area and most were just going to set up in their own yard but there was a community one for those out of the area.

For $15.00 plus $5.00 per table, I agreed to give it a try and over I went on Saturday morning!
I got there....no one was sure what was going on...not a good start but finally someone said you can go inside the arena or outside. Well as I have sewn items I opted for inside...proceeded to set up tables and arrange all my items....looked around ...not many people inside and it was cold...no ice but sure felt like it!

An hour later no one was in around...uh oh not good...so some of the vendors began roaming around and found no signs leading people inside ...so off to the $ Store on lady went...purchased some neon bristle board and made signs and placed them on building....well, that helped!

It was a good day...things picked up, met some very nice people and agreed that I would do again next year.

As I was a vendor ...did not get much chance to see what was around but when I finished loading up my crafts there were a number of people with larger displays that were taking their time to get down...I looked around...wow, some really nice items there......next year I am taking someone with me so I can sneak out and have a look at some more of the other vendors items.

Some were just your ordinary yardsale items but some had some cool crafts...I especially liked the work of one disabled artist.....He made a number of different feeders for our feathered friends....I purchased 2 for my dad for Father's Day and what a deal...$10.00 each!

Looking forward to next year and I will stay for the 2 days next time.......only did the one this year.....other plans for second day!

Welcome New Members to the Etsy Angels

Today the Etsy Angels team is formally welcoming our 6 newest members:
Cindyjoy, Raisinlike, Silkcreekgallery, Tiff705, ArrivingAngels and Brynnalex! We are having lots of fun....chats, scavenger word hunt, guessing games, contests and sales today! Check out this thread for more information:
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5651962

I also have a treasury in honor of our new members:
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=12196


MY GAME FOR THE DAY:

FIND A SECRET IN ONE OF MY LISTINGS AND CONVO ME...THE WINNERS WILL BE GIVEN A NUMBER AS THEY CONVO ME AND AT THE END OF THE DAY ANOTHE ANGEL WILL PICK A NUMBER AND THE WINNING NUMBER WILL WIN A PRIZE.....ALSO IF YOU PURCHASE THE ITEM WITH THE SECRET IT WILL BE SHIPPED FREE AND 10% DISCOUNT WILL APPLY.....SO BE SURE TO JOIN THE FUN!!!

Anyone can play and join in ...do not need to be a member!

Correct entrants:
1. CBlandcompany

How did I do?

Now that I have posted my first blog and set up my page....what do you think? Other than the fact that I need some pictures but I did it on my laptop and no pictures are stored on it! I would also like to know how you get your etsy mini to post on your blog. I will call it a work in progress.....that will probably only gets some tweaking done when I am working nights as I do not have alot of time at home and I have dial up there ....very slow!

My first Blog

This is my first attempt at blogging...I hope that it is interesting and understandable.

I am not a person that communicates well online ...until I joined Etsy I have never had a conversation with someone online other than on Ebay a quick question. I joined Etsy at the suggestion of a marketing consultant.

I joined Etsy, listed some items and checked out the forums but never participated in them until one night I was checking out a thread that was fundraising for 2 young boys that had lost their mother in a motorcycle accident. For some reason I really became involved it that great venture. I met many beautiful, caring and loving people....when it came time to close the thread I was devastated...I thought I was going to loose contact with these people.

But there was more than I that felt this way and the Etsy Angel team was developed....it was for more than the friendships we developed but also for the help we felt we could give to others. We have done a few charities and have gone through some growing pains but it is still a great team and lots of support is shown here.

We now have 6 more new members that we are going to officially welcome to the team on Friday June the 6th. There will be games, fun and some sales in all our shops. Everyone is welcome to join us. Watch this thread for the one that will be opened on Friday for that purpose:
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5646366&page=1

This is a fun and easy time before we gear up for our next charity...which will be a registered charity...something that we have discovered is probably for the best although we enjoyed the personal aspect of raising funds for individuals it leaves some doubt in others minds about what we do!

The Etsy Angels are a great team...it is the one closest to me but I am also a member of the Fabulous Artist Moms....another team of close knit ladies that show alot of support and friendship.

Stay tuned for more information on The Welcome to the New Members of the Etsy Angels and the Take 10 Tuesday sales by the Fabulous Artist Moms.