Motivation for Christmas!

So, it’s been far too long since I wrote on here, everything has been all go. Helping my other half with sorting out the renovation of the house, buying for the house and helping move. So sat in the new bed in the new house, I can’t make the excuses of not having enough time any more.

My big push these next few weeks is going to be on the dreaded topic of ‘Christmas’. I really need to get my act together and really work on what I plan to do, I know I want to go to craft fairs and sell and really make a go of the business other wise I will just plod along. So motivation is out to kick me into gear and get me going.

First things first, I have been looking at Pinterest for ideas on what to make and sell. Going to so many craft fairs myself and done a few as part of fundraising for college and university I know that not many people want to buy big ticket items. People like to go for the walk and to have a good nosey, people don’t go to a craft fair knowing they want a certain item like they would in a supermarket or a high street store. For me, craft fairs are novelty items, they are things that are nice, not expensive and easily liked by many people. I have bought the smallest of simple things from handmade hearts for my sisters kitchen, teddy bears for my niece and door signs for my dads shed. These things I like to think are sweet, kind little gestures that not everyone has and make a difference to a home.

I like the effort that people go into by making a gift or even finding something more unique and bespoke. For me at Christmas nothing says how much you care and love someone then a thoughtful present. It can be anything from a hand made cushion to an adventure holiday catered to you specifically.

So my first action to get organised for Christmas fairs is to make a list and a trial run of each item I want to make and sell. I will then test out each item on a small group of friends and family to work out which items will sell more and be the most popular and most lucrative to sell. I don’t want to put my time and spend mountains of money into a few items that may not even get a second glance. For the key to success is to do trial run with each product.

I will then make sure I am signed up and ready to go to as many craft fairs and selling platforms in the coming weeks to Christmas as I can manage around my job. I have already had business cards made up and they look lovely. I would maybe think of getting a banner possibly? For the stalls to stand out.

That’s as far as I have got with my planning so far, wish me luck!

Must keep Going!!

I’m currently working on the baby quilt made from the baby clothes, it is a slight struggle. The hardest part of the process is making the pieces of the clothes cut into equal square sections. This isn’t easy as the baby clothes are so small and awkward to cut. With the patterns and prints varied in sizes and shapes it makes piecing together the quilt in a uniformed fashion makes it harder. For the next quilt I make I think I will need to make a template or use some sort of base to cut around or use to make the pieces even and symmetrical.

I am struggling most with my confidence and knowing that what I am doing is good. I over think on what I’m doing and over worry that the customer won’t like what I have done. I think once I’m over the worries I can really start to believe I can do it. Is it really hard to believe I could do something and make something good? No then why don’t I believe it myself.

So starting a new me, a confident me!

Next Level Of Panic!

This week has been a big week for me, I have had new people like my page. (some of these people I don’t know) which is fantastic as it shows I’m really getting my name and business out to people. I had my first unknown customer,when I say unknown I mean I am not related to the person or friends with them for them to know of what I do. She is an old friend of my cousins, for her sharing my page to her friends and family she asked me in return to like and share her page. This was a fair trade and we both had completely different businesses with the same goal.

Lady W* had asked if I was the woman who could take her daughters baby clothes and make them into a poorly day blanket, I instantly thought YES!! Just the work I have been looking for. I had Lady W* put together 2 bags of clothes, one of the bags were full of the items she loved and favoured that she definitely wanted in the quilt, the second was items she liked but if not needed for the quilt she didn’t mind. I then took these home and started piecing together the parts of each one, working out colours and fabrics and if any had writing or pictures on.

I’ve been cutting up all the pieces sewing them together and making it match. I’m getting a pink fleece to put on the back as she wanted it to be comfy and cosy for when her daughter is poorly.

A few days later a friend of my sisters found out she was having a baby boy, she had seen a type of bunting I made for my nephew for his bedroom. It was his name is soft fabric letters in the style of bunting. I made it purposely for his ‘Welcome to the world’ party. She asked me if I could do the same for her sons name. Thrilled to bits I obviously agreed.

Really feeling proud of what I’m achieving and beginning to build.

Finished Product!

I have finally finished my first commission to make a patchwork quilt for a baby boy. It took me a couple of weeks including work, family things and switching jobs. Overall I’m pleased but there are so many things I can’t help but look at and think I can do better. Especially when I look closer at the sewn on pictures of the whales and boats. I would go back and use bondaweb or some sort of adhesive to bond the 2 layers of fabric together and then zig zag stitch around the edges.

I really want to improve on getting the lines of the squares on both sides to line up, its much more difficult then I thought, it’s safe to say I’m far from perfection but I suppose practice makes perfect. I’m on my way to perfection one quilt at a time.

I am being really eager and planning a second quilt for my other half already, I have all the fabrics and shapes in place to go, only thing stopping me is now my sister had asked me to make a quilt from my nieces first baby clothes as a keep sake.

Its all giving me more ideas for things I want to make and sell. I really want to be original and unique but still make things people want and that will sell.

Here are some pictures of the finished quilt.

Hope you like it.

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Moving On Up!!

Today I had my last day at work, I had worked with the company for over a year and loved it, unfortunately I got fed up and wanted to move on. I decided I needed to grow up and start saving if I really want to move in with my other half and actually start a business. I am moving on to another job, closer to home, free parking and better money. Hello Super Saving!!!

I’ve been working really hard on not randomly spending out of boredom or out of routine, because during my lunch hour I would crave to be outside or away from work so I would shop and go buy food I didn’t need. So to save money I started taking sandwiches to work, doing one food shop at the start of the week and buying everything I needed to last me. I refilled my bottle of water at work from the water fountain to save me buying a drink. I even took to taking sewing to work to get the job done quicker time wise and it actually kept me busy that I didn’t over eat on my break. so overall its good for the purse and my figure!

I have been sewing the baby patchwork quilt on my lunch hour to move the project along quicker. Its kept me busy and I’m really enjoying it. Its coming together quickly but I would change the design to improve the reproduction and sewing time. Here is a working progress picture of the quilt. Fingers crossed the customer will like it 🙂

Working Progress

I have finally got my own laptop! Big thing for me! On a big push to get a business built up and started. I have been asked to make a patchwork quilt for a baby boy, I decided I really wanted to keep track of hours spent on the make of the quilt to then work out per hour what I would pay myself and how much the quilt should be worth. I would get quicker with time on each quilt, the cutting and preparation and the actual sewing. I would in time hopefully pick up speed each time I do the same layout or pattern. This then making it easier and quicker to reproduce and sell.

I am finding it hard to gather together a few products and designs to sell of my own and not get carried away, my biggest issue and hurdle to overcome is fabrics, I would need a wholesalers of fabric or somewhere I can bulk buy so I can easily go to my stock and reproduce a product that has been bought without the hastle of going backwards and forwards to a shop or individual retailer to buy fabric over and over again.

Wish me luck!

First Post!!

I really love making hand made patchwork quilts, I decided to go for it properly and put the sewing machine to the side to try my hand at it. I pulled out the stencils, cutting mat and got going. I decided best way to be really passionate about my first attempt was to make it for someone as a present, I had the pressure behind me to want to make it perfect and do it right! I wanted to start with something quite simple and easy to figure out first. I went for a hexagon cut with diamond shapes between to add more depth to the cut. I really enjoyed doing it and after looking at so many quilts its all I want to do! So here it is! the finished product!

Hello world!

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