Starting a Business

A few years ago... well, actually closer to 12 years ago, my mother and I split the price of a long arm quilting machine.  Our intent was to get her massive pile of quilt tops quilted, keep her from accumulating even more un-quilted tops, and save her tons of money. It would run her anywhere from $90 to $150 to pay someone to quilt them so we figured getting her quilts done would more than pay for the machine over time. 

In addition, I toyed with the idea of taking early retirement from teaching and starting a quilting business. I started building up a fairly good client list; but, the Texas Retirement System changed their formula for early retirement and I missed the cut off by 6 months. I could have bought a year and still retired early; however, I found that quilting for other people had become a burden. I was so busy that I never had time to do anything for myself. So, I decided to stick with teaching for another 10 years and give up the quilting business. For the past 12 years, I've been quilting Mom's quilts, one for friends from time to time, and making my own quilts.

Now that I'm retired and have time on my hands, I thought about starting the quilting business up again. Luckily, I remembered the main reason I didn't like it in the first place wouldn't change; I would probably never have time or the interest to work on things I wanted to make for myself or my family. So, I think I have come up with a pretty good alternative.

After talking to my youngest daughter, Leslie, we decided to start an online Etsy shop together. It will mostly have table runners, lap quilts or baby quilts, and other craft items we decided to try out.  That will give me the chance to try specific blocks, fabrics, pantographs, threads, and freehand techniques that I've always wanted to try. I will NOT take special orders and only make what I know I can give away if it doesn't sell.  Hopefully, that will keep it fun and enjoyable.

I talked Leslie into taking care of all the digital/administrative side of the business while I crank out inventory.  So far, we are still in the learning how to navigate online sales and creating inventory stage. I hope we will have the shop established around August. Unfortunately, we are learning that there is a lot involved in making sure your product is eye catching and draws in customers on a site that is filled with options.

Part of the learning curve has been trying to take pictures that will draw customers and show off the features of the table runner or quilt. Neither of us have ever taken a single photography lesson and are operating with her smart phone, my digital camera, and my iPad.  Some of our attempts are pretty good; others... not so much. 

I thought I would record our first attempts here on the blog just so we can watch our growth in our journey to become online business owners.  Whether or not we succeed won't be based on our lack of trying new things! These are candid shots I took with either my camera or iPad. Some are of things I'm working on for friends or family; not all of this is inventory.

This is a quilt Mom had started for my niece, Kaylin. Sadly, Mom passed away before if was finished.

I quilted it with King Tut multi-colored thread using a pantograph called Japonica
by Karyn Emerson.

The block is one of my favorites; Card Tricks. I'm not too crazy
about Mom's color choice; but, it isn't my quilt!

These are two table runners I made using a Homespun Christmas charms pack.
I double loaded the quilting frame to save time and get both quilted more
quickly It worked well so I'll do this again.

This is a quilt I've been working on as a gift for a friend. 

It was a block of the month class I took at a quilt shop in our area. There were
several applique blocks in the pattern that I chose to replace
with pieced blocks. I don't really enjoy applique. 

This table runner was made from 2 1/2 inch strips that were free for customers that
participated in an area shop hop. I've had the strips for a while but never wanted to finish the project they were intended for. It was a beach bag that I knew I would never use. I think they made a super cute summer table runner.

While I have been working on inventory, I come across unfinished projects that either belonged to Mom or some I started. This is one she had started. She actually made all the blocks and had them set up in the dark purple and pink sashing. I just threw on a border and quilted it. I've decided it will stay in Leslie's cedar chest until the first great-granddaughter is born. It will be kind of neat to pass on a quilt from mom to the next generation.

This is another unfinished quilt that Mom had started. She actually put this together when my oldest son, Ryan, was about 2 years old.  Mom ended up not finishing it. I did all the embroidery and quilted if last week. I gave it to Ryan this weekend. He is so sentimental that it really doesn't matter to him that he is over 40 years old!

One of the things that bothers me about quilting is the plethora of left over batting scraps! I feel guilty adding to the land fill so I try to use the smaller pieces in table runners, pot holders, coasters, etc.  These are some ornaments I made using scraps of batting and burlap. I just love them!

This is another unfinished project of mine. I took the Santa block as a class at a Christmas in July
workshop one of the local quilt guilds offered. I never used it for anything until I started clearing out my scrap stash. I found some metallic fabrics that went fairly well with the block and threw it all together into a table runner. 

This is one of several baby quilts I made using the Three Yard method You take 1 year each of 3 coordinating fabrics, cut them according to the pattern directions, shuffle the fabrics, and end up with 3 different quilts. It is the easiest way to keep a stash of baby quilts on hand. When I was working, it seemed like the young teachers I worked with were forever having babies! 

Most baby quilts are made using 100% cotton fabric and a cotton batting. Once they are washed, they are so soft and perfect for cuddling a baby on your lap.

I love the simplicity of the pattern and the surprise of seeing how different the 3 quilts actually turn out. I usually just use a cute thread and quilt these freehand with loops and swirls. 

            

This is the same pattern using fabrics that are perfect for a little boy! This fabric combo
was one of my favorites. 

     

This is one of our attempts to "style" a photo. I'm not even sure that is the correct term. Maybe stage a photo would be better. Leslie found some really nice photo backdrops on Amazon and we spent some time this weekend playing around with table runners, props, and backdrops. 

We also had to battle the crazy Texas sun. Luckily, Leslie has a nice sized covered patio in her back yard. We did a pretty good job of using patio furniture and blankets to block stray rays of sunlight. 

But, from time to time, one would sneak in on us.  These table runners were made using a Jelly Roll. That's a pre-cut package of 2 1/2 inch strips of fabric; all from the same line.  I sorted them according to color families and ended up with enough fabric for 4 table runners. The 4th one is a scrappy one that I haven't quilted yet. 

I loved this one! Sadly, when I finished tacking down the binding, I noticed there was a flaw in the muslin that I used for the backing. I don't know quite what to do with this runner now because I don't want to sell an item that has a flaw. I might end up keeping this one or giving it to one of the kids.

This is one of my first attempts to stage a photo. I took these runners (the ones in the quilting frame shown above) outside and put them on a table that my son had built from scrap lumber. I pulled a couple twigs of cedar off a nearby tree and just placed them along the edge of the runner. I thought it turned out okay so I emailed it to Leslie to use online 

I wish I had taken a close up shot of this fabric! It is so stinking cute!! The fabric has cute little moose heads on it!! I bought the fabric at a country market in a local quilt show. It was intended to be a quilt as you go blanket; but, I sewed the strips of fabric together and quilted it with the long arm instead. I prefer that to using a walking foot on my machine.

And another unfinished project is now complete! I bought this panel about 14 years ago; intending to make a wall hanging for my 1st grade classroom. I never got around to it so now it is a baby quilt that will go into  our inventory.

This table runner is made from scraps of fabric left over from a pillow case that Mom had made I love the music notes on it and Leslie came up with the idea of staging it with the flute. 

This table runner is made from an orphan block that was left over from a quilt. The block ended up being too small to square up so a second was made to replace it. Neither Mom nor I would ever throw out an orphan block. I really like 2 color quilts so used the scraps and the block to make this runner 

When the grandkids were visiting, I had them sort through my Christmas scraps and match up fabrics they thought would look good together. They found this snowman fabric, the metallic snow/star filled night sky, and the white metallic border fabric. there was JUST enough of the snowman fabric to cut three 9 1/2 inch squares and put them on point. 

This runner is was also made from orphan blocks and left over fabric from a quilt Mom had made.
I had 5 blocks and was just about to put them all together into a lap quilt; but, 2 of them were too small to square up. Mom would sometimes sew quilt blocks on 2 different machines. She discovered that would make a difference in the size of the blocks! Her experience was a good lesson for me!

Anyway, the 2 that were smaller got set on point and I used the coordinating fabric on the corners. It ended up just as long as the runner with the other 3 blocks in it. 

This is the staged shot of the snowman runner. 

This runner is another fabric set that the grandkids put together. Once again, the focus fabric was barely big enough to cut squares out of. 

One of our attempts to take a close up shot of the quilting on the table runner.

Another staged shot. I don't know if I like the runner or the baking dish best!

And yet ANOTHER unfinished project that was intended for my classroom wall. I am wondering how many more of these unfinished projects I'll find as I continue to dig through my stash. 

Our staged shot of the wall hanging. 

This runner was a scrap stash buster. I had an assortment of gray and white fabrics that were donated to me by a friend that made clothing. She knew I quilted so she gave me an odd assortment of scraps. Luckily, I had enough to make this. 

Should you be reading my blog and want to keep track of our progress towards opening our shop, check out our facebook https://www.facebook.com/isntitlovelytx/ and Instagram pages https://www.instagram.com/isntitlovely_tx/.

Before and After #1

This is the first summer in a long time that I am not recovering from some sort of surgery or taking a trip somewhere.  Therefore, I have decided that this will be the summer of make overs.  

I started simple with some yard work.  Ron hired the scouts to do some yard work in order to earn money for camp.  Ron supervised as they cut out 2 ugly shrubs in front of the front porch railing.  As soon as school was over, I got the front flower beds in shape by planting some native plants (Mexican Heather and Dusty Miller) to take the place of the shrubs.  I'm hoping the yard will eventually have only native plants in it; but, I'm realistic enough to know that it will happen over the course of MANY years. 

As part of the yard make over, I needed to add some color to the back deck.  We bought a yellow retro style set of chairs and a glider last year that only had 1 table.  We had a couple of cheap wooden things I had bought at Big Lots, but they were falling apart.  I looked around for some inexpensive side tables, but couldn't find anything sturdy for less than $20.  I decided to take a couple of old flower pots that I was going to throw away and repurpose them. I bought some wooden rounds, spray paint, and bolts to attach the pieces to make a couple of side tables.  

Here are the before and after pictures.

I was a little irritated with myself when I got home and realized that the orange paint was gloss and the green paint was satin.  But, I can live with that.

Unfortunately, once the tables were finished, they made everything else look a little dull and shabby.  So I grabbed some more spray paint and attacked some yard art daisies and smaller flower pots.  It looks better, but now I need to repaint the swing, the frame, and the glider & chair set.

 I'm also starting to think the black lawn chairs need a coat of paint as well. I'm just not sure it would stick very well to the mesh seats.  

Hopefully, I can get the rest of it done before our crazy Texas summer gets too hot to sit outside and enjoy the peaceful serenity of my deck.

May??? Where did it go?

Today was my last work day of the school year.  I had to go in and tear down the classroom and turn in all of my paperwork.  Thankfully, Ron came in to supply the manual labor so I was able to get 8 hours of work done in less than 6.  

I headed home, stretched out on the couch and TOOK A NAP!! Sweet~

I figured I ought to get one thing marked off my to do list, so I am updating the blog.

Between work, family, traveling most Sundays, and life in general, May simply disappeared before I knew it. 

Here is a quick recap using what few pictures I managed to take this month.

One of the things I wanted to do in our tiny back yard was make a place for the girls to play. Ron and I cleaned up an area near the shop that was covered by a portable storage building.  We gave that away to Holly, and it opened up a nice area to use for the girls.  Leslie gave us the plastic play cube, but they still needed their own place.

The girls play area before...

We found some cute chairs at IKEA and used those as our "inspiration" for the paints.  We painted some old flower boxes, a cheap bench from Big Lots, and now the girls have a cute place to play and grow pink flowers.

... and after.

It is also the perfect place to eat popcicles!

Two cute girls!

I have been quilting some of Mom's quilts now that the quilting machine is at the Temple house. I just haven't had much time to make my own quilts.  A friend from work is getting married in June, and another one is having her first baby in July.  I knew I wanted to make some simple quilts for them before the school year ended, so I took a couple of days off and got them finished.

The first one is a simple summer throw quilt that I made for Alana.  Leslie and I both loved it and it was hard to give it away.  I guess I need to get one made for myself this sumner,

Alana's quilt...

 The next 3 are simple baby quilts made using 3 yards of fabric and backing.  You cut the 3 pieces the same way and then mix and match them to come up with 3 different looks.  Sara is an animal lover so I used this cute frog print that I have had forever.  

Baby quilt 1 went to Sara...

Thankfully, I have 2 spare quilts left for future gifts!  I think this summer I will make up 3 more using boy prints. 

baby quilt 2...

and baby quilt 3.

 Toward the end of the year, there are several things that take up a chunk of time at school.  One of them is the normal end of year assessment cycle. YUCK!  The second is our annual science fair.  FUN!! 

The 4th and 5th grades are expected to have each student complete an investigation independently.  The lower grades are expected to complete class investigations.  Once we have gone through the scientific process, completed the investigation, and created a display board, the school has a campus wide science fair.  

This year my class won the first place ribbon for second grade.  We did a really cool swirling milk investigation.

Dawn dish detergent dispersing the food coloring in different liquids.

 The next big event for the family was Miss Maggie's graduation from Pre-school!  Leslie enrolled her in a program that was 3 days a week, instead of enrolling her full time in the public school system.  She wasn't ready to send her to school full time.  It was a great experience for her and I am very impressed with the things that she learned there.  

Sophie waiting for the graduation ceremony to begin...

Leslie & G with the happy graduate...

Aunt B and Seth with the happy graduate...

Poppy with the happy graduate...

Uncle Ryan with the happy graduate...

Uncle Scott with the "I'm tired of taking pictures" grouchy graduate.
They opted to make grouchy faces.

And of course a picture of her teacher, Mrs. Bickford.  

In a town the size of Killeen, it is at times amazing how it can truly be a small world.  I met Mrs. Bickford at the local community theater before watching Pinkalicous.  Her children attend school where I teach and I discovered that her daughter was in my animal enrichment group!

And of course, the end of the school year means our annual end of the year party.  Last year, I started a tradition for the second grade teachers.  I decided to have a candy bar and nacho's party.  The teacher across the hall found out what I was doing, so she threw one together as well.  Everyone else loved the idea so this year I think most of us had candy bars for our parties this year.  

The little buckets I got last year at IKEA (love that place) weren't quite enough.  So, this year I found some cute plastic pails and scoops at Target.  The table cloth was the perfect touch!  I used beach balls and inflatable pool rings last year as part of the decor.  I just didn't seem to get my act together soon enough to get them inflated this year.  I guess I really need some kind of little pump for my classroom.

Anyway, the students LOVED it!

The candy bar...

 And, as part of my going away gift, I improvised on an idea I found on Pinterest.  These cute water bottles were in the Dollar Spot at Target.  I got one for each of the students and attached a little tag that says, "I hope you have a cool summer!"  

... my going away gift.

So, now I am caught up (at least for a little while) with the blog.  Ron and I don't have any exciting plans for this summer; but, I am really looking forward to getting caught up on my sewing, quilting, crafting, cleaning out closets, and just general every day chores.