Tuesday, December 30, 2008

latest quilting project

As Tim's retirement draws closer, I have been contemplating what I can do to bring in an income if I was suddenly responsible for supporting the household. While he is perfectly healthy, it is smart to plan for the worst and hope for the best. Since I love to quilt we have been investigating starting a craft business to sell my quilts on-line.

To encourage this endeavor, Tim surprised me on Boxing Day by suggesting that I go by the quilt shop and look at new machines. I ended up purchasing a new Bernina and a quilt table with rollers for each layer so I can quilt large projects. The old machine was ready to be picked up so I brought it home and quilted a top that I made 6 years ago.


The top one on Mary's bed I made for Tim to take on the ship when he was deployed and the one on Maggie's bed is the new one I just finished. I didn't realize until I stepped back to take the pictures that they are mirror images, not exact duplicates.


Can you spot the reversed block? The Amish do this on all their quilts to remind themselves that no human, but only God is perfect. I can't make that excuse, I just did it accidentally. Guess I should practice better quality control if I am to sell them!

1 comment:

Michelle said...

So, how much would you sell a twin size quilt for?

Or, if I did the machine piece-ing and supplied the batting and the backing and the binding, how much would you charge to quilt and bind?

I've never quilted before, but my boys need something for their beds. Everything is red, white and blue, so I was thinking about an Americana themed quilt. In my copious free time...


On another note, I'm hoping this summer to build an inventory of my Army stockings and other things that I've sold in the past. If I can, then I'm going to open an Etsy shop in the fall. Bill will be deployed, likely, so my primary salesman (with direct contact with likely customers) won't be around to advertise and sell my products. I'll need a shop out of which to operate. Have you considered that?