Custom Ordered Quilt Complete

It is interesting how some times the things requested are the simplest to do.  Tanya was recently asked to make a quilt that was similar to one we had on Etsy, but a little bigger.  This is just a simple charm square quilt, but it was requested using the same fabric line (2 years old) and white minky on the back.

The hardest part of this quilt was finding the material.  Tanya orders a few charm packs and when they showed up she realized it did not have enough of the flowers which is what the request was for so she ordered a few more.  Now we have the left overs of 5 charm packs, but we do have a happy baby with a new quilt.  These are from the Amela line a Me and My Sisters fabric line.  Tanya is a huge fan of theirs so I am sure she will use up the leftovers in something fun.

Speaking of happy babies and happy dad's I went by my baby's crib and was delighted to see her using the quilt I made for her.  She likes grabbing the quilts and throwing them on the ground (basically unfolding them), but has never really used them.  Look she is sleeping with it and better yet the pillow case I made her is on a pillow and she is sleeping on it.

My teen (baby) is also using her quilts that I have made.  She has a twin size version of the quilt that Julia is sleeping under.  Also on her bed is her skeleton quilt (that she made in school last year) and that purple in the bottom left corner is the lap quilt I made her.  It is fun to see something I made being loved and used.

Saturday Projects

This weekend Tanya has me working on our Ghastlie projects.  We have a couple quilts and a few wall hangings or table runners that are half made.  Some are quilted, needing binding and some need quilting.  This picture was taken just before I went to bed Thursday night and may be finished by the time you read this.

I have caught the Instagram Bug after a year of denying it.  And I would love if you would follow me.  http://instagram.com/rhealey101 If you are on Instagram put a link in a response to this post and I will follow you.  I am still trying to figure out how to succeed with instagram if any one out there knows there stuff feel free to let me know some tips and tricks of it.

As you I am sure know I am a huge fan of Craftsy I have started listing my quilt there in addition to my quilt blog.  I am also a Craftsy affiliate and as such I get a little bit for each new referal to craftsy.  If you have not joined Craftsy I would encourage you to try it.  There are some great projects listed there.  Many free patterns and other that are for sell .  My pattern store there now has 11 patterns of which 4 are free.  One of the new and exciting things they have added recently is a phone app (Apple only, sadly I am a Android user myself) so that you can view and use the patterns you have right on your phone.  If you have not checked that out do so. The button above says there are many free classes.

This last week I have been trying to clean up and get things off of my sewing desk.  These 12 granny squares are some that have been sewn as strips sitting on my desk for weeks.  I have finally finished sewing, ironing, and cutting them into blocks.  Tanya now has enough squares to do 2 more tops (which are now in the to-do pile) and another dozen or so that are missing some colors to make a great quilt combo.

Lastly, I want to let you know that either later this week or next week I will be having another giveaway so keep your eyes out for more details coming soon on that.

Link A Finish Friday #81

Today is starting with Quilt #7 from the stash by my wife Tanya.  She is trying to get rid of some of the back log of flannel we bought on sale before Christmas last year and over the few weeks I have been cutting and she has been sewing.  I know that so far there are at least 9 quilts made from them.  

It is now time for Link A Finish Friday.  Today I would like to start with a big thank you to Fat Quarter Shop who has offered to Sponsor our Link A Finish Friday with Prizes.  This month's winner (August) will win a $15 gift certificate to spend at Fat Quarter Shop. 

Please remember to thank our sponsor by visiting their store at http://www.fatquartershop.com/ their blog http://www.fatquartershop.blogspot.com/ and Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/FatQuarterShop

Some of last weeks link ups

Paper Pieced by Simply Pieced

Quilting in Amsterdam

Christmas in July - Quilthexle

Zakka 2.0 Mail Bag Pouch - My Fabric Relish

String of Pearls - Kathy's Quilting Blog

Stofbox - Quilt it out

 Linky Code can be found on the right side bar

1) Who likes rules. Toss them out.

2) Add a link to your finish blog or where ever you show off your finishes (Not limited to quilts but I like them the most).
3) Visit a few of the finishes and comment or encourage them on.
4) Monthly random winner picked from all of the months linkups to $15 gift card from Fat Quarter Shop.

Not required but fun to do

1) Follow my blog.
2) Follow the blog of all those that link.
3) Link back to my blog.
4) No finish, go quilt and stop reading the web.

Owl Windows Quilt

Here is the closeup of the Owl Quilt using the windows quilt Tanya made.

I like how some of the owls look like they are looking through windows.

On the back is a off white fabric with two strips of of the jack fabric.  It also has a simple applique of an owl on the back.

It is another fun quilt added to our Etsy store..

Some hot pads and a family visit.

Last week my sister in law Tosha Hoyt (Tanya's younger sister) came to visit us here in Salt Lake City she lives in the little town of Kanab down in Southern Utah.  She is a potter and has a store on Etsy called ToshasPottery.  Over dinner she talked to us about our quilt sales and we talked to her about her Etsy sales.  For us Etsy has been  fairly good, we are selling quilts (not as many as I would like, but not as few as I though I would) and enjoying it.  She on the other hand has not had great success online but, has been doing amazing work selling at craft fairs.  She has been trying to get us to do the same.

Above is one of her bowl's as listed on Etsy.  So in our conversation we talked about our fear of trying the craft fairs and that is that my items are big and costly and many of the people going to these things buy a small item but a big $100+ quilt might be out of range.  So she suggested that we needed to make some smaller items.  Tanya and I decided more the 6 months ago that we want to try a craft fair, but decided to do one we need at least 50+ quilts so there are a wide variety for people to chose from, but now she thinks we need hot pads and table runners too.

So these are the first 2 attempts (they are front and back pictures of 2 hot pads)  They turned out pretty cute.  I showed Tanya the top one and she told me that is her's and I could not sell it.

Even this one did not turn out too bad.  The funny thing is all of this material for both hot pads was in a scrap pile that we had decided would only be good for string blocks.  They have insulbrite batting in them (1 layer) and that is it.  Tanya tells me that I need more then just one layer but I think it looks and feels great.

I did take my sister in law at her word and also did some table runners.  But that will be for another post (as i was a little more serious on them) and have 6 table runners in the works that will be up in a post some time in the next few weeks when I get them all done and pictures taken.