Monkey and Dot Rag quilt

This quilt was finished the middle of last year and this blog post created but never posted.

Here is another fun rag quilt that we have done.  

It has a fun monkey fabric and bright dots. The back is a tan flannel

Diagonal Quilt Top times 2

Last night, I finished up sewing my two  Diagonal Quilt tops.  Both of these quilts when finished will be put up for sell on my Etsy Store.  I currently have 2 diagonal items on my Etsy Store.  The first is a Aqua, Gray, Yellow, and Turquoise lap quilt.  The other is a 24 inch table topper.

The two quilts in these pictures are made out of Batik fabrics from a bundle called  Fossil Ferns that my wife bought for me on a sell on Craftsy.  The Quilt top above is for a Baby Quilt it will be about 40 x 40 when done.  The quilt top below is about 52 X 64 for a lap quilt.  They are both made using my Diagonal Quilt Pattern.   If you are willing to go either to my Etsy store, my Craftsy store, or my Facebook page and like, favorite, share,  comment, or other wise engage those pages which will help them get found more in search results Then come back here and comment I will email you a free copy of this pattern. Please send me photo's if you make a quilt top so I can share them with others.  Oh and even if you don't want a pattern I would love any help sharing my goods so that I can find a few more sales.  Oh feel free to pin to share on instagram or twitter or any other way 

Thanks Richard Healey

Cut and Sew

Today's post is kind of lame.  I am cutting up my batik bundle and making 2 diagonal quilts.  I should have the top finished on one of them tonight.  Maybe both.

I enjoy making these quilts as its like a puzzle you cut things up and then piece them back together slowly tell you have a complete picture.

The batiks I have are fantastic for their rich color I cant wait to see what a completed top will turn out like.  

Help, I Need Some Answers to Questions

I am taking a business class through my church. I need help asking about customers needs and why people buy certain products. It is difficult to do since the majority of our business is online with an occasional craft fair setting. I also have a set of questions for other small business owners.  I could really use some help answering questions if you have time. Feel free to email me at thealey101 @gmail.com to answer questions, if you don't want to comment on blog.  Either would be really appreciated.  

Customer buying needs:
Why do you buy patterns or quilts from a certain business?
What would change about a product?
What would make you want to buy more?
Is a price right?  Would you buy more at a lower price?
Would you still buy more if they raised the price?


Business owner
What do your customers buy most?
Why do you think people buy what you sell?
Who are your competitors? What is unique about your business?
Where do you get your product?  Are there other suppliers?
Do you think you could get a lower cost if you buy more at a time?
How did you decide on a price?  Are you profitable?
How do you find new customers?
What have been some of your keys to success? Biggest headache?

Batik's and Birthday's

Last year some time my wife bought me this huge stack of Batik's and as my wife said I did not seem excited or care.  I dont know how I went almost a year with out being excited about these but for my Birthday I decided to treat my self and cut into this stack.  I started last night (My B-Day Eve) and I finished this morning.  And will share in Pictures.

I really enjoyed visually how this stack was put together it had the lighter on one side and the darker on the other side.  So I had to get a picture of both sides of this bundle to show it all off.

The way my wife cuts material is so much different then my style of cutting.  Many or most I would assume cuts 1-2 layers of material at a time.  For me that is way too slow and not as efficient.

It might be hard to tell but the stacks that I am cutting are about 12-15 layers thick.  The cutting blade I use is the larger of the 2 standard size blades and I always make sure my blades are sharp as I like to cut thick stacks.

Here is more of a close up.  Please note these are 2 stacks thick each but gives you an idea of how many layers are in the stacks.

So you may ask what in the world am I doing with all of these.  My plans are too make 3 quilts (yes I cant ever seem to make a single quilt at a time, though Tanya is trying to convince me to make 4 rather then 3 quilts go figure)  To explain the material at the top of the above picture is what is left of my Fat Quarter Bundle which is about 1/3 of the fabric left.  The long strips will be a diagonal lap quilt and maybe a 2nd baby quilt if Tanya gets her way.  The 2 1/2 inch squares in the 3 bags will make 2 different quilts one will be one of my 25 squared patterns and the other will be a granny square quilt which I have made many times but never made a pattern for but will make a pattern this time while making it.

Well I still had a little time before having to leave for work so I started to sew my strips together.  At the point I took this picture the strips each had about 6 strips sewed together so the weight of it was dragging them off the side of the table.

The funny thing about Batik's are that my wife hates them and complains and the longer I play with them and sew them together the more she starts telling me how much she likes them and wants me to make more and more.  She just cant make up her mind.  

What I love most is the contrast in the colors.  Any way this is the pile that I had when all the strips were sewed and there is only 5 long strips left.

While I am finally at work and they thought to celebrate and since it also shows off the quilt on the wall in my office I took a picture sorry for the poor quality and poor editing I was at work after all but Happy B-Day to me.  And for those that are curious I turn 47 today.  I was born in the summer of 1969.

Last and not least Google had to get in on the B-Day Action and I seem to be getting a B-Day google celebration page.  If you click it it goes to my profile so good job Google and thanks.