My First Sale

Yesterday I got my first sale from my Etsy shop. I'm so excited!

I posted a few more hats. Let's see what happens.

This is fun!

Bust

The craft open house was a bust for me. No sales at all. Frowny face.

My items are rather specialized, I realize. The friend who held this event assured me that nurses were coming! They were so excited about seeing the scrub caps, she assured me.

Well, they didn't make it.

I'm disappointed, to be honest. I tried not to set high expectations, but it was a lot of time to spend just sitting there. With my illness, it was not pleasant sitting there coughing, sucking on lozenges, and drinking tea. I'm sure this made me act and look less inviting.

At least I gave out a number of business cards for my Etsy shop and I got some pictures for new postings on Etsy. Moreover, I have some inventory now. I actually have something to sell in my Etsy shop. Maybe it will work out in the long run.

A Long Awaited Update

I have been busy and I haven't had a chance to write. Here is the summary:

• Sewing every chance I get to have enough inventory for a handmade holiday open house THIS SATURDAY!
• Work, with extra meetings.
• In-laws here for Thanksgiving. Which necessitated cleaning house, planning menus, shopping, planning outings, etc.
• Procrastinating on my round robin for quilt guild. I had to finish that by Nov 29 before doing more scrub caps.
• Trip to North Carolina for my patent recognition.
• Now, a bad cold.

Ergh. I am not happy about the cold. I was fighting it valiantly but looks like I lost out in the end. Perhaps the stress and dryness of air travel did me in.

The trip to NC was awesome and did it ever make me miss the south. It is so green there in the fall and winter compared to here in Kansas! I got to see several friends, including my former coworkers at "Terrific Company" (my pseudonym for this company, from a previous series of posts). That was OK - the experience with those coworkers through the turmoil that eventually led me out of computing was deeply emotional at the time. Now, I am far enough away from it that I can regard it more objectively.

I am glad I didn't do anything impulsive or rash at the time. I had the opportunity. I chose not to use it.

Also, I saw a friend from nursing school. I saw a friend and former roommate from computer science graduate school. I met with my former quilting bee from Terrific Company once a week at lunch hour. (I showed them this blog. Hello ladies!! if you are reading...) I even had a little time to shop at a quilt shop.

Now, the open house is two days away. I had a detailed and busy plan for all the preparatory work today - but I'm quite tired and congested. I think I'll be well enough for Saturday, if I take good care today.

That's a big "if." There's much to do today.

Perhaps I'll start with a nap...

One week of Entrepreneurship

One week of being an online entrepreneur and artist has not yielded any sales. Still, I am not surprised, or even disappointed really. However, I need to keep moving forward. I got rather stuck this week with other responsibilities.

Generally, it was a good week at work and at home.

On Monday, I went to see a lecture by Alex Anderson, the TV quilting personality. This event was sponsored by our local Bernina dealership. She used to host a show on HGTV called Simply Quilts back in the 90s and early 00's. I enjoyed the show, but during her lecture, I got the impression that she and HGTV did not part ways on the best of terms. She was not derogatory about it...it sounds like it was unfortunate for her and the network.

She is now doing an online show called The Quilt Show with Ricky Tims. I am not a subscriber but I will check it out; from how she described it, it did indeed sound like a fun website. Alex and Ricky have a new magazine coming out called Quilt Life, and at the lecture, she had discount subscription cards. As if I need another magazine....however, the offer is a good price, and I like her style. Why not?

The lecture made me want to have a Bernina sewing machine - I currently own a Pfaff and I am well pleased with it. Yes, it has some quirks - most machines do. Bernina is something like a cult, and they are considered the best machine for quilters, embroiders, and high end sewers. People who own one fall under its spell. In my opinion when you get into those high-end machine brands (Bernina, Pfaff, Elna, Husqvarna-Viking), they are quite similar and it becomes a matter of personal taste. Berninas are not the least expensive machines in this list, either. If I am considering taking it to the next level with home embroidery, then I will look at Bernina again.

Well, off to the sewing room to finish a few tasks!!

The shop is open

If the pictures weren't so silly, I'd post the URL of my shop here. However, you probably could find it if you searched Etsy. I posted 5 items. Very cool.

No sales yet, but I didn't expect any yet. I wonder if anything will sell? I've had a few views of my items which is a good start. Maybe some of them are people I don't even know.

I'm in the big time now.

Curiously, all I want to do is sew, still. I'm addicted! Joy!

Happy Birthday to me

Happy Birthday to me,

Happy Birthday dear me-eee...

Happy Birthday to me.

I am 44.

No longer in my early forties, I guess.

Happy Anniversary, Thoughtful Quilter

Today, my blog is 2 years old. This is my 148th post.

It has been good therapy, as I continue to write. I have something like 3 to 10 posts a month, usually around 5 or 6. To my knowledge I don't have any followers except for a relative and maybe a few friends that read my posts from time to time. Occasionally someone finds a post via searching, when they look for something that I happen to have written about.

Over the 2 years, my posts have evolved. I used to write a lot about my job, but not so much any more. After three years, I am comfortable in my job, less mental anguish over the things that happen day to day.

Things still happen that disturb me, in fact something happened yesterday that has me in a funk today. I don't think I want to write about it - it was all just miserable, and I felt so inadequate. Suffice to say, my job still kicks my ass from time to time.

Now I write about quilting, my sewing endeavors, social situations, etc. I also like to write about memories from time to time (like October 31 post 2009). It's a good exercise.

Nevertheless, it is my anniversary. Yay for me.