Friday, December 28, 2018
Craftsy, Etsy or Shopify?
9:37 PM
You've probably heard by now that Craftsy dropped a shock on designers pretty much right before Christmas (nice, right?), with an email stating that many shops would be closed, and some would be allowed to remain but with no guarantee that all of your patterns would remain.
I was lucky enough to be one of the ones who would be staying, so I decided to wait and see how the dust settled before making any rash decisions about whether or not to close my Craftsy shop altogether. Most of my online sales come from Craftsy, and over the last couple of years my sales had increased significantly. I figured that if they removed any of my patterns, it would be the ones that hadn't ever sold many in the first place.
So imagine my shock this a.m. when I wake up to find to an email from Jen who tested my One Giant Stitch pattern for me, saying she posted a pic in a FB group and had lots of inquiries about the pattern, but it's not in my Craftsy shop. ??? So I go to my Craftsy site to check it out and.....
Three. Three patterns remain. And not even my most popular. I mean, these three may have been downloaded the most, but by no means has Fidget Spinner sold the most. It's all so crazy. Three. Out of like 40! They removed all but three. π
Luckily, after getting the initial email a couple of days before Christmas, I quickly (but still it took two or three days to get done) loaded all of my patterns into my Etsy shop, and tried to get it up to speed. I had badly neglected it for the last few years, b/c I had so many more sales via Craftsy.
So all my patterns were there in my Etsy shop this a.m., but all of my links, everywhere, still pointed to Craftsy. So this morning for 2+ hours, I changed ALL. the. links. UGH. The links on my pattern page used to link up to my Craftsy shop for each pattern, so now they finally all link to their page on Etsy.
If you ever notice that a link or website isn't working, please let me know. What a headache! I think I got it all lined up though. I can't believe they (Craftsy) just decided to drop it all on everyone with no warning AT CHRISTMAS. *sigh*
I've had some tell me I should look into shopify. Do any of you have experience with that? Do you like it? I just haven't had time to research it out yet.
Oh! And I got a message today, also, asking if I could check my site for malware..that her antivirus program wouldn't let her in. But in asking around, others can view just fine. Are any of you knowledgeable about this? Is there a way I can check into why some people aren't getting on, but others are? I can't tell that I have anything wrong with my site here. Help! So many computer-y things going on at the end of the year! No fun!! Any advice would be appreciated if you know how I can fix whatever reason that some aren't getting on.
Thanks for popping in! I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and will have a wonderful New Year! I'll just be over here trying to figure out technical issues! π£ Come find me on Etsy in 2019. Boo Craftsy. π
In fun news, b/c fun news is the best, stay tuned for the Intro post to the Harry Potter Sew Along, on January 15th. Bundles will be available soon from Fat Quarter Shop!! I'll link to it when it's available. I'm so excited to get started. I've got my work cut out for me. Actually it's not cut out yet at all, but if you'd like to cut it out for me, I'll give you my address and even bake you some cookies! π
Happy Pre-New Year's Weekend! Thanks for dropping by in these last few days of 2018!
xoxoxo
Labels:2018,31-day challenge,blog stuff,craftsy,etsy | 19
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Wednesday, December 26, 2018
2018's a Wrap!
4:46 PM
Happy Boxing Day! I thought I'd do a wrap-up post of 2018, and at the same time join in Meadow Mist's fun "Best of 2018" linky party and highlight my five favorite finishes of 2018 so here goes.. It's been a crazy year! First place was a tie. Technically, this was finished before 2018, but spent the first couple of months of 2018 on the cover of McCall's Quick Quilts, a huge first for me! I called it Blues Traveler. It's become our favorite couch quilt to snuggle up with! I don't think I ever blogged about it!
Tied for first, happened in February and was my Sew Big or Go Home quilt and pattern for the Riley Blake QuiltCon booth. It was a challenge all the way around. I recently blogged about the process here.
My second favorite finish came in the summer and was made as part of a book launch celebration for Kelly's (My Quilt Infatuation) book, Stash Statement. I decided to shrink the pattern and make the quilt for a sweet little fighter who kicked childhood leukemia to the curb over the last three years. I wrote about it here.
It's finished and bound, and is just awaiting the label so my girlfriend can take it and gift it the next time she visits.π
My third favorite finish was my little "love" cursive door quilt. It became the first in a series that now includes "luck", "boo", and "eek". And will soon include "noel", and "brr" (brr being a fabulous suggestion from one of YOU!) I had intended to get "noel" done and the pattern in my Craftsy shop with my others, but then that announcement came from Craftsy, and I decided not to load any more patterns there until I know how the dust is going to settle. I think they actually disabled loading new patterns in temporarily, anyway, so I couldn't if I wanted to. (but I updated my ETSY shop!) Plus my parents came to visit for two weeks over Christmas so family time took priority and "noel" will be finished and coming soon, ready for my front door by next Christmas! I posted about "love" here.
My fourth favorite finish has to be One Giant Stitch, the space quilt I did for the Riley Blake fall market booth. It was just so much fun to design and stitch up. And getting to *meet* new friends that actually worked on the shuttle program was amazing! I wrote about it all here.
My fifth favorite finish is not a finished quilt, YET, but a finished design. This is my Harry Potter quilt design, which will be a sew along starting in the new year! All of the info is on the sew along page, accessible from the sewalong tab at the top of the page. I have my stitching cut out for me in 2019! But I wouldn't have it any other way!
Thanks for all of the pattern-π this year! You kept me hopping all year long filling orders, so much that I am still woefully behind on my PokΓ©mon blocks! I have four left to finish my quilt. I fell behind on my own 2017-2018 sewalong. haha! It will be all up to speed π€π€ by the time mid-January rolls around and the Harry Potter intro post goes live.
Lots of fun things are on the horizon for 2019, and I hope you'll stick around to share and/or participate!
Wishing you all the best in 2019!!
Happy Stitching!
xoxo
Tied for first, happened in February and was my Sew Big or Go Home quilt and pattern for the Riley Blake QuiltCon booth. It was a challenge all the way around. I recently blogged about the process here.
My second favorite finish came in the summer and was made as part of a book launch celebration for Kelly's (My Quilt Infatuation) book, Stash Statement. I decided to shrink the pattern and make the quilt for a sweet little fighter who kicked childhood leukemia to the curb over the last three years. I wrote about it here.
It's finished and bound, and is just awaiting the label so my girlfriend can take it and gift it the next time she visits.π
My third favorite finish was my little "love" cursive door quilt. It became the first in a series that now includes "luck", "boo", and "eek". And will soon include "noel", and "brr" (brr being a fabulous suggestion from one of YOU!) I had intended to get "noel" done and the pattern in my Craftsy shop with my others, but then that announcement came from Craftsy, and I decided not to load any more patterns there until I know how the dust is going to settle. I think they actually disabled loading new patterns in temporarily, anyway, so I couldn't if I wanted to. (but I updated my ETSY shop!) Plus my parents came to visit for two weeks over Christmas so family time took priority and "noel" will be finished and coming soon, ready for my front door by next Christmas! I posted about "love" here.
My fourth favorite finish has to be One Giant Stitch, the space quilt I did for the Riley Blake fall market booth. It was just so much fun to design and stitch up. And getting to *meet* new friends that actually worked on the shuttle program was amazing! I wrote about it all here.
My fifth favorite finish is not a finished quilt, YET, but a finished design. This is my Harry Potter quilt design, which will be a sew along starting in the new year! All of the info is on the sew along page, accessible from the sewalong tab at the top of the page. I have my stitching cut out for me in 2019! But I wouldn't have it any other way!
Thanks for all of the pattern-π this year! You kept me hopping all year long filling orders, so much that I am still woefully behind on my PokΓ©mon blocks! I have four left to finish my quilt. I fell behind on my own 2017-2018 sewalong. haha! It will be all up to speed π€π€ by the time mid-January rolls around and the Harry Potter intro post goes live.
Lots of fun things are on the horizon for 2019, and I hope you'll stick around to share and/or participate!
Wishing you all the best in 2019!!
Happy Stitching!
xoxo
Sunday, December 23, 2018
Ryno the Rhino
7:11 PM
I shared the first memory bear I made, so today I thought I'd share the second memory bear stuffie that I made using a shirt from my late MIL, for my nephew and his wife's baby boy. Meet Ryno the Rhino..
My nephew is named Ryan, and my MIL, his nana, used to call him Ryno, and get him all kinds of Rhino gifts for birthdays & Christmases. So when he & his wife found out they were having a baby boy, I thought it'd be perfect if I could somehow make a memory rhino instead of a memory bear.
I must have searched for weeks, trying to find a rhino pattern that I thought I could make, plus that would look good in the shirt I had decided to use for it. There are so many patterns, of all shapes and sizes. Some were the limp and bean-baggy type, suitable for fleece-type fabric. Some were round and butter-ballish shaped. But the one I decided on had a more realistic shape, or at least it seemed like it to me. It's from berylclairesark on etsy.
The thing was, it seemed to be made out of felt. With some structure. And I was using a cotton chambray shirt of my MIL's, with a small ticking stripe on it. But I decided to give it a go.
I'm not a champion hand stitcher or stuffed animal maker. So don't look too close. Some of the hand stitching gave me fits. Like stitching the pads of the feet by hand AFTER the legs were stuffed. Or stitching the stuffed horn onto the stuffed head. But the eye and forehead wrinkles, those were so much fun!!
He wasn't perfect, but I was still pleased with how he turned out! He turned out so cute! And by some act of pure luck, look at his little bootie and the bit of matching stripes! How did that even happen! What are the odds..
(I used some little strips of the red stripe and red ric rac for the tuft of hair at the end of his tail.) I mean, forget that he is completely bow-legged and has some sort of hip problem and doesn't stand straight up like the one on the pattern cover. Let's overlook that. haha! He's so cute! I should really stick to 2D stitching though. π
π¦ππ¦ππ¦ππ¦
I thought his face needed some wrinkly rhino character so using just a needle and thread, I gathered up some wrinkles and gave him some expression.
His red foot pads and horns were from the inside of the collar and cuffs of the shirt, the blue stripe was the main shirt fabric. I tied a red polka dot bow around his neck since my MIL's favorite color was red (like mine) and she was a polka dot fan (like me). I think my MIL would like knowing that a little piece of her is with her great grandsons that she never got to meet in person.
Thanks for stopping by! If you make a memory rhino, I'd love to see it. Or any kind of stuffed rhino.
Happy Sunday!
xoxo
My nephew is named Ryan, and my MIL, his nana, used to call him Ryno, and get him all kinds of Rhino gifts for birthdays & Christmases. So when he & his wife found out they were having a baby boy, I thought it'd be perfect if I could somehow make a memory rhino instead of a memory bear.
I must have searched for weeks, trying to find a rhino pattern that I thought I could make, plus that would look good in the shirt I had decided to use for it. There are so many patterns, of all shapes and sizes. Some were the limp and bean-baggy type, suitable for fleece-type fabric. Some were round and butter-ballish shaped. But the one I decided on had a more realistic shape, or at least it seemed like it to me. It's from berylclairesark on etsy.
The thing was, it seemed to be made out of felt. With some structure. And I was using a cotton chambray shirt of my MIL's, with a small ticking stripe on it. But I decided to give it a go.
I'm not a champion hand stitcher or stuffed animal maker. So don't look too close. Some of the hand stitching gave me fits. Like stitching the pads of the feet by hand AFTER the legs were stuffed. Or stitching the stuffed horn onto the stuffed head. But the eye and forehead wrinkles, those were so much fun!!
He wasn't perfect, but I was still pleased with how he turned out! He turned out so cute! And by some act of pure luck, look at his little bootie and the bit of matching stripes! How did that even happen! What are the odds..
(I used some little strips of the red stripe and red ric rac for the tuft of hair at the end of his tail.) I mean, forget that he is completely bow-legged and has some sort of hip problem and doesn't stand straight up like the one on the pattern cover. Let's overlook that. haha! He's so cute! I should really stick to 2D stitching though. π
π¦ππ¦ππ¦ππ¦
I thought his face needed some wrinkly rhino character so using just a needle and thread, I gathered up some wrinkles and gave him some expression.
His red foot pads and horns were from the inside of the collar and cuffs of the shirt, the blue stripe was the main shirt fabric. I tied a red polka dot bow around his neck since my MIL's favorite color was red (like mine) and she was a polka dot fan (like me). I think my MIL would like knowing that a little piece of her is with her great grandsons that she never got to meet in person.
Thanks for stopping by! If you make a memory rhino, I'd love to see it. Or any kind of stuffed rhino.
Happy Sunday!
xoxo
Saturday, December 15, 2018
A Tattoo'd Gnome?!
5:16 PM
Have you ever seen a tattoo'd gnome? Me, either! But when Amanda (@weirdalice81) messaged me about testing my Gnomenclature pattern and mentioned how she was dying to make rebel gnomes, I was sold! Meet the most rebellious gnome of all:
And his friends..
So creative!
The backstory to the above group of gnomes is that a few months ago, I did a pattern for an upcoming Riley Blake fabric line called Gnome & Gardens by Shawn Wallace. (coming out in Feb. 2019!) The prints are so cute!
I decided to call it "Gnomenclature". Meet the more buttoned-up Gnomes of "Gnomenclature". A small and mischievous group of gardeners, equipped with every tool they might need to harvest their dinner.⛏ I think the rake, or possibly the hoe, is my favorite.
But check out some of the creative ways that my pattern testers made their blocks--
I love the batik leaves in the background and the little curls in the beard made by Joanne (@turtlequilterjo).
This one's beard looks like it has dreadlocks, made by Jeri (@flannelladybug).
And the print in the gray beard, made by Nicole (@ohionicolequilts).
They're super cute in all kinds of fabrics! And the dotty mushrooms! Polka dots are my fav!
Sweet lightning bolt mushrooms..
And here's the finished quilt top from Jeri. So cute! I love her fabrics, too. I've never met a fabric I didn't like. haha #fabricaddict
All the tools and the handles are interchangeable, and the smaller mushrooms can be interchanged so you can change up the blocks to your liking.
I still can't get over that tattoo'd gnome, though. He's so original! π
That's the story of these little mushroom-gardening gnomes. Happy Saturday! I hope you're having a good weekend!
xoxo
P.S. Mark your calendars! Sew Fresh Quilts & I are doing a joint HP sew along. More info coming in January!
And his friends..
So creative!
The backstory to the above group of gnomes is that a few months ago, I did a pattern for an upcoming Riley Blake fabric line called Gnome & Gardens by Shawn Wallace. (coming out in Feb. 2019!) The prints are so cute!
I decided to call it "Gnomenclature". Meet the more buttoned-up Gnomes of "Gnomenclature". A small and mischievous group of gardeners, equipped with every tool they might need to harvest their dinner.⛏ I think the rake, or possibly the hoe, is my favorite.
But check out some of the creative ways that my pattern testers made their blocks--
I love the batik leaves in the background and the little curls in the beard made by Joanne (@turtlequilterjo).
This one's beard looks like it has dreadlocks, made by Jeri (@flannelladybug).
And the print in the gray beard, made by Nicole (@ohionicolequilts).
They're super cute in all kinds of fabrics! And the dotty mushrooms! Polka dots are my fav!
Sweet lightning bolt mushrooms..
And here's the finished quilt top from Jeri. So cute! I love her fabrics, too. I've never met a fabric I didn't like. haha #fabricaddict
All the tools and the handles are interchangeable, and the smaller mushrooms can be interchanged so you can change up the blocks to your liking.
I still can't get over that tattoo'd gnome, though. He's so original! π
That's the story of these little mushroom-gardening gnomes. Happy Saturday! I hope you're having a good weekend!
xoxo
P.S. Mark your calendars! Sew Fresh Quilts & I are doing a joint HP sew along. More info coming in January!
Friday, December 14, 2018
Harry Potter & a blog blunder
12:00 AM
(Linda.. For the One Giant Stitch quilt, I used Crayola Kaleidoscope basics for the solid colors.)
Huge apologies if you follow my blog by email and got a couple of accidental posts delivered to your inbox last night. More on that in a minute. But first, HARRY POTTER! Stay tuned in 2019 for the next free sew along. (I will finish my PokΓ©mon blocks by then! ha!)
I had been planning it for sometime next year, when I saw that Lorna at Sew Fresh Quilts was planning one, too. So, we decided to do them at the same time! That way people can mix and match blocks if they want! So stay tuned for more info! These guys were super fun to draw up. Several of them I did on my own, but the characters are adapted from pixelated images and tweaked to fit.
I was torn between the dark lavender/light purple background, or a burgundy background, but the burgundy, even the lighter shades seemed to drown out the browns in the quilt a bit. So, I think I'm going with this lighter purple shade for the background, but you can pick any color you want, of course! Who knows, I might end up changing my mind about the background shade again before the sew along starts to an even lighter shade of purple or lighter burgundy.. I keep changing my mind! hmmm.
So stay tuned & make plans to sew along! I'm still working out some details like fabric reqs etc. so more info to come in January!
Now onto my blunder. *hangs head in shame* haha! I hadn't looked at my bloglovin profile settings in ages. Until last night, that is, when I realized that not only was the profile picture from nine yrs. ago, but I had also changed from the blogspot URL to a shorter, more user-friendly one. So that made me wonder if I need to "CLAIM MY BLOG" for the new URL, too. Remember claiming your blog when we all first signed up for bloglovin? I wasn't sure if I needed to, even though the old URL redirects to the new one. So I decided I should try for good measure. I followed the directions and pasted the code it gave me into a new post and hit publish just like it said, and it didn't work. It kept telling me to try again. So I kept trying again.
Then, I realized.. oh NO! If any of you have subscribed to my blog through email, you probably got an email every single time I hit publish. ??? So if you got any weird emails that said something about follow with bloglovin, or paste code, or start writing here, or something, you have my HUGEST apologies. I'm a dork. haha! π³π¬
Oh! Also, I love to read your comments and try to respond to all of them, but if you have commented and/or asked a question, and I haven't responded, I promise I'm not ignoring you! Some of you come back as "no reply bloggers" with no email address enabled, so when I respond, it bounces back to me. If I can't respond to a question via email, I'll try to post the answer at the top of the next post.
Thanks for stopping by! I hope you have a great weekend!
xoxo
Huge apologies if you follow my blog by email and got a couple of accidental posts delivered to your inbox last night. More on that in a minute. But first, HARRY POTTER! Stay tuned in 2019 for the next free sew along. (I will finish my PokΓ©mon blocks by then! ha!)
I had been planning it for sometime next year, when I saw that Lorna at Sew Fresh Quilts was planning one, too. So, we decided to do them at the same time! That way people can mix and match blocks if they want! So stay tuned for more info! These guys were super fun to draw up. Several of them I did on my own, but the characters are adapted from pixelated images and tweaked to fit.
I was torn between the dark lavender/light purple background, or a burgundy background, but the burgundy, even the lighter shades seemed to drown out the browns in the quilt a bit. So, I think I'm going with this lighter purple shade for the background, but you can pick any color you want, of course! Who knows, I might end up changing my mind about the background shade again before the sew along starts to an even lighter shade of purple or lighter burgundy.. I keep changing my mind! hmmm.
So stay tuned & make plans to sew along! I'm still working out some details like fabric reqs etc. so more info to come in January!
Now onto my blunder. *hangs head in shame* haha! I hadn't looked at my bloglovin profile settings in ages. Until last night, that is, when I realized that not only was the profile picture from nine yrs. ago, but I had also changed from the blogspot URL to a shorter, more user-friendly one. So that made me wonder if I need to "CLAIM MY BLOG" for the new URL, too. Remember claiming your blog when we all first signed up for bloglovin? I wasn't sure if I needed to, even though the old URL redirects to the new one. So I decided I should try for good measure. I followed the directions and pasted the code it gave me into a new post and hit publish just like it said, and it didn't work. It kept telling me to try again. So I kept trying again.
Then, I realized.. oh NO! If any of you have subscribed to my blog through email, you probably got an email every single time I hit publish. ??? So if you got any weird emails that said something about follow with bloglovin, or paste code, or start writing here, or something, you have my HUGEST apologies. I'm a dork. haha! π³π¬
Oh! Also, I love to read your comments and try to respond to all of them, but if you have commented and/or asked a question, and I haven't responded, I promise I'm not ignoring you! Some of you come back as "no reply bloggers" with no email address enabled, so when I respond, it bounces back to me. If I can't respond to a question via email, I'll try to post the answer at the top of the next post.
Thanks for stopping by! I hope you have a great weekend!
xoxo
Wednesday, December 12, 2018
Fidget Spinner Quilt
5:20 PM
Hi! π
I have another new quilt to share today! Well, new to my blog, anyway. It's been around for a bit, but I haven't shared it here. When trying to name this one, the shape reminded me of a fidget spinner. π
Actually, my first thought was "tilt-a-whirl" but that name seemed to have been used a lot already. After looking at it a bit more, I realized it looked like a fidget spinner. We had a couple of those around our house, as my son had gone through a fidget spinner phase. Are those still a thing? They were all the rage three or so years ago. And this quilt really seems to be spinning, so that became the name!
It's a one block quilt that is super easy to stitch up! There are even different bonus looks!
The "blocked" look:
And the "patchwork" look:
It finishes at 80x80" but can be easily adjusted by adding or subtracting blocks! And it can be fat quarter friendly!
@islandtimequilting on Instagram made a small patchwork version!
She also made a full size quilt, the first one that I had seen "in the wild". ha! I love the colors!
And just today, I spotted this one, made by @claudiacrump on Instagram! I love the black background and bright colors!
Here are some other colors that I have mocked it up in for Timeless Treasures:
I love the swirly movement and versatility. This pattern is in my Craftsy shop just waiting to be taken out for a 'whirl'. π ha! This one hasn't gotten as much attention as some of my other novelty type patterns, but I'm still really proud of it. It's a good stash buster, and I like geometric designs, especially "spinny" ones. haha!
Hey! It's wear-a-smile Wednesday again! I hope you're wearing a smile today and having a good week. Thanks for reading along!
xoxo
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