Another year has gone past.  It has been a very good year for me personally and I am once again really enjoying life to the fullest.  I have been very active in my local guild the Cabarrus Quilters Guild, working on chairing the 2010 splash of color quilt show and also was and am the program director (this year I have a co-chair, Candy M).  I have met so many wonderful people and have just had a great time getting out in the world.  I plan on doing these things again this year. 

I have made a few changes on my website and will try to update my pattern section soon, as I keep buying such beautiful patterns and can't wait to stitch them out.  I have raised my prices just a bit again this year but not much in the edge to edge quilting.  The price range is from .0145 to .0185 Cents a SI and maybe a few select patterns that will be just a bit higher.  That is not much different than last year.  Custom quilting I have raised a good deal,  Every time I do a custom quilt I find I always put much more time into the quilt than what I have charged for,  and I just never seem to have any time to do my own custom quilting so once again I have found myself needing to make a hard choice.  I love custom quilting but I must limit this so I can do some of my own work. 

I will continue to offer edge to edge quilting always and for those of you who mostly get the edge to edge quilting but now suddenly you have a quilt that you really want to have custom quilted I will be glad to do it for you.  Just remember it will most likely take longer and it will cost a bit more than in the past.

Cotton Batting cost has gone up, this one is just out of my control.  You will find that the cost of all cotton will be increasing as of the mid to end of Jan.  I received notice from Warm and Natural that India is no longer exporting and China can not keep up with the Demand so they are forced to raise their price.  This has also brought me to the conclusion that I just can not keep all types of batting in stock,  Warm and Natural is the most commonly used batting and I will have that stocked at all times.  I go through about 40 yards or more a month.

Thanks for all your understanding and I look forward to continuing to quilt for you.

Rebecca

Finally I have had time to really concentrate on the custom work, scheduling the custom quilts a bit further out allow me the time to really work on that quilt.  I am enjoying the quilt on the frame now doing a Karen McTavish border of scrolls and tiny circles in the framing border.  I have always loved doing the custom quilts as long as I am not in a rush to get them done.

I think the thunder has stopped to time to get back to it.

Well it has been 7 years since I have done any price adjustments and as much as I hate to do this I must.  Now I know the economy still is not great so I have really tried to work on a structure that will be very flexible.  You will find several patterns still in the old price range, most of the patterns you are used to are just a tad bit higher and then your going to see lots of new stuff that will be just a smidgen higher than that but they will be worth it , I promise. 

I think I have done very well to keep prices down but honestly after meeting with many other Long Arm Quilters from the Piedmont area I was forced to look at this area of my business.  With this being the first of the year it was a good time for me to really take a look at what I am paying for batting, threads etc..  so yes, there are some slight increases here as well but as we know all things go up looking at my last few orders I see that my prices have gone up so I must adjust.

I am working hard on getting all the patterns listed so keep checking with the website and as always I will help you price your quilts out.

Well lets hope it will be another 7 years before I will have to adjust them again,

Thanks and I look forward to quilting for you in the future.

Rebecca

Often I get the question of what type of Batting do I like the best.  Here are some thoughts on the subject:

The batting I like most is Warm and Natural or Dream Cotton Deluxe.  Warm and Natural holds up very well to quilting of any type.  Dream Cotton Deluxe is a heavy batting and holds up great for dense type quilting that is often done in custom quilting for show.  Another great show quilting batting is Wool such as Hobbs Wool, since you are likely to be shipping the quilt, Wool batting does not have a memory so when the quilt is hung you will not have fold creases.  I have also found this to be true with the new Fairfield Bamboo Batting, a bit pricey but it quilts great and hangs very nice.

Dream cotton Select is a little bit lighter weight than that of the Deluxe and also works well. 

For every day type of quilting I would go with the Warm and Natural batting.  It just works well and you won't break the bank.

Children's quilts should always have cotton batting - Babies can not remove their own covers and Polyester batting could cause the baby to become too Hot.  Also the fire factor you should consider always using the natural fiber of Cotton.

As for Poly batting I like the Hobbs Poly Down batting, it has a softness of the Down and will give a little poof to the quilting.  You should choose a looser quilting so not to quilt all the batting down to nothing.  I personally do not care for Poly batting but many people do - you may want to consider an 80/20 that will still give the poof factor but is mostly a natural fiber of cotton.

Cotton and Bamboo are both GREEN and good for the environment and since we are all much more aware of this these days that is a good thing.  Also because they are natural fibers I think that they are much more comfortable to sleep under and snuggle up with.

If you have any ideas you would like to share on the subject please feel free to email me at thequiltersstation@yahoo.com

Bring a discount coupon from any store for Warm and Natural batting and I will honor the discount up to 50% off the regular price.

I am working on a newsletter to hopefully send out soon but in the meantime I plan on using the Blog to keep everyone updated so you can check here once in awhile.

I am going to be posting some info on batting, backing and many other answers to frequently asked questions.

Busy packing for a weekend in the TN Mountains.  My Step Sister invited us up for a few days to bring the kids.  Now that they are OUT OF SCHOOL it is time to enjoy the Summer vacation.  Well the kids will be in Camp all summer but this will be a nice weekend.

Other than that I am joining the new era of Technology, I know its about time.  I now have and Ipod and just love it so don't forget to leave a message if I don't answer the phone because sometimes I am plugged in and rocking out while quilting and just don't hear the phone ring.  Also if the Quilting machine is in high gear I don't hear a thing, thus the need for an Ipod now at least I can plug my earphones in and have some entertainment while working. 

I just finished a wonderful sassy chicken quilt for a customer and I  will be posting photo's of it soon so check back often.

I am testing out Twitter so you can find me on there as Rockingmawmaw - this is all new to me so we will see how it goes.

The Month of May was very busy with lots of gardening and lawn work.  Wanting to take advantage of the nice weather, Mom and I put in a full vege garden at the kids house.  (Yes, I still did some quilting).   We celebrated my Grandsons 6th Birthday with a weekend at Great Wolf Lodge and did they ever have fun.

Now it is June already and it sure is HOT.  So time to stay inside and quilt.  I made a trip to our great local quilt shop Bernina Sew Much Fun, at Concord Mills to pick up a Stencil.  Need I tell you that I left with a bag of fabric and Susan Edmondson's Latest pattern Not in My Martini - Thanks to Kay for bringing her quilt in for quilting I loved it so much I just had to get the pattern.  Anyway,  I did not find the Stencil but it was a great trip.

Lots of quilting this week then we are off for a short weekend in the Mountains with the kids.  Just us Ladies and Kids, sound like Fun!  So we are starting to enjoy life again and it feels good.   

I should have a few quilt photos to share as soon as I find the time to take them.  Keep the quilts coming this summer it is much tooo Hot to be outside.

Happy Quilting

Rebecca

I set out to make a new quilt for my bed and I got side tracked.  Looking in my closet of fabric was sooooo overwhelming.  What was I thinking buying all that Fabric.  One large shelf is dedicated to Fat Quarters!  I keep buying and it must stop ( Sorry quilt stores).  One of the things that I love about quilting like I do is that I get so many wonderful patterns that come my way and I don't even have to leave my house to see them.

Putting these two concepts together I have begun to actually use my STASH!  What a concept.... 

I have found that if I keep some quilts cut out that I do have time to work on them a little at a time in between quilting.  Sometimes when I am waited on a customer coming for an appointment that I might have 15 minutes or so to do some sewing.  In the past 2 months I have completed 7 quilts (Not Quilted) and have used 72 Fat Quarters.

Yesterday I ran into some down time on the machine so I pulled more Fat Quarters and planned 9 more quilts.  Just simple quilts like the Turning Twenty (uses 20 FAT Quarters and I am liking that), Turning Twenty again, Turning Twenty around the Block, and the last one More Turning Twenty.  Get the picture!  Also Sassy Sixteen that my customer Jackie just turned my on to, uses 16 Fat Quarters.  Any Thing gos from the book Take Two uses 12 Fat Quarters.  Now in this process I found that some of my FQ's where not really FQ's but Long FQ's.  The pattern Strip Cocktail comes to the rescue so I cut them all up into 2 1/2 inch strips.  Now my FQ Shelf is Half Empty, I am having a good time and not spending any money on fabric.  These patterns are wonderful to show off some Edge to Edge quilting so I will have lots for Show and Tell at Guild.  I am not sure what I will do with the quilts after that, You may see some of them for sell on my Etsy site - Quilts for Sell and some of them I will use as donation quilts.

I hope that I have inspired you to start sewing up some of your stash and please share some good patterns and/or books that perhaps you have used.  

They make good practice pieces if you want to learn to do some home quilting or they are not very expense to have quilted for you and make great gifts.  This is also a good way to teach small children to sew.  My Grandchildren love to use the sewing machine and ask ever time they are here if they can sew.  Now I will have something they can work on.

Have fun sewing,
Rebecca

You may have noticed that I have removed the sections of T-Shirt Quilts and Memory Quilts from my website.  As many of you already know My Son Jason was killed in a motor cycle accident on August 17, 2008.  Since that time I have struggled with many things, One of them is how to communicate some changes in my life to my many loyal customers and to those new customers who email with request.  So after many months I have chosen to create this blog.  I hope that you will check back often and feel free to post your self. 

I have decided at least for now that I do not have the desire to make T-shirt quilts or Memory quilts.  My Grandchildren want memory quilts from Daddy's clothes so those will be the last ones that I will make.  At least this is how I feel for now and as life this could change again some day.  I know that these quilts bring great comfort, they are however hard to work on emotionally.

I will try to post some instruction very soon, on how to make the quilt yourself and as always would be happy to do the quilting for you.

I would like to Thank all of you that have continued to bring your quilts to me for quilting and for all of your patience with me in these past 8 months.  I would also like to Thank all of my many new customers that showed so much patience and understanding. 

I sincerely hope that you will all continue to send your quilts my way for quilting as it is truly what helps me to keep my sanity,  I love the quilting and keeping busy helps get though each day.   I do also try to make more time for doing fun family things, knowing just how important that really is, so if you call and get the answering machine please make sure you leave a message and I will call you back as soon as I am able.  If you call and do not get the machine this just means that I am on the phone with an important call and can not answer at the moment so please call back or email me at thequiltersstation@yahoo.com

Many people will ask how I am doing and/or how the Children are doing.  Life has changed drastically for all of us but I think that we are all finding our new normal.  In December we purchased a new house for the Children and their Mother that is in a nearby neighborhood and is only 4 Min's from me.  Just far enough to give us each our privacy and close enough to see each other often.  This process really helped us to get though the Holiday without Jason and would have been what he wanted for the children.   The Kids are still in counseling and doing very well.  They love to talk about Daddy and we all still feel that he is very much with us and a part of our lives every day.  Jason's Father is also living with the Kids and Mother, some may find this odd but it rounds out the family unit and the Kids love having Grandpa around and I know that he loves being there for them every day.  They are all working on a Garden and looking forward to having a crop of veges soon.  So all in all we are getting through the process and doing pretty good taking one day at a time.

Back to the Blog.  One of the things that I enjoy is sharing information on quilting that I come across from time to time so I hope that you will check back often and see what is happening and feel free to post and share some quilting techniques with us.

Thanks for Reading.
Rebecca