Another one of my baby quilts has been featured in another treasury on Etsy!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c51e22e18676d918745fa23/new-hampshire?index=0

Lately, though, I have had a few different things to motivate me to get myself back in gear, update my blog, update my Etsy shop, and start sewing again. The first one was the fact that one of my baby quilts was recently featured in a treasury on Etsy. This was really out of the blue. I had kind of given up on my Etsy shop for a while, out of just getting bored with nothing ever selling, so I didn’t think anyone ever even visited my shop any more. So, not only having someone visit my site, and say they liked my quilt enough to feature it in their treasury, really got me to thinking that maybe people are still visiting my shop, so maybe I should start making more things to sell in it.

The second thing was the fact that one of my baby quilts that my step sister, Beckah, was selling in her store (Little Sweet Pea Boutique), sold. Finally. She’s had four of my baby quilts for sale in her store since like, April, I think. And one just finally sold the other night. So, that too has given me some motivation to get quilting again.

Another thing is that I really want and need to start saving some serious money, for a couple of different reasons. The first being that Corey and I are planning a cross country road trip for August or September, 2011. It’s going to require some serious cash flow and I really want to contribute to it, so we can make it happen. We’ve both always wanted to go on a road trip, cross country and Corey already has a map planned out with every place we want to stop to see and visit. I really, really want it to happen. It could be a lot of fun.

The other thing I need to save money for I can’t mention. It’s a secret. And I don’t want it ruined. ;P

So, in other news, it seems like the only time I ever update here is when I’m sick with Pneumonia. Last night I was reading the last posts I had made and they were all “I’m sick…” or “I’m still sick…” :/ And here I am again, sick. And on antibiotics, again. Christ! When does it ever end?

Tonight Corey and I went to JoAnn Fabric’s to pick me up some embroidering floss, so that I can finally finish some stuffed animals and cat toys that I had started months and months ago. I had run out of black floss then and just never got around to buying more, until today. While we were there I looked in their sale section and found a small rotary cutting machine for sale for $80. I showed it to Corey and all he did was ask “Will this help you?” and all I said was “Yeah, I think so!” and he bought it for me. This should help me cut my fabric. I am physically unable to use an actually rotary cutter, so I have to always either cut all my squares and strips by hand, with scissors or wait for someone else to have the time to cut it all for me. And that rarely ever happens, that’s why I haven’t made a quilt in such a long time. I have a ton of fabric (Corey thinks I have too much) too.

So, I’ll try that out tomorrow and I’m really hoping it works good and does what I need it to do. And if it does, I should be able to crank out a new quilt every few days. I shall let you know how it goes.

That’s all for now, I think. Please motivate me to keep updating more often! I need a lot of motivation or else I procrastinate and slack off! ;P

More another day…

<3 Love Jessica Always <3

In other news, one of my Aunts (Ants?) called me the other night to tell me about a surprise dinner/party she’s going to have at her house on the 21st of November to celebrate my Grandparent’s 60th wedding anniversary. So, that has me thinking of making something for them. I am thinking maybe a pillow, a small wall hanging, a table runner, or something along those lines. Maybe doing some hand embroidering of hearts and/or flowers. Maybe putting a saying on there like “60 years of love”, “Happily ever after”, “All you need is love”, “Forever and always” etc. You get the idea. Or do you? Do you have any ideas or suggestions? I always need help making decisions. LOL! I was looking online earlier today to get some ideas/inspiration/motivation. I want to be able to do all or at least most of it by hand, since I’m still sick and have been needing to be in my bedroom, hooked up to my ventilator/oxygen so much lately. (For those that don’t know, I usually only use my vent and oxygen to sleep and/or lay down. When not sick, I am able to breathe fine without them both throughout the day, but when sick, I need to use them more often.)

My “craft room” is in our spare bedroom and there is no way for me to be in there, while using the vent, to use the sewing machine. I unhooked from my vent for a little while earlier tonight and went in my craft room for a few minutes. I wanted  to look through all of my fabric to pick out the fabrics and materials I’m thinking of using. I’ve had this round pillow form for like two years now that I’ve been wanting to make a cover for, but just haven’t yet. I could use that if I do in fact decide to make them a pillow. I don’t know if I do want to make a round pillow though. I’m thinking more along the lines of a heart shaped pillow or a stuffed heart decoration to hang on the wall, from their fire place mantel, a door knob or something. My boyfriend will be gone all day tomorrow (as he is most Saturday’s) to go to his RC (Remote Control Car) races, so this is most likely what I’ll be working on all day, while I am home alone and have nothing else to do.

Oh! I made my 6th sale on Etsy the other day. A guy from Canada bought the queen sized quilt that my mother had made for me to sell. He bought it for his fiancee. I have to ship that out within the next week. I got the box ready for it earlier tonight. Sort of. I need my boyfriend to buy some packing tape sometime this weekend. I’ll most likely get it all packed up this weekend and then ask either my boyfriend to bring it to the post office for me on his lunch break on Monday or ask my “cleaning lady” to take it there for me when she comes on Monday. She’s a “Personal Care Person” or “Aid”. I don’t know what they are called officially. She comes once a week to help me with things that I can’t do, like run errands, do the laundry, clean the bathroom or vaccuum.

More good news. I had applied for a grant from the Harry Gregg Foundation back in August to get money to help me purchase a portable, electric wheelchair and I found out the other day that I was approved for the money! I contacted the company(1-800-wheelchairs) that I am ordering the wheelchair from and they are going to send me an invoice. I then have to send the invoice to the people at the Harry Gregg Foundation and they will send the payment to 1-800-wheelchairs. Shortly after that I will have my very own portable wheelchair! Then I will be able to go out and not have to be pushed around in a manual wheelchair anymore! I’ve been with my boyfriend for almost four years now and I think we have only been out shopping and/or to dinner and such a handful of times without him needing to push me around everywhere! I can’t wait to have my independence back!

I think that is all for now. I wasn’t planning to make such a long post tonight, but look at me rambling on and on!

More another day! Take care!

Love Jessica Always.

I got a message on Etsy just now saying I was included in a treasury on Etsy. I’ve never been in anyone’s treasury before. This makes me happy.

Check it out here:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=89229

There are some other really cute items included as well. I love that little bear that I made. He’s my favorite. He’s even cuter and fuzzier in person. That photo really doesn’t do him justice. I almost don’t want him to sell, just so I can keep him for myself, since he is one of a kind, made of just a little scrap piece of fabric that I was once given.

Anyways, I’m still sick and feeling like poo, but I just wanted to post about that, since it did make me feel a little bit better.

Hope everyone reading is healthy and warm!

My step sister, Ashley (www.fernanimals.etsy.com), had given me a bunch of baby fabrics last year and I fell in love them so much, I didn’t want to use them. Or waste them. So they’ve been sitting in my storage cabinet all this time. But since my quilts haven’t been selling, I didn’t want to use the fabrics on more quilts that won’t sell. I was thinking of other things to make and remembered the pattern for the bib.

Like I said, I started cutting the fabrics yesterday. And cut some more today. I was thinking of making them double sided, with a different fabric on each side, so it would be like having two bibs for the price of one. That way if the baby was to stain one side, you could just flip it around and use the other until it’s either worn out from washing, or stained too. I don’t have any children and don’t know anything about baby products but it seems like a good idea to me. At first I thought of using snaps for closure, but I don’t know how to apply those and was thinking ribbon would work better, so that it could be tied as tight or as loose as it needs to be. A snap and/or velcro would make it so it wouldn’t be adjustable at all. A coordinating ribbon will work, I think. I’ll try it and see and post photos of course along the way.

I also took new photos of my pot holders yesterday, on a little table by the window in my living room. Those will be to put them up for sale in my Etsy shop. I haven’t gotten around to uploading them onto my laptop yet though. I’ll do that sometime within the next few days. I have a doctors appointment tomorrow afternoon, so it most likely won’t be then. Probably Saturday, since I’ll be home alone all day while my boyfriend goes to his RC racing at the hobby store.

Well, I think that’s all I have to say for now. Just wanted to update everyone on what I’m working on right now. I got called “productive” by a fellow Etsy team member yesterday on Facebook. That made me laugh. I don’t feel productive very often. I think I’m lazy and wish I was way more motivated than I am!

Please leave me some comments  and  suggestions for the baby bibs or anything else you think I should make! Thanks!

More another day.

Love Jessica Always

I’ve been getting a good amount of visitors to both sites lately, so I just can’t understand why I’m not getting any sales or why more people aren’t leaving me comments on my blog. I’d really like some comments. I need the encouragement, motivation and inspiration. Having slow sales can really discourage a crafter and make them not want to continue making stuff. I just want people to like the stuff I make and enjoy it all. But if no one buys anything, it makes you think that no one likes it. But I had people telling me all day at the craft show last weekend that my quilts are “beautiful”, “adorable” and telling me “Great job!” or “I love this one!” but no one bought any. Are my prices too high? I’ve lowered the price on a few of the quilts already. I think my prices are reasonable. I’ve looked up other quilts on Etsy and I think my prices are much lower than some others.

Please leave me some comments, good or bad. Tell me what you really think about my blog and my Etsy shop. What you think about the stuff I make and my prices… etc. Do you have any ideas of other things I should make?

I really need the feedback!

Thanks so much!

15% off all orders made between today, Monday, September 21st and midnight on Sunday,  September 27th.

I hope this will bring me some sales.