As a quilt professional I need to have a number of revenue streams. I travel and teach quilting at shows, guilds and events, I host classes and teach online, I design and sell patterns, I make custom quilts, I like to enter quilt shows, and I like to donate quilts and make quilts for my family and friends. Having said this I obviously have to have a number of projects on the go at one time. But staying focused on one project or event is very hard and so coming through and finishing quilts seems to be my issue. I’m not sure if Im looking for a solution to this, want to hear of other quilters that suffer in the same manner or if writing this might help me focus.
I few of my projects that currently need quilting
I like to teach at quilts shows and events like the International Quilt Festival in Houston and I do repeat classes but some times I feel I do need to come up with new projects and workshops. I then need to create new patterns, make new samples, write the instructions and get all this information ready to submit. This is a lot of work without any real gratification. My husband wonders what I work on all day and sometimes it is even hard to say what I have to show after a full days work!
I also have an exhibit coming up and I really want to display some new pieces. I have plenty of ideas, some new patterns made but not the specific open amount of time needed to start a larger project, so I push it down the road thinking time will materialize!
‘Owls’
A new theme, quilt to make and work!
I love to make lists and so each week in my yearly notebook I write up my priorities for the week and make note of what I do each day. Not sure if this keeps me on track but feels nice when I can cross something of that list that I have achieved. This year I piled up my quilts to be quilted. Counting them there must be at least 20. They are of different sizes and priorities to be finished. One is a large quilt that is top of the list and many of the others are samples or new ideas that never have seen the light of day! I am happy with myself so far this year as I have finished a number of bags that were ideas and are now competed including the ‘Birds on a Wire bucket bag, I call it.
Pattern available in my shop and a great beginner collage project with fun results
New projects and quilts to make. Every year I do aim to make one large quilt and so with the exhibit coming up at the Reno Quilt Show in June, I need to set time aside to do this. I have patterns made but need to gather fabric and commit time to working on them. And I am hoping once I do set that time aside I should be ok!
Quilts to Quilt!
I get excited looking at these and a goal is to get this pile down by the end of the year!
In our current climate I am thinking about a political quilt, not my usual theme and last night I started knitting a red Melt the Ice Norwegian Torque hat! If you have any great tips for me on focus and priotoisng my work I’d love to hear from you.
