So This Is How It Is

Spent a good bit of Saturday deciding on the arrangement of fabrics in my Double Irish Chain. After all was said and done, ended up going the traditional route. I'm very pleased. The pattern lends itself to strip and machine piecing. Much quicker then hand piecing. I will hand quilt. My sewing machine is working all right ... there's an annoying problem with the bobbin. I can only fill it half way or the needle snags on it. So a lot more stop and go to refill. The machine is a Brother .... did see a demo, at a reputable dealer, with a Janome machine that was pretty impressive .... should be at $500. Years ago I was scammed into purchasing a machine from a demo held at a Holiday Inn. The machine quickly malfunctioned and I had no where to return it to. I traded it in for the current machine at the local Singer store. However I have gotten repairs on the Brother, at said store, which have not been satisfactory as the problems persisted ... wasn't sure that they did anything to it. Any hoo .... I'm just glad that it is currently running with no tension problems.

J0n and Ashley did finally make it in by this morning. So I did break up quilt think sessions to cook and visit.

A Lazy Afternoon

It is a rainy Friday afternoon and the housework is done. I am waiting for Jonathan to show up with Ashley. It was to be parents day at LB but my son said he'd rather come home early after spending time with his girl. So for now I am sipping coffee and planning my next quilt.'

Above are my color choices for the Double Irish Chain which I'm thinking may become a Triple Irish Chain ... I'll play with it some. I think I may have enough colors to make a second quilt and I think Rolling Stone is a pretty pattern that I have worked on before in my Wood Rose Quilt. The lovely sweater to the lower left was found at the thrift store for a couple of dollars. It needs a small repair. I think it is a lovely find for one of the grandchildren.... might be slightly large for Asher.

Cotton Ginnie Studio's Wood Rose

This is a quilt that I call Wood Rose. I designed it to go with my "glam" bedroom. I used fabric from the Mary Rose Collection.

Branding

This is my beautiful new Brand Name and Business Identity Set (BIS) put together by my talented daughter-in-law Samantha Marie. She also updated my Etsy site and I'd love to have you come see. Click on Cotton Ginnie Studio on the above right or go anytime to http://www.cottonginniestudio.com/ It is a work in progress so come back often!
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I really can't say enough about working with Samantha. She has impeccable taste and can work with the pickiest of customers (ie. her MommaMele!). To see more of her hip style go to http://nestinbloom.com/ .
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Read the following excerpts from an article by Samantha entitles Branding Efforts to see how branding can help your business:
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I wanted to talk to my lovely readers about branding efforts. I don't mean livestock marking. More like human heart impressions. What I mean is - the effort put into making your small business a recognizable brand, a memorable brand, and also a brand that emotionally connects to your clients.
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Wikipedia simply puts it, A brand is a name or trademark connected with a product or producer. Brands have become increasingly important components of culture and the economy, now being described as "cultural accessories and personal philosophies".
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There is an entire psychological aspect of having a brand, and how you use it. There are a lot of words you commonly hear (ie. advertising, subliminal messages, brand recognition, brand image, brand names ... lalala.)
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Even if you are a small business owner, you would be smart to do a little research on what a brand is, and how to use it correctly. You may want to start by reading the small info article on wikipedia: BRAND.
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Key thought: Don't trust your item to do all the work!

One way to get started is to create a business name. After that, create an image or logo. After that, brand your ... everything. Everything your client will receive in their hands, and see online. It's an easy to understand concept. The point is to make your customers feel:
~As if your business is legitimate
~Like you have pride in your products
~Your items are quality
~The money was well spent
~They should buy again
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Let's try this experimental question.
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If you purchased an item online ... let's say it was a small handmade bracelet. You paid $40 for a beautiful item. When you received you item, you immediately knew where it cam from because the packaging had the store's name printed on the back (buy a stamp). When you opened it, you felt as if you were receiving a gift! Your bracelet was in a small gift box wrapped in pretty tissue paper, and dressed with a ribbon and a sticker with the shop's name. Your packaging also came with a thank you card, small invoice, maybe a coupon, and business cards. Hopefully you are feeling pleased with your purchase.
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How would you feel if you received your$40 bracelet simply tossed into a bubble envelope, closed, and stamped? I have had this happen, and in my experience I never went back. I was even tempted to leave neutral feedback due to the care negligence lol.
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Back up your branding with service! This includes opening communication the moment they purchase and completing communication when they are 100% satisfied.
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... I like to hand write personal love notes to my clients. OK, thank you notes with sincerity. I want my clients to know that I put my heart into what I do and that I appreciate them. For this I use my very own hand writing font which I can do for you too!
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A little nudge to get you started:
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Nest In Bloom is my business name. I design logos, business cards, pretty much anything you need printed (but I do not do the printing. VistaPrint is good for this). http://nestinbloom.com/
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Samantha charges $20 an hour for Business Identity Sets starting around $220. With this you get very personal, courteous and timely service. Compare and save!

Good Things #4 Quilts, Lace, Linens & Silks

I love fabric and needlework. My business, Cotton Ginnie Studio focuses primarily on fiber arts. So I collect bits and pieces at flea markets and such places where the cost is not high. A table cloth for $8-$18 .... $6 for a set of pillowcases .... $2-$3 for bits of this and that. These bits and pieces have adorned handmade gifts and pillows .... yards of hand crocheted lace became the edging for my kitchen curtains. An antique, lace edged counterpane folds gently over my silk comforter in my bedroom. Vintage linens hang over the towel bar in the bathrooms.
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I have a beautiful set of linen napkins waiting for a hand stitched monogram. Table linens hang on individual hangers in the closet awaiting their seasonal day. I've blogged before about finding vintage fabrics for a child's quilt and I picked up a woman's linen skirt at the Family Thrift and tailored it for the sink in the downstairs bath when it was redone. Some needlework is suitable for framing. I have a large cross stitch that I did when my children were young and a child's quilt made by my great grandmother Ora Peterman that are both framed.

Baby Things

I like finding vintage fabrics at flea markets and yard sales. I decided to make a crib quilt out of this piece with some embroidery. I took the fabric to Staples to get an enlarged copy of the teddies to use as an embroidery pattern. I will use my light box to trace the pattern onto my muslin.




Speaking of baby things ..... Caelen & Samantha are expecting in June! Samantha has already rooted through my stash to find fabric for the baby quilt. Next time they are over she will look through my stash of baby clothes ..... little things that my kids wore and even some that were worn by me. I have a few sweet little nightshirts & blankies .... a layette that was made by my Gram (Great Grandmother, Lydia Clements) when I was born.

Christmas Quilts

This is a my Christmas Quilt featuring Minnie & Mickey Mouse. The poetry & graphics came from a Christmas card: You're the sprinkles on the cookies, the sparkle on the snow, the twinkle in the starlit sky, the fires cozy glow, you're the whipped cream on the cocoa, the tinsel on the tree, You're everything that's wonderful at Christmas time to me. I thought it was charming.




This little quilt is a miniature Baltimore Album Quilt. The pattern I used was compiled by the woman who taught me to quilt 31 years ago. Her name is Anna Holland and the pattern was called Mini Madness. The individual blocks are about five inches square.
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My first attempt at quilting was in high school for a history project. At the time I could only find one book with quilt patterns in black and white graphics. And there were no quilt shops. And I learned to type on a manual typewriter too. And I studied Latin. I never walked to school in a snowstorm or otherwise but a good bit of my life was spent living upstairs of the old school house. My parents rented a large Victorian Mansion in Leesburg, VA known as Waverly to start a small private Christian School. Some day I'll blog on that in more detail.
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But my teacher Anna lived in a nearby town called Waterford in a small log cabin with a fireplace in the kitchen that was once used for cooking. It was at her home that she introduced a special class to advertise her new pattern and teach the applique method using freezer paper. I was pregnant with my first child, Joshua when I took the class and also made my first baby quilt. Since then I have made quilt for all my babies and grandbabies.

Fall Quilts

Autumn Quilts






This is a blended quilt and one of my favorites. It is called a blended quilt because the fabrics diffuse into each other without much sharp distinction. The pattern is called Northwind. It is a twin size quilt. I don't make queen or king size bedding much anymore. I like the twin size folded at the foot of the bed to pull up on a chilly night.





This is a small quilt that I usually have in the living room during the autumn months. It's simply The Pumpkin Patch.

Wedding Quilt

This is the Wedding Celebration Quilt that I made for Josh & Amanda nearly 10 years ago. It is a Double Irish Chain. In the beginning they selected a favorite fabric and I coordinated it from there. The quilt has been very well used and is still in very good shape except that the binding had frayed. So I brought it home after my recent visit for repairs.

THE T-SHIRT QUILT!!!

This is the the side with the Varsity theme.




This is the Art & Nature side. So what could have been the Ugli Quilt has turned out better than expected. Molly is not happy to see the quilt go .... she thought it was hers and is rather possessive about it. But the quilt is all finished, fresh and clean and waiting for payment and pick up.