I finally found some time to sew!

I’m sure you find it hard to believe that I have so little time to sew with a home based business that is quilt and sewing related.  But it is true.  Since business was not my major, I spend a lot of my time pulling my hair out and trying to figure things like accounting and payroll out when I would be doing other things like making quilts.  It’s the nature of the business for now.  I’m hoping that will change, but I’m not holding my breath.  Last Friday I was diagnosed with a throat and ear infection and spent the day sleeping.  Now I can just here you saying to yourself – she could have sewn then.  Frankly, I just didn’t feel like it!  I felt pretty bad.  But after a day and a half of sleep, I started to perk up and decided to sew instead of work.  And I did.  I started a sample quilt from a book we carry called Bodacious Quilts by Colleen Granger.  I spied it at Quilt Market in October and was intrigued by the number of designs that could be made using this one block.  Peggy Welchert, my assistant and pattern designer, helped me pick out fabrics for several samples last week.  We decided to try black and white for this quilt with accent colors of fuschia and purple.  I’ve added a picture of the blocks layed out to see how they look.  What do you think?  I used a mix of traditional batik designs and Bali batiks.  I plan on only making a wallhanging size because we have so little room in our quilt booth at shows to display all of our quilts. 

On Thursday – yes, on Valentine’s Day – I am going on a quilt retreat to Kentucky Dam Village which is not far from where I live, but it gives us a chance to sew and sew and sew!  There are 21 members of our guild going for the weekend.  I can’t wait!  I haven’t been on a retreat in years.  We are renting 3 cabins with 7 of us in each cabin.  I plan on making a quilt called Five of Diamonds while I’m there – another one of our patterns.  I think this quilt has a lot of potential with our fabrics and I hope it will turn out as great as I hope it will.  I’ll fill you in on the retreat – and the quilt – when I get back.

This afternoon, Peggy and I are taking a break from the business to make baby quilts.  She’s coming over around lunch time and we’ll sew all afternoon!  Yeah, another chance to sew!!  We both need baby quilts for special people who are adding to their families in April.  In my case, I am making this quilt for people who have been very special in my daughter’s life.  They’ve been her teachers, both at school and at church, and Academic Team coaches.  They have also helped Kristen to believe in herself, which is so important in a young girls life.  They are wonderful role models for her and I hope they’ll continue to be a part of her life even after she moves on to high school.

 Gotta go.  I need to workout and do a few other things before Peggy arrives.  Yeah, I need to read more on doing payroll.  The IRS has too many rules and regulations, and then you add the State rules on top of that! 

 Bye for now.  I hope you get some time to sew too!!

 Patti Oakley

Batiks by Design

www.batiksbydesign.com

It Snowed This Morning

We woke up to snow – about 1/4 of an inch.  And they cancelled school so my 13 year old daughter is at home.  Not that I mind her being here, I love having her around, but  it’s supposed to get up to 40 degrees today and the roads are already clear.  I don’t get it!  Tonight we are supposed to get some freezing rain and more snow – more than 1/4 of an inch.  My guess is that they won’t have school again tomorrow.  I grew up in the northeast and we might have had an hour delay this morning, but we would have had school.  I guess they feel it is better to play it safe.

I felt like a pioneer woman the other day.  I was cooking dinner around 6 pm as a cold front was coming through the area.  Winds had picked up to about 35-45 mph, but the rain had stopped.  It had been 60 degrees that day and was forcasted to get down to 19 that night.  The lights flickered and I thought, oh no, let me finish cooking before you go completely out.  The flickering happened a few more times before they totally went out at around 6:15.  I had just put the chicken into the pan to stir fry it to add to the zucchini tomato mixture that I had already cooked.  Now what was I going to do?  I thought about finishing it on the gas grill, but the wind was way too strong.  I lit candles and placed them in strategic places around the house, hoping all the time that the lights would come back on.  That didn’t happen.  After 30 minutes, I put the food back in the frig and tried to figure out what we could eat and not need electricity.  I also didn’t want to spend time rooting around in the frig in case it was out for a long time.  My daughter, Kristen, decided to have cereal, Gary, my husband, had ice cream, and I had a protein bar and potato chips.  Great dinner!  Kristen spent some time on her laptop (she thanked God for her battery), Gary and I talked for a while (not something we get to do every day), then I worked on my laptop for a while before shutting it down to read by flashlight.  I then remembered my Mighty Bright lite and clipped it to the headboard as I read my novel.  We all went to bed early after realizing there wasn’t much to do without electricity.  Ours came back on around 10 pm, but I heard from others that they were out most of the night.  I woke up the next morning to find lights on throughout the house and the TV blaring from downstairs.  Oops!  I know now why the pioneers rose with the sun and went to bed shortly after it went down.

Since opening Batiks by Design, I’ve pretty much been a one woman business, hiring either my daughter-in-law or my friend Peggy to work before shows to help me get ready.  Peggy has also done the quilt shows with me.  I finally have gotten to the point where I just couldn’t keep up with everything on my own, so now Peggy is a part-time member of my team.  Yeah!  Peggy and I have known each other for about 10 years and she used to own a quilt shop in town.  We are not only good friends, but we work together very well.  I thank God for placing Peggy in my life and my business.

At Quilt Market in October we ordered some new Bali fabrics from Hoffman, Timeless Treasures, and Island Batiks.  Many of them have arrived in the last week or so and I have finally gotten them online.  You can look at all of the new Balis in the NEW category of our online store.

Keep those lights on and get a Mighty Bright light in case of emergencies!

Patti

It’s cold outside!

 

Let’s go to Bali!!  Well, we aren’t really going to Bali, although I’ve been there several times and just love it.  It’s beautiful, the people are wonderful (well, except for the hawkers), and there are many places to see, wonderful beaches, great shopping, and fantastic places to eat.  Yes, I do love Bali and the fabrics produced there.  What I had in mind is to show you some of the wonderful Bali batik fabrics we’ve added to the site in the last few weeks. 

‘Tis the season for Christmas trees and Bali 607 Green is perfect for any project that needs a little bit of pine needles.   I’m thinking about using it as the background for our Poinsettia pattern.  Wouldn’t it be perfect?  We have several colors that would make perfect flowers for my project, including Bali 511 Garnet, Bali 545 Flamingo, and Bali 515 Wine.  And lots of great greens.  Just take a look.

 We love the Diane’s Garden pattern and bought some Balis with that in mind.  What do you think about Bali 573 Pommegranate, Bali 593 Amethyst, and Bali 598 Mango?  Bali 600 Hydrangea is perfect too.  As are several others.  Check them out.  We’ve included many of them in our Diane’s Garden Kit.  The kit includes the pattern and the flower fabrics.  You add the sashing and border fabrics, plus the black fabric and fusible web.

I can’t wait to try the book Bodacious Quilts.  I found this at Quilt Market and fell in love with it.  Eight Bodacious projects to get you started on an unlimited number of layouts – all from one block. Step by step instructions – even a beginning quilter can be very successful!  We would love to see what you do with this block!

It’s cold here today and I’m going to make a nice hot cup of tea and go back to work on my latest project – the Pumpkin table-round for my sister.  Yes, I’m a little behind.  It was supposed to be for Thanksgiving . . .  Better get busy or I won’t get the Snowmen table-round done for my mom (she loves snowmen, like me!).  How many days left before Christmas?

Have a blessed holiday season.

Patti Oakley

www.batiksbydesign.com

New Kits! Great Presents!!

Wow!  As a first time attendee of both Quilt Market and Festival in Houston, Texas recently, I was amazed by both entities.  Now that I’m back, I’ve been adding new Bali fabrics and a few patterns and kits.  I’m expecting my shipment of new traditional design batiks tomorrow, so be on the lookout of those online!

We put together some new kits for Quilt Festival that we think you’ll love, so we are adding them to the site.  They sold really well for us in Houston.  First, we kitted Snowmen (shown above – isn’t he cute!) from Details by Diane.  I made the sample and really had fun making it.  Like Diane has told me, it is addictive!  I can’t wait to try some of her other patterns and I think I’ll make Pumpkins for my sister for Thanksgiving and the Sunflowers for a dear friend in Georgia.  I’ll be sure to put a picture on here to show you how I did!

We also have kits for Hokey Pokey, a great pattern that is fun to make with our blue and white traditional fabrics.  We have some great flower fabrics in a kit for Diane’s Garden.  You just need to add the sashing and borders, plus the black fabric for the background.  We added a new pattern and kit called Winter Friends. 

Our “old” kits are still selling well.  Check out Stash Box, our best seller both online and at shows.  It is just a beautiful, rich looking quilt.  A great gift for the man in your life too.  We are also kitting it in our blues.  It should be online soon.  Our second best seller is Argyle Blues.  The kit makes the throw size and is quick and easy to piece.  With large open spaces you can show off and do some fancy quilting (or have someone else do it)!  The pattern now has sizes from throw to king.

Happy Quilting!

Patti Oakley

Batiks by Design

www.batiksbydesign.com

First quilt pattern using Batiks by Design fabrics!

Hi, I just thought I would let you know that Rochelle Martin of Cottage Quilt Designs has published a pattern called Batik Stars using our fabrics!  WOW!  This is a landmark for us!!  Rochelle and I worked hard to find just the right fabrics for this quilt.  We are working on others that will be arriving shortly.

We’ve also added other new patterns, so come and check us out at our online store.

Batik Trails by Rochelle Martin

This is a quilt designed by Rochelle Martin that is made using traditional batik designs and Bali fabrics.  It is being quilted and should be online soon!