better late than never

I've been planning on posting my March goals since the beginning of the month, but somehow, a few days (...) have slipped by and now it's mid-month. Better late than never, no?

 5 o'clock crows

hand-dyed batik on cotton

Here's a quick rundown of my February list:

1. Increase sales from January - I came close, but didn't quite make it
2. New Products
    - Scarves. Done!, Placemats. Nope, Tablecloths. I have the fabric...
3. Wholesale!
   -finish swatches and products in Hex and Dismas patterns / teal, spice, cherry pop colorways. Yes!
   -work on my pricing matrices Nope
   -get going with that line sheet Nope
4. Finish pattern #4 and rework/design for pattern #5
Trellis stripe (done!) and as-yet-unnamed pattern (nope), I'm looking in your directions!
5. Shore up the business end of things
I'm talking Bakery's 6-week class and I'm started attending Women in Business brown bag lunches that are put on through the Business School at LSU. I need to stay on top of the Bakery class and attend this month's luncheon. I did a decent job keeping up with the class. Didn't make the luncheon though.
6. Finish 2 quilts
The fabric is dyed as part of last month's wholesale work, now I need to put them together, quilt them, take photos. One finished, one part done. woohoo!
7. Grow inventory and stock online shops
I made some headway. This is ongoing.
8. Finish "Reckoning' (art with a capital A)
I started a conceptual piece a few months ago and it's lingering around unfinished. I have an opportunity to show it next month, but I have to finish it first. I've decided to change direction a bit on this; instead of keeping art and craft separate, I want to see more art in my craft, and let my craft flow into my art. We'll see what happens- there are some good things brewing in my sketchbook!

5 o'clock crows

hand-dyed batik on cotton

 For March, I'm keeping it short(ish) and sweet!

1. Finish 2 quilts for Ephemeral show

2. Resolve hanging/display system for Ephemeral show

3. New pattern for NOLA market: trellis stripe redesign

4. New colors for NOLA market: summery, pastel, nonpareil candy colors

5. New product for NOLA market: wall hangings and/or pillows

5. Pastel flags custom order

6. Produce! Produce! Produce! My first big 2-day festival, FestForAll, is the first weekend in May... right around the corner!

7. At least 3 blog posts per week

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* infographics : spot the tiger

I have a bit of an (unhealthy?) obsession with infographics, so when I read about Spot the Tiger on Design for Mankind, I think I really did squeal with joy. "...(An) independent project started by Michael Corbett-Reakes with help and support from Aisling Musgrove of Goldsmith's Debating Society", Spot the Tiger asks a question every week which is illustrated by a guest creative. How cool is that?

Image from Spot the Tiger, copyright Ciara Phelan

This week's question: Should boxing be banned? Now go vote!

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new quilt!

I've done a few whole-cloth quilts with my batik fabric, but I decided that it was time to do some cutting and piecing. I had some watery blue fabric and some lagoon green, both in my hex pattern. I cut them into long rectangles and then sewed them up like piano keys to create the front of the quilt. The back and binding are a rich deep purple and the quilting is relatively simple to keep the emphasis on the pattern and the fabric.

5 o'clock crows hand dyed batik on 100% cotton sateen

100% cotton batting, quilted with cotton thread

65" x 85"

all fabric, assembly, and quilting by sara hopp harper

 

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On a completely unrelated note, I discovered this on lunule. Love it! What do you think?


70 Million by Hold Your Horses ! from L'Ogre on Vimeo.


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what's going on

I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted! Good grief, where do the days go? I've noticed that when I get busy around the studio, I ignore the computer as much as possible, which is partly good since I don't fall into timesuck traps, but the blog suffers, among other things. Oh, balance, always so elusive.

(Truth be told, I think I was avoiding blogging since I didn't want to close the books on February, goal-wise. Silly!)

So, what's going on? A few things.

I've finished some fabric that I'm really excited about. I'm still working on a name for it (suggestions anybody?); here's a look.

hand dyed batik on cotton

This fabric is the basis for a quilt that I'm hustling to finish in time for a show I'm in at ephemeral gallery (which I'm super-excited about).

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image: Kristin Burns Baby Photo

Kristin Burns and I have been friends since college, and I've been admiring her gorgeous photography work for quite a while now. When I finished a few pieces for my line of baby quilts, she was my first choice for pictures of them. I was absolutely thrilled when I saw the amazing shots that she took, and she wrote this amazing post about them to boot! Thanks, Kristin!


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image: artsy-crafty babe

Lastly, I met Beki of artsy-crafty babe yesterday for lunch. This was my first blogger meetup, and I had a blast. Beki even gifted me some of her vintage textiles... I can't wait to use them for a project! (maybe some new coasters???) Beki designs patterns and uses vintage textiles to make amazing bags, as well as keeping her wonderful blog. Take a look!

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