That's a Wrap!! The Year that Was

This Week at DD's

This week I quilted Lynda's Gorgeous Quilt, and it's the last quilt  for the year.
The Quilt pictured was created from a  Pattern, l designed for the Mystery Quilt Club (MQC) here at DD's in 2016, and this particular quilt is Lynda's take on it.

l love the vibrancy of this one. This Quilt is going to her Grandson for Christmas. A Cowboys Fan (NRL) 
The first clue was get together a light...medium and Dark fabrics, Lynda hit the brief exactly, It looks fantastic,  and l love seeing my patterns come alive...

The pattern for this Quilt will be available in January 2018 on both my Etsy and Craftsy shops...I am doing the final touches on the pattern...I can't wait for the release of the pattern, it will be my first full-size quilt pattern release...

So now I have finished up for the year of Quilting...I am looking forward to getting some Christmas Shopping done...oh the fun and Joy of Christmas...I am looking forward to the Holidays this year...I really Need a Break, So let us Look at the Year that was 2017

It has been a massive year on the Homefront and Business, Especially in the last few weeks. 
l have been incredibly ill, I lost my voice for little over a week. resulting in an inflamed throat and a Chesty Cough, but I am on the mend and feeling better every day, thank goodness.

So what has been Happening?

First, my Husbands business taking off more than we realized it would. A little Prep and being able to ease

into it would have been excellent, but it has been full steam ahead...Oh well, sink or swim right...I have been helping with all the background necessities of running your own business.

The Girls have been very busy too, The Divine Miss with her Dancing, 
Miss S with here Girl Guides, and both with School.
 Dancing exams, earning badges,  state camps, fundraising and academic awards just to name a few things that they have been up to...They definitely keep me on my toes :) 

and then there is what I love to do. 

My quilting has been steady, this year I have managed to Quilt 72 Quilts for my customers on the longarm, and around 15 mini's on my Domestic machine...Plus Class samples for all the classes that I run here at DD's.....

This year has also seen me leave my shop and go to another in a Neighboring town to Alisellou Designs in Nanango, to teach classes there twice a month...This was a big thing for me, as I had not had the opportunity to teach outside my shop here in Kingaroy before and it was a little scary...So after the initial nerves and the first class, I was fine...I have met some fantastic people, and I am looking forward to teaching there again this coming year...

This year also saw me make a few changes to my online shop...I closed my eBay Shop and made a move to Etsy...and I would have to say that was the best move I have made.
Not only have my sales improved, but I find it a more flexible platform to use...
I have been active over there for the last month, 
and I have made more sales there in a month than I have ever made on eBay...
I am so thankful that I made the switch...

We have also added more items to our store in the last couple months...we now offer Bag Making Supplies...at this point, we have 37 different bag hardware items listed with more being added weekly...We have over 200 sewing/quilting related items listed in total. With more and more being added weekly.

We are shipping worldwide. 

Shipping Worldwide is a new option for us, and we are still finding our feet, but we are slowly getting there...you can check out what we have to offer Here...Pop over and Favor the shop or items, you will be pleasantly surprised at what we have to offer... 

This year also has seen me delve into the world of Pattern testing...

while I was scrolling on Facebook, I happened to come across a post looking for pattern testers.

It was for Pink Pony Design...I thought to myself why not give it ago, so I sent off an application, and the Lovey Maria accepted my application...

Much to my surprise as I have only really been making bags on and off for around 2yrs now...But I was delighted and could not wait to test the bag pattern for Maria...

I was a little nervous about it and I wasn't sure what was involved but the group was very supportive ....so I got stared and here is the Bag that I made from the pattern it is called the 

Paris Purse 

how cute is this purse 

I love this bag, I made 2 in the end and you can see mine and many more 

that were made over at Maria's blog post  here

and you can also find the pattern here.....

2017 has also seen me expand my business to include 

Quilting and Bag Making Retreats...with the first one being Held in 

              May 2018 at the Bunya Mountains...and this is the accommodation we have booked for the weekend...
Just Beautiful...and the View is just divine 

It went on Sale in October and was sold out within a week...

We have created a FB group to keep everyone up to date on what is happening and what they need to get and a way for us to get to know each other a little before we get to the retreat...

The interest was amazing so much so that we now have a 2nd one Booked for September 2018that will go on Sale in February 2018 so keep an eye on that one...

So you might ask, what will we have planned for the retreat?...well we have a few surprises

on the cards...We check in on Friday afternoon with a get to know you BBQ and Drinks...

the first Full day of sewing we will be focusing on Bag Making...

then the 2nd full day of Sewing we will be making a Mini Quilt...(this one is a surprise project) shhhh

and then we check out Monday Morning...

We are keeping the groups capped at 23 Guest...with my Daughter and myself as the Hosts...

and to keep the costs down we are Catering the weekend ourselves...So I have my Eldest Daughter coming to help out with keeping everyone happy...with Coffee/tea...morning teas and afternoon teas 

Breakfast/Lunch and dinner will be self Serve...you can see a sample of the menu 

Our Next one September...will see us add a Guest Co-Host come and teach us 

how to make one of her Bag Designs...we will have more details as they come to hand

....Keep an eye out for our FB/Insta/Google+ pages for details in the coming weeks...

these pages also have all that I do on a daily basis...Pop over and have a look at what 

we get up to...

Facebook

Instagram

Google+

So as you can see it has been a very busy year for me both home and business...There has been lots of planning and organizing going into everything from classes to retreats and Quilts for customers ...I am sure I have missed some highlights but you get a general idea... and next year is shaping up to be the same...

At this point, I would like to Thank my Family/Friends for their

continued love and support and encouragement...and for pushing me when I just wanted to give up...

And to you my Valued Customers and Followers for without you I would not be where I am today 

and for that, I thank you from the bottom of my Heart...

I am looking forward to you all being with me in 2018 for all my Quilting Adventures 

Happy Quilting ") N