It's Official

On the advice of my  son, who is an emergency room nurse, I went to an Urgent Care facility to have an ex ray taken of my foot. We pretty much knew it was broken and that all we could do is buddy tape it, but there is always a possibility of additional damage that is not so obvious.

The good news is that it is only a simple (and very common) fracture. The doctor buddy taped it, gave me a prescription for a mild pain killer and told me to get a post-op shoe. Because it has a flat, stiff sole, you do not bend your toes when you walk, thus causing more damage and allowing the toe to heal correctly.
Attractive isn't it? Doesn't look like I'll be getting that much needed pedicure anytime soon.

Ouch!

I stubbed my little toe this morning. I'm not sure if I broke it or not (not that it makes any difference) but it sure is turning a lovely shade of purple.

Sunbonnet Sue

As promised I have made some Sunbonnet Sue blocks for my shop. She is not one of my favorites to own but I do like making her. These blocks measure 12 1/2 x 12/1/2 but there is plenty of room to cut them down a bit. I have used 1930's style fabrics, which is one of my favorite because of the colors.

I am also happy dancing because I have sold the Dresden Plates I made the other day. I guess I'll have to make more or those too.

Dresden Plates

I was going to make some Sunbonnet Sue blocks when I came upon these unfinished Dresden Plates. I was a quick finish, so I completed a set of 6 and put them up for sale at my Etsy shop.

I've got a bunch more plates, but for now, these 6 will do.

I have been seriously looking at my advertising. Project Wonderful has got to go. I need one more penny, yup, just one cent more to have $10 in my account. I can then cash in and close out that account. It hasn't made much income nor have I received many visitors.

I have stopped dropping on Entrecard and Adgitize just to see if my visitor numbers would drop.....they did....big time. So I suppose that most folks visiting here are just drop and run visitors. I have made a few loyal followers and I thank you all for that but one of them has to go. The whole point of the advertising was to lead folks to my shop but that really hasn't happened. Any advice would be appreciated.

More applique blocks

I really enjoyed making those gekko blocks. The best part was having them sold within 24 hours of listing them at Etsy. That can sure take me out of a slump.
I decided to make a few more, this time some dotted doggies.

These little cuties measure 6 3/4"x 6 3/4", large enough to cut down to your own 6 1/2" measurement. If you are interested you can find them in my Etsy shop here.

In the meantime, I have plans for some Sunbonnet Sue blocks, some fish blocks, some ice cream cone blocks and some teapots out of Mary Engelbreit fabric . I have also considered making a few traditional blocks like the Rose of Sharon or Oak Leaf and Reels. What pattern do you think would be a crowd pleaser?

Incoming

Today's postcard come from a college student named Qu. She speaks Chinese and English and is studying Korean at the University in Shanghai. She says her grandmother also knits, crochets and makes quilts. The picture on her postcard exhibits the beautiful makeup used at the Peking Opera.

In response to a comment in yesterday's post, the blocks measure 10 1/2 inches x 12 1/2 inches, far too large for postcards. However, I did make some gekko postcards awhile back. They can be found here in my Etsy shop.

Gekkos

Once again I find myself in a funk. I just don't feel like doing much of anything. I just can't go on like this, it is not a healthy thing. I looked at several of my incomplete projects and just put them back in their hiding place.
I found Sindy Rodenmayer's FatCat Designs I thought they were kind of cute. I forced myself to make a set of 6 Gekkos. I used 6 different cream/tan fabrics for the background and some Hoffman batiks for the gekkos. They are fused in place and machine button hole stitched with matching thread.

Now to figure out what to do with them. I have no desire to sew them together, add a border, layer it, quilt it, bind it or any other thing involved with making a quilt. Maybe I'll just put them in my Etsy Shop.

Dragonware

This has been collecting dust in my china closet for far too long. I have been keeping it because it says "Made in Occupied Japan" on the bottom. That stuff is supposed to be collectible. We'll see....Off to EBay it goes.

There is just entirely too much crap in my house.

Etsy or Artfire?

I have read alot of articles by Etsy artisans, complaining about how things are run. I started to get nervous about some of their concerns and decided it was time to open an Artfire shop. I really thought the new shop would work out so much better. One of the big advantages was that listings are free where Etsy charges 20 cents per listing.
After several months, with no sales at all, I posted a comment in the Artfire forums. I got lots of replies on all the mistakes I made in my shop. I even got my first sale from another artisan. There was a surge in visitors, a total of 47 that day to be exact. But despite my chit chat at the forums, I still get only one visitor a day if I am lucky (I get about 20 visitors a day at Etsy). I asked again why don't I get any visitors and why is my stuff at the bottom of the search list, and the reply is that I should be a Pro member, which is $14.95 per month. Ooooohh, I knew there had to be a catch.
I have had 126 sales at Etsy in a year and only one at Artfire in 5 months. I am trying to weigh the differences between the two and I think I should stick with Etsy. Am I missing something? Do you have a shop? Have your visited these sites? Do you have any opinion on them? Inquiring minds want to know.

Incoming

This card is from Renie in Norwalk Iowa. She says the population is 8229 and the town is located 12 miles south of DesMoines. I thought it funny that I lived in Norwalk Connecticut when I was first married.

This card is from Jonathan. He says this is the highest mountain in Spain. He says it is on a quiet island in the ocean. It sure looks beautiful and strange to me.

This last card is from Todd who lives in Pennsylvania. But he read that I liked to knit and crochet so he thought this card with the seal of Indiana in needlepoint would appeal to me.

BTW, did I mention that I won another blog giveaway? It was a few weeks ago on the Gems by Jerri blog. The giveaway was to promote her Artfire shop also called Gems by Jerri.

Block Lotto

First let me thank you all for your kind thoughts and words about my Mom. She passed on Sunday at 9:20 in the morning. Because of the holiday, we have to wait for the viewing and burial services. There will be a viewing on Wednesday. She will be buried on Thursday after Mass at her parish church.
As expected, my sister has taken over control of everything and there is not much for me to do. I needed something to keep myself busy so I made some blocks for this months block lotto. The block is  simple and liberated so why not give it a try? Here are the nine that I made.

I have also discovered the Flickr quilting bees. I found it after I read a blog post made by Jane of Jane's Fabric and Quilts. In her June 25 post she talks about one of her Round Robin bees that she belongs to. You make a block and mail it to the next person on the list. That person makes a coordinating block and mails both blocks to the next person on the list, and so on, and so on. It sounds like so much fun but there isn't a bee like that open just now, so I will have to wait.