Pat belongs to my Etsy Team Quiltsy. She has many spectacular art quilts in her shop, The Butterfly Quilter. I was looking for something amazing, and I found it in her work! Such artistry! Her detailed quilting really enhances her quilts. So, I was curious, what makes someone like her tick? Find out for yourself.
What originally gave you the idea to create such an
interesting Etsy shop?
Living in Maine we didn’t have high speed internet till Oct.
2011. Yup it was that late for us in this part of Maine. One of my friends told
me about the site and then my husband found it and said, “I think you should
sell on Etsy”. I had a hard enough time having people tell me my quilts are
beautiful so this was a big step. I made a decision to put on the site quilts
that I would want for myself and not just to make to sell. So far it is working
out for me. I have to force myself not to just make to sell but to make them as
if they were for me and really like them.
Ideas are often so hard to implement– tell us a bit about
how you started and what were your first steps in creating you niche in the
Etsy and handmade community?
I am one of those people that just go for it once my mind is
made up. Like creating a quilt. Sometimes I have to think outside the box. Etsy
was way outside the box for me. For the first months I was on the site reading
and listening to the labs and working the forums. I am talking about 4 to 6
hours a day. My quilting was on hold at this time just to get my shop up and
running. I am not computer savvy at all so this was something so foreign to me.
So I tackled it like a quilt, once piece at a time.
What is your main hurdle in running your Etsy site to
date?
Time is my greatest enemy and a major hurdle for me. I get
up first thing in the morning and check in and comment in the forums and teams.
Then do some work on my tags. Then I check in at lunch and one more time at
night. I can tell when I slack off a little my stats go down. So time
management is big since it takes away from my craft. Not enough hours in a day.
How do you promote your business? Facebook, Twitter, blogging or other?
LOL I don’t have anytime to do any of the above. My husband
just got facebook. I don’t Twitter or blog. All of my promotion in on Etsy
alone. My friends pass on the word thru their facebook page when I download a
new quilt. I do pass out my business cards when I am out and about though.
Describe the process of creating one of your handmade
items.
Nature is a part of the process for me. If I am blank and
can’t come up with a design my HB and I go hiking. Things just start happening
from there. He is a photographer and he has his camera with him so I have him
taking photos of certain things. Then I save them in a file just for me. I
dream a lot about design so as soon as I get up I write it down and keep it in
a file. When I have time I will look thru them and come up with something.
An example my earth texture quilt. I wanted to incorporate
macro photos on a background of
the earth, like a sand feel.
I start with a ruff sketch then from there transferred it to a more
definite sketch onto muslin. Then cut out hundreds of pieces of different tone
on tones with heat and bond to
adhere to the muslin that I drew the design on. Then printed my macro photos
onto fabric with my computer and heat set them onto my piece. Never pieced a
quilt this way before. Did my layer of batting then back and quilted it all
over to hold everything in place with a tone on tone variegated thread. Once
done I new I needed to add beading of wood and abalone beads. Then I thought it
needed definition around the edges of the photos so I used helm to finish the
piece off. So my quilting just keep progressing sometimes.
What do you love most about making your products?
Seeing if what I image it will look like comes out the way I
thought it would. Most of the time my designs go in a different direction once
I start and always for the better. My quilt tops speak to me and tell me what
they need.
Fun Facts:
List three adjectives that describe you.
Adventurous, generous, and energetic. According to my
husband. LOL
Favorite Food: Too
many to count. Scallops, cantaloupe, popcorn
If you were an animal, what animal would you be? Why?
Probably an Elephant. Ok they can be stubborn, but I am
working on that. I am loyal and dependable. People always seem to come to me
when they need something and know that I will always be there for them.
Elephants seem to wander so it no wonder I do not stay in one place long. An
Elephant never forgets, this is so true for me also. Once I learn something I
seem to retain that knowledge, hopefully to use some day when it is needed. The
Elephant is also patient and my students when I was teaching quilting too
always said I would always answer questions and be patient till they understood
what I was trying to get across.
I certainly can understand the time issue! I never have enough. I dare you to take the time today to look at Pat's Etsy shop... you won't be disappointed!
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