A Confession and a Redirection

First of all, let me say how much I LOVE my job. This is a crazy wonderful experience that I never dreamed I would be able to do and love and call it my job. It still baffles me. I truly feel blessed to have found something that I do enjoy so much. But honestly, I'm tired.

I'm not going to lie to you, my last day off was Easter Sunday. That was like three months ago. Earlier this year I reached out to my machine quilting customers on here and asked for understanding as my schedule grew more hectic and my turnaround time may be delayed. Instead of the response I was expecting, I got several frantic messages wanting to know if I could finish this or that quilt in two weeks or less...

I'm honestly trying not to complain but explain what my job is really like. And I hope you all can understand that I'm a human. A person who needs some time outside of work and some rest time too.

So here's a more official confession: I am a human. I am not a machine. Most of the quilting that I do is free-motion. Here's how it works: if I'm beat and tired and worn out, the quality of work just won't be the same. Think about how foods just don't taste right if you're sick. If I'm sore and tired, the creative juices just aren't flowing.

If you want the same results each and every time for your quilts, there are several people out there who do use computer guided systems that would love to quilt for you. If you would like a personal experience for YOUR quilt to bring out the character and personality that YOU worked so hard for, I'm your girl. Just please don't expect me to work miracles. I treat each and every quilt I work on like it's my own and try to enhance the personality of each quilt. Many times, especially with the custom quilts I do, I talk extensively with my customers and ask lots of questions and then let the quilt sit and "talk to me" to fit the quilt to the person who made it or the person it will be going to. With that in mind I also ask how the quilt will be used and will make different suggestions if the quilt will get lots of use on a bed or a couch versus a wall hanging. That's what I do.

So with that in mind, please please please, do not call me or e-mail me and start with phrases like, "I should have had this quilt done last fall", or "this was supposed to be their birthday present two years ago" followed by the question "can I have this back for the party next weekend?". I'm sorry, but that's where I can't work miracles. I'm not saying don't ask a reasonable request. I never know what my quilt load is like and on a rare occasion I can fit in a quilt here or there, but not overnight. It's just not fair to me or the other customers I have that have been waiting patiently for their projects to return.

So this leads me to the redirection. It has occurred to me that I spend WAAAAAAYYYYY too much time driving to and from meeting customers here or there rather than working. I love seeing you all, but it just doesn't make sense to me anymore to drive 50 miles out of the way when I could be finishing a quilt instead.

Starting immediately, I will be working either from my office in Thompson, OH (where the machine is) or from my home in Madison, OH. To pick up and drop off quilts, just call me or e-mail me and I would be happy to schedule and appointment to meet. However, if you do believe the drive is too far (or you would like me to quilt something for you and you are not local) the post office arrives at my doorstep daily. I can receive and ship quilts too, we do not have to meet in person.

This is going to be a learning experience for me and I honestly look forward to the change. My hubby does too, I'm sure he will be glad to see me without my nose to the grindstone all hours of the day.

I have been meaning to write you this message for a long time, but kept putting my health and needs on the back burner. Well, it's been a rough few weeks here with family matters and my own health has been giving me fits again (I'm fine, just need to rest and recuperate a bit) and it's time to make a change.

Although it may take a bit more planning and a little bit longer to get your quilts back in the future, please consider that the better condition that I am in, the better work I can give to you.

I will be making a page just for machine quilting information soon (you'll be able to find it at the top of the blog in a tab) and as I work out the kinks and get a better feel for my new schedule, you can find information listed there.

I am entertaining the idea of having a once a month meet time scheduled at different quilt shops in the area to access the outer reaches of my customer base. At this time none are scheduled and any updates will be posted on the quilting page as they evolve.

So, if you're still here and reading, please know that I appreciate you all and I wouldn't be here without you, but I need to focus on my health for a bit. Think of this as a "it's not you, it's me" thing. :) I've been keeping up a pace that just can't continue on without becoming a huge disaster. I truly hope you understand.

So to reiterate, I am still quilting. I will be taking appointments to meet either by e-mail or by phone. (I will not post my phone number on here to avoid getting on some call list, but I will email it to you) You can e-mail me at rubybluequilts (at) gmail (dot) com.

Thank you so much and I hope that I can recharge and get back to myself again to give tutorials and patterns and recipes and all that other wonderful fun stuff I used to do. Thanks again and I will keep you all posted!!!