Turtles and taxes and threads...oh my!

Ok, so there is more to running a business than I thought.  And some of it is not so fun (taxes).  Things are rolling along here at TurtleTracks.  My machine and I have made a quiet truce, I finally have my sales tax and use number from the wonderful State of Texas, and I had some sticker shock when I went online to price thread for my longarm machine.  Wow, that was an eye-opener. 

Some friends are coming over this weekend to bring quilt tops and work with me on my long arm.  I have my Ebay tops now so today will be a day of quilting.  With more weekend practice, my confidence is growing!

Happy Friday everyone, have a piece-ful weekend :)

Well...this is embarrassing!

Being new to the blog environment, I was totally flummoxed when my new blog was nowhere to be found on my log in page.  It gets pretty tricky when you have more than one gmail account and that's where the trouble began!  I finally figured out the error of my ways (much to my chagrin) and am picking up where I left off.

Let me update you on my progress since March 24th.  My new long arm machine arrived on Saturday, March 29th.  What an exciting day!  I went through a range of emotions that day: excitement, trepidation, anxiety...all wrapped into one!  Having a fourteen foot table and massive machine head delivered to your home can be overwhelming.  This was really happening!

I spent the day working on all types of pantographs, blocks, and borders.  I had a wonderful time playing and experimenting.  Here are a few pics of my fun: 

By Sunday, I was ready to try working on an actual quilt top instead of practice muslin.  I decided to work on a few stray quilt tops hanging out in my sewing room.  It was a little frustrating working on the placement of the quilt designs.  I finally figured this out and had some fun playing with those too.  I did have some tension problems, however I am fortunate to belong to a FaceBook group that walked me right through my problems.  I love being part of that online community.

Here are a few pics of my Sunday session:

I truly love my HQ Fusion 24.  I'm currently working on learning the ProStitcher software so I can be more confident and accept customer quilts.  There is so much to learn and consider when starting a long arm quilting business.  The quilting itself is just a small part of it.  I'm also working on my business plan, an operations plan, business management software, inventory, tax implications...the list goes on.  I think I've worked more hours this week for my own business than I have when I worked outside the home!  This is going to be a long journey...but I am already loving it :)

Until next time...

T minus 4 Days...

And so my long arm quilting adventure begins in four days.  For the last twenty years, I have dreamed of owning my own long arm quilting service and/or quilt shop.  I have searched and researched, tested and retested, and asked a myriad of questions about every brand-name long arm quilting machine made.  It was a difficult decision, but I finally chose a HandiQuilter Fusion 24.  This long arm machine comes with Pro-Stitcher software that should allow me to shorten the learning curve and begin to take in customer quilts about six to eight months quicker than if I chose a machine without the software.

I have so many questions and insecurities about starting this business.  I have a deep passion and love for quilting however I sometimes doubt my ability to make this a viable business.  This blog will be a diary of my journey as a new professional sewist, business owner, and entrepreneur. If you take this journey with me and have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me or comment.  I would love to discuss all facets of this process and would welcome any insight. 

Twende bas!  (Okay, let's go!)

Fiona