Be Careful What You Ask For…You May Just Get It All!

I loved to piece quilt tops! One day after looking through all of my precious pieces I realized that I had made 17 quilt tops but had never finshed one into a quilt! I’m sure no one else out there has been here before, huh?! I tried to tie a quilt, but realized that wasn’t appropriate for the type of quilts I was making. I then tried hand quilting and after working on it for a few months with only finishing about a 2 square foot area (and not really liking the results either), I decided this technique wasn’t for me. OK, maybe that’s a little too ”PC”, I hated hand quilting and machine quilting. I know there are ladies that love it, but I did not. Of course, since then I have learned that it would have been a lot better if I had taken a class and not tried to teach myself! Anyone else feel this way?

I had seen an ad in a magazine for a Long Arm Quilting Machine and wanted to try it out. So, I convinced my husband, Neff to go with me to a quilt show in California. The machine looked intimidating at first but as soon as I drove it, I knew that it was for me! To say the least, I LOVED IT! Neff looked at the cost and told me I would have to start a business if we were going to get one. I ran ideas through my mind as to what I felt that included and quickly decided that if I quilted for a few of my friends that would be a business. After all, he never said how big the business had to be. He knows me too well! So after my quick “ok” he added that I would need to get a business license. I admit I hesitated. He was serious. But, I still agreed.
This is when I first started using the business name of Going Batty. Neff came up with this idea as a play on words for the batting that goes inside the quilt and that a key to my sanity and life balance was quilting (i.e. not going batty . Our original logo was a sheep that was getting long arm stitched inside a quilt. If you’ve been with us for awhile you may remember that logo!

Posted by Carie on December 30th, 2009 | 1 Comment »

Quilting is my therapy!

I started quilting to do something for ME, and I REALLY needed it! (Anyone else feel this way?) We had recently adopted a child with cystic fibrosis and he was going through a hard time adjusting to our family, and had also begun doing foster care for a special needs child with cerebral palsy who was non-ambulatory and non-oral. Plus I had two more little ones running around. My husband was still working out of the home at the time, so when I say I needed some time for me, I really, really did. A wise person suggested that I find something to do that did not involve the kids, or doing something to help anyone else, but something that was just for me and my own personal growth. One afternoon, I will never forget, while surrounded by kids and still in my PJ’s I heard an ad on the radio mention the words to do something for you this year…take a quilting class. I remember thinking, here it is, my lightning bolt answer! So, I started taking quilting classes and was immediately hooked… Why did you start sewing?

Posted by Carie on December 24th, 2009 | 3 Comments »