I WANT TO QUILT

 

A QUILT I MADE FOR MY GRANDDAU

Friday, January 23, 2026 2:31:24 PM

I am watching SMITHSONIAN NATIONAL QUILT COLLECTION:AN OVERVIEW, prior to this I was watching a video on hand embroidery: HAND EMBROIDERY ART-Step by Step Design and Embroidery, because I want to quilt and embroider.  In my perfect world I would write and hand craft but in reality I do those things but I also must work. 

The reason for this blog: MARSHA SEWS AND GROWS AND COOKS, is to chronicle my journey, my struggles and my successes, but mostly struggles. I am ever learning because I often do something that doesn’t work, it is in those errors that I learn the most.

What I learned today, from this video, the basics are better than the trends.  I had long since turned away from quilting trends and amd doing those things according to how my instincts and desires lead me. Once upon a time people did it “that” way. 

For example: About 2 years ago, I started piecing fabric remnants together thinking I would just add pieces to the ‘thing’ until it looked like a quilt top. I learned in the video that in 1897 EDNA FORCE DAVIS started working on a CRAZY PATCHWORK QUILT that she completed in 1929  That is 32 years of sewing every now and then, I don’t know if they were called crazy patchwork quilts, patchwork quilts or just a quilt. Today they have precut pieces and books that tell you how to make a crazy patchwork quilt in addition to instructional videos.

No, it is not that I am not making a quilt incorrectly I am just not doing it like them. Today I learned what I knew instinctively, I have a unique style but it is not an original style. It is confirmation, validation that I am on the right track. The way I want to quilt is the way quilts have always been made but, like the quilters of the past, with my own unique style.

WRITTEN by Marsha L Foyd

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

FOOD NOTE: HONEY

 

In my first FOOD NOTE post I shared information on sugar, which I am trying to decrease my personal usage. I have not been a fan of honey until I tasted “real” honey. I consider real honey as the stuff I get from a beekeeper not a store.  

The following videos share: what is at the store, the difference between store bought and farm sourced , how honey is made and e different types of honey.  I now know why I do not like store bought honey and I understand why the honey I purchase from farmer’s markets are different colors. 

At the store: 

The difference between store bought and beekeeper bought: 

How honey is really made

Why "natural" honey comes in different shades of yellow

WRITTEN by: Marsha L Floyd

Friday, January 16, 2026 8:06:36 AM

FOOD NOTE: SUGAR

My 2017 container garden! 

I am determined to not just grow foods but store them as well, as part of my getting healthy journey. Because I am learning I think it will be best, for now, for me to share information from my sources. 

As my first post on the series, I will call, FOOD NOTES I will discuss sugar. I no longer use white sugar but cane sugar. White sugar is cane sugar as you will see with a unique difference.  My next episode will be about honey

WRITTEN  by Marsha L Floyd
Friday, January 16, 2026 7:49:14 AM

GIVING IT AWAY

 

Wednesday, November 5, 2025 3:53:08 PM

The oversized doll is over 35 years old 
3 Rag-dolls I made (not for sale)

Today I attended a workshop related to writing, of the many take aways there was one that applies to everything I do: Be true to yourself. 

I have been knitting, crocheting and sewing for decades now, and I rarely sell what I make.I have made a few things for profit but, the pressure of having to mass produce what I do is discouraging.  I did make money selling soap but that is because my batches were so large that there was more than I could use. 

Crafting ain’t cheap, the cost of equipment, fabric, threads, and other supplies add up.

I have a Cricket Maker: Cost $300, Heat Press $100,  starter kit $70  and various accessories (card stock, vinyl, t-shirts, caps, and other items needed add up!

Machine Embroidery - The machine cost $350, my supplies include thread, stabilizer, patterns, and the medium I am going to sew on, 

Machine Sewing and Quilting- My machine was a gift the Serger cost around $250 - 

  Hand Embroidery and quilting - I have hoops of various sizes starting around $2 and up

      The supplies for sewing, quilting and embroidering  by machine or hand include: 

          Fabric  $5 a yard and up

        Thread various types depending on the project cost $5 and up 

        Needles various types depending on the project cost $2 and up 

        Stablizer

        Interfacing

        And other miscellaneous items depending on the project example: buttons and zippers  

Knitting and Crocheting Knitting needles and Crochet hooks

                        Yarn

The biggest expense is the cost of my time. I spend days, weeks and months on these projects because I do original, one of a kind pieces. From planning, purchasing supplies, execution to delivery, on any given project, if I charged what many crofters charged most people would not want to pay. The truth is store bought often cost less than homemade.  The lowest hourly rate that I am aware of is $20. 

Example: If it takes you seven hours to make a baby quilt using 3 yards  of fabric I could charge $250  I have gifted over 5 baby quilts and the fabric each with original designs, one special order with 4 different fabrics needed. 

So why do I give it away? Because I like blessing people. I enjoy when I gift something I made and someone appreciates my work. There are a few individuals who offered to pay me and I declined.; a gift is a gift. 

However, if you are going to sell your products, you need a to know what each item is worth and what you are willing to do to market it. As I enter 2026, I have request for 3 carry-all bags, that include hand embroidery, a ragdoll and a pair of wide leg pants. I do not like making clothes for other people but this is for my great aunt, she is 95 years old, and what she wants she will get! I also have to put a zipper in her carry-all bag, that was gifted to her by someone else. I have at least 3 individuals who want me to make them quilts. Yes, some will pay me! 

Written by Marsha L Floyd

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.