I’ve been quilting for a long time now. I’ve been designing my own patterns for about half of that time. I used to sell them in some local stores, but printing was expensive, and at the end of the day, I made about $0.90 profit on each pattern sold. Hardly a going concern. I found it frustrating that the small designer had to struggle so much to create and sell but that’s how things were.

Forward to 2020, and things are significantly different. For one thing, patterns are now often sold as digital downloads. The designer can create an attractive and useful pattern and not have to invest in the time to print and stuff envelopes. Updates are easier to make, without having to figure out how to update a hundred paper patterns. I also think it’s more environmentally sound – I sell a digital item, and paper is not used until the pattern is actually going to be used by the consumer, rather than me printing hundreds of copies of a paper pattern and if it doesn’t sell out, then I have to dispose of all that paper.

With all of that in mind, I have been researching e-commerce websites that can allow me to sell digital downloaded patterns, and I think I have finally found a platform that works for me. While I’m not quite ready to launch yet, it’s in the works and I’m very excited that soon I will be able to market my patterns myself and have them available for purchase. To say that I’m nervous is putting it mildly, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. I enjoy the creative process so much and I enjoy sharing what I do with people so this seems like a natural path for me. I will announce here when the site is up and running!

I also wanted to give an update from a few weeks ago – my crazy pieced table topper is together. I don’t have it quilted yet, but several folks asked to see it and not everyone is on Facebook, so here’s a photo of what the completed top looks like. It is going to get quilted and bound this weekend and I think it will be lovely on my dining room table this fall. I learned a lot about value and fabric placement in these blocks but for the trial effort, I’m happy with it.