Well,this post has been a long time coming, and the truth is I have avoided it as long as possible. But it's time to come clean. I'm closing Queenie Quilts. It has been great fun. I've loved doing shows and having a shop online but the reality is I just don't have enough hours in the day to do everything, and something has to give, so it is with sadness (and also a wee bit of excitement) that I announce that the shop is closing.
A lot of you will want to know why, and the truth is there just isn't enough time to do it the way that I want to. I want to have constant engagement and host weekly challenges and QAL, and all kinds of fun stuff. I want to have free patterns and for sale patterns and get all of the design ideas out of my head. But the truth is working full time plus teaching 16-24 hours a week, and trying to maintain a relatively normal(ish) life, is just too much. And the truth is with the competition online if you don't have a full time instagram/pinterest/digital manager it's nearly impossible. And let's be honest, social media is not my strong point, no matter how much I want it to be. Hell, I struggle to post on the blog with any real regularity, no matter what I intend. So, as of August 15th Queenie Quilts will be no more. I'm keeping the domain and you will still be able to reach me at my catherine@queeniequilts.com email address, but the store will go away. And to celebrate (and get rid of all of the inventory in my garage), I'll be hosting a series of giveaways and massive sales over the next few weeks. All yardage will be $5.00 per yard plus shipping, and most patterns will be 50-70% off. Yes, that's below cost, and someone will be angry about that, but the truth is, I just want it all out of my house, and to reclaim some space and sanity. So, pay attention to instagram and facebook as I post lots of sales and discounts, and if there is something that you are looking for, please let me know and I can set it aside for you.
So wish me luck over the next few hours as I get all of the pictures taken and the items posted for the sale, and get this all started, and know that this decision was not taken lightly, or quickly. I've been talking about it for almost 6 months, and I've been slowly getting rid of my shop equipment over the last few months (racks for shows, etc). And if anyone needs a cash register, let me know, I can get you a screaming deal!
My intention with closing the shop is to give myself some more time to concentrate on writing and publishing patterns and projects (both free and paid), and really having time to do the parts that I love, but haven't had time to work on because of all of the other responsibilities. So, don't be sad, it's not a goodbye, it's more of a see you soon, and more often!
Catherine
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