I can't believe five years have gone by since I opened Amy's Rag Bag! Thanks everyone for keeping me sewing!

I haven't kept track of how many pads I've made or orders filled, but I do have over a hundred empty thread spools sitting here. I've been saving them up thinking that eventually inspiration would strike me and I'd dream up a fantastic project idea. Well, it's been five years and nothing has come to me. Please help me out! Post any ideas, however crazy they might be, in the comments. If I use your suggestion I'll credit $10 to your account. They don't have to be your original ideas, but give credit/provide links if you know who's ideas they are.

This is also a raffle post! Comment to enter (comments don't need to have to do with thread spools). A winner will be randomly drawn on May 20 using this random number picker. One comment per person will be counted. The prize is $10 Store Credit.

The winner is comment #9. Congratulations Julie!

I rarely hear current pop music, but apparently the #2 song in the US right now is about thrift stores! It's a pretty cute song.

I've always loved thrift stores. That's where most of my clothes and household stuff comes from, and quite a bit of the materials and office supplies for Amy's Rag Bag come from there too. Buying used instead of new is fun and saves money, and it's also better for the earth because you aren't creating demand for new stuff to be manufactured, which means less ends up in the landfills.

What do you love about thrift stores? Do you have a favorite thrift store, a fun story about thrift store shopping, or have you found something amazing there recently? Answer in the comments to be entered in the raffle! A winner will be randomly drawn on February 4 using this random number picker. One comment per person will be counted. The prize is $10 Store Credit.

Happy new year! What a busy year it was! I got married a year ago in December and became a full time student in January. I'm studying sustainable community development, with one semester to go before I earn my BA at Prescott College. And I also became a chicken lady.

I haven't had as much time for Amy's Rag Bag as I would have liked, but I want to thank you all for keeping me sewing! Sewing days are the best.

The sampler sets were a popular item, but I had to take most of them off the scene. The standard variety set was easy enough for me, but I wasn't sure if it was as helpful as it could have been for you. So I added a few quick questions to help me customize the sets for each person without making things too complicated. Here is the new and improved sampler set form.

Please keep in mind that, because sampler sets are so deeply discounted, they are limited to one per customer and are only available as your first order. I do have a special for returning customers too =) If you refer a friend to Amy's Rag Bag, and that friend places an order, ask them to mention you so that I can add a $5 credit to your account. You can also get referral bonuses by placing links on your blog or website (details here).

Thanks everyone for playing the raffle! The winner is comment #10. Congrats Michelle!

I'd forgotten how much fun raffles are. I'll do one again soon =)

My new sewing room is not quite ready for the photo shoot that I had promised, so in the meantime here's another gratuitous chicken picture. Sweetpea and Me

It's been a while since I posted a blog entry. Well, a lot has been going on around here. I've been quiet, but busy =) My husband, our cats and I just moved to an urban farm! With chickens! I'm still setting up the sewing room, but as soon as that's ready there will be pictures. For now, here's a picture that my husband took of the chickens.

While I'm at it, I might as well make this a raffle post, right? The prize is $10 store credit as usual and the topic is... something fun this time.

Years ago, before any of us were married or had kids, my three sisters and I used to go down to the local bingo hall for a good time. It was always hilarious, I don't even know why. We usually had to go sit in the back because we laughed so much. We never won. The bingo hall is long gone now, but I was reminded of it when I came across a UK-based online bingo site called Cheeky Bingo. I can't play, being in the US, but it looks like it would be fun. I might try it when we travel in the UK in the future.

What's something you used to do for fun that you haven't had a chance to do in a while? Answer in the comments to be entered in the raffle! A winner will be randomly drawn on March 31 using this random number picker. One comment per person will be counted. The prize is $10 Store Credit.

I've never done much marketing or advertising. Most of my customers find me by word of mouth thanks to other happy customers. I am very grateful to those of you who have been spreading the word. If you refer a friend and that friend places an order, tell them to mention you so that I can add a $5.00 credit to your account.

At the bottom of this blog post are some links you can use when you tell people about Amy's Rag Bag. You will receive $5 in store credit for posting the links, and then another $5 credit every time a new customer follows your link to place an order. Please follow the instructions below to get started.

How to Earn Referral Rewards

1. Copy and paste the code for one of the links below to your website or blog.
2. If you have ever ordered at amysragbag.com, you should have an existing account. (Let me know if you need help finding your log in info.) Log in and post a link to your blog in the comments here, and I will add $5 store credit to your account.
3. Every time a new customer follows your link and places their first order at amysragbag.com you will receive another $5 store credit.
4. You can also get credit for referring people without using the links. Simply ask your referrals to mention your name in the text box at checkout so that you can get $5 credit when they place their first order.
5. Please be up front about the fact that you are getting a kick back for referring people to my site.

Thank you! ♥

All of my items at Cloth Pad Shop are 30% off until the end of September!

The July raffle winner is BlueCereus! Yay! Congrats BlueCereus! I sent you an email.

There is no raffle this month, but there will be random specials, sales and coupon codes posted on my facebook page. The current sale is 15% off selected palettes.

There is also a theme running at Cloth Pad Shop. The theme is Talk to the Animals. I'll be adding more animal pads there as I make them.

Thanks to everyone who gave suggestions and voted in the poll last month. I am going to implement the third option, which is to list pre-made pads on the website. Most of them will be listed by size, materials and palettes so you won't get to choose the exact pad. It will be a lot like made-to-order except that the pads will be sent out more quickly and there won't be customizable options. I will continue to list individual pads at Cloth Pad Shop as well.

Several of you said that you really like the made-to-order setup, and I do too. I had intended to keep it going. Unfortunately, something came up. Both of my cats got sick within the last couple weeks (when one gets sick the other is usually a little too sympathetic) and incurred some very high vet bills that really set us back. I'm going to have to give up my sewing room, get a rent-paying roommate in there, and get a job for the winter. I don't mind admitting that times are hard; I know they are hard for a lot of us.

I'll be taking made-to-orders until September 15, after that I'll have in-stock pads only.

Now, it's not so bad. I'm going to have lots of pads made up to keep the business going through the winter, and there will be lots of variety (buttonholes, quirky prints, bamboo cores etc.) I just won't be able to make any custom items for a while. Hopefully I'll be able to afford sewing space again soon. *fingers crossed*

Thanks again for all your support!

Laura

The following palettes will give you 15% off made-to-order items if you select them as your first choice palette.

This does not include sampler sets.

Primary Patchwork

In-stock, Made-to-Order, and Something Else, Maybe...

What are the pros and cons?

When you buy in-stock pads, you can see exactly what you're getting and the pads are ready to go right away. However, since they need to be photographed and listed individually, they are usually more labor-intensive and therefore more expensive.

Made-to-Orders are a great option if you don't mind waiting a couple weeks and don't have your heart set on any particular fabric. You can have the pads built to your own specifications. If you don't need too many customizations, made-to-orders are less expensive than in-stock. The exact fabric selections will usually be a surprise.

There's another option I could offer. I found out that my site is capable of keeping track of inventory. I could create a catalog page that would tell you exactly how many flannel topped liners I have in the forest colors theme, for example, and you could buy those from stock. You wouldn't see pictures of the exact pads but you'd at least know the color scheme, materials and dimensions and you wouldn't have to wait for them to be made. The pricing would be the same as made-to-order. What do you think? If enough people are interested, I'll go ahead and set that up.

While I'm at it, I'm open to any other requests and suggestions as well. I'm always looking for ways to improve.