Please please please read......

Tonight's post is a simple one... if you quilt for us or make laundry bags please can you make sure you read this as these little admin details will really make my life easier. 

Each week when the request list goes out you will see three columns.  The first column lists the recipient's preferences, hobbies, interests etc.    The second column lets you know whether they want a bag, a quilt or both.  Finally the third column lists a number.   This is the important bit.... that number is only useful for the week it appears on the request list.   What is number 1 this week will be replaced by another number one next week. 

Green, Blue, Orange - Colourful with Australian Animals

Q

1

When you email me to volunteer to take on a quilt please quote the entire line.... This is really important.  It helps me to find the specific request a lot quicker. Sure I can start at the top and scroll or page down to the relevant number but if it is number 100 that is a slow process. If i have the full request I can search on a word in the request such as Orange or colourful... I will pick key words.   This may seem like a little thing but when you are dealing with hundreds of emails every little bit really helps. 

Next if you email me about a quilt I need more info than the person's first name or their theme.  I often get inquiries about certain requests... can you ask what his favourite football team is, what breed of dog does he have, how old are his children and so on..... and I am more than happy to chase up the answers to these questions but I need to know who He/She is!  Again, please use their full name and add in their PM keys.  The PM keys number is the seven digit number starting with 8 that is part of everyone's address. If you have taken on a specific request then you will have been given that person's address which will include their PM keys.  Please refer to those when emailing me for any reason about the quilt/LB you are working on. Again, that makes it soooo much easier to find the specific request. 

Finally, when you post off your quilt or laundry bag you must email me to let me know that you have posted it.  Again, please remember that I am dealing with hundreds of requests at any one time.   I have learned not to trust my memory as there are so many quilters with similar names and so many requests with similar themes.   In your email please quote the recipients full name, rank and PM keys. This will speed things up for me.  Please also send a photo of the quilt and/or laundry bag. If you have already sent me one then please remind me that you have.  Again, I deal with so many quilters and so many requests that I just can't remember the specifics of each one.  You will be aware that you sent me a photo, but I will not be able to remember you have sent me one and if i have to do a search to see if I have one already or not that takes time.  your assistance in this would be MUCH appreciated. 

One of the major pitfalls of working at home is the constant interruptions that cannot always be put on the back burner.  For that reason at times I will forget to make a quilt as sent or will forget some other detail.  If you have emailed me with the person's full name, rank and PM Keys, I can do a search on the PM keys in my emails and any emails with that number will pop up.  If you have used the PM keys when you asked a question, that email will pop up, if you have used the PM keys when you told me you had posted the quilt, that email will pop up.  If you have not used the PM keys then i will not be able to find the email and I will have to send you an email to confirm that you have indeed sent off the quilt. I would rather not have to do that if possible.

Finally, whenever you send off a quilt please send me a photo.  These photos go on the blog so please do your best to get a nice clear one.  I would much prefer it if you could please email the photo to me with the name, rank and PM keys.  If you cannot email it to me then by all means send it to me in a Facebook private message(PM) or text it to my mobile number.  However, if you sent the photo by PM or text please follow up with an email including the members details as requested AND tell me you have sent the photo by  PM or text.   Of course I will know you have but the problem is that an increasing number of people are PM-ing me or texting me. That is fine (to a degree) if I am home and at my laptop, but if I am out I then have to remember to action the text when I get home and chances are I will forget.   Email is always best. 

These are just little thing but lot of little thing add up and if you could all read the above and try to stick with the procedures as set out about that would be awesome and would really make life easier for me.