For the last six months, I have been beta testing QuiltingPro Plus™ (QPPlus) by the Gavin Group. The reason I need the Plus version that incorporates all of the QuiltingPro™ (QP) features is that I teach, lecture, write articles, and curate exhibitions. With QP, I am able to keep all my supply lists, class instructions, publication submissions, inventory of my own quilts as well as others, and contact information in one centralized software program.

QP keeps track of all your quilts, shows, exhibitions (online, galleries, & museums), touring shows, challenges and publications. You can enter as much information or as little as you feel like it for your quilts including dimensions, creation date, color scheme, materials, techniques, art statement, design notes, sale price/insurance value, appraisal info, sold to info, and even pictures. If you also collect quilts, you can keep track of all the details of each one.

Each time you start the program, you see a “Reminder Screen” that tells you what entry deadlines are coming up, what quilts need to be shipped, which ones you're waiting for jury notification, etc.

As you enter shows, win awards, etc. QP logs all that information as the history for the individual quilts. When you're ready to select quilts for a specific show, you just look at Find Available Quilts and QP does the hard work for you. It takes into consideration when a quilt has to arrive at the venue and when it will be back. It even understands that quilts in online exhibitions are available for brick & mortar shows!

  
Sample Screens (Click on image for larger picture)

There's a place to enter shipping tracking numbers with a hot link to the UPS, FedEx, and USPS tracking sites. Click on the hot link and QP takes you right to that shipping company’s web site. Copy and paste your tracking number entered on the QP “Show Screen” and within seconds, you know the status of your quilt shipment.

There are numerous reports and ways of looking at the data. This program has allowed me to plan out my exhibition availability much farther in advance then my previous homegrown method. (I enter close to a dozen a month and have a fairly high acceptance rate, so this has been a god-ess send!)

Yes, there are places to enter challenge themes, size restrictions, and whether you have a sleeve, frame, pedestal (for dolls), or hanger/mannequin (for wearables). There are check off boxes for Slides Made, Label Attached, Display Device, and reports to remind you which quilts need what finishing touches.

It will print labels for your slides and a variety of other reports, as well as keep track of your taxes if you sell your quilts. The Gavin Group has truly has thought of everything we need to become more professional.

Once you get through the initial entering of all your quilting info, and start entering future show information, you'll find you'll have much more time for creating new quilts, and will spend less time figuring out all the paper work. The Gavin Group can even make some of that data entry hurdle smaller if you’ve been keeping your information in spreadsheets or databases.Once you get through the initial entering of all your quilting info, and start entering future show information, you'll find you'll have much more time for creating new quilts, and will spend less time figuring out all the paper work. The Gavin Group can even make some of that data entry hurdle smaller if you’ve been keeping your information in spreadsheets or databases.

Features of QuiltingPro Plus

QPPlus adds Exhibits, Workshops, Sponsors, Event Details, and an expanded Publication Info to QP. You can upgrade from QP to QPPlus at anytime, but if you plan to teach, write or organize shows in the near future go with the QPPlus.

All the information you need to prepare for your Classes, Workshops, and Lectures is at your fingertips. QPPlus stores your Supply Lists, Items To Take, Items Need Provided, and Scheduled Classes. The Reminders Screen even keeps track of guilds, show managers, or other organizations that have inquired but not confirmed a class.

For those teachers who have items to sell such as books, patterns, or quilting supplies, QPPlus has an inventory feature. It’s under the Event Detail section along with Checklists, Workshops (for the specific event) Travel and Accommodations, Items to Take or Ship, Samples, Quilts, and Cost information.

QPPlus can produce invoices for the products, quilts sold, class fees, and reimbursable expenses. There are several places throughout the program to enter costs specifically attributed to an event or a quilt, and there is Administration Costs for general expenditures. The program also has an Itinerary report that you can print and send ahead. All reports can be printed or stored as a word processing document, which then can be sent in an email.

While QP has the ability to store information on publications your quilts have appeared in, QPPlus is for quilters like me who also write about quilts and other quilters. If you’ve ever freelanced for a popular magazine, you know that editors have multiple tight deadlines and often need follow-up calls, notes, or emails to make sure your article and its associated images don’t slip to the edit room floor.

With QPPlus, you’ll be able track where you have submitted an article or article proposal and follow it through all the production stages. You’ll be able to ‘see’ when you can submit the article to another publication for reprint. As the volunteer publicist for several quilt exhibitions, I’m also able to coordinate press releases and postcard mails.

If you organize or curate shows and exhibitions, then QPPlus is the right version for you. In addition to tracking other quilters’ quilts, it has data entry fields for Fees Paid, Fees Received, Other Charges, and Date Invoiced. There are many details that go into making sure show is well orchestrated and QPPlus can help keep the quilt information straight.

Draw Backs to QP and QPPlus

While the initial quilt, show, classes and publication data entry can seem daunting at first, start with the quilts you’re most actively showing and build from there. I was under a deadline to prepare a slide lecture and arranged for a college art student to enter the information.

Another small challenge is learning how any database program works. It will take a bit of time to get used to why you can ‘see’ the information you know you have just entered until you close out of one or more screens and then select them again.

Conclusion

As I wrote early in this review, QuiltingProPlus has truly helped me be more organized in managing my quilt inventory, show and exhibition entries, teaching schedule, and publication submissions. I am very satisfied with the program and the results it gives me.

©2004 Carolyn Lee Vehslage
Carolyn Lee Vehslage is a quilt artist, quilt teacher/lecturer,quilt exhibition curator, and author of articles about quilters and their quilts. Her quilts are viewable online at www.clvquilts.com

For more information on QuiltingPro™ or QuiltingPro Plus™, contact the Gavin Group toll-free at 866-45Gavin, or check out www.QuiltingPro.com or e-mail info@quiltingpro.com

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