Thinking About the New Year…

This has been quite a month for me, as you probably noticed, I didn’t post a lot.

My day job was getting stressful, and it culminated in a layoff at the beginning of December. The day after that, my 4 year old Dora-cat was in the Emergency Vet being diagnosed and treated for kidney failure. I’ve spent the last few weeks nursing her, thinking a lot about where I want to be in the next year, and recovering from a cold I’ve been suffering with as well. Dora is doing much better, thank you, and I should be soon. 🙂

I have, over the course of this year, wanted more time to work on designs, and on trying to make things more interesting here on the blog. Some of the things I want to provide you require stitching on my part! and as you’ve seen, that just hasn’t happened.  So the extra time, is welcome, if the extra paycheck is missed.

Things I’d like to happen for 2010 around here:

First, I’m going to post regularly here. I’m planning on once a week, at the very least. I’ll try to get a button up soon so that you can have the blog sent to you via email or RSS feed if you would rather.  I suspect once a week will become plenty, since I can’t keep up with the blogs that I want to read daily! One that went monthly, very apologetically and I sent her an email thanking her, because now I’ll get to not only read it, but probably even have time to use the information she posts!!

Second, the newsletter. I want to try to get one out to those of you who have asked for it monthly, at the very least. It will contain lots of information about things to stitch on, how to use your stitching in ways other than framing it on the wall, and possibly some free patterns.

Third, the business. I really don’t want to go back to work for corporate America. What I find myself living for is designing, drawing, making art, and writing.  So I’m going to try to build that into a way to make a living. I have a lot of ideas, including translating the designs and art I have built up into more than one form of needlework: for example, offering both a cross stitch chart and a quality crewel kit or design…and I’m teaching – both shimmying and stitching.

Fourth: Myself. I want to develop my abilities as an artist, and to develop myself as well as everything else. To this end, I’m taking Kelly Kilmer’s “Life Made by Hand” art journaling class this year. And I’m taking more walks, continuing to practice ShivaNata, and trying to listen to my Spirit more.

Which all leads to: I’m excited about the New Year. I hope you are, too.

Happy New Year everyone!