I'm Flying

For the next month I'm taking an e-course to learn how to grow my business. Its given by Kelly Rae Roberts artist, author and mentor. She has built a huge business with her inspiring art work through trial and error. Now she has decided to share her expertise with this e-course. So far I've just scratched the surface az I signed up late so now have to catch up, but she has given me much to think about.

First up - FEARS. For all of us who work in solitude to translate what we imagine in our heads to our hands, there are many fears. Will anyone understand what I'm doing? Will anyone care what I'm doing? Will anyone buy what I'm doing? How do I market my goods? How do I build a business? AM I GOOD ENOUGH!

Kelly Rae reminds me that these fears are shared by many creative people as they start out. Having written them down, helps me move beyond them. And she shares this wonderful quote from Eleanor Roosevelt.

You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do.

These are inspiring words reminding me to move forward learning as I go one step at a time. Set goals. Have faith in my talent. Dare to dream.

I'll keep you posted on what I'm learning. Meanwhile check out Kelly Rae Roberts. See what she does.

Hooray!!

work table and ironing board against long wall

my sewing space with spools of threads and ribbons,

new machine in its space with cubes on each side.

My revised work room is finished. I'm ready with another sewing space so I can have a helper. But let me assure you all garnents will be handmade except the leggings which are mass produced but hand embellished. As you can see with a limited amount of floor space we've been forced to use wall space. I think I'm going to love having the fabrics hung. I need to be able to see what fabrics I have so I can combine them Also love additional shelves to hold what I don't use or need daily but weekly. Still easy to get to but not under foot.

Many thanks to husband and Jennifer for their ideas and help. Now I'm off to sew.

Aging, Not So Gracefully

My husband's family is struggling with the options for care of their Mom. She is the last surviving parent for most of us. For many years she was the caretaker of her mother and then her husband. Now she needs care, and the options and decisions are very difficult. Somehow we were not prepared for this; so we struggle. We didn't talk before her health deteriorated. Now we find it impossible to talk without hurt feelings and misunderstandings. There is no clear agreement on what is best for Mom and how we can all work together to give her the best quality of life for her remaining years.

Our nation is aging. People are living longer. Medicine has become so sophisticated that our life span is prolonged. But we don't have systems in place for handling care of our elderly. Ideally each family should take care of its own. What happens when families are far apart geographically? What happens when the elder requires more attention and care then the primary caretaker can give? Who can guide a family through the many and often bewildering options? Who can help a family face the future of their loved one?

Gail Sheehy has just written a book, Passages in Caretaking, Turning Chaos into Confidence. She does a good job in talking about the stages a caretaker goes through. (Check it out.) But when talking about resources, she speaks from a New Yorker's point of view where there are many programs and specialists which are not readily available in small towns, suburbs or small cities yet. The field of geriatrics for doctors, nurses, social workers and aides is growing fast but it is irregular from state to state and region to region.

For the moment our situation is about to change. Mom will be moving to a nursing home. My husband and I don't think this is the best move for her. But we acknowledge that it may be the only move possible as her primary caretaker is overwhelmed and exhausted. I hope that this is the right decision. I hope Mom settles in easily. I hope she is not as disappointed in us and our decision as I am.

Pretty Pictures

Such pretty pictures from Fonda Photography of Iowa. This is her daughter wearing an Annarella Girl top as a short summer dress. She sure looks cute and cool!

Check out the website http://www.fondaphotography.com/ . Mrs. Cie is a wife, mom, artist and photographer. Her shots are colorful amd natural, like these above. There are so many wonderful photos on her website. I'm proud that she liked a top from Annarella Girl for her daughter - artist to artist.

Writing this in a construction zone. Husband is giving me more hanging space to use for fabrics. I also have a second sewing station. It's amazing what we can fit in my small sewing room. Special thanks to my daughter, Jennifer, for her good organizational ideas! (Don't know in what gene pool she found her skills.)

Busy, busy

Forgive me for the lack of posting. Everyday I think I'll get to it "this afternoon," but then I don't. I've got some pictures to share, thoughts to express. etc. I'll get to all of them in time - after Memorial Day. From now until then I have some business tasks, a little sewing and lots of family activities.

Have a good holiday weekend. See you all next week!!!

Flower Market Revisited

Meet Ellie. That's right, this young lady shares my name. Her grandmother bought her a dress but couldn't find a hairband she liked. So she returned on Saturday for a day of fun and picked up a headband I made especially for her. I love her painted face. She is a new favorite of mine! So like an Annarella Girl - quiet in demeanor, but a penchant for wild colors!!!

It has come to my attention that some mothers are hanging the dresses in the closet to save for a special occasion. Please don't. These garments wash and dry well. I create them with the hope that they will be loved by the girls and worn often. So take them out of the closet. They need to dance, swing, hang upside down and twirl with each Annarella girl.

The response of you all at the Market was remarkable. I can't say it often enough...you made me feel so loved with your appreciation of the dresses, tops with leggings, rompers, skirts etc. For an artisan who works in solitude wondering if the images in the head are being translated truthfully by the hands, your smiles and comments affirmed that I am on the right path!!! Thanks, thanks, thanks.

A Great Time

The Wilmington Flower Market was wonderful. I just loved seeing old friends with growing kids, and soooo many new moms and grandmoms. The girls were all so beautiful as you will see in upcoming posts. Temporarily I am computer challenged but will be able to download some shots next week. And weren't we lucky with the weather - beautiful, sunny, warm days.

I have to shout out a big thanks to all the volunteers that worked so hard to take good care of us, vendors. They are a big reason I love doing this show. See you all in 2011.

Now the husband and I face a long ride back to Georgetown. It will give me plenty of time to start making plans for fall and winter. I will keep tweaking the designs I have. I got good feedback on everything I had. A special treat was to get a long talk with my niece, Jessica. She has worked in retail, wholesale and manufacturing. Her thoughts and insights give me lots to think about. I'm excited about some ideas we discussed. More later after I let my brain percolate.

I'll be back in the groove next week! Talk to you all then!!!