Stretching

Halfway through the e-course, Flying Lessons, by Kelly Rae Roberts. Feeling overwhelmed with all the info, but keeping my goals pasted up on my computer.

Goal for blog? This quote from Kelly Rae is guiding me

"We all have a story, a life in progress, wanting to be heard, seen, celebrated, lifted up. We are people who feel the creative spirit within, sometimes feeling alone, sometimes struggling to find our way into a community of like-minded souls."

Welcome to the struggle. Can't wait to see what the next week brings!!!

It Feels So Good

Slowly but surely I'm getting done those small but distasteful tasks that I've put off for months. It feels so good. Like cleaning out the junk drawer in the kitchen. For said months the tasks have been clinking around in my brain. Always gnawing at the side of my subconcious. Making me restless and unfocused. My inner voice says "take care of it tomorrow." (Why do I listen to that voice?) Well, I think I just took care of the last one, and the chattering has stopped. The calm is wonderful.

Why do we punish ourselves by putting off these small chores? Are there folks out there who don't postpone them? (Bet you don't have a junk drawer either.) If you're one of those, share with the rest of us your secret to keeping up with your life.

For today I'll enjoy the feeling of tranquility. I'm pretty sure I'll fall back into procrastination tomorrow.

Meantime look at this great new combination of fabrics. I've been waiting to find these shades of lime and chartreuse for months. So happy!!! Please enjoy.

Me and My Blog

Today I'm thinking about my blog. In the e-course, Flying Lessons, Kelly Rae Rpberts has spent a lot of time talking about the importance of an internet presence for the growth of a creative business. (Aside- love the term creative business.) At a minimum my business should include a blog, a website and facebook. Well, I have all 3, but I'm not using them very wisely.This is something I already knew but was unsure how to better my internet tools. I have some ideas now. Do you mind if I use you as my sounding board?

First my blog - I have been doing this for about 2 years. There are a few of you who are regular readers - thanks!!!! - but not as many followers as I'd like. All the experts say to be myself. Act like I'm chatting at my kitchen table with a good friend. I've been trying to do that and will continue to try harder. But here come those fears talked about yesterday. 1. I must be boring 2. I must be a bad communicator 3. My thoughts and observations are not focused.

I do care passionately about my business. For the first time in my life after children I love what I'm doing and find it soul satisfying. I'm challenged to build this business into a monetarily satisfying one. I'm scared. I've made some mistakes. And I'm sure there are more to come. I want this blog to reflect all of that. What clothes I'm working on; what fabrics I've fallen in love with; what is inspiring me; where I am in my goals.

Can you stand it as I ramble? Will you read me regularly? No, check back every once in a while to see how I'm doing. If you answer yes, please recommend me to your friends. Any suggestions about how I can improve or what random thoughts you connect with, put it in the comments.

Bye for now!!!

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.)