A new year, expanding my horizons

We survived the month of December, barely. Between the wedding, Christmas, Christmas orders (some very last minute to ship), and strange work shifts, I was exhausted. I am refreshed though, ready to tackle the new year. I set a lot of personal and professional goals for myself including the old standby to get organized. Maybe this will be the year for that! Probably not, but I strive for it anyway. Time management issues (I have no sense of time management being the issue, lol) have forced me to aim higher this year. I want holidays prepared for in advance and maybe I won't be so stressed. Anyone who knows me knows how complicated I make things for myself and this goal was no exception. I have to do ALL holidays and not just Christmas in advance, lol. I have made a good start, Easter basket stuffers for the grandkids are already in the works and will be stowed in a "gift box" in the office. These cute little bunny and buntings are an example of what will be in their baskets.

I decided to expand my sewing and embroidery horizons this year and I can envision complete outfits for the girls, complete with matching socks. These are my first attempt at embroidering socks on the machine, not too bad for practice. I'll send them to Sophie and see if she likes them!

Two friends of mine are expecting babies this year, both boys, so I decided to try my hand at something different for them as gifts. This onsie is also a first attempt and one I really like! I can see a whole set for the new little babies!

I also want to put lots of effort into building our business this year. We were very pleased with how well we did during the holidays and want to be better prepared. I plan to expand our inventory and will be diligent about keeping existing inventory stocked so I'm not rushing to complete orders. Tabetha loved the pocket monster set I made for Sophie, so we'll stock those this year as well as the monster puppet set. The pocket monsters are great for using up scraps and I have the first set started; I make them as time fillers. I have made the first bag though, I absolutely love the method for lined drawstring bags I mentioned in an earlier post. The casing for the drawstring has to fall in just the right place and I am either mathimatically gifted or just plain lucky because I had to revamp the measurements for the size I wanted and it worked!

I'll keep you updated on how well I maintain my resolve to stay on the right path! Wishing you and yours a kick butt New Years full of new ideas, wonderful adventures, and creativity!