2011 - Happy New Year!

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On this New Year's Eve as I pack away the last of Christmas 2010 and plan my first day of 2011, the upcoming year looks much more promising than the last few.  As always, hopes are high, but the path ahead appears far more solid and secure than it was this time last year.  Of course, that security is always linked to my business success, and, if nothing changes for a while, things are looking good. 

I pray everyday for the Lord to hold steady, please, and allow me to rest in a firm schedule and not be madly seeking out new accounts.  The stress of marketing myself and striving for security had driven out all the room in my mind and schedule for the other important things in life.  Recently, I've begun to long for quiet days working at home and doing laundry and making dinner.  I miss my local friends and visiting and running around.  I had all the time in the world it seemed in 2008 and 2009, but that free time was not welcome and was filled with worry because business was nearly nil and I was searching, searching, searching.  2010 opened with the return of all my accounts, but it totally took the whole year to make up for the two past years and settle into a routine that works for our current needs and pushes me forward. 

On the other hand, to be in charge of your own work success is quite exhilarating.  Perseverance is everything.  Follow your dreams.  Be flexible but keep your eyes on the goal.  And, remember, most successful folks you can point to often failed several times before the big time.  Hopefully, I'm in good company! 

So, a new blog banner for the winter season has been found and embellished.  I like sticking to a white background but love to find a new blog header every few months.  I found this vintage bird banner design at The Background Fairy.  There are matching buttons, too. 
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Do you have a new e-reader in the house?  I've sewn up several e-reader cozies (manly ones, too) and have them listed in the calicodaisy etsy shop. 

This was really a banner year and holiday season for calicodaisy handmade.  I don't think I could have handled one more order, and that's a very good thing.  Every year, I blog and talk about getting my studio organized, but it is so hard to stop the moving vehicle.  So, I've taken things on one bite at a time instead of focusing on the whole job and getting weary, and the results are beginning to show.  You know, my little fantasy is to be featured in Where Women Create, and that isn't going to happen unless I have something wonderful -- studio and designs -- to share with others.  It could happen! 

Sometime soon that little photo of One Yard Wonders up there on my sidebar is going to change -- to One Yard Wonders 2!  The authors wrote to me earlier this year and asked if I had another pattern to offer using a specific type of fabric.  I sent in two ideas, and one was chosen.  Obviously, I am thrilled.  All thanks to blogging, I tell you.  So many opportunities have presented themselves through the blogs.  

Well, I leave you to watch the ball drop!  My son has already rung in 2011 over in Germany.  Due to the snowy, cold weather, travel was backed up pretty bad in Europe this year, so he and his friends didn't attempt to visit Venice for the New Year as planned.  Though I'm sorry he missed out, I was glad to know he was nice and cozy and safe in his university town.  They made a good decision to stay "home."  

Wishing you a Happy 2011.