Enjoying Fall and Looking Ahead

Oh how I love Fall! The smell of the leaves, the crunch of a crisp Macintosh apple, and the sounds of geese flying South. It's a bit different for me this year, however. I can't look out the windows and see my mountains, but everything else is the same. The cottage has had it's own transformation and is beginning to take on a bit of a well deserved face lift.


I have been spending most of my days packing pattern orders, it is certainly a good year for them and I am still working away on them on a daily basis.  I am trying to balance my work for the Simple Goods Show which is sometimes difficult, but I am so thankful to have work, were many have none.


Beyond that, I have been working on my business plan. I used to do it every 6 months, but with this economy, I need to be able to make quicker changes if need be. So far, it has worked out well and the decisions made for Fall are doing very well.  Forging ahead, I will be expanding my graphics. I am excited to see them in paper and as rubber stamps. Oh how fun to know that my designs will be used by crafters to create the hours away! I can see the handcrafted cards and postcards at Craft Shows and Home Shows. I'd like to see about some specifically for hand tags  or little boxes. I'm also excited to see my designs in fabric. I have lots of ideas for this one and if it works as well as I think, it could be a very cool thing!


I miss the shows very much. They are always my first love, and I will be doing more next year. I've scouted out a few and with careful planning and inventory, I think they will all be a success. I will be pulling in some of my papers as finished items into my booths...along with a few other mediums I am mulling and getting some stats on. Being an Artist, I will be building the designs and making molds of them, verses buying molds from a supplier and having the items be that which anyone can do... the Goode Wife will have her own line! This is still in the very beginning stages, but I hope that in late Winter, you will have some wonderful sneak peeks! 


It's a beautiful day out and there is so much to be done here. I hope that you are enjoying the turn to Fall and all the goode things that it embraces~

Remember

 Tonight on TDIPT Mercantile, I have only one offering, but deep within it holds so much for me, during these past couple of weeks. She holds within her my love of Puritan Gravestone carvings, and so her name."Remember" seems fitting. To me, it goes deeper especially these past couple of weeks. We will certainly remember the two hurricanes that have left their mark on this area. For me there was a couple of sleepless nights as I had "pump watch" in the basement. We were fortunate not to have the damage that others near us did, and thankful that we are on high enough ground to not worry about an evacuation. Oh yes, I will remember these events and never forget.

This past Sunday was another remembrance, that of the terrorists attacks. My heart has been with so many these past 10 years and it will be for the rest of my life. We will always remember. It's interesting how one inspiration can take such a journey and end up holding so much within an artist's heart.

Answers...I Get Answers.

As our lives change and time goes on, we often have questions that we ask ourselves. "Will I be happy?". "Will I know anyone?". No matter how goode the changes are...there are always questions and perhaps we never voice some, thinking they may be insignificant or silly.  As life changed for me a couple years ago with the passing of my Father, there were difficult decisions that my daughters and I had to make. I was moving an hour and a half South of our home. I wanted the choice of where they lived to be theirs...they are young ladies with good heads on their shoulders. As a child of a Military family, I did not have such choices. As a child moving was full of fun and adventure, but as a teen; I wished for roots and long friendships. Understandably, my daughters wanted to live with their other Grandparents and continue their schooling where they had roots and friends. As a Mom, it was difficult to let go.


As I left the area that I had yearned for when we traveled,  and later settled and raised my daughters; I had many questions. Home is truly where your loved one is and I love my new home...but I knew I would miss the mountains and the wee critters that lived around me. Moving to the Suburbs,would I have the wildlife that I loved so much? Today...I have my answer.