How can it be that January is already nearly over? Didn't it just start? Wasn't it just Christmas last week? Please tell me I'm not the only one who thinks this.
Well, I suppose with the impending end of the month though, signals my first monthly JLV Patterns Business round up. Yay! (Or not so yay if you find these kinds of things boring. I really don't blame you, but I'm excited. And I'm sure the cats would be excited if they'd only stop snoozing in the sun for 5 seconds to ponder just how that food got into their bowl... it must be magic.)
So, er, can we start January again please? January has been almost a bit of a nothing month JLV Patterns wise, but, I guess it's always going to be an interesting in-between time here. It's summer, so we've been outside in the garden a lot, we've also been painting and sanding and varnishing floors and it still feels like we're sort of on holiday (although the house is a mess and it's driving me nuts). I feel a little guilty for not spending as much time on my little business as I could, but with the sun and warm calling me outside, the distractions of long lazy summer days and messy house renovations going on with people going back and forth and my sewing room being occupied by all sorts of un-sewing related things (which in turn makes me never want to go in there), I've been taking it a bit easy.
That's not to say things haven't been happening though (and as I wrote the following sentence, I realised that I had actually done quite a bit really!). My next dress pattern is back from my lovely testers and I've made the all changes to the pattern itself. I've stitched up both versions and the promo photos have been taken (my biggest worry, due to the ever growing belly) and next week, I'll be in full on instruction-editing-mode. Then I can pull together the all the bits and pieces (so many bits and pieces...), ready for a launch in February sometime.
I really hope you like it. The new pattern, that is. I had some great feedback from the testers about the fit and style and I hope that carries through to when it's released.
In February, I have a few goals...
- Probably at the top of most people's 2015 goals (and new year resolutions in general) is to be more organised - for me this is two tiered, starting with tackling my sewing room. There's a good reason why having a clear space means having a clear mind, and my work space is truly an atrocious mess at the moment. It actually makes me angry to work in there right now because there is so much stuff! So, clearing and tidying is pretty much first on my list, as soon as I can get in there...
Secondly, I've always been a carry-my-diary-everywhere kinda girl, but last year, I didn't have one, and honestly felt a bit lost without my precious book of lists and things to do. David bought me a pretty new diary for Christmas and with a *cough* slow January start, I've been filling up February with appointments and lists and ideas and things that need catching up on. Perfect. I already feel better (even though my work space still makes me mad...).
- The second goal is to get my teeth stuck into researching and preparing plans for paper patterns. I'm going to be starting out with the Bronte Top pattern, and the first step for me is to add the two extra sizes onto the upper end of the pattern. I hope I'll be able to re-release that pattern in pdf form by the end of the month.
Going into paper patterns is quite daunting actually. It's obviously quite a bit more of a risk than pdf patterns, as I'll be investing in physical products that I not only need to re-lay and design for non-home printing purposes (that's going to take sooooooo long! Especially because I'm not exactly the fastest, I like to fiddle and take my time with these things), but they need to be well designed for cost of manufacture, ease of shipping, displaying, end usability and they need to be assembled, and stored and, gosh, there's just so much to think about.
I'm also thinking about new colours and branding and how I want the overall design to look and feel. That then needs to carry through to my blog. So, it's a huge task and I think having a plan of attack and a clear timeline will really help to keep me focussed on what needs to be done and when. Rather than jumping head first into something that's a bit of an unknown for me.
- And third, release my dress pattern! An obvious, but exciting goal. It's always nerve wracking, having spent so much time and energy on something. I'm always reminding myself though, that just because I like it and spent a lot of time on it, doesn't mean anyone else will like it or think it's worth making.
I'm very much okay with this, but I still hope you like it! Obviously...
So, February, let's officially start 2015 now shall we?
Do you have any exciting February plans?
xx
J