new year, chance to hit the reset button

The blogosphere is alive with new year's wishes and goals. Isn't it great that somewhere along the human timeline we decided to start the year over on the first day of January each year? Somebody somewhere decided we needed this chance to step back, take stock and set the reset button. A do over. Or a do better!

With this post - which I recognize may interest only me - I'm adding my two cents to the noise. Laying out all my goals and aspirations for 2015. Well, most of them anyway.  And I'd LOVE to hear your goals for the new year. Hey, you might have a better idea that will inspire me and others.

So here it goes. My top ten list of stuff to do in 2015.

1. Scream loud with excitement when my new book actually reaches my two hands! Celebrate. Be Proud. Then get back to work.

2. Take that book on the road with a book-lecture tour to share what I've learned and seen in Japanese quilts with quilt guilds all over. I've booked about a dozen speaking events so far for 2015 and 2016, and can't wait to connect with others.

3. Go back to Japan. Connect with the great artists featured in my book and meet new ones.

4. Enter my Celtic Cross art quilt in the Sacred Threads juried competition.

5. Make progress on quilt-related book number two. This one will be a mammoth story... could take 1-2 years to research and write.

6. Put a proposal together for quilt-related book number three. This one will be fun and very visual. Not as much research, loaded with inspiration.

7. Enter the pattern making world. I once got a comment from a reader that my cow art quilt inspired her to start quilting! How amazing is that? Ever since then I have thought that that quilt (an original design) would make a great pattern for an intermediate / advanced quilter. I've never made a pattern to sell... and I kinda 'fly by the seat of my pants' when I make my own quilts. So it would be interesting to see if I would have the patience and diligence to clearly communicate how to make something, and then find the best way to commercialize it. Open to advice and guidance here!

8. Continue my wholesale tote bag business. (I make and sell custom quilted tote bags specially designed for needlepoint projects for a local needlepoint shop.)

9. Make more art quilts. Make more quilts. Make whatever comes to mind. And love every minute of it. You know... any day spent in the sewing room is way better than a day in some office!

10. And finally... shocking as it may seem, I am also working on yet another book. This one is not quilt related, but it is an epic story (non-fiction) and will take a lot of research and potentially two years to complete. This story will also require travel - at least two international trips, one being Japan. How wonderful is that? I believe this is a story I was meant to write.

I'm sharing all these goals for two reasons. First, I plan to come back in 12 months and see how much I actually accomplished. And when I hit the "blog to print button" to print out my blog in book form, I'll have the whole thought process documented.

Second, I've been in the habit of setting goals most of my life. I don't always wait for January 1st to do this... I'm constantly setting new goals, assessing where I am, and redirecting my energy to new goals. By laying out most of my business plan for all the world to see, though, I think this might help me stay on track and keep these big picture goals at the forefront.

Of course, I reserve the right to change my mind. What fun would it be if we didn't keep our options open?  :)

If you've read this far, bless you! Leave me a comment and let me know what your goals are this year. And thanks a million for reading along.