Rolling out the phrase...."...in with the new"

The start of 2018 has been a bit of a jaggered one for me. This year J and I spent Christmas up norf with just the two of us rather than travelling down to spend it with my ever growing family. Instead we had our family 'Christmas Day' in...Janurary on the 6th... Hey at least it was actually cold on that day unlike the rather mild 25th December. It shouldn't be warm on Christmas day! 

So yeah, the start has been kinda bumpy and events seem out of sequence, I've been a bit unsettled and not quite found my rhythm yet....I like my routine. When my routine is disrupted or flipped I have a paddy and I take a while settle again. 

Planning usually helps with this, but for some reason I also took the decision - I'm not sure how wisely - to change up my planning system. Having never successfully got along with the Travelers Notebook system (at least in the planning sense) I decided in my infinite wisdom that it would be my planner for this year, despite always being in rings....with planner peace....for as long as I've been planning. 

Everyone likes a challenge...right? 

My unsettled start has unfortunately been compounded by my planner choice. It always strikes me as strange that my ability to plan and therefore succeed at being an adult can be boiled down to three basic things; paper size, type and weight. Change that and for some reason I'm revert back to a haphazard, slightly functioning and at times downright moody teenager. 

I'm not one for giving up so I plan (ha ha) to perserve with it. I'll find my way...eventually! 

I've spent some time over the last couple of days thinking and reflecting back on 2016 and how events have unfolded, how my business is now steadily (re)growing, how my creativity is continuing to ebb and flow (much to my frustration) and how the planner and creative community has opened a whole new world of friendship and camaraderie. I wouldn't be at the point I am now without the friends I've made and the connections I've established. I do feel truly blessed to be a part of such a wonder community - I know that sounds really cliche to say but it is true.

StitchnWeave has been a great passion but also great burden. I love it and loathe it in equal measure. I've had many triumphs throughout the last 12 monthd, with more orders coming in, hitting the road not once but twice first attending the 2016 Cambridge Planner Con held by the wonderful Anna Brim of Mrs Brimbles and then later Annas Christmas event in early December. I have continued to grow by pushing and developing my skills, exploring new techniques, carving out my place.

But I've had many failings too. At the beginning of the year I and my business were on our knees. I'd lost interest and the spark was fading. The business I had spent the best part of the previous year was suffering, it may dormant, untouched, shops closed. I am both my biggest champion and my biggest critic, sometimes the lines get blurred and I grind to a halt. I'm working on it though and I'll reach my destination in time. 

I am not a believer in setting resolutions but I have thought about the things I wish to change and the direction I intend to go from here. The opportunities are both too wonderful and exciting to miss sitting by the wayside plagued by negative energy. I will reach my destination.

Happy 2018 guys x