a fresh, new year

Posted by marne on January 3, 2012 in craft, knit, stitch | 14 comments

Happy New Year! I have high hopes for 2012, and I'm starting it off by cleaning out and finishing off and setting goals and figuring out what I want to be when I grow up. I'll be blogging up a storm here at Hey Lucy, and I'm starting to think about all the projects I can do and tutorials I can share, and things I can make for my Etsy shop. You see, while I was on vacation I learned that I had been laid off from my job. It was a bit shocking, and it's somewhat terrifying, but I really hope to turn it into something wonderful. 

It's quite fun wake up in the morning and have the whole day to putter and create, although it is surprising how much time all those mundane little things can take. I'm working on getting into a routine, a la FlyLady, and spending a certain amount of time in my little house studio. Later this week I'll be setting up my own little home office in a corner of our tiny guest room, which will involve building a desk, among other things, and I'm excited to see how it all comes together. 

In the meantime, I've whipped up and worked on a few things that have been waiting to be done for a very long time. I've had this polka dot fabric for dog beds for months, and I sewed one up the other day. It's just a giant pillow cover with an envelope back, and I stuffed it with some of our old pillows that have seen better days and needed replacing. I made it for Bear, our 10-year-old Golden Retriever, so he won't have to lay his old bones down on the floor, but Winston was eager to try it out and model for me.

He heartily approves. Oh, and Bear likes it too.

Ages ago I had the bright idea that I would hem some cheery blue plaid cotton squares and use them as handkerchiefs. I did a cute, hand-stitched hem on one and then ran out of steam. I really have to be in the mood for hand sewing, and the mood hasn't striked (stricken?) for awhile, so I zipped the rest through the rolled-hem foot on my sewing machine and called it good. The corners are not the prettiest, but it turns out I got them done just in time, since I woke up yesterday with a scratchy throat and runny nose. I have to say, it's no fun feeling under the weather when you can't even call in sick!

There has also been much knitting this past month, but I can only give you a sneak peek of a few projects, and I will have to tell you more later. I am finally testing my design chops, and the first photo is something I am working on that I hope to finish up and write up soon! I might need a test knitter or two, so let me know if you are interested! 

So, I could use a little help. I really want to build Hey Lucy into a great site and have it be something useful, and then eventually to accept sponsors. I should probably do a formal survey, but in the meantime, I want to know what you think makes a good blog, what makes you come back every day? Tutorials? Original patterns? Links to cool stuff elsewhere? More photos of Winston? 😉 Fashion, design, crafts? One more than the other, or all three? Do you want to know about iPhone apps? Do you like to have lots to read, or just look at lots of photos? Please share! Either in the comments, or via email, if you want to keep it private (lucy (at) heylucy (dot) net). It would be most appreciated!

Here's to a fun new year!