Decisions and Directions

Oh, it has been too long! Far too long since I even visited my little blog space. I have missed it, and you all, a great deal.

My absence, however, has been necessary. Once we completed what was supposed to be our sabbatical year in Italy and decided we could spend another year away, I needed to do a lot of thinking. Everything I have done with my stitching and blogging has been a pretty self-indulgent exercise. I don’t apologise for that! One of my aims for my year away was to just take the time to realise some of the design ideas I have had bubbling away at the back of my mind for years. Blogging became a natural, and very useful extension, of that – writing down what has inspired me and what has (and hasn’t) worked not, not only organises my thoughts, but also gives me a record to look back over. Connecting with so many wonderful, creative people has been the unexpected cherry on top.

All that being said, I realised that all this self indulgence was well and good but I needed to think about how I could move things forward over the next year. Despite a pretty productive year, I knew there was quite a number of things I had started but not finished. This is largely because I didn’t really have a clear idea of what I am aiming for.

I had thought of opening an online shop selling stitching patterns before but then I backed away from the idea. Recently however I decided that it is a natural progression for me as well as a way to give me some direction.

So… I have opened an online shop. I have started with cross stitch patterns because this seemed to be the simplest thing to start with. For now, I have added relatively small and simple patterns but I am finishing up some bigger projects which I hope to be launching soon.

My plan is to add embroidery patterns in the near future. Freehand embroidery is my real area of interest and where I really want to develop. But the thing with cross stitch is, the more you design, the more ideas you get! It is too easy to get hooked. I may start to sell some of the pieces I make, but I keep giving them away as gifts!

So, I guess my aim for the next year is to keep developing my interest and to keep learning and enjoying. Speaking of learning experiences, Ambrosia Stitches is now on Facebook. Oh my goodness! I have never bothered with Facebook before – I have never “got” it. Even now I am on it…. I find it all a bit confusing and, well, not very pretty!

Anyway, if you are so inclined, come and visit me:

My shop: etsy.com/shop/ambrosiastitchesshop

Facebook page: facebook.com/ambrosiastitches

Which brings me back to my next necessary learning experience..my blog. It is time I gave it some more attention. So much to do!

Back soon.