Where Did July Go??

I’d intended to write another entry altogether... but then as I sat down at the computer an hour and a half ago, I looked at the calendar. Oh Pickle Snurf!! Where did the month go?? Instead of writing that entry, I got all of my updates done and sent over to our server, so the August updates are up, and it is now August.

I knew this was going to be a crazy summer, but I jest never realized how colliding deadlines would make me feel as if I was juggling one to many moose and someone suddenly tossed me a squirrel! I always set myself lofty goals, but it is very humbling to know that the design advertised in my blurb for the show guide (which had to be submitted MONTHS ago) is the one design that I didn’t get done in time. Am I still proud of the design? I think it is my best ever. Will I rush the job to release it at the show and compromise that quality? Not on your life!

If I look back at this summer though, I do know that at least 65 hours, that could have been spent stitching, were spent filling out forms, sending e-mails or requesting that copyright infringements of my work be removed from sites. About 4 hours worth of that in the past 48 hours alone. My hands are SO tired, but if I don’t defend my rights on-line, no one will do it for me. Thankfully there are so many honest stitchers out there who watch out for violations, who are willing to go under cover and maintain dual identities, who DO care about helping this industry stay alive.

I spoke with one designer this week who said that NO designer out there, no matter how famous, could make their entire living from cross stitch anymore. Maybe I am lucky that I never tried. I’ve always been juggling many ways to make pictures and multiple sources of ways to earn money. This is a lesson I am trying to teach my kids. Make the most of all the talents you have and never put all of your eggs in one basket unless you truly enjoy scrambled eggs. There are SO many wonderful possibilities out there to just limit yourself to one thing. In the words of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe - ”Live the journey... for every destination is but the doorway to another!”