Laying it Down for 2012!

I hope everyone has had a lovely festive period, or simply a nice period if you don't celebrate anything in particular around this time of the year! But now that is over (with lots of mess and mince-pie assisted belly) and time to taking the ending of one year and beginning of another.

Of course there's always a lot of chat about how New Years' resolutions are rubbish and pointless, but I love the opportunity to take stock of the year that now lays behind us and look towards what we would like to achieve in the year ahead.

This time last year, I wrote a post detailing all the sewing/creativity related activites that occurred for me in 2010. 2011 has been a different fish. Much of my creative activity in 2011 was about expanding and furthering things that had begun the previous year (learning lots in my day job, getting a stronger sense of my personal style, continuing to host the me-made/self-stitched months, co-organising Brighton Craftaganza, developing and expressing my stance on matters like consumerism, sustainability and feminism, and so on). But some of my 2011 activities have been about building stronger ties between creative people (like the Poetry & Clothing project, hosting my first sewing blogger meet-up, organising meet-ups for the Craftaganza sellers).

It was good to take a look back at the aims I had for 2011 and to see which I managed to achieve, at least in part, and which I either over-looked or needed to alter or abort. I think the crux of why some people hate resolutions/aims for a new year, is that they'll feel bad if they don't succeed. I'm kind of innoculated against that because I've accepted that life takes unexpected twists and turns and that these aims are to be thought of as guidelines rather than self-prescribed commandments.

So, on to my creative aims for 2012:

• Make the three Brighton Craftaganza events that are scheduled for 2012 better than the two events held in 2011. Improve the Craftaganza blog to make it more useful and enjoyable for crafters/designer-makers and provide more opportunities for sellers and local creative people to meet and get to know each other, online and in the flesh.


• Host Me-Made-May 2012!!! As previously mentioned at the end of (Self-Stitched-) September 2011, there will only be one of these me-made/self-stitched months in 2012, so if you want to get on board, you know what to do!


• Develop my own little product lines, either my women's wear line (Blatant-Self-Promotion) or my baby wear line (Hey Baby).


• Teach a sewing class/workshop. The plans I had for this have had to be aborted, but hopefully an opportunity will present itself by the end of the year that will make it possible.


• Wrap up the first year of the Poetry & Clothing project and embark on a second year.


• Hopefully bring the discussion/forum into fruition with Tilly.


• Start an exciting and as-yet-undisclosed project with Cecile.


• Make some of my self-developed patterns available for free and make more tutorials/how-to's for the lovely readers of my blog.


• Continue to write longer and hopefully thought-provoking pieces about sustainability, consumption and feminisim.


• Oh, and sew a bunch of stuff!!!

What about you, do you have any creative plans for 2012? I wish you all a wonderful, creative and fruitful year ahead!!!!!