Looking back on 2010

What a year it’s been! I’ve been reading some fabulously gorgeous review posts, with lots of lovely collages lately. I’m afraid that this post won’t be one of them! Why? ‘Cause I got too much stuff to do. One lesson that I continue to learn over and over is that for me, a blog post can NOT be my creative output! Although I can certainly get sucked into that vortex, I know that it’s the not making my art that I’ll look back on with regret! So without further ado…release the navel gazing! 😉

The very first day of this year, I so thoughtfully posted some long term goals and inclinations (I don’t like resolutions!), so I’m gonna just comment on all of them.

My Word for 2010

Simplify

This was a great word for me! I may not have always followed the intention behind it, when I found myself mired in “analysis, paralysis” it was often because I was trying to do something too complicated – at which point, I would remember my word, LISTEN to it, choose the simplest path and MOVE ON! Thank you “simplify“, you were a great help!

My Inclinations for 2010

Create more Art!

Communicate my Art!

Holy moly! If you could have told me how I was gonna be communicating my art this year last January, I would have told you that you had rocks in your head! Read on McDuff!

Long Term Artistic Goals

  1. Work more in 3 dimensions. Yup, I’ve made a lot more of my mod houses, I dabbled a bit with trees. I’ve got even more ideas that will take me through 2011 and beyond!
  2. Explore the shape/idea of house/home. Yup, still a LOT more exploring to do!
  3. Continue to work with restricted color palettes. Again, Yup!  I love the freedom I get with this approach.
  4. Improve the pictures I take of my art! Geesh, I certainly hope so. I’m thinking that I’ll never be completely satisfied with this. “Simplify” helped me through a few rough spots here, because photography for me can be a huge time suck.

Long Term Business Goals

  1. Double my Stats. My stats today, in order of how I prioritize them are:
    1. I’m at about 10,000 hits/month right now: After a little more research, I realize that gross hits/month isn’t the best way to look at traffic, because a few more or less posts/month can really skew the numbers, and I don’t want to be driven to produce content solely for the sake of hit count! So, what I’ve been keeping an eye on is absolute unique visitors/month. This number has not doubled. In fact, it started the year at 2,900/month, it’s been as low as 2,000/month and this month it’s 3,300. I’m trying really hard NOT to obsess about the numbers here, and I realize that I don’t have the best understanding of how to look at my stats…however, over the year I’ve had 26,693 unique visitors – that’s kind of exciting!
    2. I’ve got 69 RSS subscribers: Now, it’s 133. I’ve also added the google follow widget to the sidebar, so I’ll add those 39 folks here!
    3. 170 folks subscribed to my newsletter: Now it’s 274. Not double, but not bad.
    4. 123 Facebook Fans: 360 people now “like” Candied Fabrics. I’ve not done much special stuff with the FB page yet, but I’ve grown to appreciate FB in general this year, and with the help of alamodeSTUFF Linda’s very helpful series, I’m gonna rock my fan page next year!
    5. 438 Twitter followers: Which has become 1061! Ah, I love twitter! The immediacy of it has kept me company, and I’ve made some awesome friendships this way!
  2. Simplify my business data. This is a work in progress, but with the help of my word of the year, I’ve come to realize that the crazy-ass way I do things in excel is working fine for me. If i  could travel back in time and tell my former self to start with outright or quickbooks, I would. But because I can’t time travel, for now I’m sticking with  the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it approach!”
  3. Meet or exceed my sales for this year: Yes, I totally did this! As our economy continues to stagnate, I realize how incredibly lucky I am that I can stay in the black with my little business. HOWEVER! There’s NO WAY I’m quitting my day job!

Long Term Blogging Goals

  1. Create a more meaningful blog. I think that I have. I’ve been happy with my Maker’s Must series, and I love the connections I make with both the Meetup goals posts and the One Moment meetups. I also realize that what I intended by this was me organizing the site so that people can find lots of info easily, which moving to Headway has helped and will continue to help me do.
  2. Generate income from my blog, without being obnoxious about it. I did make a wee bit of affiliate money. My web design ventures have also added a slight bit to my balance sheet, and more importantly to me, allowed me to really understand the underpinning of WordPress based web design. I really enjoy the power of being able to say to an artistic friend “I can totally help you get online right now!” because I understand how overwhelming that is in the beginning.
  3. Consolidate the tutorials I have and make more! This is a work in progress…the biggest increase here has been my monthly “Yes you CAN” tutorials over at Lillyella.
  4. Increase my understanding of HTML and get my site looking even better. LOL! Um, yes, did that in spades! I now have a wee web design business, and a great partnership with a lovely lady who eats code for breakfast!

Pie in the Sky Goals

  1. Get published in print! This, my friends is where I’ll crow a little! Seriously, I had no idea how much awesomeness was headed my way in this avenue!

Me and my studio in Cloth Paper Scissors Studio? Check!

My Mod Houses in Quilting Arts Gifts? Check!!


My Branch & Bird series in International Quilt Festival Quilt Scene? Check!!!

Me on Quilting Arts TV? Check!!!!

Seriously, I had no idea when I sent those proposals out this January that all of this would come to pass! I am so amazed at all the wonderfulness this year has brought, and i can’t thank you my blog-reading-FB-updating-tweeting pals all enough for the support that you’ve given me this year. (The comments on this post in particular were amazingly strength giving!)

I got the DVDs for this whole series in the mail on Christmas Eve! I super excited and honored to have my houses on the cover, right alongside some incredible work by Jean Wells.

Have I watched them yet? NO! But perhaps I’ll find the time and the courage this weekend! I don’t think that they’ve yet been scheduled to air, but I’m in Episodes 703 & 709. They have a station finder right here, where you type in your zip code and it gives you the upcoming schedule.

I’ve got big plans for next year, I can’t wait to put them into action! But for now, it’s New Year’s Eve morning, and my 3 guys, Stirling and I are headed up to a friend’s cabin in the Mammoth lakes region for a snowy and (hopefully) peaceful entry into the new year.

Happy New Year to you!

8 Responses

  1. What a wonderful year! I’m so glad we’ve come to know each other and I always look forward to your posts, tweets, et. al.

    Can’t wait to see what you have cooking in the new year and hope your getaway is relaxing and peaceful. Happy New Year, Candy!

  2. Super awesome 2010 for you!! Congrats! 🙂

    If you have any tips on using WordPress I’ll take em, because I’ve decided to try and build a new fallenpeach website via WordPress. 🙂 Dreamweaver has been annoying me lately and I just don’t want the stress, hopefully with less coding I’ll feel less stress.

    Anyway, good luck in 2011!

  3. Wow, super year indeed! Your word was simplicity and this all but simple! lol. I think simplify would be great for me this year. I regularly spread myself too thin. I am so happy to have met you and followed along with your success, projects and personal growth too! many wishes for an even better 2011 ~ Happy New Year!