Beginnings

I'm so excited to be recreating my little world. I just got married (2 months now, what?!), we moved, I just got a job, and I'm opening a new shop. I'm amazed and surprised at all the new stuff that is happening all at once. But at the same time, I'm really refreshed by it. Being able to have these new beginnings and to open new avenues is really exciting. I feel like everything is starting to slowly piece itself together and I'm starting to get a little more comfortable with my space and what needs to be done as well as what can be done in a day. I've learned that one room a day is a nice way to keep the house clean, without being overwhelming and allowing for time to craft and take Hubby to school and possibly run some random errands.

I also bought a new watch. Oh, how excited I am. :-) I think that it marks the end of the time in which I was doing random things without an agenda. Everything is getting back into place and that means I need to be more mindful of my own schedule. I've realized that I like to have an order to my days and to my thoughts. It's nice to have errand time, cleaning time, work time, and cuddle time. I had lost a bit of that structure between graduating from college and lost even more when I left my semi-regular job at Sears (only semi-regular because if there is a floating randomized schedule, you can't count on it). My husband and I have been slowly bringing the order back to our lives, figuring out class and work schedules, meal times and homework times. I'm really excited to now have a tangible object which will be with me at all times and keep me on track, rather than randomly moving through my space without regard to what else needs to be done. I feel that the new addition of the watch will lead to more grounding and better time management on my part. 

As I mentioned, we recently moved into a larger apartment. Yeah! We can now move around without bumping into things and after we finish sorting out the extra bedroom, I will have a little crafting room. I am excited to be able to properly arrange and set-up our new home. We get to be real grown-ups now, and manage a space and learn to share and to grow our new little nest. It's a really exciting thing to be merging our two lives together in a cohesive way where everything works and can be efficient. We weren't able to do that in our last home. We were inefficient partially because we were unable to function and move about. I think of it as being replanted into a larger pot, so that we can sprout new roots and be allowed to thrive, rather than being trapped in a place where we are root bound.

And the craft room...Oh the craft room. If this ends up working out well and staying organized like I would like to see our lives (probably not quite as perfect as I imagine, but definitely functional :) ) then this little room may make it so that this little side hobby shop that I'm starting can be a real craft business. I'm excited at the prospect of being a bit more professional and having everything neatly organized and stored in one place, rather than having things scattered about in various boxes. I'm also excited to have a new shot at a shop, which will be more likely to run smoothly and to succeed. I think the craft room will make for a nice space to delineate between work projects and fun, for me, projects; so that, even though I'm trying to make a few bucks off my hobby, it'll still be my hobby and I won't tire out as quickly trying to pump out new stuff. I want this business to be fun, and if I'm not having fun with my projects anymore, what really is the point? I craft because it makes me happy, and I am not willing to force myself into a position where crafting is no longer fun. It just means that if I want to craft and make a little change on the side, I need to do it in a way that I will still be able to enjoy myself. I don't want to end up with a sweatshop in the craft room or needing a production line that involves my neighbors and all their friends (oh the Penny Blossom, I do love you BBT). 

So, we're restarting our shop. I'm excited to be rolling out the By Z line. :-) If you noticed our blog is now titled, "Ponderings By Z" and the new shop is "Crochet By Z." I think this should make everything a little bit easier and it should be fun. Depending on how things go, maybe we'll even branch out and make some other By Z places. I think for now, the shop will just be undergoing a slight change with the name and therefore location of our items. Depending on how things go, we'll expand and adjust as necessary. I don't see us having a big change anytime soon, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

For now, I think I need to get back to some stitching and then do a little housework. :-) Until next time.

Happy Crafting,

Z