big changes ahead

After a lot of thought, prayer, soul searching and many sleepless nights, I've decided that it's time to make a big change. Over the next several months I'm going to be transitioning out of running my business. I've been joking with my family that I'm going to retire early. :)

When I first started blogging, I thought it would be neat if my blog became "popular". Never in my wildest dreams did I think that would ever happen, nor did I realize what I was embarking upon at the time. I'm extremely grateful for all of the opportunities that have come about because of this blog.
I never imagined how many people I would meet through this blog that would become my friends in real life. I never would have dreamed that I would be able to call myself an author, fabric designer, pattern designer or small business owner. I didn't realize that I would be logging onto this page for over 12 years to write blog posts that people from around the world would read. I never imagined that I would become a public speaker (!!!) or teacher, or that I would enjoy speaking and teaching so much. I never imagined that I would complete so. many. quilts. It has been a lot of hard work, but it has been amazing.

Now, I feel like it's time to move on. My family is growing up right before my eyes. My oldest will be graduating high school this year and my youngest is right smack dab in middle of middle school. My daughter was just a baby when I started this blog and my oldest was just starting kindergarten. (I remember that I was trying to potty train my middle child when I started this blog, but I suppose I shouldn't mention that for his sake....) Man, how time flies.

What's next for me? I'm really not sure. For someone who loves the status quo and hates change, I'm oddly excited about this. Am I a little bit nervous? Absolutely. I'm looking forward to taking some time to REST and then only God knows what will be next. I'm anxious-in the best possible way-to find out, but I'm not going to rush into anything. I'm so grateful that I'm in a position that I'm able to make a big change like this without having "the next thing" lined up. I'm also grateful for the support of my husband and kids. They have been the best cheerleaders I could ever ask for.

Going forward, I intend to keep blogging until the end of the year. It seems like a fitting time to finish. We will have one more finish it up Friday link up this week. I plan to discontinue my PDF patterns at the end of the year, but I will continue to ship out my printed patterns (wholesale orders) into next year until my inventory is depleted. I've debated selling the business, but I'm not sure what that would look like or if anyone would even be interested, but it's not out of the realm of possibility.

I intend to remain active on Instagram, so I'm not going away completely. I am certainly looking forward to quilting and sewing, but doing it for FUN rather than with obligation. I have a LOT of projects to finish up and many, many more that I want to start. I have waaaay too much fabric to quit quilting or sewing altogether. That probably goes without saying!

For all those of you who have been reading this blog, whether you've been reading since last week or since the beginning, thank you so much for being with me on this journey. It really, truly means so much.

Happy Monday to you! xoxoxox