still here

My friend Melody popped in to my last post to ask what's up and if I'm OK. I am OK, just very busy. I had to see a specialist about my continuing knee problem, which is not serious but will take a long time to heal. So, I wasn't able to function very well for a week or so while resting it. Having to hang out in bed for days sounds like it might be fun but definitely isn't. You can only read so much, watch so many movies, and do so much embroidery!

And I heard that an online friend is closing her business after many years. I'm happy that she's going to pursue something else now and understand her reasons. But it threw me a bit, too, because she's always been an inspiration. My first thought was, "OMG, if she can't do it then how can I possibly?" Business has been very slow and all these thoughts go through your head—is it just the bad economy, am I doing something wrong, are my prices OK? It's easy to blame yourself.

But, instead, it pushed me to do some marketing for my business—something I'd planned to do anyway. I sent a mailing with a catalog, sales policy sheet, etc. to a bunch of retail shops where my products seem to fit. I've heard that this often doesn't work, but I've already got a very nice wholesale order from a store in Philadelphia, and hope to hear from some of the more local shops in the coming weeks.

And then I sold a pillow, and another, and another. I got an email about a local craft show that sounds interesting. Things are looking up again.

I've also completed the move of all Stitch School posts to their new home and replaced the list here with a small banner that links to the new one. Look for new stitches soon!