Proceedings.......

It is gently snowing today, the weather forecasters in Chicago are saying that it will change to a "Wintery Mix." What is a Wintery Mix?? Sounds like the name of a box of chocolates, that could be good, well done weather folk for your ingenious name for some weather oddity that I am unfamiliar with (at least I think I am, we'll see what it is when the weather changes.) It was like living in Seattle when they would say we had "Filtered Sunshine" aka gray skies in which you may see the shadow of a yellow orb in the sky at some point. Really it was just a gray day, but "Filtered Sunshine" sounded so much better. There was hope of seeing the sun and that made the day more tolerable. Whew, just got off track big time there as the weather is not the reason for today's post. Today I am locked up in the studio. I need to get a lot done and start taking on the techie challenge that I have imposed upon myself for 2011. Muse has been warned not to start dancing and sharing her ideas with me. No time today my dear Muse - you either start cleaning or organizing, otherwise head over to the cafe' for some lunch and then take a good long nap.

Pre- Organizational mess when I started ripping everything from storage.

I am basically an organized person, but I have found that with an actual business I need to kick that into high gear. My studio is now ground zero for Oz Dust Designs and the Green Girl (charity arm of my business). 2011 is promising to be a big year and I'm going to do everything I can to help it along. So, start at the beginning and proceed as I wish to continue. Got it!!!

Self-imposed lock-down - not coming out until:
1)Space is clean
 2) Books are re-shelved and recorded in my new Excel Spreadsheet.I worked on categorizing the spread sheet over the weekend and getting the books, patterns, etc... into groupings. The piles are all over the floor, but I'll shelve as I record each set into the spreadsheet. DH is a top-notch, world class, database creator and has offered to create such a database for my business, but I declined or rather put that on hold for a just a bit. This spreadsheet exercise is something I need to go through for a learning experience and to wrap my head around that things that I really want to track and record. I believe this will really help me in efforts to create my website, which is an ongoing project on this list.....

End list for today..... Now able to eat and sleep....

I have a deadline of March 1st for getting my website completed and up and running. I don't have any friends to jump in and give me a hand on this so I have taken a Dream Weaver class and plan on doing it myself. I have created a couple of small sites in the past, so it is not a totally foreign thing for me. However, this is not going to be a small project and I believe there will be lots of de-stress knitting going on throughout the length of said project. I am going to do one really smart thing and hire my cousin's wife (fabulous graphic artist with own business for years now) to create my logo, etc... 

Yesterday I sat down and sketched out two new designs. Both are hush-hush for now (Muse is under a gag order as well.) However, the bigger news in that last bit was that I sketched the designs. You see, I don't draw, not good at it in the least. I'm thinking about taking a drawing class this summer - there is one offered that will meet my exact needs. I realize I don't have to know how to draw, I've been designing for a while now and I've done okay, but it seems that more magazines, etc... want to see a sketch of your idea and I suppose it helps not hold all the details in my ever more muddled brain. My sketches from yesterday are fine for my personal use, but I'd wouldn't want to send them off as a professional sketch. I do not ever expect to be Vincent van Gogh or Marc Chagall (my favorite artist,) but I should try harder in that arena. Keeping my fingers crossed on this one, hoping that perhaps I got a tiny twinge of my father's abilities. He was quite the sketcher when I was little. Unfortunately he stopped after he left the US Navy - I wish he were around now to give me pointers. But, once again I shall begin as I wish to proceed and practice, take a class and in the end hopefully be able to draw so that people can tell it's a scarf, gloves, etc and not a five year old's art project (I love those projects actually. Would love to paper a wall with them.) Muse!!! I asked you not to put ideas in my brain today- be gone with you - for pities sake!!!

So, lots going on this week in Ozland. What are your BIG plans for 2011??? Remember to check in later in the week at the Knitty Scribe blog for the latest book and blog review.

Peace and joy to you....
 The Green Girl