Happy 2012!

2011 is history!  Another year come and gone.  How time flies...  I remember when I was a kid and I thought about the year 2000.  I was going to be 38 years old.  Soooo  oooold!  Well, in a couple of weeks, I turn 50.  Not so old, eh?  Heh, heh....  It's all a matter of perspective.

The end of the year and the beginning of a new is always a time of reflection for me.  If you follow this blog, you know that I have spent a great deal of time and energy in building TAFA: The Textile and Fiber Art List, an organization that helps textile businesses and fiber artists market their businesses.  I launched it at about this time two years ago on a Blogger platform, wondering if there would be interest out there.  At this time last year, we had grown to over 200 members and it was clear that we needed a new website.  Most of the year was spent focusing on that.  Several members volunteered their time and energy in a think tank that we set up on Facebook, discussing what we needed.  Then we had a fundraiser on IndieGoGo and successfully raised $5,000, again from the members, to pay for the site.  A local design team, Horizon Media Group has been working on the site since August, with me actively in the thick of things.  One week ago, we had members volunteer as guinea pigs to test the process of loading their info and using the site.  There are still many glitches and we need to change servers, but you can preview it at www.tafalist.net.

TAFA: The Textile and Fiber Art List's new site.

Hopefully, we will be able to move to the www.tafalist.com url by the end of this week.  This has been an incredibly exhausting process, but one that has also been energizing, wonderfully democratic, and it goes to show that things can happen with no money.  My motto with TAFA has been, "Together we can do great things!" and the website is the first proof of that.

It's hard to explain to people outside of the textile community what I do.  I used to say I was an artist, but since I started TAFA I have poured all of my creative energy into building it, so have not done much of my own sewing or art work.  Hopefully, the website will free up some of my time so that I can do that again this year.  I also hope that I can travel more and actually meet some of the members who have become virtual friends.  We'll see how it all pans out.

We also had our first live event last year during the Quilt Show in April here in Paducah.  We suffered serious flooding in the area and it was a scary time.  I don't know if we will do it again this year.  I was also able to visit family and friends in Wisconsin and in Chicago during the Fall, a wonderful highlight.

What is ahead for 2012?  I haven't thought much beyond getting the new site finished.  Who knows what doors will open or close?  I pretty much try to live each day fully and take things as they come.  Many friends  have been ill in the past year, having major surgeries or having to go through chemo.  As we get older, nothing can be taken for granted, so I just hope that 2012 will be a healthy one and a creative one, with no big, rude surprises.

Let's start out the year with that old favorite Gaelic blessing:

May the road rise to meet you,

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

The rains fall soft upon your fields.

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

May God be with you and bless you:

May you see your children's children.

May you be poor in misfortune,

Rich in blessings.

May you know nothing but happiness

From this day forward.

May the road rise up to meet you

May the wind be always at your back

May the warm rays of sun fall upon your home

And may the hand of a friend always be near.

May green be the grass you walk on,

May blue be the skies above you,

May pure be the joys that surround you,

May true be the hearts that love you.

Happy 2012!