Friday, September 4, 2020

Positive changes

2020 has been a doozy of a year, and there have been times when crawling into a bunker and waiting for it all to pass has been mighty tempting.  Turns out a quilted blanket fort is better.  Crawl in with a dog and a stuffy and you're bound to feel  better.  Rosie insists.

Dog in blanket fort


Anyway, in March, the pandemic led to me being laid off from my job at the quilt shop.  Scary stuff, but as my husband's job is secure I had the luxury of stepping back and taking stock of life. To make a long story short, I took a deep breath and decided to not return to the quilt shop when it reopened. I am concentrating on Canuck Quilter Designs instead.  

That was a big change.  Though I miss the customers and my co-workers, I'm happy to report that change led to a cascade of small positive changes and I'm feeling better than I have in a long time.  As an added bonus, feeling better has given my creativity a much needed boost!


Some of these are almost ready to share.  There are 3 pattern releases coming up soon. I have new design ideas simmering, fabric pulled, and I'm excited to start sewing them up. 

Between the designing and sewing, I have also been working on the business side of Canuck Quilter.  Last week I hit publish on my brand new website!  Creating a business website, as opposed to adding pages to the blog, has been on my to-do list for years, and I finally did it.  See the little maple leaf favicon in the tab beside the website name? It's ridiculous how happy I was to figure out how to add that little detail. Well, you might need to click through to the site and see it on your own screen, because it's pretty tiny in this screen capture shot. 



The blog will still be here at this address, but some other pages are now shared with the website.  You can access everything from the tabs below the blog header, and you can access the blog from the tabs on the website.  The two will work together, so whether you find me find me at www.canuckquilterdesigns.com or here, you'll be able to access all the same content.

Finally,  I invite you to sign up for my newsletter.  That's also been simmering a long time, but I'm excited to start sending out quilting inspiration, tips, and occasional subscriber bonuses.  At the moment the plan is to send an update out once or twice a month.  If this is something you think you'd enjoy finding in your inbox, you can sign up here, or use the form at the bottom of the page or in the sidebar.

If you'd like to get just the new blog posts delivered to your inbox, where they are formatted to be more phone-friendly, you can sign up for that on the sidebar as well.

I'm off to play with fabric now!

Happy quilting,

Joanne



21 comments:

  1. Yay for positive changes! Congrats on pulling this all together!

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  2. How exciting! That purple quilt in the bottom middle looks so cute!

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  3. Good for you making the difficult decision to focus on your brand and I'm excited for you! I'm going to go see your website and sign up for the newsletter now and look forward to seeing the new patterns.

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  4. I think there may be an issue with your newsletter subscription process...I clicked "here" in your blog, entered my email and name, selected Newsletter - and got an error saying I had to make a selection under Marketing. Do I have to select both?

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    1. Sorry about that. It was a bit ambiguous. That last checkbox is what makes sure I am compliant with laws in places that require explicit consent to use the email addresses collected. I just figured out how to change the section heading, and hopefully make that less confusing.

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  5. It is a big step for you. Kudos to you for making a difficult, albeit positive change. I hope it continues to work well for you.

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  6. Well done! Life throws us curveballs and you turned yours into something that gives you joy. I'm off to check out the new website. BTW - I nly jus learned how to pronoun Canuck - as in duck. I always thought it was pronounced Can-ook.

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  7. Congrats on doing this! Love the patterns!

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  8. Well snap: you with your positive changes and me with my A Positive Spin quilt! I tried to add that favicon but it didn’t work. Seeing yours has made me think I need to sit down and try to do that again now I have a logo! I am so excited and happy for you to step out in the new direction. What you’ve described I’ve heard of many a time and it actually has happened to me. The Law of Attraction is working for you yay!

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  9. Good for you turning this pandemic into something positive that works for you. Wishing you loads of success:)

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  10. I know you are excited about your decision concerning your previous job and your new adventure. I've just finished checking out your new website, which looks great! I also got my subscription confirmed, and I'm looking forward to each newsletter. Congratulations, Girl, you deserve it! ---"Love"

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  11. I'm sorry you were laid off from your job, but so happy you turned that into a positive, happy change. Congratulations from another Canuck.

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  12. Best of luck with your new website and the positive changes you've made. I wish you SEW much success, Joanne!

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  13. Well done on the life re-do! Hope you enjoy the new direction!

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  14. Congratulations Joanne. I'm so glad that you have been able to accomplish many of your goals since you "retired" from the shop.
    xx, Carol

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  15. Is the top right picture in the collage a place mat pattern? That piece really appeals to me.
    xx, Carol

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    1. Yes it is! Keep watching for the pattern release on October 1st!

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  16. Here's hoping for great success with your new direction and congratulations on finishing up the change.

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  17. Congrats on your new adventure! Have lots of fun while creating your wonderful patterns.

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