betz white 2014 roundup

Happy New Year! I hope your holidays were full of fun, family and relaxation. As usual, I like to start off the year with a look back at the one before.

I kicked off 2014 with a brand new updated website! I still love how it looks and works and it’s been so nice to have a new organized home here on the interwebs. There are still little things to do and add to make it *perfect* but just like a real home, those things will get done in bits and pieces when time affords it. I also improved my bookkeeping process, which has always been a struggle. I will probably spend a good chunk of time in January wrapping things up in that department. Hopefully it will all pay off at tax time!

One of my goals this past year was to engage and collaborate more with peers and followers. I did so by participating in a couple of exciting new clubs: The Bag of the Month Club, hosted by Sara of Sew Sweetness and the Road Trip Pattern Club hosted by yours truly. Both pattern clubs brought together a small group of contributing designers and created a community of sewers coming together to sew fun projects over a period of time. I also started the Betz White Sewing Pattern Forum on Facebook as an additional place to share projects, post photos and ask questions.

And speaking of sewing patterns, I added 5 new designs in 2014: The Stitch and Stash Project Bag, the Jet Pack Bag, the Midtown Messenger Bag, the Road Tripper Duffle and the Smile and Wave Tote! Phew! I also started offering hardware kits for some of my bags in my Etsy shop as a bit of a test. I’m looking at the sales and am still deciding if I will continue to expand that area of my shop.

Probably the biggest “event” this year was the release of my 3rd sewing book, Present Perfect! It hit the shelves in early October and I spent the fall promoting it with a trailer, a blog tour, signings, a trip to Quilt Market and more. (2013 was about writing it, 2014 was about selling it!) I’m proud of this book and every project in it. The book publishing industry has changed a lot since my first book, Warm Fuzzies, came out 7 years ago!

Later in October my newest Craftsy online class launched, Sew Better Bags: The Weekend Duffel. I’m so happy with this class and the response it’s gotten. The participants have been really active asking questions, sharing tips and posting photos of their projects. I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to offer another Craftsy class in 2015!

So what about 2015? I’ve got a few smallish things in the pipeline, doodles in the sketchbook and dreams in my head. I have a brand new bag pattern in the final editing stages that I’ll be releasing in the next week or two, so stay tuned for that! I’m teaching in February at QuiltCon and I’m looking forward to that.

And I’m mulling over a few specific goals:

• Add more how-to videos to my Youtube channel (I only did 2 so far!)
• Release at least 4 new bag patterns this year
• Release at least 2 new non-bag patterns (Oooh, something different for me!)
• Pitch another online class to Craftsy
• Allow myself some creative development time that’s not business related

Anything else I should add to that list? What about you, have you outlined any goals for the new year?

Here’s to a wonderful new year!