It's been awhile since I've introduced myself and shared a bit about what makes me tick - which of course drives what's happening at Cool Stitches. So, following the trend in social media, here are 7 things about me:
- I live in Florida now with my husband and we are surrounded by a good deal of our family as well. We aren't from here. I grew up in northwest Indiana and Stan grew up in central Georgia. We met in Washington state where we raised our two sons who are now adults with families of their own. They live here too so I'm a happy camper!
- We're a Navy (retired) family, and still live in a Navy centric community. This has a positive impact on our lives personally and professionally. Speaking of family, we have the best daughters in law and seven grandkids! The youngest is four months as of this writing, and we are tickled pink!
- I left my career last year to manage Cool Stitches full time and I am so full of joy waking up each day to work on what's next. My favorite part is designing and sending our subscription boxes because I feel like I'm send everyone gifts every time!
- I'd rather spend all of my time in my studio than anything else, but I find much of my tasks involve the computer instead of my sewing machines. My favorite sewing projects are garments - and costumes! I love the challenge of draping and constructing exaggerated shapes, and incorporating a wide range of amazing textiles. Of course I'm hooked on bagmaking too. So many great ideas out there.
- Hiking and road trips are what I do for adventure. I often pick up our youngest grandson, who I am training to be our adventure buddy, and take him out for an afternoon of exploring outdoors. When Stan and I road-trip, we plan our adventures around hiking that sometimes just turns into weekend camping or some urban exploring, including some foodie adventures.
- We both like to cook and have made a tradition of Sunday Dinner when we get up early and spend the day in the kitchen together preparing new dishes or family favorites. We top the day off with a nice family dinner and an evening visiting with everyone. Guess what? We cook at home most of the time, which is not common these days.
- I'm a night owl. Stan is a morning lark. It's not unusual to find me working on my sewing projects until the wee hours of the morning - just before Stan's alarm! It took me years to realize it's okay to not do workouts before the sun comes up, or to have my comfortable waking hours offset from the rest of the world. Now that I'm working for myself it's easier to manage and I get a good night's sleep and get things done a couple hours later than the 9-5 crowd.
Whew, that was a lot of information. My life these days really does revolve around what I do in Cool Stitches with our subscription boxes, machine servicing, and our workshops and lessons locally. I look forward to every moment we then spend with the grands! My parents live around the corner so I do see them daily. It's a good life!
I'd love to hear more about you - what is one thing people would be surprised to know about you? Talk soon. Debbi