2014's Major Creative Project (due for release in November)

2014: my big year to throw myself heart and soul into my business. It got off to a good start. I set goals. I worked towards them. I worked hard. I was loving it. I was making and making at a rapid rate, having photoshoots regularly and sharing my love of hats through the blog, where I kept to my publishing schedule most of the time.

Then one week, I just started to struggle with getting up and going in the morning. Was I just being lazy, or had I burnt myself out a bit? Or was I just getting sick? Friday morning came, and I felt like I really really couldn't actually get up. Then I remembered a few other things I had been feeling and the answer came to me. And I was right.

Portrait of Mrs Gertrude Steindl and baby, State Library of Queensland. The good news is that when she's done with that hat she can use it to pretend to be pregnant again.

So things are going to change around here. It's only natural. I spent my first trimester almost literally doing nothing except eating and sleeping, but my energy is starting to return (although I still need a lot of sleep to avoid nausea). Hat making is on its way back into my life. Projects took a break for a while, but I'm restless and ready to get back into them, while I still can!

Mother and children walking in bush 1910-1920, State Library of Queensland

However, much of the creative energy I have is busy creating life and a skeleton and so on, so my hat-making will happen at a slower pace. You can expect more inspiration and research posts, since I find it a lot easier to manage that kind of work. Plus I've been reading a fair bit lately (and it's not all about what's happening to me) so there will be book reviews too. And posts about maternity fashion. And possibly adorable baby-sized fedoras. Who can say for sure?

Australian wives of US Servicemen in a park in Melbourne with their children, Australian War Memorial Collection. My advice: keep an eye on that swan.

I can tell you one thing for sure. I will be making for hats for myself, because I really can't be bothered to straighten my hair most mornings and it's no longer being coloured!