The journey continues...

This time last year, I was facing the prospect of starting the new year with a mix of fear and resignation. I knew there would be good times, but was preparing for the challenges. And there were challenges. Oh boy, were there challenges. Like push-starting a Combi to the Gulf of Carpentaria and back, anything is possible with determination and teamwork - and I have good people around me.

We got through.... and there were indeed good times.

That's me up there (shading my eyes) in the rather fetching vinyl A-line pinny. It was brown with a big ring on its centre-front brass zip. I wore it from when it was a dress to when it no longer fit as a top and I loved it to bits.

The year 2010 didn't pass without some pain and difficulty. Some unforseens.... Some lessons learned.

Photo of me, aged 4, sporting my souvenir of the journey to the Gulf of Carpentaria.

This year, I'm hoping for some more time to relax. Perhaps we'll even have a family holiday....?

Photo of my Dad, grandfather and aunt.

I need to swim more this year.

Ah, the things we do for love.... My Mum HATED the water, and you can see it in her stance (that's her in front of the slide) as she helped her kids enjoy the water.

My family went through the emotional mill in 2010 and we still have a lot of grief ahead of us. Hopefully, this year there will be less drama and upheaval. Less wrenching and more acceptance.

For me, the last year has brought about a greater sense of my place in the world, the cycles of life... the grand scheme of things... what we leave behind and how we use the now....

Photo of my Grandmother. (...Can any family members help me out here? ...Is that Dad as a baby?)

Edited to add: Baby is not Dad, but his first cousin. My grandmother's first niece.

I'm embarking on the journey of 2011 with plans and hopes for what I'd like to achieve, the acceptance that there'll be good times and bad and the keen awareness that it's the incidental everyday things I say and do that really matter the most. Those are the things that will endure beyond my time on this earth. It's how I can make a difference.

Photo of Mum and Dad setting off on their honeymoon.

I'm beside-myself excited/nervous/hopeful/scared/hugely-relieved as I anticipate the May-June release of my book. It's been a long time coming, and to me, will always represent what can happen - against the odds - with a bit of self-belief and the support of good people (that's YOU, folks!).

It won't be without a few tears, that I send my one-and-only baby girl off to school this year, but I'm preparing to be amazed and inspired by her growing intellect, creativity and individuality as she embarks on her life without me as the centre of her universe.

I'm excited by the prospect of using my new teaching space, formulating new workshops and designing new patterns. I'm thrilled to again have the opportunity to pass on a bit of what I know and to watch it flower in those of you who use it to enhance your own creative journey. For me, that's what it's all about. That's the stuff that feeds my soul.

Bring it on.