The taxman cometh, and I'm ready for him

A good chunk of this month has been taken up by getting all of the accounting that I’ve been procrastinating finished so that I can submit my state sales tax return by the January 20^th deadline (no newly instituted $50 late fee for me…I even got a $.01 discount for early filing) and to hand over in a nice tidy package to my wonderful hubby so that he can complete our federal tax return.  The goal was to finish before Sophie arrived.  Usually I’d still be tying up loose ends for the federal return into mid March, but I can happily say I’m about a day away from being finished this year!

You would think after all of these years of running a small business—before Hayden made his appearance, I was a professional genealogist—I would learn my lesson and not put off a whole years worth of accounting to the very last minute, but that just goes to show you how much I detest all of the minutia that goes into maintaining the books.  In college I didn’t anticipate the turns my professional life would take and thus took not a single business course (let that be a lesson to all of my artistic nieces and nephews!) 

Over the last 9 years, I’ve had to teach myself everything I now know about running a small business including accounting.  And every year, I end up having to re-learn accounting principles as well as the ins and outs of my accounting software.  This year I vow to turn over a new leaf.  I’ll let you know how that turned out next January when I’m going through the whole process yet again…

So now that I’m so close to finishing, I’ve decided to take a little break and do something a little more fun…tease a project that’s almost complete as well as what I’ll be starting on next.

Here’s a quick peak at a new baby blanket that’s almost complete—Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend:

I can’t wait to show you the fully finished blanket!

Here are a few pics of new fabric arrivals that I’ll be working with soon.  There will be some wash cloth sets, loveys, and burp cloths to watch out for from both of these collections.

Spa by Rosemary Lavin:

Don’t you think Spa is the perfect name for this collection?  I find the colors and patterns very soothing.

Flutter by Allison Jane Smith:

Whimsical and light, love it!

And one more project that I’m about to start for my sewing room is to refurbish the top of my antique ironing board. 

It’s a family heirloom that I love…my maternal grandfather made it in the early 1900s.  As far as I know, it has all of its original parts including the fabric on the top--which has definitely seen better days.  First, I’m going to try to clean up and salvage the material, but if that’s not possible, I’ll be re-covering it in something that complements the colors I’ve chosen for the workspace. 

So that’s what’s on my agenda.  When I start working with the new fabrics, there will be a small giveaway or two.  So be sure to stop by often and/or follow me so you don’t miss out.  I hope you’re all having a great week!

Nicole