January Hits the Ground Running

I knocked out a major portion of my to-do list yesterday morning. I write down everything; otherwise, little stuff falls through the cracks, and it’s the little stuff that comes back to bite you. Death by a thousand paper cuts.

QuickBooks payroll appears to be ready to go, or at least that’s what it tells me. I’ll find out for sure when I run payroll for the first time in 2026. One of our employees gave notice the other day. I asked the husband what this guy’s plans were, and he said that he wants to become an independent contractor. I am all for people wanting to work for themselves—another of our (former) employees went out on his own last year—but I don’t think that people always have a good appreciation for what is involved in starting and running a business. The husband and I have a joke that these guys “need a Janet” to handle the administrative end of things, but the husband pointed out that Janets are rather thin on the ground.

[No, I don’t want to start my own business as Administrative-Janet-For-Hire. I have plenty of jobs as it is.]

It isn’t just payroll, which is a huge responsibility, but also contractor registration, insurance, DOT and OSHA compliance, and all the paperwork required by the general contractors we sub to.

The husband and I have an excellent working partnership, which means I don’t tell him how to do concrete and he stays out of my office. 😉

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It’s already January and I haven’t made any new cool-weather items to add to my wardrobe. At the rate I am going, it will be time to make stuff for spring and summer and I will have missed winter completely. I am still trying to plug holes in my wardrobe, and nothing reveals holes quicker than packing for a trip, which I have done several times recently. I need a few more Jalie Nathalie tops. I also traced this pattern yesterday:

This is the Iguazu Top from Itch to Stitch. I have made a few Easton Cowl-Neck Tees using the pattern from Liesl + Co but I’d like to see how this one compares. The Easton pattern is alphabet sizing with cup sizes whereas the Iguazu pattern is numerical sizing with a full bust pattern piece option.

I had to lengthen the pattern, of course. I am going to try making it in a jersey knit AND in a lightweight sweater knit, both of which were in the suggested fabrics list. If it fits and I like it, I could also see lengthening the pattern into a dress. The pattern comes with four sleeve lengths, which makes it very versatile.

Making dresses is one of my goals for 2026. Using fabrics from my stash is another goal. We shall see what happens.