2/3rds of the way through–no longer a lurker!

 

No longer a lurker on people’s blogs, I have come out of the closet and am commenting left, right and centre!  I am 2/3rds of the way through my 300 blog comments in 30 days.  I’ve just written my 200th comment!  Here are some of my thoughts so far:

Positive:

I have left lurkdom behind!  In the past, I did not comment on many blogs that I visited.  I hardly ever commented on sewing blogs, especially the more well known ones.  I guess I didn’t feel confident to comment, not worthy of their greatness in the online sewing community, and anyway they already got loads of comments!  Since I plucked up the courage to comment (and subscribe to their comments), some of them have commented on my comment, ie communicated with me! Not only that but lots of people I’ve left comments for have been back to visit me!  It’s a two-way communication, and that makes me very happy.  No more lurking for me!

I’ve found lots of new-to-me blogs that I will go back to have a longer look. I’ve mostly found them through blogs I know, for example, Julia’s Stamping Ground WOYWW.  I took part in an online blogging course some years ago, and have followed a few of fellow participants through the years.  Now I have connected with the others in that little community. 

Through Sandie’s blog I have found 30 days of blogging challenge. I have signed up for the 30 daily emails.  I can see that it is aimed at businesses, but am hopeful that I can use some of the ideas for my photo blog, as well as my Etsy business SewLindyLou.  That will be November’s challenge!

I have realised what I like in a blog post.  Not too long (some of the sewing blog posts are really long when they write about a particular pattern and how they made it up.)  I really like crafting blogs.  I’ve looked at some gardening blogs, but I don’t find them as compelling as paper crafting or sewing. I also like to get to know the blogger, so a few personal details and what they’ve been doing is great.  I particularly love the memes like ‘Pairs’ on Helena’s blog and Me on a Monday on Sian’s blog.  Watch out!  I’ll be joining in next month!

There is some fabulous inspiration out there!  I have noted some dressmaking patterns and fabrics that I would like.  There are some great sites with sketches and inspiration for my scrapbooking.  I have discovered some wonderful art journallers (through WOYWW) and really want to try it out for myself.  I am thinking of including it in my goals for next year, and maybe do an online course.

Now for the negatives:

Boy, does this take up a lot of time on the computer!!!  I have followed my usual blogs a lot of the time rather than always finding new blogs, as this has saved me time.  When I visit a new blog, I like to take some time to look around and read a few blog posts.  Sometimes I haven’t commented, for example, if the blogger hasn’t blogged for a while.  300 blogs in 30 days is 10 blogs per day, and there have been many days when I haven’t commented at all, especially at the weekend.

This means that I have been feeling behind all the time!  Even now, it’s the 22nd and I have only made 209 comments.  So even today I am 11 behind!  And feeling behind is stressful!

Consequently I haven’t done many of my own blog entries!  I did a post about my quilts on SewLindyLou because I was leaving comments on quilting blogs, and a post about Barney to keep my photo blog going.  I’m hoping to rectify this and start to blog much more regularly from next month on, especially with my 30 days of blogging challenge.

I need to find a way for people to follow me!  Somebody asked me how they could follow me, but I don’t know!  I think I will have to look into Bloglovin’, in fact I think I did register on there a while ago.  I am a little bit lazy when it comes to technology.  Something to put on my to-do list, along with learning about the statistics available.

 

It just remains for me to say ‘thank you’ for all the return comments you have made on my blogs, and I hope that we can continue communicating.  That’s what makes me happy!

Quilting

As well as dressmaking I love quilting!  It was a goal of mine several years ago to learn to quilt, so I signed up for a local quilting drop-in class.  Val and Mary ran the classes from their homes after closing down their quilting shop for semi-retirement.  They taught hand quilting.  Here is my first ‘sampler’ quilt:

It sits on the back of my sofa, but is covered by another quilt now!  I have made 11 finished quilts so far.  I have 1 baby quilt in the making and a scrap quilt top that is ready to back and quilt.

 

Since then I have progressed to using my sewing machine for construction and quilting, as on these baby quilts I made for nephews’ and nieces’ babies.  The 2 on the left are from a pattern called Color in Motion from www.etsy.com/shop/sweetjane.  The quilt on the right features some very cute retro style fabric with little boy astronauts.  I made up the pattern myself. 

 

A flower garden quilt for Mum.  I can’t remember where the pattern came from, perhaps a Moda Bakeshop pattern, but I can’t find it there..

My favourite is this Block of the Month quilt from Antique Angel. (I don’t think they are in business anymore,can’t find a link)  I loved hand appliqueing all these little pictures, and the colours are just gorgeous!  The design is by Bunny Hill Designs

This one is my favourite, loads of gorgeous colours and applique here.  It is supposed to be a Tuscan scene.  The middle is appliqued with lots of embroidery and different quilting patterns.  This is one I started with Val and Mary, it was in a magazine years ago.  I don’t appear to have kept the magazine, so not sure who designed it.

 

 

And I have a rather eclectic collection of patchwork and quilted cushions in my lounge!

300 blog comments in 30 days

I’ve decided to take up the challenge set by Julie of Notes on Paper to write 300 blog comments in 30 days.  Here’s why:

* I’d like to get back into blogging regularly. My blogging has lapsed this year for several reasons: not having anything interesting to blog about, not having time at the computer because of having a puppy to look after, and having 2 blogs, I often can’t decide which one to write!

*I am everso guilty of reading blogs and not commenting.  I would hate to think that people read my blogs and don’t comment.  I simply don’t know if people read my blogs or what they think about my posts if they don’t comment.  I aim to rectify this and aim to comment on every blog entry I read from now on.

*Like Julie I want to write considered comments, so this will make me think deeper about the blog entry.  I’m hoping to get some new ideas from the blogs I read, both new things to do and ideas on how to improve my blogs

*I’d love some new readers!  I’d love to connect with more people in the blogosphere, and the only way to do that is to leave comments!

*With all the other ways of connecting with others, ie facebook, instagram, twitter, there is often talk that blogging will disappear.  I hope not!  Blogging is more in-depth, and I love it!  I’m going to do my own little tiny bit to keep blogging going.

Like Julie I am going to keep a record of the blogs I visit, and the ideas I would like to come back to.  I’m not sure whether I will read 300 different blogs, or whether I will leave several comments on some blogs.  We’ll see how it goes.

I’ve been thinking about how to find new-to-me blogs.  I recently started dressmaking again, and decided I’d like to read sewing blogs.  I simply googled ‘sewing blogs’, and soon worked out which were the leading sewing blogs.  I did the same for gardening blogs, and found a lovely blog that I regularly visit (but don’t always comment!) When I first started blogging 10 years ago(!!) I had recently started scrapbooking, and had soon linked up with other scrapbookers, writers and photographers.  Over the years the bloggers I have connected with have changed.  I’ve dallied with art appreciation (a painting a day), family history, organisation (Simplify) and health issues such as my recently diagnosed diabetes. 

Other ways I use to find new blogs:

*Other people’s side bars (I used A Stitching Odyssey’s side bar for sewing blog reading for ages before I started SewLindyLou)

*Comment-a-thon.  Start on one blog, choose a comment, then visit that blog and so on.  This way you get to visit blogs on entirely different subjects.

Linky’s.  For example, Rinda’s Summer Photo Scavenger Hunt

Swaps.  I’ve found several new scrapbooking blogs this way.

I like to keep my favourite blogs in a list on my side bar.  I don’t use blog readers.

I’ll keep you up to date with my progress, and what I learn.  Are you going to take up the challenge?  How do you find new blogs?