Now this award comes with a long list of rules. One of which is to list facts about myself. UGH! I despise talking about myself.
So rather than follow the "rules", I want to use this opportunity to share some of my thoughts on Blogging. Many out there think blogging is slowly dying but I like to believe there are a number of us still active and have no plans of quitting.
Blogging has changed a lot since I first started reading them many years ago. I think part of the change is due to the different readers that are in use now. It takes a number of clicks to get to the comment field - which is not often easy on the devices that are also in use today. I admit, I am guilty of not leaving the same number of comments as I used to. But I do think I still read the same number of blogs.
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| Daylillies are my favorite flower! |
I am on a number of social media and reading blogs is still my preferred method of seeing what is up in the quilting community. I do still skim these other sites but give me a cup of tea and my blog reader and I am at my happiest - I really prefer a bit of story along with the pictures. I have been disappointed lately to have some of the bloggers I have followed for years only posting when they are selling something. I understand that it is sometimes necessary to pay the bills when you have made quilting your career but I do like a little more content in between these posts. Sadly, many of these I have finally stopped following.
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| A friend made this quilt. She saw one I was making and said she could never do that! I got her started and she ended up finishing her quilt before I did. I love to inspire other quilters! |
But there are still a number of blogs that I enjoy that are actively blogging. I have listed them below in no particular order so I hope you check them out. I think they are all worthy of A One Lovely Blog Award!
Koka Quilts - I have followed Linda's blog for quite some time now. I love that she is passionate about using lots of fabric prints in her projects. Some of her quilts feel modern while others have a real old fashioned vibe to them. But I can tell you, that ALL are beautiful!
SpringLeaf Studios - Anne is all about color! Not only does she share a lot of great tips, but her posts have information on color theory and the photography is always beautiful. Pure eye candy!
Red Letter Quilts - Heidi's blog is another one I have followed for a bit now. I think her workmanship is always lovely and her projects are always so creative. She is partially responsible for my long "someday" list.
Twiggy & Opal - Jayne, Jayne, Jayne. I don't think she sleeps. And when she does, I know she dreams about quilting! I love her attention to detail, her use of solids and her amazing creativity. Like a true artist, she works in series so I really enjoy seeing her explore a shape or technique. It all plays out in her blog.
Little Penguin Quilts - Diann recently retired and is really having a wonderful time spending more time quilting. It is great fun to see her finishing each lovely quilt and experiencing her sense of pride with each accomplishment. Diann has become a very dear friend.
Mangofeet - I always love to see what Gayle is up to. She is another one that is always sharing something that I put on my "someday" list. Like me, she loves scraps!
Sane, Crazy, Crumby Quilting - Oh the scrappy goodness! Cathy is always finishing quilts either for family or for charities so there is just a lot of inspiration and ideas for using those bits of fabric.
Mystic Quilter - Maureen is another blogger that loves to play with color. Great thought goes into every fabric she selects.
All of the above bloggers are on my blog reader but there are also a number of blogs I enjoy that link to Oh Scrap! almost every Sunday. I am guilty of relying on them to link up so I can see what they are up to. (I have wanted to add them to my reader but they don't make it easy by putting a Bloglovin' or Feedly button on their blog. I am just sayin'....)
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| Angel's Fishing Rod - Best flower name ever! |
Now if you are reading this, I have to assume you enjoy blogs too. So I thought I would consult all of you to help me find some new blogs to replace those I have removed from my readers. I need some new inspiring bloggers!
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| I love to photograph my garden but I rarely share. |
So either by leaving a link in your comment or by linking up a blog post (either new or old), please share some of your favorite blogs. I would really appreciate it. And let's just keep blogging alive!
Linking Up:
37 comments:
I'm not sure if I should thank you or not. I do still enjoy reading blogs. They give you a story, instead of a quick glance.
I added many of your favorites to my reading list, which is a good thing I think (although it keeps me in my chair longer-not a good thing).
Have a great day and see your soon.
Congrats on your nomination! Four on your list are also on mine; now I'll check out the others, too. My enthusiasm for blogging waxes and wanes, as evidenced by long gaps in my posting. I most enjoy hearing from "real people" as opposed to the professionals, although there are still a few pros I sneak a glance at every so often. The "quilting process" always draws me in.
I appreciate this post so much! Blogging has changes a lot from when I first started my blog. The tried and true blogs have nearly vanished, moved on to bigger and better things? I like having a quick fix on Instagram, but the best is blogging. It lets us share our process, what goes on in our heads (good or bad) and the cozy intimate vibe is hard to beat! PS: I do sleep, and you are right up there with me on productivity!
Here are a couple favs of mine:
http://aquilterstable.blogspot.com/
http://quiltingjetgirl.com/
My favorite blog right now is Red Delicious Life (www.reddeliciouslife.com). She's on Bloglovin, so go for it!
You didn't mention her, but surely, you MUST follow Bonnie Hunter at Quiltville's Quips and Snips!! She, imho, is the queen of scraps! Another really good blog is Carole rom My Carolina Home. Hope you are able to check them out. (lynnstck[at]yahoo.com)
I think we read much of the same blogs and I too prefer the longer conversation that a blog post gives. I have pretty much unfollowed almost all the shops and those that post IG updates only or sponsored posts. I am guilty too of reading more on the phone and commenting less and am trying harder to do better!
I read several blogs but not one of the blogs you listed! I will have a fun time reading these new-to-me blogs!
One of the first blogs I ever read and is still one of my favorites is aquiltinglife.com. Sherri McConnell is the owner and from blogging she has gone on to designing her own patterns and designing fabrics for Moda.
aquiltinglife.com
I have a lot of blogs on my blog reader - so many that there is no way I can possibly keep up, but I really do enjoy seeing the process and really getting to know the whole story about the quilt, and the maker. I have too many favorites to name them!
I still enjoy reading your blog, hearing about your scraps and stitching. I hear what you say about blogs, I have some faithful readers who keep me going, so I hope this comment fuels you to keep going.
There are so many wonderful blogs out there, with warm and generous and funny and inspiring bloggers. I follow a lot of the same people you do Cyndy. Actually, there are so many I love that I cannot keep up with them all. And just recently, through Pets on Quilts, I met a whole bunch more. If you go by that, I'd say that quilt blogging was very much alive! :)
Congratulations on your Lovely blog! Also that purple and green quilt is awesome! How fun that you inspired the maker!
Your blog is wonderful. (and the pictures you posted, wow!) Your friends quilt, gorgeous!!
I have been blogging since 2012 but have evolved from scrapbooking and cardmaking to quilting and sewing. I'm really into blogs and seeing what everyone else is up to!
My posts get a bit wordy sometimes but I really enjoy it and want to post all of the fun little comments that I think of.
I'm looking for more bloggers that are interested in being more of a community. I'm still searching.
I will definatily be checking out the list you posted!
I have a good friend at https://aquiltersbeginnings.blogspot.com/
and I am on Bloglovin. (I wish you could post comments on Bloglovin, oh well).
Thanks a lot for your thoughtful post, even though you were suppose to be talking about yourself ;)
What a sweet friend you are, to include me in your list! I appreciate it so much! Blogging and reading blogs are definitely an important part of my life, so I do not want them to go away! I follow most of the other people you mentioned, having found them either through Oh Scrap or the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, but I'll add the others to my Bloglovin feed on your recommendation. I also started following Bonnie Hunter this year and love all her scrap quilt ideas.
It's a shame about the present decline in blogging, and while sometimes a 'quick pic does the trick' I do still love reading blogs. I appreciate the time & effort that goes into writing the stories, and the comments too. I really enjoy 'in progress' shots as well as the finishes! All the quilty inspiration, the humour, the tips & techniques I pick up... it's just a great way for sharing & learning. Thanx so much for including me in your list!
I love reading blogs too and follow way more than I can actually keep up with. Most of the time I read a post here and there and I don't comment nearly as often as I should :) I've had to unfollow some bloggers too when it started feeling like every post was trying to sell me something. Like you said, when quilting is their business then obviously they're trying to sell patterns or books or whatever, but that doesn't have to be all they blog about! I tend to stop following too if I leave a couple of comments and never get a response. I like feeling like the blogger cares about readers enough to respond to comments. Having said that...I think there are plenty of blogs out there that are still going strong!
Hi Cynthia,
REALLY enjoyed this post. I found a new blog I didn't know about because of your list. I follow all of those you listed as your favorite except one and now I'm following her too. I think we must enjoy the same kinds of things! That being said, do you follow Rebecca at http://cheekycognoscenti.blogspot.com/ I think you would really enjoy her. She has got a great eye for design and I really enjoy reading her describe her design and sewing processes.
Congratulations on your Award - well deserved!! A great post from you today.
I love reading blogs, love the stories that are told, and of course the pictures. I am another who is saddened by the fact that a number of bloggers I have followed since I first began bloggging myself are not posting, as you say unless there are new classes or gadgets. I don't do Facebook, Instagram or any other social media, possibly there are quite a few things I do miss out on.
I follow five of the bloggers you mention - and yourself of course - but I will check out the others you list.
My next blog post will list a few more of my favourites.
Thanks so much for giving me a mention!!
Thank you for your very kind mention of me. I follow a number of bloggers you mentioned and will check out the others. Since I'm not on Instagram, Facebook and don't understand what Bloglovin is about, I truly look on bloggers as my online neighbors and friends. I have also dropped a few recently who are too commercial. That's sad. One blog I can recommend is http://wendysquiltsandmore.blogspot.com/ Wendy has become so talented and uses wonderful fabrics with great flair. Thank you for your honest comments.
There are many blog readers out there, I am sure. We're probably older and don't do other social media. I'm sad that some of my favorite bloggers now concentrate on Facebook which I don't and won't do. I don't blog myself so I can't post on my favorite blogs and really don't remember all the blog names of those I follow. I agree that some bloggers now post only to sell a book or pattern or class, but there are still wonderful bloggers out there. Sarah Craig from Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Angela(?) fron So Scrappy, Connie Kresin(?) from Freemotion by the river, and Lori Kennedy fronm the Inbox Jaunt are some of my favorites. Blog readers are still out there. Hey, you other blog readers, SPEAK UP!
Pat Evans
Hi Cynthia!! I loved your post and am a dedicated blogger as it's truly my virtual quilting "guild". I have seen the decline in active blogs...but find blogging to fill that void of not having a local quilt store where I use to love taking classes chatting till midnight with quilty friends and learning new things together. I follow all the same blogs as you and welcome your readers to stop by and check out my blog too. (And if ya like what ya see and become a follower, comment to let me know so I can stop by and return the follow....)Thanks for being a scrappy inspiration and quilty friend!!!With smiles!! Val:)
Well, many of my fave bloggers don't post anymore, which is sad. Blogging provides not just indpiration but that little peek into others' creative processes, thoughts, opinions, and lives. I like IG but it's not the same - not even close! Love your blog & hope you keep posting! I also enjoy some of the blogs mentioned. Check out cathy-blueberrypatch.blogspot.ca. It's another good one!
Hi Cynthia. I'm so flattered that you included me in your list of blogs. Thank you. I couldn't agree more about preferring blogs to other social media. I like the story behind the photos too. Sadly I fell off the reading wagon big time this summer and am only now getting back to it. I also messed up my Bloglovin feed and have been sorting that out. Sometimes it can just be overwhelming to keep up and keep it all straight. A couple of my favorite bloggers are Debbie at https://aquilterstable.blogspot.com/ and Kelly at http://myquiltinfatuation.blogspot.com/ Debbie always shares a lot of great information and tutorials and Kelly shares my love of color and large scale prints like Amy Butler. Now I'm off to investigate the other blogs you mentioned. Some I already follow and others are new to me. Thanks for sharing.
Kathysquilts.blogspot
Karensquilting.com
Exhuberentcolor.blogspot
There are too many to list, I follow hundreds of wonderful quilt blogs!!!!
I really love the quilt your friend made. The colors are right along my line :-) And it is people like you, as well as so many other blogging quilters, that keep on inspiring me. Additionally, the quilting blogosphere is full of wonderful, encouraging people - something you will probably not learn over IG.
Well, I'm a dedicated blog reader but not a writer. And I enjoy all kinds of quilting blogs, informative, entertaining, instructive and beautiful. This post has made me aware that I should comment more often when I appreciate a post so I'll try to do that. Thanks for the suggestions of blogs that are new to me. A few of my favorites are Quiltville of Bonnie Hunter fame, Barbara Brackman's Material Culture and Carrie Nelson of Moda. I don't mind them promoting fabrics or products if they do it in an entertaining or instructive way.
You keep writing and I'll keep reading!
I love your blog and read every one of your posts. I'm sorry I don't comment more. You are quite an inspiration for using up my scraps.
Interesting thoughts. Since my time is limited (I'd rather be sewing!), I'm very choosy about whom I follow. What drives me to follow someone is their quilting style, their quilt focus (really, I don't want to see your vacation pictures), and their creativity. The occasional pattern selling is okay, but blogs that are hard-core marketing or as a friend calls it, "the monetization of quilting", are a turn off. Blogs have changed, but for me, it's documentation of my creations, and the spreading of the joy of quilting.
I am just getting back from a vacation and catching up on my blog reading that I wasn't able to keep up with on the last few days via my Bloglovin' app. I see that you and are definitely in agreement about blogs, and I am always amazed at your generosity in sharing what you are creating. It definitely inspires many!!! :)
What a great idea for everyone to share their favorite blogs.
I always go to my reader first and have trouble even keeping up with that, so it is sometimes a bit difficult to find good new ones. Thanks to your list and the comments of others, I have added a couple to my reader.
Most of the ones I follow that come to mind are already listed by others. I enjoy that there are small circles of quilters that I recognize.
I have been blogging for about 10 years. I have watched some bloggers ditch blogging for FB and IG where posting is easy and quick and you don't have to have any conversations. But I LIKE to speak and love to get comments. As long as they are not no reply bloggers, I almost always reply to comments. That's how friendships start and grow. I have recently culled the blogs I follow, eliminating most that only blog to showcase what they are selling if they don't include any bit of themselves in the blog. Oh, I don't mean personal information, just a bit about what is going on in their life. I discontinue commenting on blogs when I ask a question and the blogger does not reply by return comment or by a comment on the post. Did they even bother to read the comments that readers left? Makes you wonder.
So, thank you for continuing to blog and thanks for the links to the blogs you enjoy reading.
xx, Carol
Thank you for sharing some of your favorite quilting blogs... I will check them out a bit later in the day today. I still enjoy reading blogs! I do not even have accounts for facebook, twitter or instagram...lol! But, as you mentioned, I think it has a lot to do with people using their phones all the time.... blogs are easier read and enjoyed better with a full sized screen. I am guilty of not updating my blog often enough tho... maybe this weekend? ;-) Happy quilting! :-)
I love blogs and blogging and the inspiration we get from each other. I started blogging almost ten years ago now. I can't believe that. I became a widow in 2011, and lost my mojo for awhile after that. Blogging and keeping up with reading was very sporadic. When I started, I belonged to some machine quilting forums, and several of my bloggy friends belonged to the same forums. Through our blogs, we really developed some "friendships". Sadly, some of them have also passed away or no longer keep up with their blogs. I miss them. In the time that I was "away" rebuilding my life, my blogging circle and the quilting blog community seems to have changed quite a lot. I get weary of the bloggers that are more about promoting themselves, or their products. When I started blogging, it seemed more about the personal aspect and "community" rather than profit. The more personal blogs are still my favorites to read. Good post!
Thanks for mentioning me! I already follow all but one of the ones you listed, so I'm going to go fix that! 8)
I started blogging when I was doing more knitting than sewing, but now I've become re-obsessed with quilting. The knitting community I was a part of is almost completely gone, with most of the bloggers I knew no longer posting. By comparison, the quilting community is bouncy and bright! I, too, prefer the folk who are promoting the love of quilting and community rather than just their newest fabric line or pattern - the ones showing work in progress, and their goofs as well as their triumphs.
I don't do Facebook or Instagram, so the world of blogging is my world and I appreciate all the people who enrich it. Like you, for instance!
Your blog was just recently added to my reader. I enjoy all the fun scrappy things you post. Most of your favorite blogs are new to me, so I will definitely check those out. One of my Favorites is Cat Patches (http://catpatches.blogspot.com/). She blogs about more than just quilting, but she's always got some beautiful quilt project in the works and her photographs are always inspiring.
I too like to visit a blog with a bit of writing in the post, so I try to do that in mine. I generally visit some blogs every day at breakfast time after checking the weather and news.
I was nominated for that award by Bernie at the Needle and Foot blog but I didn't want to answer all of those questions either ! :) I did a post showing links to her blog, though :)
Thanks for your thoughts about this online community of ours. I have to say that I'm partial to my own blog:
handwroughtquilts.wordpress.com
I love reading the blogs too - I like the stories and the inspiration that comes from them.
One of my most favorite blogs is Exuberant Color. She's consistent, creative, beautiful, GREAT with color, and incredibly productive.
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