Why I left blogging and came back

That's right. After five months away from blogging, I am back. But not at full speed. In fact, I am going to stay at one quarter speed permanently.  To recap, I was at one quarter speed for several years, amped up to full speed spring 2014, and then stopped blogging all together August 8, 2014. Are you wondering why? Well, here is my story.


Last spring, 2014, I thought I might like to try to earn some money with my blog. I had read many books and blogs about blogging and had experience as a guest blogger on other's blogs and I had been blogging for years.  None of that adequately prepared me for how much behind the scenes work is necessary to have a successful blog.  As with any business, and blogging for money means you have a business, most of the work is dull and not even slightly creative. And it got to where it wore me down. I hated looking at my google analytics (the statistical analysis of how my blog was reaching people). I hated looking at how much money I was making and trying to find ways to earn more. I was making money only through pattern affiliations and it was not enough for even a week of coffee beans. It was literally a pittance.  I hated having to think of new and exciting things to blog about that likely had already been blogged about before because, let's face it, nothing is new in the craft world.  And I hated seeing ads on my blog and the blogs of others. I hated the ads.  I don't want to be a brand. I don't want to sell myself.  I really just want to create and share!

I was part of a lovely Facebook blogging group and everyone was experiencing the same thing.   Unless you also have a product, like a pattern or book, there is not much money in blogging. Ad revenues are hard to come by with the market so saturated with blogs. The bigger blogs might earn a lot from ads but they have hundreds of thousands of visitors.  If you only have a few hundred a day, it is impossible to make money. So, you have to somehow get those hundreds of thousands a day to visit your blog and that means becoming a brand, making a product, and selling it and yourself. Which is my worst nightmare.

Do you remember the movie Say Anything? Well, I am like Lloyd Dobbler. " I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that." The film came out in 1989 but I loved Lloyd most when he said that. I have always felt this way. I have never wanted any part of business, ever, even as a young child.

So, last August, I decided to just stop. Blogging was taking too much time away from family and friends. It was not earning me more than a few dollars a month and I know other bloggers who work even harder and still don't earn much. The blogging market is as saturated as the pdf pattern market. That is not to say that you, lovely reader, should think that you are being put down by me.  There are some of you who are vastly talented and are justifiably earning money for your work. Awesomesauce! I am proud of you! But it is not the career path for me. It sucked me dry. So, I stopped!

And now I am back. I missed sharing my work with others. I missed the connections I had made with others. I have some friends via blogging that I still want to connect with. So, I am going back to the original blogging plan, from back when this blog was called Too Many Hannas and I am just going to share my crafting and craft thoughts as I feel I have something to say.  There will be no ads. There will be selling of products. There will be no affiliations.  I will have time to volunteer in my children's school and do my vaccine advocacy work.  I will have time to make the crafts I want to make. I will have time to pattern test for my friends. I will have time to play Pet Rescue Saga, which I so dearly enjoy.   I will have time to read a book that is not related to crafting and I will have time to try new things.

So, dear reader, please look for more of Handmade Dress  Haven in the future, including a report tomorrow on a lovely set of Tie Dye Diva patterns I recently tested.  In the meantime, have a great day.

Kathy

Making blogging changes, checking priorities

This week, I am making blogging changes because my priorities are changing. And this is exciting!

First of all, you can now easily get around the Handmade Dress Haven blogosphere by clicking on my avatar, newly annointed with social media icons.  This only took me two hours to create and size correctly, so please use it!

Secondly, you will notice the addition of Betsy Button to my sidebar.  I have decided that I really like to sew and I really like to share my sewing and chat about sewing but I do not enjoy the work that it takes to create a blog that will be followed by thousands.  For the last six months, I have read books, joined groups, participated in blog hops and sewalongs, and done everything I could think of (short of buying a new camera) to get my blog seen by others and earn some money from it, but it was just irritating me beyond belief and so I am calling it a day.  It is just too much work to get a blog in the market today, at least if you want to push it and not let your following develop organically. It involves taking great pictures, sharing your links here, there and everywhere, networking, and getting your tutorials seen by as many people as possible.  And, if you don't have a product to sell, it is also very difficult to get noticed, especially if your photographs are not professional-grade. And, even if you do spend 40 hours a week writing stellar tutorials and sharing professional-looking photographs, you still might not make any money at all. Frustrating!  And I just don't have it in my heart to be a business person. I cannot, for the life of me, figure out why anyone would think I am more special than the next person.  I think that is kind of funny, but it is true.  It is hard for me to do self promotion.

But, Betsy Button is here to help me promote my sewing! And cutting back on blogging hours gives me more time for Betsy and for my own children.  And just who is Betsy Button? Well I wrote about her a while back, in this post.  She is basically the mascot for a Facebook boutique some friends of mine run. I am one of the team and happy to be there. We run big, themed auctions every other week with accessories and clothing for children and sometimes for mom. But, almost every week day, we also run auctions for items we've made and these daily auctions start at $1!  Some of them go quite high, some stay low. You can get some beautiful stuff so please check them out!

And our next Big Auction is August 6th.  The theme is Storybook.

Finally, you will notice that the ads in the sidebar have all been deleted.  Why bother!  I hate ads.  I felt guilty having ads in my own blog when I block ads everywhere else. I use Firefox as my browser because I can use Adblocker to keep the annoying ads at bay. But, I felt guilty about blocking every other blogger's ads when I was asking them to click on mine so I unblocked them. And then I got annoyed by all the ads!  You have to laugh at me. I am such a dork! 

So, ads are gone except affiliations. But, in the case of affiliations, I am not asking you to do anything but merely providing you an easy way to buy something I love and give me a small commission. I know that when I shop for patterns now, I always find a friend who is an affiiliate so I can give her the commission.

At any rate, that's the scoop!! 

Stitch Swap

After a few weeks off for family vacation time, I am happy to be back to sewing and blogging. And this is going to be a very busy week, full of projects and guest posts.   First up, I am having fun with a project Stephanie at Swoodsonsays organized for fellow bloggers: Stitch Swap. 

We all signed up, via Elfster, to send our buddy two yards of fun fabric.   Irene sent me this fun collection, all from Five Monkeys Fabrics on Etsy.  The teal is from the Robert Kaufman's Hello Tokyo Sugoi Tiles collection, the red dots are Michael Miller's Dim Dots in pink, and the fabulous wardrobe fabric is Michael Miller's Nothing to wear. Aren't they adorable and fun and totally me?

But, I have nothing to show you today because I used the fabrics to test a fantabulous purse pattern but later found out I cannot blog about it until NEXT Monday, July 28. This purse is very clever and cute and the pattern is original and creative, so please come back next week to see what I made.

In the mean time, this week will see me guest posting on the Curvy Collective, selling some beeyoutiful back to school dresses on Betsy Button facebook boutique, sewing up a storm with Jennifer Paganelli's new Jenny Eliza collection, and more!

Hope you are having a great summer!

Be sure to check out the entire stitch swap this week!



Monday July 21st
Stephanie -- Swoodson Says
Jamie -- Salutations Louisville
Ashley -- Sewing Sober
Kathy -- Handmade Dress Haven

Tuesday July 22nd
Tasha -- Friends Stitched Together
Janelle -- Emmaline Bags
Kim -- Sew and Tell with Mama Eggo
April-- Open Sky Creations

Wednesday July 23rd
Amy-- Friends Stitched Together
Danica -- The Sewing Sparrow
Bethany -- Two Novembers
Jessica -- The Berry Bunch

Thursday July 24th
Chrissy -- Muse of the Morning
Fenna -- Fabulous Home Sewn
Melissa -- Rebel and Malice
Irene -- Sugaridoo

Friday July 25th
Jess -- Gracious Threads
Emily -- Tangible Pursuits
Roxanne -- Pensebrox
Megan -- Upcycling? Refashion That Idea.

Blogging decisions and choices

My new fabric arrived on Monday!  You are looking at a picture of what will become fall clothing for my soon-to-be second grader. Yes, she wears pink and floral all year round. There is very little in her wardrobe that is not pink and purty and that is fine by me. She will be a bored tween soon, followed by the disaffected, disinterested teen years, so I am going to milk this pink, purty stage for as long as I can.  What you see above will be come Millie Rose Flutter dresses and Brownie-goose Pepper and who knows what else I will come up with.  Maybe something from my large Ottobre stash!

What are you looking at is Dena Designs Tiddlywinks and Heather Bailey Up Parasol.  

***********************************

Someone asked me, after Monday's post about blogging, why I bother blogging if I don't have the time to commit to it full time and try to earn a living off it.  The answer is that I see my blog as a sort of journal for me to share my ideas with others who enjoy the same kind of thinking. And, I see my blog as a way of connecting my creativity with that of other people who are also creative in the same way.  I blog in the way I like to blog and I read blogs that are similar. 

As I stated on Monday, I greatly admire women who blog full time and earn living off of it. I also greatly admire my CPA but there is a reason I have paid him yearly for 20 years to do my taxes.  I hate dealing with money. HATE IT.   I am great at math.  I get apoplectic balancing a budget.  Also, I am highly rational and anxious thinking about trying to talk other people into buying my product or buying into my brand.  I ask myself, why on earth would they be interested in me? And then I need a glass of wine.  I find it all very stressful! 

The more I learned about blogging, the more there was to pay attention to in order to get people to love your blog. SEO, affliliations, advertising choices, customizing advertising, checking analytics, which analytics checker to use, sharing your posts here there and everywhere so people see them. Pinning, tweeting, instagramming, sharing, liking, stumbling - It is just so much to think about!!!  Way too much for me!!! I can't have a garden, keep a house clean, exercise, play with the kids, sew for fun, play King games on Facebook, read books, watch old episodes of House, watch new episodes of Call the midwife, pattern test for all my designer friends, and, last but not least, have a good marriage, if I need to spend 8 hours a day on blogging!   I just do not understand how other mothers do it! My hat is tipped to everyone who makes it work. You are amazing!

***********************************

So, dear readers, are you struggling with balance in your life? Are you wishing you could be a blogging, pattern designing, fabric designing, sewing super star but finding the work it takes to be overwhelming? Are you trying to figure out how to blog and sew and craft and cook and parent and do everything else you need to do in your life? Are you having a hard time finding ways to make it all work? Well, tell me about it!!!  Seriously! Tell me about it. Vent away!! You are not alone. 

***********************************

One of the great things about living in our modern world is that we can all be whom we want to be.  At this point in my life, I want to sew for fun as much as I can and enjoy my life and spend 1-2 hours a day, at most, on my blog.  What will be, will be.  When I was having a very difficult time with a very medically needy newborn, 11 years ago, this is what kept me sane, this song.

What will be, will be.....

Blogging and business manners

As I get busier with my blog, I find myself wondering about etiquette rules for bloggers. I am reaching out to other bloggers and businesses, to ask for help, information, apply for sewalongs and guest blogging spots, and I want to use my best manners so I put my best foot forward. Since I am not meeting these people in real life, my blog and my email or phone call to them are how they get to know me. So, what are the rules of etiquette for doing blogging and business online?

They are the same as the rules of etiquette offline. 

I spent a few hours searching around the internet and here are some tips I have compiled.

1. Be friendly and polite in your calls and emails.
2. Use respectful language, grammar, and punctuation.  Avoid unnecessary and distracting verbiage, exclamations, and emoticons.  
3. Be simple and to the point.  Everyone else is busy, too, so get to the point and don't waste their time reading fluff.
4. Remember the letter writing you learned in school and use that format. Start with a polite opening that uses their name and end with a sincere closing remark. 
5. Double check your spelling. Consider seeing if your browser has a spell check, like Firefox. Or write your email in Word first and run the checks.
6. For phone calls, have some notes handy so you don't forget your main points. 
7. For emails, never forget that nothing is private anymore. Even email.  Your email could end up public without your permission so own your words. Never write anything you might regret later. 
8. Return emails and calls within a day or two.  If you are not able to do so, send a quick note stating why and how you will respond further within five days.  It is unacceptable to let business and blogging-related emails sit in your in box for more than a few days. This is particularly important if you solicited the email in the first place. 
9. If you get so many calls and emails that you simply cannot respond to them all within a few days, either hire an assistant, organize your schedule better, or drop a project.  You are too busy.
10. Always remember that you represent your brand through your words.  Even if you are a small-time blogger like me, own your words. Represent yourself with style, grace, and good manners.  

For the most part, nearly everyone I have been contacting lately has gotten back to me within a day or two. A few designers I have contacted for the designer interview series have chosen to ignore me.  That makes me feel slighted.  It doesn't make me want to buy their patterns.  I have heard that some designers solicit pattern testers and then never respond to all the requests. That happened to me once and, again, it doesn't make me want to buy their patterns. But, I have to admit, that most of the pattern designers, bloggers and craft business people I have been contacting for this project and that one have been wonderfully polite and quick to respond.  Even a small-time blogger, like me, deserves to be treated with respect.

After all, I am not just a blogger. I am also a customer. And our readers are customers. So, run a good customer service department even if it is just in your sewing room.

Image Credit: Electronic Mail Email Clip Art from Vector.me


Keyboard Clip Art from www.clipartlogo.com


Image Credit: Busy Mom With Child and Pets Clip Art from Vector.me

The Leibster Award: Thank you for including me!

The lovely Ren over at The Inspired Wren just nominated me for the Leibster Award! Thanks so much Ren.  But what is the Leibster Award? Well, after much googling, I have discovered it is an award of unknown origin that gets handed out to and from relatively new bloggers. Leibster is german, loosely translating to sweetest, kindest, dearest, or valued. So, it is an honor you pass between newish bloggers as a means of telling them you like their blog!  Thanks Ren. That is so kind of you to include me in your list!

There seem to be a variety of rules but here are the rules I have chosen to follow:

Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog.  
Link back to the blogger who awarded you.    
Copy & Paste the award to your blog.
Answer the questions I was asked.
Create a new list of questions for my nominees.
Nominate 3-5 blogs to receive the award who have less than 3000 followers. 
Inform them of their nomination by leaving comment on their blog. 


 Ren left me this list of questions:


How frequently do you post on your blog and do you maintain a posting schedule?

I have been blogging for years but lately am committing to posting at least every other day.  My girls keep me busy so I hope that every other day commitment will be enough time to run a busy blog that gets lots of attention and allows me time to help them edit slide shows, like "The adventures pink fuzzy bunny." two outtakes of which you can see here.

Do you have a favorite dessert?



I love cake! Particularly chocolate cake with chocolate ganache or salted caramel cake.  Here is my birthday cake from last week.  It was chocolate with ganache inside and chocolate buttercream frosting with more ganache on top.

If you had to choose just one go-to source for fabric, what would it be?


I would choose one of the local quilt shops, Fourth Corner Quilts, because the ladies are very nice to talk to, they deal in Janome machines  (I bought mine from them), the store is very pleasant and comfortable, I enjoy petting the dog when I visit and especially enjoy all the lovely fabric. My favorite is the Kaffe Fasset section! I love to see all the fabric colors and styles in real life, so if I could only have one source, it would be local, not online.

Here's what it looks like when you walk in the door. Gracie says "hello!"

What was/is your favorite creative project of all time (even if it pre-dates your blog)?


My first Ottobre creation, from back in November 2009, is still my favorite thing I have ever made.  After working with the big four paper patterns for so many years, it was a thrill to make a pattern from an European pattern magazine. And it turned out darn cute, started my love of Robert Kaufman's Cool Cords, and I still own it.  I even "loaned" it to my niece for a while but asked for it back! LOL Now it is in my special things drawer.

What is the proudest moment of your life so far?
Oh I don't think I could name one.  I never done one amazing thing that completely outweighs all the others.  If I have to pick one, then see that little girl in the cord dress? I birthed her without any drugs and with a midwife. At age 41. I never imagined that would ever happen, ever. It was amazing.
 

List five random facts about yourself.

 1.  I don't "believe" in astrology but if you look up the characteristics of a pisces, it will fit me to a tee.  I am compassionate, loyal, prone to self-pity and laziness, imaginative, sensitive, and loyal. And I have an extremely difficult time making decisions. In water or out? I can't make up my mind!

2.  I hate to eat shellfish or anything that once lived near shore. 

3.  I lived in Panama as a kid and am not afraid of bugs.  Except crane flies which don't scare me but bug me so much I will require someone to get rid of it for me. 

4. I hate to cook. I am not good a cooking. I will cook, if pressed, but it will not be the best meal. 

5.  I used to play tennis, in high school. Varsity. I have not played tennis at all, not even once, since high school. It just upset my elbow too much and I gave it up.  

Okay, here are my three nominees!

 Deanna at Sew McCool

 Sara over at Molly Blossom 

 Joy at 21 Wale

And here are your questions!
1. What is your least favorite thing about sewing and why?
2. What is hard for you to sew and what is easy?
3. What is your favorite thing to do that is not crafting/sewing?
4. Would you rather have an assistant to help you or more time to do your crafting? More time as in if you could magically give yourself more time. Which one and why?
5. Where do you see your sewing in ten years?
6. Name five random and interesting facts about you!

Keeping projects organized

How do you keep all your sewing and blogging and other projects organized! 

This is my current method, above. List things on my small planner!

I am so busy right now. I am thinking about joining the Project Run and Play competition later this month, we have two Betsy Button uploads coming, for which I would like to contribute two dresses each upload, I am committing to trying really hard to blog at least every other day, I am also trying really hard to cook from scratch at least twice a week (hubby does the other days), AND I volunteer at my girls' school AND it is almost time to get the spring  garden going!  

Phew!  What a lot of things to do! Plus, add to that managing the family's appointments, errands, homework assignments, laundry, cleaning, pet care, and all of the girls' activities, it is a wonder I sleep! 

So, how can I possibly keep myself organized? 

Well, for right now, I am relying on my trust At-a-glance weekly/monthly planner. I have used this format for years and I don't know how to get buy with out it!  I use the small planners and this year I was thrilled to find one in Turquoise Suzani print.  (I get no money for this recommendation and bought mine at OfficeMax.)  It is working okay BUT there is not actually enough room for ALL my projects.

So, I am contemplating whether to add a layer to my planning, as in putting together an Excel spreadsheet on my computer, or buy a larger planner.  I could get the larger planner identical to what I have now. But, the pages would be 8 1/2 X 11 instead of 5 X 8.  As you can see, it is pretty simple. 

Or, I could buy this amazing-looking planner system from Mama Miss and have it printed and bound for me.  It has a lot of different sections for ideas, posting schedules, and more. 

Photo source and information about Mama Miss Planners.

Do you think I would use it? I am not sure.  It is sweet, though!  Sure would make me feel like I am organized.  Mama Miss has some other nice planners, too.  

What should I do?

By the way, what happened to my living room today while I was cleaning and sewing downstairs?

Blog goals, changes, oh my!

I am excited to announce some changes coming soon to my blog. 

First of all, I am going to be blogging more. I have sat by for years, watching other bloggers get more and more famous and turning their blogs into careers, and I have let my lack of confidence hamper my initiative. No more!  I may not have the best photography skills or an embroidery sewing machine or a passle of graphic designer friends, but I can do what I do best - share with you all! I am not a Kathy for nothing! So, watch for this Kathy to get chattier!

First up, I added an about me section that actually tells about me! See the tab up top! Click on it to learn more about these and other photographs. 

Secondly, I have taken a page from my friend Deanna over at Sew McCool, where I am a contributor, and create some goals. My first goal is to read as much about blogging and making money from blogging as possible.  Deanna posted some great tips so I will start there.  My second goal is to go back through my blogger insights and see which of my pages generate the most traffic.  I've actually been doing this a bit already and it seems my tutorials and my posts about altering patterns and sewing for tweens generate the most attention from Google searches.  So, I will be revamping my tutorials section, including putting more emphasis on tailoring patterns to fit tweens and choosing patterns to sew for teens.  My third goal is to add to my sections and stop thinking that my thoughts are of no value to the blogging community!  I have been sewing for more almost 40 years!  I have some skills and tips and advice that are worth sharing! I know you agree because you are reading.

So, those are my goals and please join me on my journey!

Sewing reflections 2013

I have been reading at Sew Mama Sew and particularly enjoyed the Sewing Reflections from Anna of Noodlehead. 

So, here are mine:

1.  Looking back on 2013, what trends stand out?  

Sewing from knits stood out to me.  For me, 2013 was the year of knits, both in my own sewing and from what I saw with others. I saw much more in the way of fabric choices and availability and pattern options and more ladies I know gave knits a try.  I know it is not a new trend but with the death of our dear friend Carole, who was known as charlie mack online, and the creation of the Charliemackadoodle dress pattern by our other dear friend Kristi (of Burlap Button), this became a focal point of my sewing and was something I saw in other's sewing as well. It is just a great pattern, especially combined with the Burlap Button Tummy Topper pattern. 

2.  Was there a personal or an industry high point?
I feel like I finally mastered the sewing of knit binding, thanks to Deanna of Birdsong Patterns. Her knit top pattern really helped me learn to do a great job with my bindings.  Look at the fit of these two tops. It is perfect. Deanna did an amazing job with her pattern and enabled me to do an amazing job with these tops.  That was a personal high point.

3.  What did you make that you’re most proud of?

I am most proud of the amazing friends I have made in the online sewing world and how they all support and encourage each other. The highlight of my year was having my dress featured on Jennifer Paganelli's blog. That still makes me a tad weepy with pride and humility, a combination of both.  It was amazing. 

4.  Whose work inspired or awed you?

My dear friend Melissa of Millie Rose inspires me by her lovely, sweet attitude and the pure joy her sewing and patterns bring to others. And my sweet friend Jenny inspires me by her faith and the happiness she brings to all her projects and her relationships (at least with me). 

5.  What was your favorite fabric collection or print?

I discovered Lillestoff this year and will never look at fabric the same way again. These amazing knit fabrics and ribbons from Germany as of such high quality it is hard not to sew something beautiful.  The stars and elephants, in the Charliemackadoodles up top, are from Lillestoff. And I am hoarding more. Because I can. Someday, I will sew with them.

6. Do you have a book, pattern or class from the past year to recommend?

 I've already mentioned two great patterns, above, but I highly recommend you give Abacadabra patterns a try.  I made this lovely outfit from Abacadabra 91, which is hard to find in the USA, but Banberry Place is a great source of these fab patterns.

7.  What are your thoughts about social media? How is it going for you? What do you love or hate?

 Sometimes I feel I am in the minority, but I really love Facebook. It helps me connect with so many wonderful people. Mostly, I meet them in my sewing group (which you are welcome to join, just pm me here so I know you are not a spambot).  Handmade Dress Haven has been around for about 4 years now and I have made some incredible connections. Thru this group, I am now a pattern tester for a variety of amazing women. I am in a bunch of spinoff sewing groups. I have made some good friends. I wish I could get in a Winnebago and go on a HDH tour of the world. Some of my friends are in other countries, like Australia, the Netherlands, even Malaysia!! It has enriched my life immeasurably.  I hate that the games tempt me away from sewing but that is my own person issue. Ha! 

 

8.  What do you predict for 2014? (It could be related to style, social media, manufacturing, etc.)

 I have a hunch that Instagram is going to get bigger this year. More and more bloggers are moving only to IG or mostly to IG and I see that increasing. Facebook is just HUGE so IG feels a tad more personal.

9.  Who do you think will be a rising star of 2014?

 Kristi of Burlap Button!  She's amazing! That girl can do anything she sets her mind to. You watch out!!

10.  Can you tell us anything about what to expect from you in 2014? Any projects or life-changing goals you can share?

 I am going to blog and sew more and perhaps even explore making my own patterns, although they would be just for me, not for sale. I entertain the idea of learning more about design but only for my own educational purposes. I also plan to sew more for me!!

11.  Is there anything else about the sewing industry or community that you’d like to talk about? (It could be good or bad, but hopefully constructive.)

The sewing industry seems very cliquey to me, almost like being in high school. There are so many patterns out there that all look very similar. It is like everyone is trying to race to the top of the popularity pile and they aren't paying attention to what everyone else is doing. The clothing sewing industry is exploding. There are more and more pattern designers and fabric designers every year. I predict that the Big Four pattern companies (McCalls, Butterick, Simplicity, and Vogue) will catch on to the pdf pattern trend and start reaching out to pdf pattern designers to buy their designs to offer on their websites. The pattern world will get smaller, in a way, as more people start to realize who is here to say (Tie Dye Diva, Scientific Seamstress, Jocole) and who is a flash in the pan (no comment).  Longevity will happen to those who are truly great designers as well as business women.  More and more fabric companies will make knits and voiles and other types of fabric than just quilting cotton. There will be less of a divide between apparel fabric and quilting fabric as more and more of us sew for both the home and for humans. It will be a great year for sewing!!!

New Year, New Blog Design

I have been blogging for a few years but this year I have decided to get serious about it. So, that meant making my blog look really nice and inviting to read.  I tried free backgrounds and headers for a few days and could not find anything that made me happy.  So, I took a leap and bought a Blog Design Package from Simply Creative, on Etsy. 

I love Magaly's designs.  They are cute and fresh and fun and not expensive.  They are not custom or unique to the purchaser.  You might end up sharing them with another blogger. But, for the price, that is perfectly fine with me.   And, they are simply adorable and well made and she provides excellent customer service.  She also sells logos, watermarks, made to match designs, and Etsy shop packages. I decided to buy the blog package to match the Etsy shop package I bought from her a few years ago.  For $30, I got a banner with my blog name and tag line, two blog buttons to match, two backgrounds to choose from, a signature pic, and six color codes.  Love it!!  And it all came with easy to understand instructions on how to upload to blogger.  Took me about ten minutes to get it all uploaded!  Love it!  Don't you!

Where do you sew!

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is where I sew month on Pink Chalk's blog!  What a fun idea! I posted a link to my space,  why don't you post a link to yours?

Here is what I wish I had today.  Today was very rainy and I am parenting alone  AND trying to get some sewing done.  

 

I got buried in some lovely Delilah!  

But I kinda wished for this, a sunny day and a lovely drink. LOL! This is the view from my sewing table, but it doesn't usually have a fruity beverage in it.

 

When is summer going to come to the Pacific Northwest?? We've been at 64 and rainy for weeks!

Back to work

I've been gone a while, did you miss me? I was so excited about my new Janome sewing machine, I thought for sure I would be sewing a lot all through January. But, then, one morning I woke up with spasm in my shoulder blade area and it took a few weeks of increasing pain and additional symptoms to finally get my doctor to send me in for an MRI.  I found out I have arthritis and bone spurs, but both normal for my middle age, and one moderate to severe herniated (bulging) disc in my neck.  In case  you didn't know, you have little pillows (discs) between each vertebrae in your spine.  With age, the distance between two vertebrae diminishes.  Add an injury or a period if inactivity or bad posture and the disc has nowhere to go but out.  And then it pushes on nerves and the places muscles attach, and VOILA,  you get pain.   This was depressing new!

But, I am happy to report, that with physical therapy, the right medications, and exercises, things are getting better!  I am feeling so optimistic, I decided to redo my blog and re-analyze my sewing, for business and hobby.

So, expect some changes in the next few weeks.  For now, enjoy the blog design.  It is not complete. I am enjoying the exploration around blogger.  The possibilities are endless but blogger doesn't really hand it all to you on a silver platter. 

IAAT! I am all that?

I have several bloggers who I feel a deep, personal connection with for one reason or another. One is Sew Mental Mama.   I love to read her blog because she also sews Ottobre patterns, because she is Irish and so is my husband, and because she, like me, struggles with depression and uses her crafting to help overcome it.  I have struggled with depression my whole adult life and crafting really does help!  Being able to make things that are beautiful and creative and use both sides of your brain, your creative side as well as your analytical side, is very deeply satisfying to me.  I have always loved math and sewing definitely uses one's math skills as well as one's artistic and creative skills.

So, following Sew Mental Mama's blog is deeply satisfying to me.   I was, therefore, very happy to see her mention my blog as one her faves!  What an honor!  She is much more talented than I, so I feel humbled by this honor.   And to have her bestow the "I am all that" honor on me is very sweet and also very fun!



So, here we go!

And the rules are...

The recipients of this award are asked to answer the following questions, link to whoever awarded them and then pass it on to five, no six people (who they think will actually be willing to answer these totally intrusive and possibly inappropriate questions). Feel free to snag the badge too!



The questions and my answers:
1) What size shoe do you wear?   I wear a women's size 10.  I used to be a 9 but after having two kids, my very high arches fell a bit and now a ten is more comfortable.  Very large feet, so I never wear pointy shoes!

2) 30's or 60's?  I am not sure what this means but I do prefer the fashions of the 1930s more than 1960s.  Sexy, bias cut dresses are much more flattering than anything Jackie Kennedy ever wore.   And the 1960s hats!  They make me laugh!

3) Have you ever kissed someone you shouldn't have?  Oh sure, but lucky for me, I have been kissing the right guy since I was 19 years old. Being as we are both 45 this year, that means a lot!

4) Have you ever been poisoned? I got food poisoning once from a Jack n the Box chicken salad.  I never eat fast food salads after that!

5) Who's on your "Celebrity Free Pass" list (top 5)?  I assume this means my favorite men?  I quite like Sew Mental Mama's list.  Like her, I love Matthew Macfadyen in Pride and Prejudice but I also love Colin Firth in his version of Mr Darcy.  I am quite fond of old James Bond movies with Sean Connery and I also love all the romantic men in Sense and Sensability.  For some reason, I find Hugh Grant kind of adorable! Number five would have to be Pierce Brosnan. I even thought he was cute in Mamma Mia (altho his singing was atrocious).





And, to pass along the honor, here are my five bloggers who are "all that" and more:




http://sewretrochic.blogspot.com/

http://sewprettydresses.blogspot.com/

http://dimplesgiggles.blogspot.com/

http://lifeofmineblogged.blogspot.com/

http://5faithfullyyours.blogspot.com/



Pass it along!