blogging – Page 2

I know it’s been awhile

It's been awhile since I've blogged and I miss it. Somehow the fall is always so busy that time just gets away from me. I could fill the page with excuses, but what it really comes down to is time and energy, two things I don't seem to have these days for various reasons.

The next couple weeks should settle down for us a bit and I'm hoping to do some more crafting and get back into blogging again.

Some random updates:

:: I threw my back out on Friday. It happens 3-4 times a year and lays me up for 3-7 days at a time. Because I can't take ibuprofen right now, it's taking a bit longer to heal. I'd so planned to work on projects this long weekend, but now the weekend seems wasted.

:: We found out that the baby is another boy! This is good in that we already have almost everything we need and I feel way less pressure to get and make new things than I would if we were having a girl. I am planning on making him a new knitted and quilted blanket all his own.

And, just because I can't post without a picture, here's one of Liam finger painting. Although we've finger painted with him in the past, this is the first time he's really gotten the idea of it. Well, except for the fact that you shouldn't touch your face with your hands when they have paint all over them. We'll work on that one!

I've been so bad at blogging this summer. I thought I'd be better at it since I'd have more time, less stress, less work. Quite the opposite in fact. The business of work has slowed down, but business of home has sped up.

Chasing after a toddler who climbs in my lap any time I'm on my laptop, outings to keep him even busier, time with family, good meals. It seems that instead of just letting go of work things, I've acutally taken over things at home that I don't normally do during the school year. It's a nice change, but still difficult to balance with my desire to spend time doing my things.

As for crafting . . . there's a little bit here and there, but nowhere near the amoung that I'd planned for and anticipated. I'd had grand hopes to finish our bedroom quilt-as-you-go quilt, to finish the backs of several other quilts, to make a couple tops for myself, to make some shorts for Liam as well as some toy bags for him, along with other home improvement projects. It's all still possible, but the projects are in piles and seem less and less important. Although that new quilt for our bed is gaining in necessity as the days are warm and our duvet is falling apart!

For now, though, I work on bee blocks. You know, because those have a deadline and other people depending on me to finish them. As for Liam. He has enough shorts, right?

Sew Modern Quilt Bee – July

https://www.quiltknitshare.com/101/

Drumroll Please . . .

You guys lucked out. With only 17 commentors and 3 chances to win, you had great odds! I wish all giveaways had those odds!

Without further ado, the winners:

Fat Quarter: Alexander Henry Thea Citron

elena said…

Happy "50th postversary"!!!
Thank you so much for this chance to win, these fabrics are lovely 🙂

Half Yard: Mark Lipinski Califon Yellow

Jenny said…

congratulations on your 50th post and your feelings of accomplishment!

Half Yard: Heather Bailey Nicey Jane Lemongrass

Melissa said…

Congrats on your 50th post, and thanks for sharing the yummy fabric with us.

Congratulations to the winners! And, thanks to everyone who left a comment. It's great to follow the links to your blogs and see who's been following me.

50th post & Giveaway

It's my 50th post on my new blog. Since switching over from my old blog, I've been much more prolific. I also feel that I've been much more productive in my crafting, mainly quilting and sewing, not so much knitting. It just seems easier now. Who knows why.

To celebrate, I'm giving away some fabric. These are all from my stash. Yardage is listed. Winners will be announced via random number generator. Please be sure I have access to your email (either leave it or be sure it's on your profile). If I can't find your email, I'll "randomize" someone else. Only one entry per person. Duplicates will be deleted. Comments will be open until Wednesday, March 23 at 8:00 pm PST.

Two ways to win:
1. Leave a comment
2. Blog about the giveaway. Leave a comment with a link to your blog.

Good luck!

Fat Quarter: Alexander Henry Thea Citron

Half Yard: Mark Lipinski Califon Yellow

Half Yard: Heather Bailey Nicey Jane Lemongrass

Liam + walking + upcoming birthday = ???

Work has been (and will be) super busy this week. As a result, I haven't found the time to sew, photograph, and write posts about the projects. I usually do some of this in advance and have a few posts queued up, but that didn't happen this weekend, either.

I am working on a super secret project for a little guy who will be turning one in a couple weeks. We're celebrating his birthday this weekend, so I need to finish the project by Sunday. That can easily be done. I just need to figure out how to sew though about 12 layers of fabric and 12 layers of batting. My sewing machine can't do it!

Luckily, Liam doesn't read my blog, so I can write about his project without his seeing it. Plus, his little one-year-old brain won't remember it anyway. He's seen me working on it and I don't think he even knows.

To tide you over until the next crafty post, here's a video that Jordan made of Liam walking. The sound track Jordan used is hilarious!

Giveaway

Jaybird Quilts is hosting a giveaway of fabrics from Pink Chalk Fabric. The giveaway is open until Wednesday night, so go comment to win. Oh wait. Don't go comment. That means more comment-ors and less chance for me to win! Just kidding.

It’s time for a change

A change in the way I blog, that is.

I started blogging in January of 2006 (Gosh, has it been 5 years!). At the time, I experimented with several different blogging platforms (Blogger, Typepad and WordPress), but wasn't as comfortable with open source as I was with html. I thought (and still think) that they're somewhat constricting. I went with iWeb (part of iLife for Mac). It allowed me to design my own pages and has been much freer in a sense, and in other ways not so free. For me, a blog is all about the visual invitation. If it's not easy to see everything and visually pleasing, it's difficult read. The funny thing about this is that I read most blogs through their RSS feeds and if I want to read more, I go to the actual blog. RSS feeds aren't exactly visually inviting!

During my trial period, I signed up with Typepad and recently decided to resurrected my account. I posted once in January of 2006. See that post down there. I kept it. It's a part of my history. Maybe sometime I'll move my other posts over. (It's a lot of copying and pasting). For now, I'll move forward.

My motivation, I guess, is a recommitment to blogging. But, also, a desire to be a bit more "professional". My knowledge base and experience in quilting has grown in the past year and a half. While I'm still a knitter, I consider myself a much better quilter, in some respects. I wanted a place to better document, share, and keep everything organized. We'll see how it works!

Blogging Experience

So, I am attempting this blogging experience with my knitting stories. I have been knitting since August 2005 and reading blogs for about the same amount of time. I have gained so much knowledge, bouts of laughter, and new things to knit from the blogs I have read. It made me want to start my own blog.

The yarn in the picture on the left is the softest yarn I have ever felt. I am planning on making it into a scarf, double knit. However, I told myself that I had to finish other projects first before I started this one. Discipline. It’s all about discipline.