Goodness - I am indeed humbled by the lovely comments made on my Post 1600. I may be giving away a padfolio but in return I too am a lucky recipient - of supportive and affirming thoughts. Basically, you said you like my blog for the same reasons I like it, which I suppose makes perfect sense. But I think this is an important point because many who blog, including me and some of the commenters, worry that we are not providing what our readers want or expect, that if we veer off our primary theme (no matter how interesting it may be), we will lose readers or make the ones who stay a bit grumpy - where are the quilts? Thankfully, it appears that many of you appreciate the variety I offer and also the detail I go into about my process. In at least one case, I discovered that through my blog I have been not only an ambassador for quilting but also an ambassador for the area in which I live. And apparently I have been the catalyst for continuing conversations elsewhere. Oooo - to be a fly on your wall!
To blog or not to blog - that is a question many ask themselves. I know some have gotten into it because they felt they had to - peer pressure you know - and don't really enjoy it or quite know what to share. My tendency would be to encourage giving it a try, partly because I love seeing what others are doing too, and because I think it can be a beneficial process. Still, it may not be for you so don't feel guilty about that. While my reasons for maintaining this blog have been many, and there have been times when I wondered if I was just talking to the ether, no one reading at all, in the end I've realized that one has to do it first and foremost for oneself. It's a bit like making quilts. If you do it because you love what you are doing and are getting something out of it, then it doesn't really matter if anyone else notices. But notice they will, because they will see something authentic and interesting and want to know more. Blog for yourself first, but of course, don't forget your audience - blog for them too. And perhaps like me, you will increasingly see how so many facets of your life affect and feed into your own creative journey.
Well, enough of the chit chat. I can tell you're chomping at the bit to know where that padfolio is going. Oh wait - you probably skipped down here to the bottom straightaway, right? But if not, look below - the winner of the giveaway is:
Condolences to the losers - I wish I could send each of you a prize. I will be sending an e-mail response to your comment if an address is available. Thank you everyone for playing along and making me feel all warm and fuzzy. :-)
3 comments:
Just to say that once I've moved house and unpacked the boxes I'll get back to my poor neglected blog. The packers come today, though I've pretty much done my studio. I have removed pictures and am busy filling holes in the wall. It's exhausting, but I'm nearly there. Lucky Marie!!! H xxx
So….I’m reading along…..nodding my head in agreement to your insightful comments and then…..yeah…..I get to the bowl of white paper pieces and did a high five to the computer (and you of course) when I saw my name!! Thank you…..I will TREASURE your ‘treasure’…….
I wonder that, too -- Am I giving my readers what they want? According to blogger stats and clustermaps, I do get about 750 visits a month. Not many leave comments, so I really don't know who they are--besides, you, Dear Sheila. Who are my readers? How did they find me? Am I posting too many photography pics? Do people miss the quilts? Now that I'm back to quilts, do people miss the photography and texture bits? Or the Dye stuff? Someone unsubscribed this week -- and I wonder, what were they looking for? So many bloggers I've been following for years seem to have fallen off the rails. And here I am still at it, since 2004. I used to journal a lot, so I' have it in my blood. It's not just a discipline, but a way to record my creative life, and prove I did something with my time and talents. So nice to be able to go back and check the write-up on something done years ago -- Its on the blog when I can't find the paper files, notes, or records. That makes it so nice to be able to find it later. To remember my thought process ... some of that is in my notebooks, bit not all of it. Not the thread colors, etc. Congrats to Mary Stori on getting the padfolio. It is a treasure! I want to try some new surface and texture designs for journal covers this summer ... time to get working on that, too!
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