As I was rocking my baby back to sleep in the dark bedroom last night I had three thoughts. Well, it started with one thought and then moved on to the next, which brought me to the third.
First of all,
People are so nice. I was thinking this after publishing my first quilt pattern this last week, and how many folks said such kind encouraging things. I am constantly humbled by the goodness and generosity of others. I want to be half so good! And also remember to compliment others on their lovely work, because I’m always blown away by the amazing quilts I see, but how often do I take the extra minute to mention them?
Which in a roundabout way brought me to my second thought,
Putting my work out there to sell is a very. terrifying. thing. A free tutorial? Not a big deal, if someone complains, well, it was free, what can they say! This though, puts a whole new level of responsibility on a person. Really it’s not so different than selling a quilt, I guess. It’s just that I’ve been doing that for quite a few years and I’ve never had a bad experience.
and then my third thought, which was more directly related to my second thought…
I totally should not put this on my blog, because… well, just because I shouldn’t.
and then I decided once again that I must go back to my original reason for blogging when it was just so much fun! I must pretend that my only reader is my mom. Meanwhile, I am so happy for you, any of you reading. I just must not think of each one of you, and what you might personally think about my lack of grammer, or my run on sentences or need for validation:) I will not worry about one single should for blogging.
lastly I realize that really there was a fourth thought closely connected to the third thought
which is my musing that something similar is the reason for the death of blogging. because when you’ve blogged for a few years you naturally amass a fair few readers. While this can be so exciting, you might find yourself at a place of pressure, where blogging becomes work, it becomes political. It’s no longer a journal/friendly conversation, but almost a bit too much like work!
Anyways, I’ve declared a war with myself and am taking back my blog! I will envision all my readers merging into only one reader. A kindly lady who loves quilts and could talk about them for hours. One who sits at my table and happily peruses my latest quilt finish. (Funny, this lady does look kinda like my mom)
Curious if anyone can relate to this mumbo jumbo?
Also, I seem to have used a few italics in this post. Makes me think of Emily of New Moon. I think it was her who used too many italics in her writing! (one of my favorite book series of all time)
I follow your blog mostly silently, but your quilts are among my favorites out there in the blogosphere. I discovered you through your granny square tutorial and immediately had to make one, so thanks for putting yourself out there!
Emily is a favorite on mine too! I need to revisit her soon.
I love your quilts and hearing your thoughts so please continue, I'm listening (reading 😉
I'm always amazed at the generosity of bloggers, who bare their souls, share their work, take time and effort to write tips, tutorials and patterns. I know in a vague way that this all must take a buttoad of effort and time and thought (ij just have to think of how long it takes me to photograph my own quilts on a camera phone to realise there is a whole bunch of process behind every single blog post). Even knowing all that, I don't make enough effort to comment and give feedback to bloggers on which posts and quilts really blow my socks off, really speak to me and really touch me.
Ps I absolutely love the quilt and the green binding is a stroke of genius.
I am so happy you area back! I miss you, your posts, your toughts, and your quilts. I used to have a family blog and I posted easily, but then my child startedto grow and I didn't feel confortable sharing things about them, so I stopped. But I missed it and started a new blog only for me… and it's difficult to mantain! I think I lost myself somewhere, I don't know where are my toughts not kids-related, and only share what I make, but don't have time to make much more than cleaning-cooking-taxiing (I think I have created a new verb! 😀 ) so it feels empty to me.
Only wanted to share a bit here with you and tell you how much I enjoy the time I spent "with you" and other bloggers around the world, and telling you to write whatever you feel like in your blog, because is your blog, not ours, feel it 😉
Oh! And I want to see more of that quilt! Always love your creations and that looks beautiful!
First, I must see more of that quilt!!
Second, I love this place
Your blog was one of the first ones I started to follow when I "discovered" blogs. Think of me as the "older kind woman's"….well not old per se, but old enough to rock grand babies rather than her own children. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us!
It's hard to bare the soul, which is where our creativity seems to come from. I only recently came across your blog and really appreciated the tutorials since I'm relatively new to quilting. I hope you continue, but that's from someone who knows how blogs can be exhausting and totally supports the need to step away from one. I stepped away from my blog for about year and lost my readership, but that's ok (my mom reads from heaven). Now I write only when I have something to share, sewing or otherwise. I do try to make an effort to leave comments when I can.
And I agree with the comment about your granny square tutorial, it's fantastic! Thanks!
I can totally relate. It's funny…I used to want to gain readers because I felt like…"is anybody out there?" And then as I gained readers I LOVE the camaraderie and positive vibe, but then I feel like if I don't post often enough they'll leave. And I worry about…am I too wordy? Not wordy enough? Am I engaging enough? It can be exhausting. These are just a few of the things that prevent me from posting my very first pattern for sale. Also…failure. Failure is scary. What if people don't like it? What if people don't understand my directions? Do I have enough diagrams? Too many? Again…it makes me feel like I'm overthinking something that is fun, and then I step back and realize I am having fun…I'm just worried that any possible negativity will take away from that. A friend told me to make sure I have a thick skin…and I just keep wondering if I do. :/
Anyway…all of that to say…I really admire you for taking that leap. For putting yourself out there in all your quilty glory. Any chance you can bottle some of that gusto and send it my way?
I just recently started reading your blog. I have blogged for 6 years and tried to involve myself in a well know quilters blog and was totally ignored. Then she had a Facebook group and she became rude. to the point she blocked me for repeating something she had said. The sad thing is your opinion is your own and if we can learn something from your blog you have reached a goal of sharing. Sharing what you want and ranting about others are your rights. Don't let others pull you down. This is your journal to you journey and it will always be yours. Do this for your self. Chris
I am happy that you are thinking of sticking with it. I am that kindly lady sitting talking to you about quilting. (Although I don't feel old enough to be a "lady".) Since I started quilting a couple years ago, your blog has been one of the ones I've enjoyed the most. Very similar to what I am drawn to. Anyway, I'm thrilled that you are back. 🙂
I am happy that you are thinking of sticking with it. I am that kindly lady sitting talking to you about quilting. (Although I don't feel old enough to be a "lady".) Since I started quilting a couple years ago, your blog has been one of the ones I've enjoyed the most. Very similar to what I am drawn to. Anyway, I'm thrilled that you are back. 🙂
I'm usually a silent reader! But I had to share that I have a blog and I love to use !!! when I write. Then I go back and take out a few because I don't want anyone to think I used to many! What people might say! But then, it is my blog! Who cares!!! Love reading yours.
I don't blog but I enjoy reading many blogs. I never care how often someone blogs (though I might miss them if they're gone for a long while) and I don't read with judgement or negative thoughts. I just appreciate reading about how others create, what inspires them, what's important in their lives, what worries them…so thank you for sharing…
Your writing makes me smile. Please keep doing what you do and sharing what you share. I love it all!
Yours was one of the first blogs I found as a newbie blogger, and I also had to make a granny square quilt because I found your tutorial! I love your quilting style and blog! Thanks for posting your thoughts.
I totally relate to what you say! With the advent of IG, it has become way to easy to post a picture and get instant feedback. In fact, I have more followers on IG than on my blog and I have had my blog for five years and have been on IG less than two. (Admittedly many of the blog followers came across to IG too!) But there is still a place for blogs- to share, to look at pretty quilt photos in more detail, to share construction ideas- just like being with a friend talking about quilts! I don't have any quilting friends in real life so my blog is my more in-depth way of connecting with 'like' minds. Keep blogging please, but don't make it a drudgery in your day! The fun of sharing and making needs to be a bit spontaneous too! (BTW I've been told I use too many exclamation marks in my writing!!!)
I enjoy sharing your thoughts as well as gazing at your quilts! Do what feels right for you, right now. Later, you may feel differently. It's okay to evolve, reinvent!
You sure know how to put a gorgeous picture to draw people in for your post :0) That quilt looks so snuggly and such gorgeous color!! I'm sad that some people have given up on blogging. I love it and the people I've "met" through it are the best part.
Make your blog what you want it to be. It sounds like that may be a journal of things that are important to you. People can read or not, unless you need it monetized or sponsored. If you need that then it is work and you kinda have to bend to the will of your readers. Good luck and I am of the opinion that I read the parts I like and skip the parts I don't, so maybe you can build a fan base of people who read like me.
I am not a blogger but can appreciate the pressure a blogger must experience. I follow your blog because it makes me happy. I have no expectations of you other then seeing a new post, beautiful quilts and obtaining some very useful information. I have quite a large stash 🙂 and when I see fabric I possess that you have you have used in one of your beautiful quilts, I am thrilled and inspired. Unfortunately for my pocketbook I am inspired to purchase fabric used that I don't already own. As long as you keep blogging I will keep reading.
I too found your blog through the Granny Square blog which, I am ashamed to say I have still to make! Good intentions though and I made several albums of super examples of my Flickr page. I have missed your blog so glad you are back. I blog – on a very small scale – and it is essentially a log of what ai have been making on the quilt/ knitting/ crochet front. It is always so lovely to receive encouraging comments and ai feel I have a few "blog friends" out there that I would love to meet in person and chat to face to face. Fingers crossed that will happen with one lovely Aussie girl next month. I'll be writing a blog post about that one! Enjoy your baby, they grow up far too quickly.
Sending you a big blogging hug – and wanted to say you are wonderful – and I love the little piece of quilt visible in your photo….and enjoy your baby!
🙂
I have followed your blog for a long time – you are so talented and inspiring! But, I also love how honest and "real" you are. I have not given up on either reading blogs or writing my own…but I do try to find blogs that are meaningful to me and I try to write the same way. I think at the end of the day, you will be happier to have shared the real stuff and the things that make YOU happy, rather than have tried to appeal to some fan base. Keep writing and sharing your beautiful work!
I too am a silent reader – since granny squares. Love your work.
I am a quiet "lurker"… your blog is one of my favorite of my favorites! I was inspired by your granny square quilt out of some dozen granny square quilt tutorials. I liked the way yours looked. However, in my excitement, I neglected to realize you had used strips ( I think) to construct the granny square. I had already cut out 2.5 squares and when I realized that I had counted the squares instead of making strips- I figured well, it's close enough. And it is almost done but so far, it looks fabulous!
*I suspect I am a no -reply blogger but I can't figure out how to change it so just in case, mine is quiltybabe@gmail.com.
I like your blog and your personality which shows through your writing. It's all inspiring.
Renragjd@gmail.com
I'm a brand new blogger and can completely relate to what you're saying. I just recently went from 1 follower (my husband – who would glance at my blog occasionally) to having more than 20. Sort of scares me and makes me doubt my work and what I'm putting on my blog.
*I also want to say that your binding on the quilt at the top of your post is awesome!
Love your post and I have recently started a blog myself! I'm not even sure my mom reads my blog (haha!)! So I blog just for myself.
Happy blog writing and I think you do a great job.
I love reading your blog and have missed your posts when you take breaks. You have a wonderful eye for color and layout. I always think a silent "hurray!" when I see you' e posted again. Silent because it's usual late at night that I read. 🙂 I hope that you keep posting if it suits you. I keep reading that blogs are waning and it makes me a bit sad. Thank you!
I have been a follower for some time now because I too love your style. I love the colours you choose and your writing is honest and interesting. I follow quite a few blogs and don't worry how many posts and if there is a gap in posting. I am just pleased and interested to see the next one. Thank you for continuing to post.
Ps. I AM that old lady, sitting in my rocking chair, well when I am not sewing that is.
I always enjoy reading your blog – you are very real and that's what I suspect your readers love. And your lovely quilts of course!
Great thoughts. Blog about what makes you happy and do it however you like, it is your blog. By the way, my all time favourite book is Anne of Green Gables. x
Blog away – we're reading….and sewing. Have a special day!
Thank you for your candor, your italics and your lovely spirit. I always get a happy feeling inside when I see your blog posts in my reader. Carry on!
I like the thoughts.
Keep the blog posts coming…..I look forward to seeing a new one when I check my own blog 🙂
I LOVE the quilt binding on this post……..what a great addition to the already awesome quilt!
Isn't it crazy the things we think about during quiet time….
Peggy in NJ
Thanks for the honesty! It's refreshing ;c) I love your blog and understand the amount of work you put into it. Your quilts have been a huge inspiration to me and I have several of your tutorials printed and ready for me to try. Through your writing you seem like a sweet, kind, generous, giving soul and I would miss your blog. Enjoy the time with your baby and the quietness of those wee morning hours. I look forward to your blog and am always excited when I see it come through my feed!
I am one of your blog lurkers and I enjoy reading your "ramblings"! 🙂
I love reading your blog. I'm always happy when I see a new post in my in box. I almost always click on it first before I read anything else.
I am also one who luv all your ramblings but often does not comment!!
thanks so much for sharing your thought sand your lovely quilts and congrats on the new pattern!!!!
I love Emily of New Moon, too! And the Marigold story…flowers for Marigold? I can,t remember the exact title. I used to have everything Lucy Maude Montgomery wrote. 🙂
Of course we can relate! Late night ramblings àre the best. Creativity wanders around and a light comes on. Along with a few doubts but go for it anyway. You just never know what will happen till you do! 😄
I am one of those who rarely comments – anywhere. And I was going to click out of here without saying anything but changed my mind. I enjoy your blog – lots. And I've gotten quite a bit of inspiration here – not that I've finished much of anything. But I am glad you are continuing to blog. So, thank you for your blog and for all the inspiration you have given me.
I can so relate to your musings, Jolene. I'm not half so articulate as you are, but I was nodding my head as I read this post. My thoughts have also taken note of how lovely folks are and the importance of telling them so. Thank you for creating a blog that is such a positive and inspiring place to visit.
3rd paragraph from the bottom: yeah, that's me wildly waving my hand.
Keep at it. You are talented. You are generous.
I can imagine that you're very busy with a young family, and taking time to blog and provide beautiful pictures for a lot of people you'll never meet is a sacrifice. Having said that I so look forward to your posts and love hearing about your life and seeing your wonderful creativity! I follow several on Instagram too, but it seems much less personal. I hope you'll keep blogging. Thank you for sharing your life with us.
Sounds like an excellent strategy! Please have fun with it.
I've told you before, but yours was one of the first blogs I started following before I blogged myself. I love what you do and respect the fact that you do have a life : ) I have had people tell me I've been lazy when I haven't blogged in a week or so. Can you imagine? Anyway, love your pattern. I just finished a quilt using a similar block. Enjoy your week
I agree with your post in totality!! I found your blog last summer when I was just getting into the quilting and blogging world. I have thoroughly enjoyed your posts, thoughts and inspiration – oh, and the photography. I thought long and hard about creating a blog, asking myself what I wanted it for and what my expectations were from said blog. I would like a place to keep track of my thoughts, growth and development in my new quilting journey. I also raise Bernese Mountain Dogs, and I intend to include other aspects of my life on my blog. The blogs I MOST enjoy reading are the ones that let me TRULY get to know the person writing, see a bit of their daily life and feel as if I am hearing their personality through their writing.
FEAR – that is so difficult – FEAR is what stops us from most anything we think we want to try/do/be/say – right? Fear of failure / judgement , sounding stupid, strange writing skills – WHATEVER!!!
As you say, there are MANY, MANY kind, loving and generous people in this world. If they don't like what I have to say – well, I say, don't come back. I will speak my truth, from my heart with love and hope. I look forward to seeing your next post when you have time. I am just dipping my toe into IG, but really, I am on not of the techie generation and I missed the boat. I like blogs 🙂
Look at the response! People must be able to relate! Last year, with a new baby around, I decided just to blog when I had something to say. Gosh I enjoyed it! This year, following that fun, I decided to give my blog more attention and intentionality. And it feels like work again. Ha! Here's to finding a happy medium. And to being kind to ourselves and each other when we do. x
Ditto to all your thoughts of blogging for the fun of it, because of pressure, or considering it work to keep it going. Mostly I love it and I think it's a great idea to pretend it's only my mom reading. 🙂
i have to say your thoughts are similar to mine lately… regarding instagram, anyway. somehow i'm paralyzed by knowing how many people are scrolling through my feed… sometimes i don't post for that reason… but the idea of posting for my mom or my sister or myself… that's an idea i can get behind. i have always loved your blog… your inspiration, photography, and musings!!
Please keep blogging! You continue to encourage and inspire this 'wanna-be' quilter! I understand the fear of 'putting yourself out there' but so glad you continue to do so.
By the way, you remind me of your Mom, a beautiful resemblance in so many ways….
My favorite blogs (including yours!) are those that clearly have a real person behind them. The musy (not a word, I think, but do you care?), real-life, journaly, friendly conversations are what makes the community more than a marketplace. Blogs that are all "perfection" and "look what you can buy!" get boring, fast! That's what the magazines are for.
I am another of your silent readers. You were my first quilting blog and I have enjoyed your thoughtful words and incredible creativity! Thanks for sharing your beautiful quilts and keep blogging when it works for you 🙂
I don't read many blogs anymore, because my social media "time" has been snatched by Instagram. A few weeks ago, I whittled my reader down from about 250 blogs to approximately 20. Yours stays, because, duh. I'll be delighted for you to blog more. I have lots of room in my feed now.
I can absolutely relate .. although my blog is nowhere near as big as yours. I started it as a time capsule of my makes – then you start joining in on all the fun link parties etc out there and get carried away … I'm trying to get back on track myself this year 🙂 Happy blogging!
I appreciate your sentiments and your willingness to share them. Your perspective is inspiring and encouraging to us fellow bloggers. Love the colorful quilts and the effort you put into sharing your work. Thank you!
Oh, Emily of the New Moon and ITALICS! Yes, yes, I am similarly afflicted. That was a great book =)
I really just love this. I'm in the midst of the end of my second year of blogging, still loving it but I don't seem to have the same casual prose as when I started…and my mom and that one lady from church were the only ones reading it… I love the idea of my reader being just one kindly lady who loves quilts and peruses my recent finishes with a cup of tea. That makes it a fun conversation. A casual one with laughter involved. Do you mind if I quote you with that little image of a single reader on my blog?
I've read your blog for a long time, and you always inspire me. The last description of your "mom" reader is pretty much me, so you are just fine 🙂
Please consider me that kindly little old lady that you could talk about quilts with all day without drama. I have followed your blog for a long time and your work is lovely (as is your photography). I do worry a little about the decline in blogging as it is the quilt blog community that taught me how to quilt. Such generosity I now realize came with quite a bit of effort on the part of each blogger who took the time to write a tutorial, share a hint or even narrate through how they made design choices. I am so appreciative of their efforts and, yes, I should say thank you to people like you who have inspired my quilt adventure!
I can relate. For years I wrote a weekly newsletter for our farmers market customers. I loved rambling on and sharing the peculiar news of each week with people that I would see off and on during the season [and those conversations were a delight]. But the larger our customer base got, the less I wanted to share for all those imagined pressures that weighed upon my mind. It became more and more a labor and less and less the sharing of my joys and bumps on the road of life… and I needed my joy. And you need yours. I would happily pretend to be your mother while you ramble on to her. I do ramble and I read it well too. 🙂 And I suppose I am an old lady [still 17 but only in my head] so it's not that far a jump. 🙂
Yes, it was Emily!!! Oh, that was a good series. Only I can't find my copy of the 3rd book and keep just rereading the first two. I can totally understand your reasoning about getting too big on the blog. I'm small and like it that way. It's got to be hard when you have a whole lot of people clamoring for your attention. And possibly judging. But I think you do a lovely job, italics and all. 🙂
So relate! I enjoy your blog with whatever frequency you share. It makes me smile. It pushes me to be more creative. I revel in the colors and smiles and prose and feeling of doing life with grace. Thank you.
I can very much relate. I went trough a phase where I didn't blog much. It felt like work and it was beginning to make quilting seem less fun too. Oh the pressure! After a break, I started posting pictures of and thoughts about my daily walks through my neighborhood. And got NO comments! Ouch! Then I started posting pics of my knitting and sewing and still got no comments. I figured that I'd just lost everyone and that people must not read blogs anymore and that made me so sad. But after a while, I realized that I shouldn't care about comments. Without worrying what people want to read, I am free to post about whatever I want. And I love blogging now! And I love sewing again and there is no pressure and it's fun. I only have a few readers (and even fewer commenters) but I do treasure them…it's a supremely humbling thing to know that someone I don't even know in real life has taken a few minutes of their precious short life on this Earth to read my blog and my thoughts. That is a true gift!!
Well said and very poignant!
love your blog! just saying….
Well, you know what a big fan I am of you, and your blog, so I will happily read anything you write, and gaze at your lovely pictures. I have been having a discussion with myself regarding blogging as well. I kind of dropped doing regular blogging, and then remembered that the reason I blog, for me at lest, is basically a digital version of scrapbooking–a record for my grandchildren of what I did, what I made, what things interested me. I think it helps to think in terms of the smaller audience whom you are really writing for, makes things more intimate and personal, rather than trying to write for the world at large. Anyway, I found when I finally wrote a blog post this week that I am really rusty in the writing department. (not sure why I'm wordy here in this comment….). Oh, and I like to use a lot of ellipses when I write…
Isn't it funny the things we can work out when rocking our babies in the middle of the night? I have many of those nights also….. 🙂
I can completely relate to what you are saying. Often times, I wonder if what I am sharing is too boring for the reader, or I don't have enough done to share it. Like you, I have to remind myself that I am writing to document my quilting journey.
You make so much sense I want to frame this!
Thanks 🙂
Ok I loved this post! It is so hard to put yourself out there, but you do a great job, and your work is so inspiring! (And I love Emily of New Moon!)
Emily of the New Moon is one of my favourites too. I really am inspired by your quilts.