You are not alone!

As a new blogger, there is always a sneaky suspicion that no one is reading your blog posts (hell, even my husband isn’t entirely sure where this blog is or what I’m writing about).  So to receive a comment today informing me that I’ve been nominated for a Liebster award was a rather wonderful surprise.

I mean, seriously?  There are people out there actually reading this?  That’s rather a wonderful feeling, less than a month after launch!

So, after a certain amount of Googling, I discover that the aim of this award is to promote new or small blogs. The rules are:

Liebster Award Rules

In order to be eligible, a nominee must:

• Acknowledge the person who nominated you and link back to their blog.
• Answer the 11 questions the nominator has set for you
• Nominate up to 11 blogs with less than 200 followers that you enjoy.
• Set 11 questions for your nominated bloggers to answer.
• Let the nominees know they have been nominated by going back to their blog and notifying them.

Well that works on a number of levels, doesn’t it?  I’ve always enjoyed a good questionnaire (why? why is that?),  my ego has definitely been boosted rather by the experience, I obviously want to highlight back the blog who nominated me….and as I only got my sewing machine back from repair at the weekend and have had a migraine ever since, there’s naff all sewing to talk about around here!

So, first things first, thank you so much Sarah Kate Makes – I really appreciate the boost! The questions Sarah posed are:

1. Why did you decide to start blogging?

I’ve been an avid reader of blogs for over a year now and, getting brave, have been commenting on other blogs more and really enjoying the interaction with other sewists.  Turns out the online sewing community is really friendly and welcoming, so I decided to get really brave and share a little more detail than’s possible via Instagram. Wish me luck!

2. How long have you been creating/crafting for?

I’ve been creating or crafting for as long as I can remember in one form or another.  For many years, my craft of choice was cross stitch but, when on maternity leave with my eldest daughter, a friend signed up for a BYOB (bring your own baby!) learn to sew course and I grabbed the chance to join in.  Mum has always sewn, as a child she made most of my wardrobe (and if you’d like to see her work, she’s the 60’s bride featured in this month’s Love Sewing magazine 🙂 ), but somehow we’d never made time to pass that skillset on.  Now that I had the basic skills, she had the patience to work at my skill level so I started to learn more. And then I saw series two of the Great British Sewing Bee, decided I could make tops like that one and I got properly hooked!

3. Where do you get your inspiration from?

Initially, I was trying to copy items in my favourite RTW stores, such as Oasis (I’m nothing if not ambitious!) But having found Bloglovin’ and Instagram, I now get a huge amount of inspiration from other sewists.  I’ve found independent pattern companies to be a real inspiration as they seem to design clothes I actually want to wear (I quite often find the pattern envelopes really off putting on the big pattern companies – who wears those clothes? why would you pick those fabrics??)

4. What do you enjoy most about the creative process?

I work in a very techy, very high pressured environment where I can be working like mad for ages, stand back and have nothing tangible to show for it.  I’m also one of life’s natural worriers, prone to turning things over and over in my head beyond all reason.  Being a parent has not helped this tendency! So the thing I enjoy the most is that I can’t think about other things when I’m sewing – there isn’t enough brain space left! And that is definitely good for me. Also, I’ve always had something of a fashion addiction – it’s rather nice to be feeding this myself!

5. What was the latest skill or technique that you learnt?

My latest challenge has been to tackle stretch fabrics – I’m getting there I think, although they’re still pretty intimidating!

6. What is your ‘secret weapon’ – a piece of kit you couldn’t live without that others may not know about (if you’re willing to share)?

Hmm.. not that secret but a toss up between my magnetic pin cushion, the Frixion pens for marking fabric and my rotary cutter.  Not exactly earth shattering, is it!

7. What do you enjoy doing when you’re not being creative?

Any other spare time gets taken up with my children. Which is exactly as it should be.  But if I do get an odd minute, I always have a book with me and there’s always music blasting out in my car!

8. What is your ambition for the future (personal or creative)?

To be calmer and worry less – I can dream, right?

9. If you could choose another era to live in what when would it be and why?

As a female scientist, I’m not sure I’d go very far back – I wouldn’t have been allowed near all the pretty numbers and computers!  But maybe the 70’s so I could have seen my favourite rock bands live in their prime! Also, my hair was designed for more volume rich times!

10. Early bird or night owl?

Early bird – I am absolutely rubbish at late nights, more so as I get older.  I figure by the time I’m 50, I’ll need to be in bed by 7:30!

11. Starter or pudding?

Starter!

So now the nice bit is that I get to highlight a couple of blogs which I personally enjoy reading.  A caveat on this is that it’s supposed to be blogs with less than 200 followers – I’m not entirely sure how to check that one, but I’m going on what WordPress Reader says.

One of the blogs I look forward to reading is Oodles of Craft.  I met Zoe on a course at Tilly HQ and her blog amazes me with the variety of crafts she tackles!

Another sewing blog I’m really enjoying is Gingerella. Jen tackles lots of patterns I either love or would love to try if I were more confident and I’m really inspired by her use of fabrics and frankenpatterns.

WordPress reckons that Clarinda Kaleidoscope only has 81 followers.  I find this rather hard to believe, as I love reading this blog.  The progress in makes over the time that this blog has been in place is unbelievable, very inspiring, plus I have serious fabric envy on a regular basis!

Whilst most of the blogs I read relate to my obsessive interest in dressmaking and sewing, there are a few which buck that trend.  Of those, my absolute favourite is Not So Smug Now.  I found this one as the author, Cat Sims, is a friend of a friend.  Whilst I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting her in real life, I thoroughly enjoy her posts and if you don’t subscribe to the you’re-doing-everything-wrong-and-screwing-up-your-child-with-every-breathe school of parenting, I bet you will too!

So, ladies, should you choose to accept the Liebster, please answer the following:

1. What do you enjoy most about writing a blog?
2. How do you go about deciding when to blog: do you have a regular schedule or is it just when you’re inspired?
3. Which post/project are you most proud of?
4. What’s your best tip for making time for yourself?
5. What did you learn from your biggest “failure”, either crafting or otherwise?
6. What skill would you most like to learn (craft or life!)
7. Should cash and time not be an issue, where would you head on holiday?
8. What life achievement, away from blogging, are you most proud of and why?
9. Tea or wine? (critical question, this one!)
10. Town or country?
11. Cats or dogs?

And thank you again Sarah Kate Makes, you’ve vastly improved my week!