Blogger Recognition

Today’s post has taken me a while to write and has left me rather surprised.

I got an email notification a few weeks ago that I’d been nominated for a Blogger Recognition Award by Felicity and was absolutely stunned.  I think I work on the assumption that pretty much no one reads my words and this is just a space for my random ramblings.

I was particularly stunned to be described as “the queen of jersey” – I still think of myself as someone who’s very new to this, more challenging, fabric, but then when I look at my more recent makes, I guess I’ve got much better of late.  Add in my recent overlocking course and I will be away!

So, as usual with me, I took a while to get over the shock and then life got in the way a bit and now, finally, I’m sitting down to write my post.

The deal with this award is that you should;

– Thank the blogger who nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
– Write a post to show your award.
– Give a brief story of how your blog started.
– Give two pieces of advice to new bloggers.
– Select other bloggers you want to give this award to.

So, how did this blog start?  It was kind of a spur of the moment thing, really.  I’d been reading blog after blog after blog for quite some time, marvelling at how clever all these people were making beautiful clothes which were, quite clearly, well above my skill level.  And then, I happened upon Clarinda Kaleidoscope.  This was a blog written by someone else who was, at the time, much more of a beginner (although her skills far surpass mine now) and I was surprised how much I enjoyed reading about both her successes and failures.

I was already starting to enjoy commenting on as well as reading blogs and building up a little bit of an Instagram presence and was surprised how much I enjoyed the social interaction (this not really being my normal setting).  So, in the week in which my eldest started primary school and whilst the rest of my life was consequently all over the shop, I decided to add to the turmoil by starting a blog.  I wanted somewhere to make a record of what I was making and to really just inspire myself to keep going. And here we are, 18 months later, with vast quantities of my ramblings cluttering up the internet.

So then, advice to new bloggers?  Kind of tricky that.  I suppose, first off, be yourself.  Don’t sew things everyone else is if they aren’t going to suit you.  Don’t commit to a blog schedule you can’t keep up with if it’s going to stress you out.  There are so many places in life where we’re pressured to fit the mould; this isn’t it.  If your written English isn’t great, whack the spell check on.  If you can only take photos on your phone indoors, spend half an hour getting to grips with photo editing on your device and crack on with taking pictures.  Sew the crazy fabrics, make mistakes, document the lot and move on.  Be yourself; everyone else is taken.

Secondly, do read through what you’re written before you post it!  Sometimes the spell check hasn’t worked, sometimes you blog when tired, and sometimes you ramble on too much (me? never!) – always cast your eye over things and make sure it isn’t too cringeworthy!

So, other bloggers?  A tricky one this; I have a vast list of blogs on Bloglovin’ which I catch up with whenever I can.  And I do mean blogs; I never get chance to watch vlogs and actually feel quite sad when a blogger I like decides to go down that route as it means I can’t keep up with them any more.  And now I’ve been brave and actually gone to some meet ups in real life, I’ve met some of the lovely ladies who inspire me in person and would hate to leave anyone out.

But, top of my head, these are some of the bloggers whose posts I enjoy;

Sally is a good friend of mine now, having organised Sew Up North with her last year (amazing what a random Instagram chat can lead to) and reading her blog is exactly like sitting down for a chat with her.  She tells it how it is and covers all sorts of sewing, from crafty projects to sewing her own pants for Simplicity.

Tif has a fantastic sense of personal style (makes me feel decidedly frumpy, but is too lovely for me to mind), a fellow addiction to Deer and Doe patterns and takes great blog photos. Also, I love her staircase! (random, but scroll through her blog photos and tell me you’re not slightly envious!)

Rhiannon has a love of blue fabric…and pretty much any fantastically bright coloured stuff too. I love the way she breaks posts down into headings (“What is it”, “Is it blue”, “What was good about making it” etc) and keep meaning to blatantly copy her but then just carry on rambling.  She’s also great at the inspiring, well lit photo

I really love reading Karen’s blog; her posts often inspire me to try a new pattern, quite often out of my comfort zone, and also to think about why I sew and how I could make it better.  Also, serious cuteness on the Ella front!

I’m quite sure all of these lovelies have already had mountains of awards but thought I would add in my thanks for the inspiration.  And thank you again for the nomination, Felicity!

Becca x