Catching up on Blogging!

What’s the right word for sewing-blog-related admin/paperwork? Both of those terms sounds far too boring and stressful for something that is fun! 

A couple of things to share: 

ONE: 

1. I’m joining Me Made May this year! My pledge is to wear something handmade every day. I’m allowing myself clothing and accessories because, hey, I’ve only been sewing clothes for 3 months! (Is that true? Hard to believe! Feels like longer!)

TWO: 

Just for fun, I entered my navy and white Pendrell in Made By Rae’s Spring Top Sewalong! Not because I have a hope of winning, but because I’m so thrilled to be able to sew wearable clothes for the first time! It’s just exciting to be able to participate and contribute to the online sewing community which I love and appreciate so much.

THREE: 

Speaking of which, I’m still grinning that Maider at Masustak Eguzkitan gave me a Versatile Blogger award! Eeeee! Thank you so much! (For those of you that are non-sewers, there are a few blogger “awards” that get passed around from blogger to blogger, somewhat like a chain letter… Sure they are ubiquitous, and almost everyone has won one at least once… but I’m still THRILLED that any one even reads, let alone enjoys, my blog!) I think it’s so wonderful that blogging allows us to make friends all around the world, and gives us a place where our passion and skills are appreciated and cultivated. Thank you, Maider, and thank you to anyone reading this! 

(Here’s Maider, in a photo from her blog.)

Now, according to the “rules”, I’m supposed to nominate 15 blogs that inspire me and tell 7 things you might not know about me. Which is all well and good, but to be honest, I’m reluctant to nominate bloggers who have already been nominated scores of times before.

Instead, here is a list of blogs that brighten my day:

The Big Guns: 

• The Coletterie (Who doesn’t love Colette Patterns? They are consistently inspiring, and come up with really practical blog posts.)


• Tilly and the Buttons (OWOP was a stroke of genius! 


• So Zo’ (Like TIlly, she’s an amazingly community-minded individual who has had a huge impact on the sewing community, not least through Me-Made months!)


• Sew Weekly (Again, one person who has changed the face of modern sewing by challenging herself and others to make sewing a big part of their life!)


• Casey’s Elegant Musings (Seriously, the woman is just charming! Casey was one of the first bloggers I followed.)


• Gertie’s New Blog for Better Sewing (Another blog that everyone loves for good reason. I can’t wait to get Gertie’s book when it comes out!) 


• Sewaholic (She’s Canadian, she’s my age, and she’s got her own pattern line! I’m in love.)

The New Kids:

One of the things that i love about the blogging community is that it is in constant flux. Here are some of the blogs I’ve started following in the past 12 months that are clearly the next big stars!

• Sewin’ Steady:  I always look forward to seeing what Sue makes next!


• Masustak Eguzkitan: Maider has a great sense of style - and blogs in two languages and speaks at least one more! Always impressive! :)


• Lucky Lucille: I think Rochelle is one of the stars of the Colette Sew-Along - she’s clearly working hard on her store and blog, and makes consistently great clothing!


• Rhinestones and Telephones: Speaking of the Colette Sew-Along,  Sarah is one of our lovely hosts. She also lives just 90 minutes away from me, which makes her the nearest blogger that I follow!


• Miss Crayola Creepy: Our other Sew-Along hostess! I love her spring palette, and I’m looking forward to seeing what she makes!


• A Good Wardrobe: Lizz makes classic but bold clothing - Her red Iris shorts just days after the pattern was releases were perfection! Plus, we’ve bought the same fabric as each other twice! ;)


• Annie Bee Knits: My sister’s awesome knitting blog! She’s head of one of the largest knitting guilds in Canada, and her work is outstanding. Plus, read about her experience going legally blind from cataracts here! None of us really understod what was happening at the time, so I’m so glad she’s written about her experience!


• Dolly Clackett: Roisin’s blog is a great mix of inspirational cute dresses and realistic day-to-day life. I really appreciate bloggers who are up-front about stresses and failures as much as their successes!


• Dixie DIY:  Casual and modern clothing - with plenty of tutorials and free patterns! Another blogger who really gives back to the community!


• LLadybird: Lauren is talented, funny, gorgeous and a prolific sewer! I can’t believe all the great stuff she churns out every week!


• Lazy Stitching: Just coming back from a bit of a hiatus, I love Alana’s clothes and tutorials!


• Knitting to Stay Sane:  Another knitting blog, and another local-ish blogger! I met Glenna through my sister. Glenna is taking a year off work to focus on knitting, writing, and launching her first line of knitting patterns! I’m excited to see her crafty career get underway!


• Stitch and Witter: Joanne always makes things that I would dearly love to wear! She is fairly new to sewing (though not as new as me!) and I’m impressed that she’s always challenging herself to try new things!


• The Sew Alongs: Another lovely blogger who makes things that I wish were in my closet! I’m so jealous of her recent trip to Cape Town… looking forward to seeing what all that fabric becomes!

I could go on and on (even more than I already have!) but I’ll stop there for now. Like I said, I know that many of these blogs has already been nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award many times… but if you haven’t, please consider yourself nominted! :) 

I’ll leave you with three pictures from this week: 

Daffodils in our garden…

…a Red Admiral butterfly on our plum blossoms…

…and the school field just a few hours into a freak snowstorm that continued all night and led to a no-bus day at school today! I guess I won’t be taking any pictures of my new sundress anytime soon!