Bringing back the thoughtfulness into my blog.

I often get asked why I write a blog. (That sometimes follows, "What is a blog?" which catches me by surprise that people still don't know about them!)  

The last time I was asked was in a 'formal' interview situation.  I was asked why I started my blog, why do I keep blogging and what do I enjoy about it?  

My answer was about how blogging has introduced me to so many people, given me heaps of inspiration and given me a boost when people tell me that I've inspired them or helped them.

But I've kept thinking about the question of why I write - I guess I'm having some contemplative moments - and I wanted to expand my thoughts here.

Our contemplative cows.

It sort of started with this comment that I received on my blog:

Hello.
I just want to say u are a lovely woman and mother and person.I 've been reading your blog since 2010,when I Googled calcivirus and a pic of the same needles that we were giving my cat came up.I clicked on it and it turns out u ad posted it due to the disease being let loose and were planning on vaccinating your bunnies at home.
I love reading about your crafts, planting, children, u just sound like such a great woman.
I live in pretty city-like place in the States, near New York, and always wanted a mom to teach me things like u do but my mom was not around, my grandma raised me,and she wasn't interested in that stuff,NOR were her friends. 
Anyway,she passed some time ago.
I love seeing your beautiful quilts,I've always wanted a real quilt,and you seem to make them with so much care,love,and ease.
I love your little pouches too, perfect for odds and ends and, see,u could do zippers! They really are so cool.Store bought has nothing on your lovely things.
Well Ma'am, I just finally had to put this up. 
You're an inspiration to me.
Thank you for your beautiful blog,and all the nice things you post pictures of.
You are a really cool lady. 
Sincerely, With Respect, 
Crystalina

Not only is that the longest comment I've ever had on my blog, it's probably one of the most ego-boosting too!  But beyond that, it made me think.  

For me, walking and thinking go hand in hand.

Crystalina probably had no intention in her comment other than to let me know she was reading, but she prodded my thought processes.  Who is Crystalina?  How different is her life from mine?  How much have I unknowingly influenced or inspired her?  And who else has read my blog and found something to help them, inspire them, make them laugh or scoff at?  And what makes me blog different from others that she would read mine, rather than someone else's?  

I feel that over the last while my blog posts have become less thoughtful.  I think they have become more 'diary-like' and less 'journal-like'.  What's the difference?  Well, to my mind, a diary is purely a written record what you have been doing, whereas a journal is exploring the meaning of what you have been doing and thinking.  I think a diary can be useful too - it allows you to keep a record of your successes and mistakes and serve as a reminder of what works for you.  It can help you pay closer attention to your actions - like a food diary - or help you keep track of your behaviour and responses to certain situations.  

I asked some of the other 'twilters' (twitter uses who quilt) why they blogged and here's what they answered:

Jackie replied, "I started to document my quilting, finding the social aspect was a big plus and I loved it.  I didn't expect the social would become such a big part of my quilting life."

Amy said, "I began to journal and share our family experiences with family who lived far away.  Then it got crafty. :) Multiple blogs now."

Nonnie replied, "Track my SLOW progress on my projects > connect with people

JayeL responded, "I started to practice writing.  Now I use the blog to keep track of my projects.  I love my readers and their comments as well."

And Sandi commented, "To connect with other quilters and share things I've learned."

Can you spot the common thread through all of these responses?  Everyone wants connection with other people.  But for me, connection with other people means giving something of yourself to connect with. Not just a few pretty pictures, or a log of what I've done over the last week.  But pretty pictures AND what they mean to me.  Or a log of what I've done over the last week AND what I've learnt and what I'd change.  I know I sometimes hold back offering something to others.

So I'm going to try and bring some of the thoughtfulness back.  Don't worry, this isn't going to be a repository for my deepest, darkest angst!  I've never written those sorts of things here (I'll keep that sort of thought processing for a paper journal so I can burn it if it gets too horrifying).  But I am going to try and provide 'more' for my readers.  More of the mistakes I've made and what I've learned, more of my work processes, more of my thoughts about life, quilting and child raising.  And hopefully I can keep being an inspiration to Crystalina.  

Thoughtfulness: 

contemplation: a calm, lengthy, intent consideration (wordnetweb)

done or made after careful thinking (Mirriam-Webster Dictionary)

Showing careful consideration or attention (Oxford Dictionaries)

Caveat:  I am not making a comment on how other people choose to write their blogs!  This is purely a commentary on what I want to offer, and how I have been feeling about my blog and my thought processes.  We are all different and unique and we all have distinct styles - imagine how boring the world would be if we were all the same ;)

World Famous in Australia!

Down Under Quilts has to be one of Australia's foremost quilting magazines.  We get it in NZ at a lot of bookstores too and it's always interesting to see what our cousins across the ditch are up to.  Linda Robertus is the new editor, and I'm sure she's going to do a fab job.

Well, I'm hitting the big time folks!  Thanks to a heads up from Marls, I discovered my four lines of fame!  My blog is mentioned in the DUQ issue 158 blog roll.

So hi!  My name is Charlotte, otherwise known as Ms Lottie, and I'm addicted to quilting.  I'm in my 30's, married to a pretty nice guy (he doesn't read my blog!) and have two kidlets - a boy aged 8 and a girl aged 5 going on 15.

We live on a lifestyle block, which is a fancy name for a couple of paddocks out in the wop wops boonies a rural area.

I look after my chickens, my ducks, my cows, my sheep and my family and squeeze in some midwifery work too.

My vege garden is going to rack and ruin, I got six quinces, five plums, a handful of feijoas and a wee bowlful of chilean guavas off my orchard this year, and my cat thinks he's the boss of the world.

Mucking around with fabric is pretty good fun.  I dabble in a bit of surface design and I like putting rusty bits of metal on fabric to make pretty patterns.

I make more traditional (mainly pieced) quilts for fun, relaxation and to make quiet night shifts go faster.

I make art quilts for brain stimulation and 'cause one day I want to travel to Houston (Hubby says I'm not allowed to go unless one of my quilts is hanging).

So if you're visiting - say hi and I hope you stick around.  If you're not new here, say hi anyway - I'd love to learn a little more about you.

Flying Geese

I'm having trouble getting motivated to blog lately.  There are a few contributing reasons.  Life seems pretty mundane at the moment after the excitement of Symposium, we've had some not-so-great news about my Father in Law's cancer, my garden is a neglected mess, and the rain is making the animals muddy and unphotogenic!  

But I know that if I ease myself into it gently, I'll probably find my mojo again.  So I'm going to just try and do short, simple posts.  A little snippet of what I'm up to.  Nothing deep and meaningful here, folks - nothing that requires me to think too much. 

So today I'm working on a 21st Birthday Signature Quilt.  I have had all the signed blocks for a while now, so I must knuckle down and knock it off to clear my headspace a little.  The Flying Geese are done, now onto the Bear's Paw and Pinwheel blocks.



Welcome To My Life

I've had trouble finding words to write lately.  I think it's just a general tiredness that has infected my life lately and permeated into my blogging life too.  I dare say the Christchurch earthquake has something to do with it.  So to try and find my blogging mojo again I've decided to go back to how I originally envisioned this blog.  Just a little story about my little life.  Written for me, my family and my kids and anyone who's interested. 

When I started a web log I saw this as a good way to keep a diary, a diary with pictures!  My kids can look back at it one day and see what their life was like, what my life was like.  My family overseas can read it and keep current with what I'm up to.  And of course, anyone else who is interested can read along too. 

So in that spirit, I'm not going to worry about writing something fun or informative, or taking pictures of something beautiful, I'm just going to write about what I'm doing, right now, today.

Which is quilting.  I'm making bias strips for my applique panel in the centre of my big blue and white quilt.  It's the first time I've used bias press bars (borrowed from a friend - thanks!) and I like them.  Even my falling-apart iron can't stuff them up.  I bought a trestle table a little while ago and having that extra surface has allowed me to get rid of my clunky, annoying ironing board and just press my small bits on a old, folded towel.

Meanwhile, outside Hubby is building a deck.  What with having the shed extension and veranda finished he's got all enthusiastic - but who am I to complain?  It will get us up and out of the mud this winter.  Fantastic!

And what are the kids up to?  Nothing much.  Just playing in the mud, like all good kids should do.  They need to get in as much outdoor play as they can because the weather in changing, Autumn is on it's way.

Blogversary!

I started this blog a whole year ago today. Wow! Here is my first ever post word for word:

"Ok, so I mainly created this so I could comment on other people's blogs. I'm what I would call 'computer literate' but certainly not 'computer savvy', meaning I can turn the thing on, buy things on Trademe (!) and read blogs. But posting links, making my own blog....well, that's all new to me, so 'scuse me if I look a little dense sometimes! "

That was it, my entire post. And whilst I may have created the blog mainly to comment on others (not knowing then that I could just create a profile and comment), I have totally fallen for the bloggy world.

I used to watch TV in the evenings. Not much, but a few shows and documentaries here and there. Now I can't remember the last time I watched it. I'd much rather spend that time reading other people's blogs. I guess if television only featured shows on quilting, farming, homesteading....I'd be watching that instead.

When it all gets too hard, I lock the kids in a cage and go hang out on the net.

Blogging lets me blab on without worrying too much about what I say. It's allowed me to sort out my thoughts, to vent, to diary what's happening and look back on it. I've made friends I've never met. It lets me stay current with my family - complete with photos. And most of all, it has let me learn so, so much.



Someone asked me recently how I knew "all this stuff"? We were talking about gardening and chickens (and trust me, I am NOT an expert). I didn't really know how to answer because I'd never thought about it until then. But now, after a bit of reflection, I've realised that I've totally indulged my interests through the net and that's helped me pick up so much knowledge. The net lets me check out forums, blogs and sites where I can learn whatever I like. I can read about a book and put it on hold at my library with a few mouse clicks. I can ask questions of fellow bloggers and I can find how-to's on just about anything at all.



So, really, what I'm trying to say on my one-year anniversary is:

Thank - you!

Bloggy world, internet, and fellow bloggers - you are the best!

Ok, so I mainly created this so I could comment on other people's blogs. I'm what I would call 'computer literate' but certainly not 'computer savvy', meaning I can turn the thing on, buy things on Trademe (!) and read blogs. But posting links, making my own blog....well, that's all new to me, so 'scuse me if I look a little dense sometimes!