Doll

Wow- I should go away more often! What an amazing few days it has been!

We had a wonderful time in New York but more about that in another post. We left Boston on Monday morning in a snow storm.

That is Mass Ave, and if you know the area at all, you know it is very unusual to see it so empty at 9:30 am on a Monday morning.

When I checked my email on Tuesday morning, I discovered that I’d been mentioned by Kathreen of Whip-Up fame, in her role as Guest Blogger on Design Sponge. Yikes! I was floating for the rest of the day! and then Craftzine! I got many more of comments, emails and Etsy convos then I normally get- and unfortunately was not able to reply to my emails from the hotel- emails in- yes, out- no. I’ve come home to an enormous backlog of correspondence to catch up on, packages to get out, and ideas in my head that need working on- A great way to start a new year!

Thanks for visiting any one who is new here!

most of it anyway… There is such a feeling of accomplishment to see it all together like this.

I’ve been working on some blog housekeeping- things I’ve been meaning to do for many, many months. I’ve put most of my links onto separate pages (still working on that), have started an “about me” page, am making a link list for podcasts- one of the best things that I got into in 2007, and have added some new categories for my posts. Yesterday, I went back to the beginning (2004- whoo!) and am rereading and re-categorizing. I haven’t gone back to the beginning in a long enough time that I’m not sure I ever did it. It is very interesting to notice how my blog “voice” took shape. Also, how soon it was before anyone began to read it and leave comments- I was and am still so grateful for that early support.

I guess getting to work on this stuff has to be the first, unstated New Years resolution that I am actually acting on. I remember that last year, I had very clear ideas in my head of what I wanted to try and do- this year, not so much. Mostly, I am thinking along the lines of More of the same. 2007 ended up being a great year for me- so bring on 2008!

Happy Valentines Day everybody. But that isn’t the big holiday this week around my house-

Yesterday was my third year blog birthday- and considering how much this blogging thing has enriched my life, it is most certainly worth celebrating! I am hoping for another wonderful year of meeting new people, swaps, round robins, feedback, exchanges of information- the community. That’s been the best part.

It’s a snow day today. Peter has no school. In our town, they blow a very loud horn when school is canceled or delayed. Seems so very old fashioned.

I managed to get a lot closer to being done with my blanket this past week.

When we were visiting Eleanor this past weekend, we sat around and talked and I knit… It is now 47 inches long. I have 2 more color stripes I want to do. I ran out of brown (the constant stripe color)- grrr. I thought about buying some more, but no, the whole point of this project is to use up what I have. So, the last stripes are black. I doubt anyone will complain.

A clarification of sorts- I start tons of projects that don’t get finished. It’s just that the blanket project is in my head in a different category from what I think of as my “art” projects. The blanket is a home project. I have a long list of home projects I want to get done. Curtains and throw pillows for our new futon sofa are at the top of the list. It’s these home projects that I am trying to keep under some control. My personal rules are VERY complicated with oh so many exceptions, footnotes and extenuating circumstances. Good thing I can make them up as I go along!

so are you seeing my new banner? So much better!

And, there is now a link in the sidebar to click on if you’d like to receive my blog postings by email. Good if you don’t use a blog reader of some sort. It works. I’ve tried it.

And on Friday I spent the morning hanging out with Abby of While She Naps. We have gotten together a few times before, but I am always amazed how great it is to see her in person, see her work and just chat about what we’re doing- sewing, blogging, etc.

I have had only wonderful experiences meeting up with fellow bloggers. It is so easy. There is not all the explaining to do… “what do you do? why would you do THAT! what is that blogging thing anyway? why would you do it? … So much of what makes meeting a new person hard/ weird/ scary for me- we’re already past that. We have connected through our blogs. I put myself out in the online world in a take it or leave it situation. If you don’t like what I’m doing, easy. Don’t come back. The people who are interested, stay. When I meet up with someone I’ve connected to through blogging, there is no need to prove that what I do is valid, interesting, art, worthwhile or anything. We have already gotten past that before we met. So, phew, one more thing I love about blogging!

Now, a question. When you click on a link in a posting, do you like a new page to open up or is that annoying? I like having a new page open up but what about you?

Some good stuff has been happening lately.

On Sunday, Mary, of A Saloia fame, came over to see me. She is with her family in the Boston area and so we were able to meet up. We sat around in my studio, looking at fabric, chatting about doll-making and blogs, among other things. Then we wandered down the street and went to my corner fabric store where we each managed to find something we “needed”. Now I have some pretty fabric bits that will remind me of our afternoon together when I use them.

I have finished up my atc’s for Kirsten’s Bird atc swap. I made 10 and 6 will be sent off to Minneapolis. I still need to make the little envelopes. They are always fun.

On Tuesday, I was the very grateful recipient of a treasure trove of embroidery threads- Mostly wool (about 200! skeins) but also some wonderful embroidery thread called Danish Flower Thread. It is a matte, vegetable-dyed thread (I don’t know if that is the right word?) in beautiful soft colors. I love sewing with it. Lucky, lucky me!

And lastly, one of the reasons I’ve been doing postcards recently , is that I have several friends who have been ill and need them. I went to see my friend in the hospital today. She was so much better then I was expecting and I can tell you, I am very relieved. I was so happy to be able to give her this card-

Now I have to do the other 9 and make another series!

In real face to face life, I am with a lot of non-bloggers. People who don’t understand what a blog is, why or how someone would do it. Sharon of In a Minute Ago, has been thinking about it and explaining it clearly since she started blogging 2 1/2 years ago. Her most recent post on the subject is here and she talks about the community building aspect of blogging (among other things). If you are curious about the whole why and how, just read everything she’s posted under blogging- and the comments. It is all very interesting reading.

If any of this inspires you to read more blogs, check out this post about managing your blog reading.

And then, if you decide to jump in and start one, there is a great article on Whip Up about starting a craft blog. If you are not feeling like it is working out the way you had expected, read this other Whip Up article full of excellent craft blog advise.

Good luck!

I’m out here in the Minneapolis regional area somewhere, at the NIADA conference, meeting new people, seeing amazing dolls, having a fantastic time. I got to town on Wednesday and met up with Kristen of Kleas on Thursday. I had connected with her online through an atc swap and some emails. When I told her I was going to be in Minneapolis, we planned a rendezvous. She showed me around to some fun neighborhoods of the area that I am sure I never would have found on my own. This is Hunt & Gather in Edina.

I was so tired I was probably mostly incoherent, but Kristen wrote an incredibly nice post about our afternoon here, if you want to check it out. Meeting people through my blog has been a real treat for me- an unexpected benefit. Reading blogs becomes so much richer when I have a face to attach to a written voice.

I read this excellent article about craft blogging and all the comments on Whip up. One of the suggestions was to see how your blog looks on the various news readers. I am not sure exactly how to do this, but there was a link to Bloglines so I went over there. I had checked out Bloglines when I first heard about it, but don’t use it because I have NetNewsWire Lite, which does a similar thing. I noticed that when I go to look at my site, the pictures don’t show up- ahhh! Just exactly what the article warned of… What is the point if you can’t see the pictures! So, what do I do?

Yesterday I got together with Abby from While She Naps. This is a first for me- meeting someone in person, who I’ve connected with through blogging. It was great! She brought me this wonderful little owl-

and she went through my piles of too much fabric and went home with 2 bags… I am hoping she will come back soon and take more! I got to see her sweet new little doll- I loved the patchwork technique and excellent color choices.

We talked about blogging, what it has added to our lives, which ones we read, the people we have connected with and why. Things we’ve learned, what you can or can’t say in emails or online. It is so great to have a person I can visualize, connected to a blog I read.

More mail that I got as a result of my fabric packages-

an amazing envelope- I admired it for a while before I could bring myself to open it!

inside- a wonderful collage-

from Hanna at Il Bloggo. I am so tickled by this art about me!