Sunday, November 18, 2012

Well, I've been quite the absentee blogger, lately, haven't I?  I've been thinking lately about why in the world has it been so hard for me to keep up on this lately.  Frankly, I think it's the pressure.  Pressure to have good pictures.  Pressure to be relevant, build links, have good content.  Be funny.  Be serious.  Post tutorials.  Don't offend anyone, but be interesting.  Wow. 

There is a lot of advice out there about how to build a wonderful blog.  And there are a ton of great blogs out there about quilting - (I would know because I follow a lot of them!)  And I think I got a little too caught up in the obsession of making my blog be another beautiful, informative blog, then became discouraged at the work and my own limitations on time, energy and equipment.  I started using a different camera, and the process of getting my pictures to the blog has become an ordeal in itself.  I have to use a card reader, then absolutely must do everything in a certain order or my computer will freeze up and throw a large tantrum.  Not fun. 

But I still love my blog.  It's a wonderful record of what I am working on, how I am feeling and what is inspiring me.  So I am going back to just writing.  Adding pictures when I have them, but not feeling like I have to have at least 3 beautifully edited and perfectly formatted pictures for every single post.  My pictures probably will include the bad lighting, messy sewing room, and definitely lots of the cute kitty that has joined our family.  I will write about working on boring projects, wonderful projects, and the things I make for other people.  I won't feel guilty about working on a dozen projects at once, because that's how I roll - I always meet my deadlines and sometimes I have to work on something that I want to play with just for sanity's sake.

I will also write about the weather, the everyday ups and downs of life, and my opinions on it all.  I want to share more of who I really am, and not just the painted pretty picture of an obsessed quilter.  Not everything in life is sweet and charming and pretty.  There are worries, struggles, and hurdles to jump.  My faith in God is strong, but yes, I struggle, too.  I want to be open about all of these things and not worry about what the world at large will think about me.  I think so often we feel like we have to have a facade up so that people don't think less of us, but I want to be honest about my life and the struggles I face, because I know that everyone struggles.  And we don't have to do it alone, even though we deceive ourselves that it's easier that way.  But it's really not.

Thanks to all of my followers, some of you are dear friends, some are my loving family, and some are the wonderful people who don't even know me, but enjoy seeing what I put up here!  Thank you to all of you who support me in what I do - good, bad, ugly, pretty.  Success, failure, always reaching for more, trying to find my way, my voice.  I love you all and hope that you will still enjoy my blog as I do a little restructuring.  As Pop-Eye says, I Yam what I Yam! 

1 comment:

9patchnurse said...

I know what you mean about the pressure. Worrying about pictures really held me back for a long time. Now I'm trying to just roll with it. I'm not a great photographer and if I have to stage a photo shoot for every post, there just won't be any posts. I like when I can be myself and be funny but sometimes it's 'the facts, ma'am, just the facts.' I think it's important to make sure you are enjoying the process, the sharing, the chronicling, journaling etc. So go for it!