On December 27, 2012, I started this blog with the intention of conquering my fear of technology and documenting my creative life. Who knew it would be the best thing I could have possibly done to advance my practice as an artist? I have improved my ability to express my ideas while also connecting with artists and quilt makers from around the world. It is awesomeness.
Four years, 335 posts, and 4,295 comments later. Here we are.
In the beginning, one of the hardest things about writing a blog is putting yourself out there, hitting the publish button, taking a leap into the public’s eye. In the end though, this is what keeps you going. The blog helps you find your peers, your cheerleaders, your AMEN sisters.
Thank you dear readers. It is a great pleasure to connect with all of you.
Every year, as a small celebration of my blog, I list the top ten most visited posts of the year. Some of these posts were written several years ago but are still read. In the blog world that is called staying power. Isn’t that fun? Some of my posts have staying power.
Here we go.
11. Bit by Bit I know this is a top ten list, but #11 is so closely related to #10 that it just seems wrong to not let Bit by Bit make the cut.
10. All of My Life Is a meditation on why I do what I do—stitch bits together and then quilt them.
9. Scrap Strategies This is a tell-all post about how much I love scraps and how organized and disorganized I am with them.
8. Jennifer Fleming’s Mystery Quilt This year, I taught at the Valdez Quilt Festival. This amazing little festival happens every other year in September. One of the hi-lights of the festival is a night time mystery quilt. My friend and fellow quilt maker Jennifer Fleming designed this year’s pattern. I love this post because you get to see so many versions of the same quilt.
7. SHOW YOUR WORK I am glad this is a popular post. It means you folks are thinking about sharing your work which is a good thing!
Treasure Map
6. Donating Art It is a touchy subject for artists.
5. Molly Upton @ QuiltCon 2016 I love Molly Upton’s work. Every day I was at QuiltCon 2016, I visited the exhibition of her work. I could not get enough of it. If you don’t know Molly, please click on the link, because you should know Molly.
4. The Fiesta Gowns of San Antonio When I attended the Surface Design Conference in San Antonio in 2013, I had a chance to attend a lecture and viewing of these gowns, which are amazing on so many levels—the craftsmanship, the tradition, the controversy.
3. Project Every Day Every day since my 50th birthday, I have worn only clothing I have made. I have documented this project by standing in the middle of our dirt road while our youngest son photographs me. Eventually a full year of seasons while transpire behind me. The first 101 days were in a lousy location. I didn’t realize it until the snow melted. This means the project will last longer, but be better. At least that is what I am telling myself. You can read about the documenting process for Project Every Day here. That is the hard part.
2. The Perfect Beginner’s Top Down Sweater This post made the top ten last year too. It is almost two years ago that I wrote this post, and I am ALMOST done with my first top down sweater. Just a sleeve stands between me and this major accomplishment.
1. Fleece Flannel Blankets This post got booted off the list last year, but it is back on top again this year. It was the #1 post in 2013 and 2014, and once again in 2016. You people like your blankets.
If you want to check out the previous year’s top ten posts you can by following these links:
Happy Anniversary 2013
Happy Anniversary 2014
Happy Anniversary 2015
Through writing this post, I have discovered the best way to search for past entries on my blog is to go to my ABOUT page. There, you can search for individual entries by subject or month. I know it would be nice to have that feature on my home page, but the WordPress template I use doesn’t allow for it. The plus side to this is a CLEAN home page. The negative is that you can’t easily find old posts. Which kind of stinks.
I hope you enjoyed this little trip down memory lane with me. I’d love to hear what your favorite types of posts are. Or, if you have a top post from your blog that you’d like to share, please do.
Again, thank you folks. You keep me going.
I have enjoyed getting to know you through your blog posts! We started blogging around the same time. I have not “studied” my top 10, but I have noticed that the one post of mine that gets searched for a lot is one I called Quilts that Honor. I’ve written 361 posts in the 4 years & 1 month since I started blogging. For me, it is my “crafting journal”. Someone once told me to keep a quilt journal, and someone else said “you should write a blog”, so I combined the two “You shoulds”. 🙂 When I am feeling like I haven’t accomplished a lot over the year, I find it helpful to “go back” thru my year of posts and see what really “got done”. I will probably do that – post New Years eve party hangover! Happy 4 years!
Mary- You are so right. The blog really is a documentation system. People will ask me a question about my work or how I do something and I can easily send them a link to the blog post that I wrote. Congrats on four years and one month. I think that is fabulous. I hope your New Year’s is great!
I’m glad Pam told me (and the whole SBAMQG) about your blog and that I got to meet you at QuiltCon! Congratulations and Happy New Year – I hope it’s a good one for you!
Mickey it is has been great getting to know you too! I hope you have a great year planned. Lots of Quilting!
I fell down the rabbit hole of checking out past posts. I LOL’d at your duct tape thimble! And I loved reading all the posts about your first experience at the Crow Barn. It reminded me of my one week there. I loved that experience. I still don’t quite get figure/ground… I’m glad you started writing. I know I will be going back and reading more 🙂
Debby it has been great getting to you too–in person and on your blog. Nancy’s classes have a way of sticking with you!
Happy Anniversary! Reflecting on popular posts is a fun way to celebrate. I love hearing about your process, but also about your experiences with various groups. It helps broaden my quilting world, too. One of my goals for the year is to post regularly on my blog. This has been a struggle for me. The paragraph in your post about “putting yourself out there” really resonated with me, especially your sentence: “The blog helps you find your peers, your cheerleaders, your AMEN sisters.” That is exactly why I blog and why I read and comment on the blogs of others. Thanks for sharing!
Marla- It has been great getting to know you this year. I look forward to sharing the Quilter’s Affair experience with you!
Happy Blog Anniversary!
Thanks for all your pictures and words. They are fascinating to read.
I don’t always comment, but I always read.
I’m glad you made it through all your deadlines!
Thank you Carrie. I always enjoy hearing from you. I hope you have great 2017 planned!