lately, it seems like this question keeps popping up in the back of my head -- almost on a daily basis. blogging and the online sewing community plays a pretty big role in my life. between sharing my creations here at Canoe Ridge Creations and being involved with blogging & social media surrounding Sewing Summit, it's everywhere. and i wouldn't want it any other way because i absolutely love it! but with all of this involvement, it makes me think about: why do i blog?
<<i blog because i love sewing>>
seriously, love sewing and it's be huge part of my life for so long. i started sewing at the age of 12. started working at my lqs at the age of 14 and continued through college. bought my first Bernina sewing machine at the age of 16. heck, most of my senior pictures are taken with my quilts! i.just.love.sewing. i love the idea of cutting fabric into little pieces, sewing it all back together and having something useful and handmade. it's just great!
<<i blog to be involved with the online sewing community>>
the friends and connections i have made because of the online sewing community completely blows my mind. when i started this blog a little over a year ago, in no way, shape, or form could i have imagined making the sewing friends i have today. i never imagined i would have found jeni, deedee, and vanessa, right here in the midwest! or that my involvement with sewing summit would turn into life long friendships with erin and amy. it's a whole world, full of people just like me, who love sewing!
<<i blog to inspire>>
the only thing better than my passion for sewing, is inspiring others to love sewing too! sewing rocks, and i want to share it with everyone! :) words can't express how much i enjoy reading your comments and words of encouragement. and when i get comments/e-mails thanking me for providing inspiration my heart just sings! in my book, inspiring someone is the ultimate complement.
<<i blog for me>>
blogging is something i enjoy and look forward to each and every day. it's a way for me to keep things in my life organized, under control. when all other aspects of my life feel like they are crumbling, blogging keeps me grounded.
i don't blog to be "popular" or to have lots of followers (although i *love* all of you!). in fact seeing that mindset in others has me feeling a little "off" lately. blogging shouldn't be fueled by popularity contests or the "who knows who" mentality. blogging should be about something you have a passion for. something that you want to share with others, right?
so, why do you blog?
xo, megan.
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Great post! I blog to share and inspire. I like the connection I make with readers through my blog!
ReplyDeleteI like to blog in order to share what I create. In particular to show to my family who I don't see all the time, and I don't want to bombard them with emails every time I've taken pictures of a new project! With a blog, they can look at their own leisure.
ReplyDeleteI admit it is easy to get sucked into keeping track of how many followers, how many subscribers, how many comments - I really struggle with that because I do want people to interact, but I want to be careful that it is not all about that. The connections created are awesome, but doing it just to be affirmed is not the right motive.
Thanks for this post, Megan.
I love this post! In fact, I'm reading a series based on this very thing! http://www.likeawarmcupofcoffee.com/home/2011/11/the-other-woman-social-media-behave-day-2/
ReplyDeleteHehe, I blog because I am secretly a computer geek! I started my first "blog" (journal I called it then!), in sixth grade.. so, 2000? Also, I blog because I love to sew and I love my online pals! So glad we met Megan! Can't wait to see you again soon! :)
ReplyDeleteGreat post BTW!
I like blogging because It has helped keep me from just talking about all the things I would like to try or create and actually doing them - like accountability. I also have enjoyed meeting others. It seems where I live we either don't have that many people that are into sewing or maybe there are all undergound. I am on a mission to find them, they have to be out there somewhere. :)
ReplyDeleteI blog to be popular and have lots of followers!
ReplyDeleteI kid, I kid. I don't have any quilty friends who live nearby, so I love the connections I've made online with people who understand my obsession! I'm fueled by the creativity I see, and I love sharing things I make. Blogging definitely helps keep me motivated too!
I blog partly for me as a personal "diary", partly because like you I LOVE sewing and love and adore all my inspiring online friends that I've made, partly because I don't really have any local quilting friends so this is the next best thing, and partly for business. Because I would one-day like to make a little money off all of it. So popularity is a bit important too. But it's nowhere near the top of the list.
ReplyDeleteIt did take me a while to learn why I was blogging though I must admit, and for a while the numbers sucked me in.
My blog is definitely for me these days, which should be pretty obvious to my readers because of what I choose to share.
Great topic!
I have been asking myself this question a lot lately. I blog because I like to share and I love all the new friendships I have made with fellow bloggers. It is a portable community that comes with me no matter where I go and that is amazing. I also blog because I am inspired by everyone else and want to show what I have made and maybe inspire somebody else too.
ReplyDeleteI blog to share my life and loves with others and to meet a community of like minded people. Blogging means sharing what you love and I love my family, sewing, cooking, gardening, canning, baking and photography. I also blog as a way to keep a virtual journal. Someday, I hope my grandchildren can look back at these words I have written and be reminded that they were loved by me...and be reminded of what I enjoyed doing with and for them.
ReplyDeleteI have met some of the nicest, most generous people through blogging and for that I am grateful.
I enjoyed this post :)
ReplyDeleteI blog because I started reading other people's and wanted to join in the fun. It's a good way of documenting my quilting journey, a record of what I've done so I stop boring people on facebook!! Also it's been a great wait of making internet friends and people who love sewing as much as me (and you!) :)
I started my sewing blog as a way to do something creative with my time, because my job isn't necessarily creative and I've found I need that in my life. But the friendships formed have been a huge bonus for me, and something I never really expected!
ReplyDeleteSometimes I wonder why I even bother to blog--I'm pretty sure mostly friends and family stop by regularly. But I like to share what I make because I've been inspired by so many others, and hopefully I can inspire others as well. Oh, and then there's the whole longarm quilting business thing. I thought I would be able to get a bit more business, but I dont think its working so far. Ah well, I do enjoy it though!
ReplyDeleteI blog to be a part of the online sewing community. It's hard sometimes to share my love of sewing and crafting with family and friends who don't sew or craft because they don't always understand why (or how) I do what I do. It's great to put up a post showing an idea about making something or pose a question and have people just as passionate about making willing to respond and share. I learn so much and get so inspired by reading other blogs too. It just continues to fuel my desire to make so much more.
ReplyDeleteI started because I wanted to be a part of the online quilting community & find inspiration there & boy have I! Didn't really expect to cultivate the great friendships I have - that has been a really cool blessing. And being inspired by all I see has motivated me to reach new heights in my quilting skills, which I really enjoy. I also like that my blog is a sort of 'record' of my quilting journey.
ReplyDeleteReally interesting post. I blog because no one in my 'real' world gets, nor is that interested in my obsession with making quilts.
ReplyDeleteI blog to share, to be inspired and hopefully to inspire. I never really thought about making 'friends' when I started; I think that has become a welcome bi-product of quilt blogging.
I don't blog to get followers and am amazed that people do and like you I find the 'follow me' thing a complete turn-off. We're all different but surely the old 'to enter my giveaway etc you must follow' is a bit school playgroundish?! Follow if what I am doing/saying resonates with you but equally don't if it doesn't.
Not a huge fan of the sometimes seen friendship fakery out there in quilting blog land for the sake of being popular.
Not out to offend anyone, just my own personal thoughts!
Thanks for doing this post.
Dear Megan, how nice you shared your thoughts! I have been thinking very much the same lately - is it perhaps because after these months we have found our place in blogland and also our way to blog. I could write almost the same list like you - only my friends are all 'online' because here people don't sew much. And when I was young I was sewing only cloths etc. and began quilting just few years ago. Now I think oh s... why I never tried patchwork when I was young and lost so many years from this most enjoyable and creative sewing!
ReplyDeleteI would love to write post every day, but internet is quite slow in our area and I need often two hours to finish the post with many photos. But the days between posting, I enjoy thinking what to write, what to photograph, I look around me in different way thinking what to show in my blog and it feels almost like being with my blog friends!
Thank you Megan for being my blog friend and for the ideas and inspiration you give to us!
xxx Teje
Really nice job on the post Megan. I blog because no one around me sews or is obsessed with it like I am. The on-line community is such a blessing...with all the inspiration and friendships. I've learned so much from other sewists and am inspired every day to try new things.
ReplyDeleteBy the way....how was Breaking Dawn?? Did you not love it? Now that you've seen it, you'll have to tell me your favorite part!!
Well my blog was initially for my teddy bear making business so that I could show my fellow bear artist friends and potential customers what was coming up. As I work full time, it takes me a while to make a bear, so otherwise my website was going rather slowly!
ReplyDeleteNow it's not just for my bears, but also to share the love I've found in sewing other things lately. My parents live a couple of hundred miles away, so they can read to see what I've been up to, and I love showing things I've found and learned around the web to others. I have no-one local to share this with, so whoever stumbles across my blog gets stuck with my latest obsessions :oD
I don't think I could ever get to the stage of posting every day though because if I did, I'd never have time to make things! I do love reading my friends' blogs every day however, especially in my down time at work, it makes me feel surrounded by creative souls, even if they're not there in the flesh :o)
I am glad you blog, I enjoy reading about what you are sewing and you inspire me. I also enjoy the connection to the internet quilting community you give me through {sew} Modern Monday. I blog for the same reasons you have set out, it is fun to be connected to the internet sewing community and maybe sometimes I might inspire or help out someone else.
ReplyDeleteI have a list of blogs a mile long, all sitting in folders on my favorites bar. (Explorer always asks if I really want to open 23 tabs at a time!) But yes I really enjoy reading blogs about sewing (all aspects) and the sharing of lives all over the world. I started my blog a few months ago to join in the conversation. I enjoy showing and talking about the projects I do for fun. -- Sewing is better when shared.
ReplyDeleteFor me, blogging is a way to share what I create with others. Hopefully I encourage or inspire someone else. I read other blogs for the same reasons. I enjoy yours.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Megan. : ) I blog for all of the reasons you wrote about and more. But I think it's easy to get caught up in blogs being a bit of a popularity contest/competitive thing, so it's always good to remember why we started them in the first place!
ReplyDeleteIt's great to read everyone's reasons, so thanks for starting people thinking, Megan. I started blogging for my mum - she lives over 200 miles away, so I can't show her everything I make any other way. Now I love being part of the online community and being inspired by other people's blogs and learning from everyone (I'm quite new to patchwork but have sewn forever). So thank you to everyone who blogs and inspires me!
ReplyDeleteDito
ReplyDeleteI've been asked this before by non-bloggers, so I've thought about it quite a bit. I like having a record of my progress with crafts. I like sharing my experiences with others, and I love connecting with people throughout the world on similar interests. There are so many benefits!
ReplyDeleteI blog because I got really sick this past year and felt disconnected with the world. I've tried to blog for years, but it wasn't until this year it stuck! Now I blog to be part of a community and to keep my self motivated and accountable. I have never been so encouraged as I have been in the past 6 weeks though when I started really interacting with other people's blogs.
ReplyDeleteI used to just browse and read and never really get involved, but now I have more conversations with certain bloggers than my own family(that don't live in my house I mean)! All from taking a chance by joining a linky party or just commenting on blogs I really like to read! They are the people who inspire me, encourage me, and give me great advice about sewing, quilting and just life.
I blog because I love it!! I'm inspired by other bloggers out there all the time and hope I can share a bit of my inspiration to others too!!
ReplyDeleteI started blogging in 2010, after I discovered other quilting blogs(my mother died after a long battle with cancer and I was surfing the internet when I couldn't sleep). I loved the inspiration from all the wonderful blogs I was reading, and decided it was time to start sewing again. I don't have any quilting buddies, my friends love what I do, but have no interest in sewing, so this has become my quilting community : ) I also enjoy learning new computer skills. I have stayed away from too much personal information on my blog, but I do occasionally talk about my life. Thanks for asking!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I blog hopped over here from someone else's blog and I'm glad I came. I blog for the very same reasons as you do really. I love sewing and it's always a better day when I get to sew. I don't have many friends close by that get the sewing thing so it's really nice to connect with like minded people especially when they come from all around the globe. I love to inspire others to sew too. Plus my Mum loves to read my blog and see what I'm up to as well :-) Thanks for the thought provoking post!!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I agree! It is a great community and i am glad i discovered it!
ReplyDeleteLove this post Megan! So true!
ReplyDeletebest.post.ever. I adore you Megan!!!! <3<3<3<3
ReplyDeleteWell done, lady! I second all of that :-) A big THANK YOU from me, too, because I so appreciate you sharing the things you love to create with all of us!
ReplyDelete