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Blogging 101: I’ll Follow You Anywhere

Part I:

succulents

Tower of succulents coming back to life

Today’s Blogging University assignment focuses on the other half of blogging: engaging with your community.  We’re instructed to follow five new topics in the Reader and five new blogs.

It’s been awhile since I’ve explored WordPress Reader, not from lack of interest but lack of time.  I know a plethora of interesting blogs await discovery, but I must be realistic with my time.  If you’re as lucky as I am, you’ll fall in love with bloggers from around the world. Thirty days from now, I’m flying cross-country to spend a week with four other women, all friends I’ve met through blogging. Extraordinary!

Which brings me to

Part II:

I’m off to find and follow five more blogs:  I’ll be right back. 😉

Please close your eyes and pretend your clock is ticking…You can open them now.

Ok, I’m back. I wanted to write part one before tackling this assignment.

Following Michelle’s lead, I added narrowly focused topics. My list:

  1. Color
  2. Sunflowers
  3. Honeybees
  4. Fashion Over 50
  5. Postage Stamp Art

First up, Sew Katie Did. Isn’t that a clever title? I love her play on words.

Though I’ve sewn all my life, I never learned how to quilt. I admire the skill that goes into each one, as well as the color and artistry.  Sew Katie Did is a feast for the eyes. She’s posted photos of several quilts, both beautiful and eclectic. I’m quite smitten with Tilted and with her Stepping Stone Quilt, but frankly, they’re all gorgeous.

Katie Pedersen says “I’ve always been artistic, but a whole world opened up to me when I discovered fabric as my medium.  My workshops focus on design and finding your own process.  My teaching places a heavy emphasis on the importance of color value when picking fabrics and designing a quilt.  I teach modern quilting and sewing classes in Seattle and provide guild and show lectures, trunk shows and workshops.”

Searching sunflowers lead me to Patrick Mackie’s stunning photography. He photographs a number of beautiful subjects, but the sunflowers called me to his page.

Okay, so I tried to stay away from gardening, but my honeybees search lead me to this:

Lottie Land Girl Kaz Brown “records our journey on our lottie plot 21a through my photography. There’s nothing better than digging on the allotment with my husband Stew and our little dog Jassy (our buns Daisy and Alvin can’t play! They’d eat our veggies.” Her blog is filled with beautiful drawings and photos and…gardening tools. Be still my heart.

Guess what? Two of my Reader searches yielded nothing. Two, entirely untapped subjects. Fashion over 50 for women like me who fear they’ve fallen into a fashion frump and they can’t get up. The fact that no one is writing under that tag sent me further into my frumpy despair.

Postage stamp art didn’t come up either. I recently completed a project using my dad’s postage stamp collection and I wanted to see what others might be doing with stamps. I’ll tag my postage stamp table top liberally so that some future reader will find something on the subject.

So, I’ve added five tags to my reader and I’m following three new blogs. With that, I’m off to bed dreaming of beautiful quilts, sunflowers and the gentle buzzing of honeybees.

Have you followed any new blogs lately? Do you struggle to keep up?

27 thoughts on “Blogging 101: I’ll Follow You Anywhere”

  3. I struggle to keep up with what I have, and there are so many lovely blogs out there …… It becomes a lifestyle doesn’t it! I oftentimes skip posts from people who post every day. I think my priority is the people who follow and comment on my blog because I love building and nurturing relationships. I visit others when I have time or if the subject matter is of particular interest to me..

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    • Absolutely, Pauline. It is a lifestyle now, one I would never give up. I’ve had to scale back as well for as Boomdee says, you would be on the computer all the time.

      Nurturing relationships is wonderfully rewarding. I’ve been to blogs where the writer never seems to respond to any comments. I’m always puzzled by that and find that I don’t leave comments myself.

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  6. Congratulations on finding something new of interest. I have followed some new blogs lately and I also struggle to keep up. Above all, it should be for fun so I don’t pressure myself to keep a schedule (which is very obvious, LOL) It’s hard to make a commitment to someone and then not show up, so I’m far more selective than I used to be and can’t visit every post by everyone I follow or I’d never put the computer down. I guess I could leave much more brief messages……….nahhhh 😀 xoxoxo

    Liked by 1 person

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    • You are absolutely right: above all it should be fun. And well said: if you make a commitment you want to show up.

      I’ve scaled back as well and it feels more manageable now. It’s impossible to do it all, but sometimes fun trying. :- You crack me up. I’ve been smiling and giggling ate each of your comments.

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  7. I will agree with all the comments on here too, that it is hard to keep up with all the great blogs out there. I would love to have the time to comment on everyone’s blog, but I do my best and keep up! I have even taken a break from blogging during our winter saga because I just did not want to do a post complaining about our snow again. I do have my favorite blogs that I try to visit as much as I can because I agree with The Contended Crafter that I love nurturing relationships with those who frequently comment. I adore your blog with all my heart and will follow you anywhere!

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  9. So many, especially Pauline have verbalized my sentiments exactly. At this moment, I have 415 blog posts to read. I’ll never catch up because I have 10 projects in the sewing room needing attention and more shelving to put up. Blogging 101 added more blogs to my list and so did my own discoveries from the blogs I already follow. Writing comments takes time too but I want those I read to know I enjoyed their work. I can’t write every day and so I can’t read those who post every day. It’s just too much. Gotta go now. Good job on the assignment. 🙂

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    • Oh my goodness, Marlene. 415 is a lot to cover. I’m like you: I want those that I follow to know I’m reading and appreciating. It’s hard to simply click like, then dash. I use it sparingly. Sometimes I’ll come around and read several of one blogger at the same time. Its a more concentrated read and I enjoy that.

      I appreciate the time and care you put into your comments. It means the world to me.

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