1 January 2011

Happy Blog-iversary to meeeeee!















A year ago today my boyfriend dared me to start a blog and - possibly still a bit tipsy from the night before - I accepted the challenge.

A few days before I'd taken an introductory dressmaking course and wanted to document my progress. Looking back over my previous posts is invaluable for learning from previous mistakes, working out what does and doesn't suit me, and reminding myself of how far I've come.

Being part of the stitching blogging world has allowed me to meet some wonderful, talented, inspiring people. I've had the opportunity to meet up with some of you in real life, others I feel like I know and would call friends even though we've never met face-to-face and probably never will (sewing blog convention, anyone?). I've learnt tons from your expertise, been constantly inspired by the amazing things you've stitched, and have remained motivated in what can be a time-consuming and frustrating activity, all thanks to your support. Some people may imagine sewing is a lonely activity, but thanks to you lot it's just the opposite!

A year after starting this post and I've just passed the 500 follower milestone, which I find really hard to believe sometimes! Thank you SO much to everyone for visiting my little corner of the blogosphere.

My first post explains why I decided to try out sewing, but at the time I'd never have imagined that it would bring me so much pleasure - confidence in my own creativity, a sense of achievement in creating something with my own hands, release from the reliance on shop-bought clothes, excitement in envisioning potential projects, and aesthetic pleasure in ogling fabrics and collecting beautiful vintage patterns.

I'd love to think that I can inspire other people to take up sewing, so with that in mind my next post will be about how to get started. A lot of people ask me how to do this, so I'm going to write the blog Q&A style, responding to those questions I've had. If you're reading this and have any questions about beginning sewing, please leave a comment or email me (see my profile) and I'll try to answer them in the next post.

Happy new year, one and all!