Wednesday 6 July 2016

Changes

I bet you all thought I had forgotten about my flower brooch giveaway. And you'd be right! Well, I hadn't completely forgotten but it had rather slipped to the back of my mind. But in fact it doesn't really matter because as today is my birthday it seems more appropriate to be giving something away today. Judging by the comments there wasn't a huge demand for one of these little brooches, but names were put into a hat and a winner was drawn... Katy M. I'll be in touch about making you a red and/or turquoise brooch!


On the 23rd of this month I will have been blogging for nine years and things have changed dramatically in that time. In the early days, comments were few and far between and I was happy to have three or four per post... Until I held a giveaway and suddenly I had fifty plus comments! Perhaps it has something to do with what I was giving away but more likely the nature of blogging and bloggers has changed. There are very few of us still doing it after all this time. Bloggers come and go and new people come on the scene but very few of the people I knew from the early days are still posting regularly. Other social media platforms seem to have taken over. I'm still in contact with many people on Facebook and I'm aware that many are around on Twitter which I still don't understandt. Recently I discovered Instagram which I really like... Until they changed the app for the iPad and I can no longer post. I know I can use my phone but I just don't. I don't use it for photos and more often than not the battery is dead just when I want a crucial shot! Anyone else have this problem with Instagram on an iPad or. Is it just me? Whatever else may come and go I'll probably still go on blogging because I like the fact that it is a record for me... And I quite enjoy the reflective process of writing. And I'll probably still give things away occasionally... whether you want them or not!

This week, with only four days until I open my house for Open Studios, I was doing a bit of tidying up and found a dozen or so of these 6" wooden frames. I was on the verge of packing them off to the charity shop when I thought they would be good for an idea I'd had to make "stitched tattoos". Five hours later and my stitched tattoo had become a stitched tattoo portrait! Suddenly my head was swarming with all sorts of ideas for others I could make and and I felt an old familiar excitement return at the thought of what I might do... but of course, with only three days to do it all. Blogging may have changed but I haven't... always more productive with a tight deadline!


As a result, I have spent most of my birthday making portrait no. 2 "The Stars Look Very Different Today". Stewart has already named them my "Dead Singers" series!


I've got some of my own ideas for others... What about you... Who do you think I should do next?


I shall leave you with some images of some of the beautiful flowers I have received for my birthday... I have lovely friends and family!


Lots of beautiful flowers but no cake... which was entirely my choice as I am still trying to shift the several pounds gained since breaking my ankle.


We are going out for a meal this evening though and I'm looking forward to that!

33 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday Gina, enjoy your evening!

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  2. Happy birthday Gina. May your year ahead be one full of feeling like you are on track and heading in the right direction.

    It is nice you get so many comments, as I don't but then like you I keep going because it is a useful record for us. I am actually surprised how many people tell me when I meet them that they read my blog anyway, even though they do not comment. I know I used to get more comments when I commented on other blogs before, but then I just got too busy to do that regularly.

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  3. Happy Birthday! I know what you mean about using blogging as a record. It's invaluable to have somewhere to look back and see what you've actually achieved.

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    1. Absolutely. It's a pleasant surprise to look back sometimes and see how much we have done over the past nine years!

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  4. Van harte gefeliciteerd (in dutch) or happy birthday. I am reading your blog since about 2012,never left a comment but thought now the moment has come to let you know I appreciatie your blog very much and hope you will continue for a long time!

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    1. Thank you Monique! Lovely you have left a reply and said hello!

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  5. Van harte gefeliciteerd (in dutch) or happy birthday. I am reading your blog since about 2012,never left a comment but thought now the moment has come to let you know I appreciatie your blog very much and hope you will continue for a long time!

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  6. Congratulations on the 9th blogaversary - I'm awed!
    And I wish you a very happy birthday from another July baby.

    PS those stitched tattoos look as if your muse is 'singing and dancing in the rain'! (But I vote for Ginger - high heels and backwards!!)

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  7. Happy Birthday Gina! I always love stopping by and be inspired by your creativity and boundless energy. I had planned to enter your little brooch give away but couldn't keep up with comments during our holiday. It has been quiet in blogland I noticed. The brooches are ever so pretty. Thankfully with your tutorial, I can just make my own. Your dead singers look very much like they are just about to start singing, fabulous. Would love to visit your open studio but it is a few miles too far. Enjoy! x

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  8. Happy birthday Gina. Yours is the blog I check first for updates, so you have to keep going! 9 years, wow! What an achievement. And I agree, a blog is just that - a log or a diary, and good to look back on. Have you thought of getting it printed? I seem to remember someone else doing that, getting a bound copy for each year!

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  9. Wishing you a lovely birthday Gina. I have been following your blog for quite a while and so enjoy it. I follow quite a few blogs and have noticed a real fall off in the number of posts too. I know many have moved to Facebook but I opted out of FB. I feel it is too instrusive the way it collects info about people. It makes me very uneasy SO from me - please keep up the lovely posts.

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    1. Thank you Erica, it is lovely to know so many people enjoy reading my rambling!

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  10. Happy late Birthday. I have been blogging for over 10 years, never many comments but I have friends who read my blog all the time. To me it is also a bit of a diary of my life, not that it is very exciting these day's! !

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  11. Happy Birthday. I really enjoy your blog posts, I look forward to seeing loads more!

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  12. Happy birthday Gina, hope you've had a lovely meal.
    I always love to drop in...giveaway or no giveaway (congrats to the winner BTW)!!
    I love your 'tattoos', they're brilliant, looking forward to seeing the rest!!
    V x

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    1. Sorry meant to say that I can still use my iPad to post on IG.

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  13. Gina, may your birthday have been especially happy this year...and may next year's be even better!

    Congrats on the years of blogging, too. I do hope that you will continue. I certainly plan to do so. I just like the freedom for a blog to take on whatever form one wishes. No requirements. No limits. No deadlines.

    Congrats to Katy on winning the pretty brooch in the color scheme of her choice.

    I do like your embroidered portraits. There are endless possibilities. Must they be singers?

    Very hot and humid here tonight...so I am going to gravitate a bit closer to the fan. xo

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  14. My Instagram seems to be working but it's not something I use much. In the dark with it almost as much as Twitter. It's too shortcutish for me, if that makes sense. My blogs quieter too but so am I posting but it's still a blog for me and it's me I'm trying to please with it.
    Beautiful flowers and happy birthday. Having cake would be a bit of a busmans holiday! Lol
    I think perhaps a stitched Alan Rickman as this year seems a notable one for those passing.

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  15. Happy birthday, Gina and, go on , have a lovely big piece of cake . All best wishes, Vera

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  16. Very Happy Birthday to you. I love your latest pieces. Have a wonderful day.

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  17. Happy Birthday Gina, I hope you had a wonderful evening and meal. I love the stitched portraits and looking forward to seeing who you will come up with next. I have the same issue with Instagram as I just do not like using my phone as a camera. Although that is probably down to me struggling with technology!

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  18. Happy Belated Birthday Gina! It is amazing how blogs have changed, isn't it? There are a few of us still here -- I suspect, ones, just like you said, who enjoy keeping a record to reflect upon! Good Luck with your weekend!

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  19. Happy Birthday from another July girl. just got notice yesterday for a procedure on my neck for my birthday! So, I hope your birthday is MUCH better. =-P
    Sandy in the UK

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  20. Hope you enjoyed your birthday and had lots of treats. The portraits are wonderful and the brooches are delightful, though I don't wear them for some reason. I'm sure the winner will be thrilled with hers.

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  21. Happy Birthday! Hope you had a great day! Happy Blogaversary too!! I hope that you will be around in blogland for a long time yet! Enjoy the open studios! The tattoos are great!

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  22. I am so glad you are still blogging. I have been reading your blog almost since the beginning, though these days I don't always comment as I don't find it as easy with my very poor eyesight. I still blog about once a month, or more often if I have some interesting photos.
    I hope your birthday dinner minus cake was just what you wanted - you will surely shed those extra pounds soon. I am shedding lots at present, but I suspect they will creep back on when I am allowed a normal diet. At present I am only allowed pureed food, but that is better than the first two weeks of liquid food. After two weeks of pureed I will be onto soft food, then two weeks later I will be back on normal food!!! Worth all t he bother really, I had major abdominal surgery to repair a hiatal hernia and all very successful. I have never spent so much time trying to dream up menus, especially as my husband still has to eat. Good luck with the open studio this weekend.

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  23. I have been regularly following your blog for several years now and love the eclectic mix of topics you blog about. I must admit the 'puppy posts' are my favourite at present! It was thanks to you that I started free motion embroidery which I love. It would be a sad day if you stopped blogging.

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    1. Thank you Sheile... I'm sure you'll be seeing a lot more of this puppy!

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  24. Happy belated birthday wishes Gina. I can't quite remember how I found tour blog, but am extremely happy that I did, it is fab. I don't like FB either, though I have a few folk that follow my blog via it, otherwise I would simply delete my page. I opt out of all post updates from 'friends' as I can't bear the exponential nature of the 'likes' system, amd find FB creepy in general, however I ise it to follow some musicians etc that I like. I started an IG account recently, amd was loving it, but didn't post or follow anything when I was away on holiday and realised how time consuming it was, comparatively speaking, and that I could use that time for sewing or knitting or reading instead. I have been blogging now for about 2 1/2 years, and really enjoy it. I like the record it makes of my life, and the connections I feel with other bloggers. I like to get comments too, it brings the thing to life, but my readership is small, and I have no interest in making any effort to increase it, that's not what it's about for me x

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  25. Happy belated birthday Gina. 9 years blogging is big achievement. I don't get many comments,just from my regulars which I really appreciate, but as others have said it is good to have a diary to look back on. In my case, to see what I was growing and cooking. I too have recently started Instagram. It's very instantaneous, which I think is its appeal in this time poor world, but I'm sure there is still a place for blogging :)

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  26. Happy Belated birthday from this neck of the woods too Gina. You echo my thoughts about blogging too. If only I was half as focussed as you are I'd get a lot more done. Love the comment about the 'dead singers' and the results are great. Keep going and don't throw those hoops away!! They'd make great little screenprinting hoops or something else I'm sure.

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