Tuesday 26 June 2018

April & May in Pictures

With 2018 rolling rapidly onwards, it's time for a quick look back at what I was blogging and Instagramming in April and May.

In April...

... I finished my patchwork mini squares blanket and blogged about the six and a half year process of making it...


... shared a snap of my scrappy cross stitch project (which is now almost as colourful as that blanket!)...


... started a new Instagram account to showcase my collection of Post Office posters (I haven't had much time to devote to this yet, but I hope to be updating it frequently this summer)...


... stitched a cross stitch pattern to celebrate the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle...


... bought some new books (which were both quite delightful!)...


... and had a Book Week here on my blog, reviewing Mandalas to Embroider, Craft a Life You Love, and Creative Marker Art and Beyond.


... I also started my 100 Day Project (which I need to write about properly sometime soon!) and took part in Art vs Artist on Instagram, which prompted a really interesting discussion in my social media feeds about what being an artist means to each of us and who "counts" as an artist (I personally don't think of myself as an artist, though I occasionally make things I would describe as textile art).


In April I also blogged about my visit to Oxford's Exeter College, Kew's Palm House and magnificent magnolias ,and the joys of Kew in the spring, wrote an update on my flat renovation project, and shared a felt cake tutorial with my newsletter subscribers.


I also set up an archive page for my travel blog posts and took a time-travelling trip back through eleven years of craft blogging. This was meant to be the start of a monthly series but turned out to be quite a time-consuming post to put together so I'll be making this an occasional series instead, taking a trip through my blog's archive whenever I have a time to do so.


In May...

... I shared a tutorial for making layered felt flowers with my newsletter subscribers (I'll be sharing the link to this pattern in July's newsletter so there's still time to subscribe and get this free project!)...


... blogged about three ideas ideas for using felt flower brooch tutorials...


... watched the Royal Wedding while working on GDPR paperwork (so fun!) and making preparations to move my newsletter to a shiny new service...


... wrote about the evolution of my rainbow blanket...


... started (and finished!) binding my Christmas quilt, and blogged about the long process of making it (part one, part two).


I also shared some of my favourite photos from my local walks, and developed a new level of respect for fashion bloggers after having to take pictures of myself for a post about 5 ways to customise a denim jacket!


This spring I also had a lot of FEELINGS about using social media (as a designer/maker sharing my work but also just as a person existing in the world) and ended up deciding to take a break from Twitter for the summer.


Social media is one of those things that affects different people in different ways, and the noise and stress of Twitter was definitely starting to outweigh the chatty social fun side for me. Maybe I'll be pining for it again come September? We shall see!

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2 comments:

bairozan said...

It is exhausting to be on all social media. I took a break from Twitter a long time ago and only post there occasionally, I even tend to neglect other media sometimes. All this is so demanding! But we have to do it nevertheless to constantly remind people about ourselves :) And share our creations :)

Bugs and Fishes said...

Yes, there is so much of it these days it can be a bit overwhelming, can't it! It is definitely nice being able to connect with people and share our projects and see how theirs are developing though. I'm hoping I can find a balance that works for me this summer so I can enjoy sharing and connecting with people on social without the overwhelm!! :)