All summer there have been posts from bloggers who have nominated some of their favorite bloggers for the One Lovely Blog award. It is another symbol of the friendly, kind community that quilters enjoy. This is a sweet way to recognize some of the bloggers that inspire us and sort of introduce them to other readers. In the beginning of August I was nominated by Kate of Smiles From Kate. I had not had time to write a post in response to Kate and then today I was nominated by Jayne of Twiggy and Opal. So I am taking a minute to respond and play along.
I don’t honestly know where this started or who started it but it is a lot of fun. There are a couple of parameters and they are :
- Thank the person who nominated you, and give a link to his/her blog.
- List the rules.
- Display the image of the award on your post.
- List seven facts about yourself.
- Nominate (up to) 15 bloggers for this award, and notify them to let them know you have nominated them.
Ok – Here we go. As I mentioned above, Jayne (from Twiggy and Opal) and Kate (from Smiles from Kate) both nominated me. These two bloggers are so much fun. I follow both of them closely and enjoy our friendships – via blogging and Instagram both. So much talent and inspiration is available via their blogs. If you are not familiar with them, I highly recommend you take a quick peek at their work and their words. You will not be disappointed.
Seven facts about myself…. Hm, I write about family and life as the subject fits when I am blogging but in case you are a new reader or haven’t been a follower for too long, here are a few things about me.
First, I live in a rural area in Northern California. We have three acres and along with that, comes a large vegetable garden and a chicken coop with six hens. I love our lifestyle. It is quiet and secluded which I really enjoy. We grow lots of veggies and have peaches, blueberries, boysenberries and blackberries each summer. There are drawbacks – such as it is a 70 mile round trip to get to Jo-Ann’s and a 40 mile round trip to find a Target. So it is not terribly convenient living here but one gets used to it.
Second, my five sisters are my dearest friends. As a mom I have come to hugely appreciate the sacrifices my parents made so they could have a large family of six girls. We see each other as often as possible and text in a group string all day, every day. My phone is constantly beeping and when this happens during dinner it takes all of my self-control to not check my phone (that is the rule – no devices during dinner.)
Number 3 – I LOVE my family – My husband and kids are my priority. I feel so blessed and grateful for all of them. I have four kids – three boys and one girl – but Julia is our only child at home at this point. Each of the boys has a wonderful partner (wife, fiance, girlfriend) and they have richly expanded our family. I grew up in a large family and it is wonderful to have a large family. (Justs for grins – you might find it interesting that my parents have six kids, 21 grandkids and so far, nine great grandkids with three more due to be born in 2017! One crazy, big family!) The photo above shows my kids plus my daughter-in-law and almost daughter-in-law!
Fourth -I have only ever quilted my own quilts on my Janome sewing machine. But I have been wanting to learn how to use a long arm machine. I am finally taking a class at a shop about an hour away. Once I take the class I will be able to rent time on their long arm machines. So – I am giving this a try. I have made two queen size quilts; one I stitched in the ditch and the other I tied. It is difficult to fit a big project through the throat of my machine (and it is a rather large throat.) I am hoping this enables me to make larger projects. I’ll let you know how it goes!
Number 5 – My very favorite snack is popcorn. I eat it often and never tire of it. Iced coffee with almond milk is my go-to drink. All decaf, all the time. Once when I was ordering an iced decaf with non-fat milk, the barrista said “I call that a ‘why bother'” (as in no caffeine, no fat, no sugar) I thought that was so funny. I don’t like caffeine but I love the flavor of coffee.
I love vintage everything. Cookbooks, fabrics, linens, kitchen ware – all of it. So I regularly spend time checking out our local thrift stores and usually come away with something fun. I list vintage sheets (fat quarters) in my Etsy shop. I have numerous vintage cookbooks which I love to look through. The other day I scored this little vintage Pyrex bowl, circa 1970. Isn’t it adorable? I have posted fairly often about my vintage finds – if you want to read more, check out this post, or this one. Or just put vintage in the search box above and it will show even more posts.
Finally, I love that I have found a community where sewing, quilting and working with fabric is considered to be an art. Growing up, I could not draw. Actually, I still cannot draw beyond a stick figure. I always equated my inability to draw to my being unartistic. However there are so many ways to be artistic that do not involve paper and pen or paints and paintbrush. I learned to sew when I was 11 years old and have been sewing consistently since then. But it was ‘just a hobby’ and I wouldn’t have described myself as artistic. Having spent so much time and energy quilting and blogging, making friends, learning from other blogs has taught me that sewing and quilting are very artistic. Oh my gosh – there is endless inspiration – so many gorgeous quilts, patterns and fabrics with each combination thereof creating something new and unique. Creative and artistic indeed.
Now for my nominations. There are just over 200 blogs in my feed on Bloglovin. I would say all of them are absolutely Lovely Blogs. But there are a few that especially speak to me. Here you go. You are probably familiar with most of these, if not all. But if by chance, you are not, be sure to go take a look at these Lovely blogs!
Mari at the Academic Quilter – I love Mari’s precision. She makes such intricate blocks and quilts. Really amazing stuff! Last year I sewed along with her Classic Stitches BOM. This year she is hosting Intricate Stitches and I look at these blocks with my jaw hanging open. So pretty!
Janine at Quilts from the Little House. Janine has many years of quilting experience. She is a wealth of knowledge. But you know what? I love the fact that she either hand quilts or machine quilts – on a treadle machine!! Honestly. I can’t even imagine.
Deb at Frugal Little Bungalow. Deb is a quilter who shares my love of gardening, vintage collections, and sewing. Her blog is a delight to read. She is a talented photographer who generously shares her photos of the critters and nature that surround her in Pennsylvania.
Rachel @ Stitched in Color. Rachel has been blogging in this community for quite a long while. Her blog is a great source of information and she has posted many excellent tutorials. Above all, Rachel writes from her heart and has a beautiful ability to express herself with the written word. I don’t have a lot of connection with Rachel but have followed her blog for a long time now and it is one of my favorites.
Congratulations! I agree…the quilting community is go generous and wonderful! Your blog is so wonderful, and the award is very well deserved. I love learning new things about you! It sounds like you have a wonderful family. What a blessing.
Thanks so much Jennifer! Family is a blessing, absolutely.
I will be posting about the fall book share later this week. If you are still interested in joining in, check back in a couple of days. It is a lot of fun! Take care.
So much fun to learn about you, your 3 acres, and your family! Your large family sounds like so much fun, and your fruit trees and bushes and veggies sound like heaven – I hope we can have the same thing on our new “ranch”. 😉 How interesting about your long arm classes and potential renting – yes please keep us posted. I have wanted to learn how also but knew I neither had the room nor the money to purchase a long-arm, so this alternative plan is appealing.
I’ve noticed a more focused bent to your posting/activity lately, and I admire it! And congratulations on your One Lovely Blog! 🙂
I totally get what you are saying. I can’t buy or store a long arm. Plus it doesn’t make sense to me to purchase one unless you wanted to quilt for customers. I don’t think I want to do that. At least not at this point in time. So for now, renting could work out well for me.
I bet over time, you guys will set up a great garden on your property. It has taken us several years to get this going. But now the plants are maturing and we got quite a bit of fruit this year. So great!!
Thanks so much for nominating me, Bernie! I enjoyed coming over to read about you. I wonder which area of N. Ca. you live in. I grew up in Newcastle, CA (near Auburn). And, actually, Aria was born there at home with a midwife in Newcastle! I loved that rural area. The place we now live in SC is very similar, minus the expensive price of real estate. Also connect with your childhood of “not being artistic” because you couldn’t draw/paint. That was me too! I am happy to have ditched that perspective and happy you have too!
Oh my gosh, Rachel!!! I live in Grass Valley – just 25 miles or so from Newcastle. I can’t believe you grew up there. What a small world! Do you still have family out here? If you ever come visit, let me know – it would be so fun to meet you for coffee some day. 🙂 Crazy coincidence. Boy, it is unaffordable though. My kids have scattered all over the place and have much more buying power in other parts of the country/state. Hope all is well with you and the family. Take care.
Congrats on being nominated! Nice to see that you have a great relationship with your sisters ♥
summerdaisycottage.blogspot.com
Thank you Summer. We do have a wonderful relationship. However growing up, we argued all the time. I suppose that is normal – as adults we are all great friends. Thank you for stopping by!
Bernie I have loved your blog from the day that I discovered it 🙂 While I knew SOME things about you, this post was so interesting and engaging in regards to learning more! 🙂
I visited the first links and will have to return tomorrow or the next day for the rest of them but oh my, thank you so much for including me! What a sweet honor 🙂 Your talent and diversity never cease to inspire me.
Aww Deb, you’re so sweet. Thanks a bunch.
Thanks so much Bernie! I’m really humbled and thrilled. You know I love your blog, too, and I so wish I could stop over for a nice cup of tea. Congratulations to you too! Reading your blog is always such a bright spot in my day! 🙂
Congratulations! I so enjoy your posts, so this nomination comes as no surprise to me! Your “why bother” coffee had me laughing out loud. One day my husband stopped by a coffee shop, and the woman behind him in line ordered a why bother. When the barista called out my husband’s drink (full fat, all bother), without realizing it she got his and he got hers. We laughed about that for quite awhile. It was probably the best why bother she ever had!
How fun getting to know you better! What a beautiful bunch of ‘sister’s and your children are something to be proud of! I totally relate to you on the artistic part! I never thought I had an artistic bone in my body …until quilting! It just goes to show you, art comes in all forms!
Hi Jayne, I think putting a grade on a child’s artwork is wrong. I remember feeling very ‘stupid’ because I got “C’s” in art. (I went to a parochial school through 8th grade) I just couldn’t draw and really, I think some people are born able to draw and others are not. Anyway, that really put a damper on any artistic abilities. Thankfully, schools don’t seem to do that any longer in the primary grades. Unless you are actually taking an art class in junior high or high school. Much better, in my opinion!
I just love this community and getting to know more about everyone through the One Lovely Blog award is, well, lovely! LOL about a “why bother” – I am no caffeine, too, and can relate to this so much (although I don’t drink coffee). I am so glad you found this community to be supportive, too; it is exciting to see what you create and how you have grown as a quilter since I have “known” you!
Yvonne, isn’t that a funny story!! I have also enjoyed seeing your progress over the last couple of years, both your blogging style and quilting technique. This year has been a year of amazing growth for you, resulting from your hard work and careful planning. Well done. 🙂
It’s always nice to learn more about some of the blogging friends that I follow. I love that you come from a large family. I was only 1 of 3 children, but my extended family of aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents were VERY close. And loud. Very loud (we’re Italian). It’s something that I truly miss not living near them and also that it something that my son will never experience since he’s an only child.
Ha ha! We are 1/2 Italian and 1/2 Spanish – yes, lots of loud gatherings. We alternate Thanksgivings each year – big Thanksgiving where everyone gathers at my mom’s (usually 45 people or so) and small Thanksgivings where each of us stays home to celebrate with our in-laws. The first time my husband went to a ‘big’ Thanksgiving, I was thrilled to see that he didn’t run away – tho I know he was tempted. It gets a little crazy. Your son won’t experience this but I know he has a very rich life with you and your husband. Since he never had this sort of family, he will not know any different, right? Take care!
Oh Bernnie, you so deserve your nomination, your blog is always a joy to read. I have so enjoyed reading about your life and family. To me the joy of living in a rural location far outweighs the drawbacks of shopping.
Smiles
Kate
Absolutely, the rural living far outweighs any inconvenience. When I was working, I did a lot of recruiting for employees to join our company and it was often quite difficult to convince them to leave an urban area and live out here. It was just too ‘different’ and inconvenient for many people. Different strokes, I suppose.
I really enjoyed reading this about you.
Yes, I agree, quilty bloggers are the best – especially for me haha
I learn so much from all of you.
Rosemary, thanks a bunch. I love hearing from you. Hope all is well and that it isn’t too terribly hot. Come on, fall – bring us some cooler temperatures!
I am sooo jealous that you have a chicken coop! I have been dreaming of having one for so many years and hope one day to have my very own! So great to find you through the One Lovely Blog Award. I love both Jayne and Kate’s blogs and am beyond thankful for finding our online community. xoxo
Chickens are super easy to have around. They require very little care and are a lot of fun! I hope you have a coop one day. Thanks for coming by. I am off to check out your site. 🙂
I’m visiting from Frugal Little Bungalow and am just delighted with your story! Six sisters! Wow! I come from a family of three and had three daughters besides! Nearly everyday we “blow up the lines” with calls and texts between the four of us. I cannot imagine the fun of six of you going at it!
You chose well to honor Debra with your award!
Hi Joyce, so glad you stopped by. Having sisters is such a wonderful thing. I’m so glad you enjoy yours too. Do they live close by Sony can get together? One of mine is in Colorado and the rest of us are scattered about in California. So we do see each other a couple of times each year. I wish it was more often tho.
You are right about Deb’s blog. Just love it. And now I am off to check yours out!