A Blog Award!

I know these awards have been making the rounds, but it still surprises me to be nominated by Ann of Gorgeous Things She is one of my sewing inspirations (not to mention suppliers, since she began her mail order fabric business, Gorgeous Fabrics) So I'm really honored that she'd pick my blog for this! Especially considering other fabulous folks she nominated (Me? In the same list with Paco?).

Anyway, like all blog awards, they have, um, rules.

The first ones are easy... post the award images and a link to the person who gave it to you.

Usually, the rules then skip to nominating others and notifying them, but there's a catch here; there's a request to list '6 of your most important values and 6 negative points you condemn.'. (Who writes these things, anyway?) It looks like there's a lot of leeway for interpretation here...is this six values I consider key to myself, or six values I consider important in others? Does it really matter which way I interpret it?

Well, I'm going to list six things about myself that I think are foundational to who I am, and six things I wish I could improve upon. I don't know if that meets the requirements or not, but it seems fair and in the spirit of the award, so that's my story and I'm sticking to it. NOTE: These are in No Particular Order.

1) I'm a tightwad. I really hate to spend money on frivolous things; I justify my fabric purchases by telling myself it really is cheaper in the long run. And, sometimes I'm right...like the time I had an urgent need for a denim jacket, and made one from denim (purchased on sale several years earlier) in the stash...the only new outlay of cash was about $5 for buttons.

2) I'm a Pentecostal-style evangelic Christian. That conjures up a lot of weird images for some folks, I know, but it's the truth. My life values all come from my faith...and I can't separate that out from who I am. It probably comes through on the blog, although I know there are many folks with different beliefs who stop by here and I try very hard not to offend anyone, I cannot go back on what I believe because someone else disagrees or does not understand. That's part of the reason I started the second blog...so I could discuss that side of my life without freaking the people who come by for sewing stories.

3)I try to be really honest at all times.

4) I love tradition...things all tied up around special events like weddings and holidays.

5) I am very loyal

6) I'm determined to make things work...why I have so few wadders... ;)


Now, 6 things about myself that I'd like to improve:

1) organization organization organization! I'd count that as three but that wouldn't be fair.

2) I have distinct packrat tenancies. I wish I could get rid of useless stuff easier than I do.

3) I hate confrontation. Some things need confronting.

4) I wish I could keep up with sending birthday cards and such in a timely fashion. Maybe that comes under #1, but I don't like it that folks may think I have forgotten them...that's not true.

5) I hate calling folks on the telephone. I'm not sure why, but I do. Again, people think I don't care, and that makes me sad.

6) I also have an unpleasant tendency to speak before I have completely considered how that might sound to the other person...let's just say I get misunderstood a lot and end up offending folks when I didn't mean to. It sounds reasonable in my head...but then, no one else is in my head and they didn't hear the background music, I guess.


Ok...now for my own nominations. These folks are supposed to do what I just did, but I'm not going to fuss if they don't. This is all about sharing the love, anyway, right?

The Rules say to nominate 6 - 10 people; I'm not sure how many I'll end up with.

I'm going to limit myself to blogs that I have recently discovered: if I just found them, it might be that some others might enjoy finding them, too!

Bubblegum for Breakfast. I've seen Birgitte's work on Pattern Review...she has an amazing eye for design and construction. Go be inspired!

From the Stash. Gry designs and sews wonderful things in Denmark.

The Princess Seam. Adriana posts as 'Eli' on Pattern review and does some truly amazing things. She calls herself an 'intermediate' level sewing enthusiast, but I think you'll agree that her garments are well above that level.

After the Dress. Gwen blogged her way through constructing a friends wedding dress, then started ATD to chronicle her sewing for herself. She has an interesting structure...on Fridays, she 'confesses' something, and then on the following Thursday does a little synopsis of the replies she received. Sort of an informal poll; it's kinda fun!

Amands's Adventures in Sewing. Amanda has been doing some pattern reviews of some really sharp things; have a look!

Ok, now I'm going to break with my sewing buds for my last one and nominate a blog that is not about sewing. It's about faith in the real world...

Bring the Rain. This is a real-life, real-time story of one mother's walk through extraordinarily difficult events. Angie is married to Todd Smith of the Christian band Selah, but that really isn't a major part of the story. How she and her family are walking out their circumstances is the story. Go to the first post and read the story from the bottom up. Have a box of kleenex handy.


Um, let's see...the last of The Rules says that I now have to leave a comment on the above blogs so they know they're nominated. So...I'm off!