Hello all,

My sewing time at the moment has been taken up with Christmas gift sewing for my son and daughter, who would never waste their time looking at  my blog but …. sod’s law and all that so I am not going to post my pics just yet.

Anyway, I have something far more exciting to share. I was actually nominated for a Liebster award by one of my fellow bloggers and I am rather chuffed about that.  Although the notification came through a couple of months ago, I have been waiting for a suitable slot in which to respond and that’s today! I was nominated by lovely Becca of Red W Sews and if you don’t already follow her blog I suggest you take a peep; I love her conversational style. So, back to the award, the objective is to promote new/small blogs. According to my WordPress stats I have 107 followers – so thank you dear follower/reader!

Liebster Award Rules

In order to be eligible, a nominee must:

• Acknowledge the person who nominated you and link back to their blog.
• Answer the 11 questions the nominator has set for you
• Nominate up to 11 blogs with less than 200 followers that you enjoy.
• Set 11 questions for your nominated bloggers to answer.
• Let the nominees know they have been nominated by going back to their blog and notifying them.

So here are the questions Becca set me and my answers, of course!

What do you enjoy most about writing a blog?

Connecting with other people who also devote their time to sewing; I enjoy being part of a wider community. I also like to have a record of all my makes in one place. Even if no-one read my blog I would still write it as I use it like a diary.

How do you go about deciding when to blog: do you have a regular schedule or is it just when you’re inspired?

I used to try and do one post a week, usually at the weekend. A hiatus in my work life caused a break in that routine through September and October and I have been trying to get back to blogging weekly but it has been tricky as I haven’t really made anything apart from a sequin top.  I have been attending a number of different workshops to improve my skills instead.

Which post/project are you most proud of?

I wrote a series of posts about a 1960s coat I made during a four week course at Sew Over It. The coat looks really professional but I don’t delude myself – I had a lot of help!

What’s your best tip for making time for yourself?

Be selfish!

What did you learn from your biggest “failure”, either crafting or otherwise?

Walk away, calm down, reflect, then ….. Get back on it – NEVER GIVE UP!

What skill would you most like to learn (craft or life!)

I would love to be able to do fair isle knitting. My sister in law is incredibly skilful and made me a hat for my birthday. I would also need to improve my patience to do this!

Should cash and time not be an issue, where would you head on holiday?

I recently psyched myself up to do a trekking holiday through Cuba  – by the time I went to book it, all the flights had gone so that is certainly on my to do list. As a child I was always desperate to go to Egypt to see the pyramids for real so that is also something I hope to do at some point.

What life achievement, away from blogging, are you most proud of and why?

Well assuming that being a mother is a given, I would go for having run a sub-four hour marathon. Everyone in my running club was astonished at my time (no-one more so than me) but it was the result of careful preparation and determined effort. I can remember crossing the finishing line (in Edinburgh) and just laying down on the floor laughing with pure joy and a sense of achievement. This was my second marathon – my first one was over five hours and ended in tears!

Tea or wine? (critical question, this one!)

Impossible to choose. Throughout the day, PG Tips de-caff almost on a drip-feed. At night – Pinot Grigio Blush  – again, on drip feed.

Town or country?

Both! During the week, term time I live in a small flat close to Wimbledon Tennis for an easy commute to work but my home is in Arundel, West Sussex and I am there Fridays to Mondays, all holidays and whenever I am not working.

Cats or dogs?

As a child we had dogs but since leaving home I have always had cats – sometimes as many as three sometimes just the one, as now.  They are usually black and my current moggie is Tambo.

Huge thanks to Becca, not only for the nomination but for setting such thought-provoking questions.

I would like to nominate two bloggers: Fiona of  Coolarama and Susan (Su) from Butterflies and Lemon Drops. Fiona only started blogging in July (I think) and straight away I was drawn to her wit and self-deprecating style – she is also a bit of a hat lady, like myself, and frankly, someone who I would love to meet and share a bottle of wine with. Su I have been lucky enough to meet on a couple of occasions now and I would say we have transitioned from on-line sewing buddies to real life chums. Su has what I would describe as an understated style and if is clear to see from her blog just how much she is growing in confidence as a seamstress. So, ladies, please don’t feel obliged to accept – it took me two months after all to get round to answering the questions but, if you choose to accept, I would like to know:

1. writing blog posts – pleasure or pain?
2. has anyone you know “in real life” discovered your blog because they were a fellow sewist and you didn’t know it?
3. favourite fabric?
4. Cheapest and most expensive item you have made?
5. mixed or single sex schooling?
6. have you even made a direct copy of something you have seen on a blog?
7. what’s your reaction when someone asks if you will make/alter something for them?
8. if you were to have a career change, what would you do?
9. what do you sew on? are you thinking of upgrading or do you like to stick with a trusted workhorse?
10. favourite independent pattern company?
11. please share your moment of fame/shame – your choice

Well, that’s it from me my lovelies. Sorry , quite a text heavy post. I’m off this afternoon to my second nativity of the season but will leave you a picture of our little munchkin from last week’s nativity – sorry no whole cast photos allowed.

Toodle pip,

Clarinda x