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Dipping my toe in the blogging pool...

Here goes nothing...the first posting on my blog!

About 18 months ago I was adamant I wasn't starting a blog ("Why would anyone read it?" "I'm not sure I have anything to say that isn't already on another blog") but recently I've started to think about changing my mind!  I'm not any more confident that people will read and enjoy my posts or that I have anything different to say, it's more that I quite fancy dipping my toe in the blogging pool and seeing if I like it.  This morning I got a nudge from Nicky of Mrs Sew and Sow about starting a blog and it seems it was just what I needed to get started!  I expect that my blog will mainly be about my obsession with quilting (and embroidery, crochet and knitting, but mainly quilting!) so I have no idea why I've named it after my dog, except that it's the name that came to mind when I was setting up my Flickr account and it makes sense to keep the same name.

So, after all that I think it's time to introduce Archie the wonder dog...


...although at the moment he looks like this...

...a (big) dog (well, bitch) pinned him down and bit his ear on Wednesday evening - very scary, for a moment I thought it was going to be horrific.  It needed six staples (and antibiotics and painkillers) to fix but I'm grateful that he didn't need sedating or stitches (which would have required a full anaesthetic).  I'd be even more grateful, however, if the owner of the dog (which was on a lead at the time) had done something (anything!) to control his dog, properly apologised and offered to pay the vet's bill...

I think it's also time to introduce myself (no photo - like Archie I detest having my photo taken but unlike Archie I actually have a say in the matter!).  I live in the North-East of England.  I was a primary school teacher until a few years ago when I caught a nasty flu virus that resulted in ME/CFS and I'm not yet well enough to return to work.  Although I'd done plenty of sewing/crochet/knitting when I was young (and had spent hours colouring in drawings of patchwork quilts - mainly squares!) I had never thought about quilting but wanted to find something I could 'pick up and put down' after about three months of being off work and I was starting to get sick of just lying on the settee watching telly and being too tired to do anything else for more than a few minutes.  Famous last words - I was quickly hooked on hand piecing and immediately found it to have a meditative quality which was very soothing and relaxing.  I still feel that and for that reason I think that hand piecing and quilting will always be my main love.  I enjoy machine piecing but not in quite the same way.  (Phew, thought I'd lost this paragraph - the cursor has a mind of it's own and keeps wandering...thank goodness for the undo button!!)  I've recently started teaching a few workshops at a local business and I hope to do more in the future.  I really enjoy it and one of the advantages of teaching adults is that you don't have to keep an eye out for them running with scissors (although it's amazing the 'silly' things grown-ups do with scissors and rotary cutters - makes me wince!) and neither do you have to monitor how often they go to the toilet ;o)

As you've probably noticed I'm quite chatty (!) - unless I've deleted half of what I've written before I click 'publish post' - so I think it's time to go.  I'll leave you with a couple of recent photos of my current obsession...hexagons! (Thanks, Lynne and Gayle, just what I needed, another project!)

Please excuse the crumpled sheet - it was much worse before I ironed it (on the floor, after I'd taken one photo and realised just how bad it was!)




That's all for now, folks (that makes it sound like I'm expecting hordes to rush to read my first post!  I can assure you that is not the case!), see you soon, I hope!

Comments

  1. Yeah great name but I am sorry about Archie's ear!

    Love your hexies and am pleased to meet you officially! Glad the nudge worked!

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  2. Helen,
    Congratulations on your blog. It is fun. I take a break every once in a while. I like lots of hobbies - right now I am in my hexie mood. May do the Dead Simple as well. I am a machine piecer though.
    Carol

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  3. Welcome to bloggerville! Your hexes are delightful.

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  4. Hey congratulations on dipping your toe in the blogging pool - make sure you link up to the small blog meet upon 1 September - it's a good way to kind of kick start your blog and not end up with six months of just having your sister and someone from your village following you like I did!

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  5. Welcome to the blogging world. Nice to be able to 'meet' you and not just read your lovely comments on other blogs.Poor Archie. Hope he is better soon and free of that collar.

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  6. Hello to you on your side of the blogging fence - going to be nice to be able to come over to your's for a change of scene xx

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  7. Hi there! Welcome to BlogLand. Very nice to meet you - one can never have too many friends!

    Love you pups! And...I love your hexies! I wish mine looked as nice and neat as yours.

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  8. Woohoo! Great to have you in blogland H. I was diagnosed with ME when I was 19 & living away from home. It was the most frustrating illness I've experienced. I'm 40 now and ME free but still have to manage my stamina (which is never that great!). But I can live a full life again as wife & mum to 3 girls, so no complaints. Hope you soon experience a full and healthy recovery. Jxo

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  9. *waves hi from the East Midlands* Welcome to Blogland. Love your hexies.

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  10. So glad you are blogging now Helen - poor old Archie, very traumatic.
    I am loving your hexie collection.

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  11. Hey hon, I finally got two mins to read some blogs this week so popped over to say hi *Hello* I didn't realise your "up north" too! Heres to hiding behind our pets in blog land :D

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  12. Hi Helen, nice to find your new blog. your post made me laugh; lots of great info in there :-)

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  13. Welcome to blogland. Cute puppy (yes, I read he was 11 but I call all dogs puppy. Except the mean ones). Hope he gets better soon, my boy (cat) almost got his head bitten off thanks to an irresponsible dog owner, looking at the position of the tooth marks and realising how bad it almost was really shook me, so I know how scary it is.
    And a hint to stop you from needing to iron sheets for photo shoots... Just lay them straightvon the floor/mat :)

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  14. Hi Helen, lovely to come and visit your blog! I'm shocked that another mutt actually on a lead was permitted to cause damage like that, poor archie and poor you and your wallet!

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  15. Poor Archie - wish someone would pin and baste the other owner and give him a piece of mind - sounds like he is misisng some! Welcome to blogland!

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  16. Your hexies are beautiful! I have got to get going on mine. :)

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  17. Lynne sent me here. I love your hexies.

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  18. yay to you! hope the toes are liking their dip ... can't wait to see you blossom in blogland :)

    love yr hexies ...

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  19. Welcome to the blogosphere Helen. I've been following your Flickr photos - you're hexagons are so pretty! I'm enjoying your funny friendly blog already and have the feeling I'll be visiting here many times.

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  20. Welcome to Blogland! I'm loving your hexies - they scare me senseless but you seem to have it covered. I might just have to pop over for tips if I ever get the courage to give them a try. Looking forward to following your progress. :)

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  21. Lovely to meet you and Archie formerly Helen, though you have been kindly visiting and commenting on my blog for a bit now. It is so nice to be able to return the favour. You will now find that writing a blog totally takes over your life and any friends and family you still have will instantly glaze over at the mention of the word 'blog'! But you will be having too much fun to care!!

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  22. Your little hexies are beautiful....like the hint of a rainbow after a spring rain.

    Archie deserves some special treats after being so rudly retreated by the miscreant bitch. (That sounds terrible, but I trust we really are talking femal dog)

    So glad you found quilting, and blog land, being sick for an extended period of time is trying; however it sounds like God is using it to bring something new and wonderful into your life.

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  23. Hello Helen! Welcome to blogging. I'm a new blogger too. I'm sure you would enjoy it even if no one else ever read it (which is definitely not going to happen). I find it so theraputic, as a nice little wrap up to a project I put my whole hear into.

    I'm so sorry about Archie!!! The poor boy looks so sad.

    I love the close up hexagon picture. The fairy is so cute.

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  24. Poor Archie! The staples were bad enough but the collar, while necessary, just adds insult to injury.

    Glad to see you joining the blogosphere!

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  25. Very cute hexies! Hope Archie gets better soon.

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