Winner and a bit about blogging!

The winner of the Giveaway is Gill.  Gill doesn't seem to have a blog so I cannot link to it but Gill if you let me have your postal address I will pop the seeds in the post to you (you'll find my e-mail address on my profile).  I hope you will be lucky with the seeds and have a little patch of the wonderful mixed flowers that I saw at the Field of Dreams!

BLOGGING - at last!

I have been blogging now for just over 3 years - where does the time go?  I came to blogging via a circuitous route; having never even heard of it I was actually looking for a pattern for crochet flowers and came upon Lucy's blog at Attic 24.  I found the pattern I wanted and I loved the colourful crochet and photos of Lucy's lovely home and continued to check in now and then to see what she was doing.  Lurking I believe is what I was doing!  From there I came upon another blog which mentioned this book.

I bought a copy of the book and having read it decided that I'd like to join this gang of like minded people from whom I hoped I would gain inspiration for crafting of my own as I was of course inspired by the wonderful craft work some of you produce (but much of which I knew I would never be able to emulate).  So I set about making a blog for myself.  The names I wanted seemed to have already been taken and so it was that Marigold Jam was born.  I was amazed to find just how quickly people found me and left encouraging comments and before long I was off and there has been no looking back!

As I have gone along my blog seems to have taken a different path to the one I had in mind at the beginning and from posting about things I had made I sometimes wandered off along a more philosophical route and began writing about my take on life too.  My followers seemed to like my countryside photos and as I enjoy walking that became another regular subject for posts too along with my reminiscences about my childhood.  Having my little digital camera with me at most times has made me more aware of what is around me and my photos often suggest a post.  As I said here I am often surprised by the post which I end up writing as it is often not the one I had in mind when I sat down at the keyboard - how can that be I wonder?

As one gets older the number of hours in each day and days in each week is reduced and I sometimes find that I am spending more time on blogging and less on other things which maybe I should, or could, be doing but no matter how often I tell myself enough is enough and I will pack it all in and not be in thrall to the computer any more there is always one more post I want to write and before I know it I am back to blogging as usual!  I have discovered, or maybe rediscovered, that I love writing and so I persuade myself that even if I am not actually stitching and making creative things I am being creative when I write!  I guess as long as I am able I will have something to say and so will continue with my blogging journey whether it be a show and tell type of post or maybe more of a life's journal which I can look back on myself.

I think it's been great meeting people across the world who are interested in some of the same things as I am and I have even been lucky enough to meet a few of my fellow bloggers.  I have won many giveaways and have lots of items generously sent to me by my blogging friends too so that all around me are wonderful reminders of the generous and friendly people I have come to know via the medium of blogging. I love how I have made "friends" with plenty of younger bloggers as well as those with whom I share memories of this or that.  And the fact that my "friends" are spread across the world - blogging is surely a medium for peace as we get to know each other and our different cultures and ways of life.  Vive la difference!!  (Oh and by the way - thanks for your good wishes on my upcoming trip to France - I will be around for a while though as I am not going till the end of October!)

So thank you to all those of you who take the time to read and comment on what I write - your comments mean a lot to me and I only wish I had time enough to write to each and every one of you to thank you individually.

I liked how the book cover was the same colour as my glasses case!

Summer pleasures have now become autumn ones and not much reading is done on the blue seat outside the back door nowadays however I have just finished another book I enjoyed reading this time in the conservatory which is where I sit now with my cup of tea(!) until it becomes too cold out there (it's not heated) and I have to retreat indoors during the colder months till spring comes again.