Summertime Progress and a Question...

This is what I've been working on for most of this past week. It's taken a little longer

to write than I thought, but when I finish it, there will actually be two options for 

creating the Summertime Quilt. You'll be able to use either a traditional pieced method 

(cutting your own templates) or you can use paper foundations. It's coming along 

nicely and I'll be ready to upload everything to Craftsy in the next day or so.

Now, my title said that I wanted to ask you a question, so first let me explain.

Recently, I've learned that a number of bloggers have disabled their "comment"

feature. They said that it "frees them up", "saves them time" and allows them to" post

 without pressure". They've also said "no one likes to comment anymore anyway".

Here's my thinking...I like, no LOVE, reading your comments to my posts.

I understand when you read and don't comment, just like I think you understand if

I don't always have the chance to reply to what you've written to me. I always try,

but sometimes the time just gets away from me. You may not hear from me for a

while, but if you're not a "no reply commenter", I really, really try to write back.

I do think your feedback helps motivate me to be a better blogger, finish what I

begin and then actually create more interesting and inspirational projects to share.

So, I'm wondering what you think. 

Do you like that some blogs have disabled their comment feature?

Would you rather be able to leave a comment for the author of a blog?

and

How do you feel about those "word verification" requirements?

(Personally, I dislike them like crazy. I can never figure out what they say

and I find myself not leaving comments rather than dealing with them.)

I know that I'm soliciting replies for this post. Let me say "thanks" in advance.

I'll also write back to each of you that have open reply capabilities.

I just really want to know what you think about the "comment" thing.

I hope you enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend.

I'll be back tomorrow to show you what I else I've been working on.

URGENT - PLEASE READ...

Google Reader™ will be going away in a few days... 
They've been threatening this change for a while, and I just kept hoping that 
they'd relent. I was wrong. In the next few days, that feature will disappear 
from my all Blogger blogs. I don't like it, but nobody asked my opinion.

If you follow me through Google Reader™, please consider subscribing 
to Brynwood Needleworks via Bloglovin'™. I've placed the new widget 
right above the Friend Connect™ widget to make it easy for you to find 
(It's over there -> in my right side bar).

Once you subscribe, you'll receive my posts to your inbox every day.

This is different from Google Friend Connect™ or Linky Followers™. This
change is only if you're used to reading my blog through Google Reader™.

We've been told that Friend Connect™ may also change at some time
in the future, so if you're not signed up as a Linky Follower™, you might
want to do that at the same time. I know that I'm going to miss my Friend
Connect™ widget if they ever discontinue it. Linky™ provides the same
feature and promises that they will be a great alternative for the future.

Change is a difficult thing for me.
If we remain calm, perhaps this won't hurt too much.
Please sign up now so that we don't lose touch with each other.
I'd hate for you to miss all the great things I have planned.

This Won't Hurt A Bit...

Just when you've settled into something comfortable, things change. I guess change is inevitable, but sometimes it's just a little inconvenient. So instead of viewing it in the negative, I'm going to choose to embrace and move toward that change.

I read my friend Anne's blog today at Fiona & Twig. She always has the most beautiful photographs, and she's famous because her work has been included in a number of magazines now. I love visiting her vintage images and elegantly, down-home Texas posts.

So, the really great thing about visiting Anne today is that I learn I have an option for something on my blog! I'm going to give you her link to her post (here), so that you can read it all for yourself, but if I boil it down to its essence, bloggers need a backup plan for keeping track of their favorite blogs and blog friends.




Thanks to Brent Riggs at Linky Tools, there is now a beta version for that option. (Brent is responsible for the link tool I add to the end of my Memory Lane Monday posts so that other bloggers can link up their own memories posted on their blogs). If you'll look to my right sidebar, I've now added a new friends widget which Brent calls "Linky Followers". It's easy to sign up for the service, where you'll be able keep track of your favorite blogs and your blog friends.

There's no cost and it's a great option if when the inevitable end comes to Google's follower service. As an added bonus for becoming my follower through this service, you can go back to my giveaway post (here) and leave a note to tell me that you're following me through my new widget and get another entry in the giveaway!

Just click "Follow me" on the widget (either above or in my sidebar - they'll both work) and register. The instructions are easy to follow, and it doesn't take long. After you've and added your name on my widget, add your comment to the giveaway. I know...I'm not completely thrilled that there will be a change in our future either, but I have so many things I still want to tell you, show you and celebrate with you. I'd hate to lose touch because we put off doing this.

More fun stuff tomorrow. See you then!

Because It Matters...

I know that we bloggers all keep track of the number of "followers" (I prefer "friends") who choose to add our blogs to their reading lists. I've read some bloggers who've said that they've considered removing the "followers" option from their sidebars because watching the numbers haunts them.

I've noticed lately that my numbers are on a downward trend. I say that it's ok for people to choose to go somewhere else. Perhaps they don't like the subject matter of my posts? I'm certainly a likeable enough person in my own right. I tell myself I don't care. We say out loud that we don't care, when we actually do. Why else would we even look at the numbers?

I know that between my own blog writing, studio pursuits and family, my blog reading/commenting time allotment is pretty tight. I don't like to stop by without commenting, because I'd like you to know that I care about what you're writing, your life and your pursuits. Surely, I'm not the only one who has to make decisions about where our time is best spent, so we become more selective about our blog reading. We are attracted to those who share our interests. We, sometimes sadly, have to let the rest go.

Why am I choosing this as a subject for my post today? Well, it's like this...

Thank you, Dawn - The Feathered Nest - for the sweet image.

I have been following LOTS of blogs in the years since I discovered what a blog was and then started my own. I actually have never "un-followed" any of those blogs (with the exception of one blogger who really ticked me off), so I feel like I've been a good friend to those of you who write their own thoughts on the internet.

In the wake of my numbers dropping, I thought, "Alright, ladies (and gents). I'm going back to review those blogs I've added to my reading list over the years and drop some of y'all who I don't really even recognize anymore." (Thinking, "That will make me feel better!")

Well, I deleted my name from one blog (which seemed to take forever), and then POOF! I found that ALL the blogs I've been following all this time have been deleted from my list!! All my dear friends who will see their numbers diminish by one might have the same thoughts going through their heads that I've had. BAAAA! How am I going to fix this?

Another beautiful image from Dawn.

I'm going to start by heading over to my sidebar, clicking on each and every blog that is listed there and re-add myself as one of their (your) followers. Then, I'm going to go through some of my bookmarks on my computer to track down the rest of you. I know. It's going to take a while.

The result of this massive event is that now I'm wondering if my numbers were going down because someone consciously deleted me - or if Blogger did it for them with a mass deletion of all their reading list?

I don't care. (Of course, I do!) Numbers don't matter. (Of course, they do!) I'll change who I am and what I write in order to be wittier, craftier and more likeable. (Is change even possible? I'm 56 years old!) Or...I'll just keep being me, loving those friends who like me the way I am. People with whom I have something in common. Yes. That's what I'll do.

I've said this before, but I'll say it again because it really is true. All of you, my friends, mean the world to me. I started writing my blog for me, to me. I continue to write for me, but now I write to you, too. Thanks for being there, even when you don't comment. I know you're there by looking at my sidebar.

Thanks for inspiring this introspection, Blogger. Really. Thanks.