Tag Archives: 31dayblogchallenge

Day 31: 2015 in review

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It’s the final day of the #31dayblogchallenge to write every day in December. I did it! Woohoo! My goal for January is to post twice a week.

2016 is just hours away so I thought I’d end the year with a fun report on my blog statistics for 2015. Click through to see all of it if you’re interested in that sort of thing. See you next year!

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 5,800 times in 2015. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 5 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

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Day 13: Aurifil and Rocket Ships

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Another #31dayblogchallenge post.

When the dementors circle it’s difficult to focus. Gratitude can be the patronis charm needed to fight off depression. It’s one of those days so here are some things I’m thankful for.

  1. Friends and strangers who’ve stepped up and offered to help with the Turtles Quilt. Many are making tree blocks for the final border. Thank you! The block tutorial is here if you’d like to help too.
  2. Aurifil thread. I’m so grateful to Glenni for granting my thread wish during the #getyourquiltywishesgranted community event. velcrowiththread
  3. Kitty snuggles. This one will tolerate photographs of things plopped on top of him if head scratches are involved. I love how openly cats show affection. There’s no guess work involved.
  4. Oreo ice cream. No explanation needed on this one methinks.
  5. Rocket ships. I’m hand embroidering this one as I veg out in front of the TV. It’s for Conrad’s quilt which I learned about through #getyourquiltywishesgranted. I’ve seen photos of him happily receiving other blocks and am excited to send this one his way. You know, once it’s finished.

rocketshipembroidery

Day 10: Love and Loss

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It’s the 10th day of the #31dayblogchallenge and #throwbackthursday too. So I’ll send you guys to a guest post from February 2015. It was written by my teenage brother Jim. Here are his thoughts on love and loss, in his own words, “I Was Never Alone.”

Day 8: More Tree Blocks Please

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This is another #31dayblogchallenge post.

Edited to add: Blocks due January 20th, 2016. After that I’ll make do with what I have and get this project finished. Thanks!

I’ve got three more #getyourquiltywishesgranted envelopes ready to mail and four that are waiting for me to buy stamps. In light of all the giving going on I thought I’d take this opportunity to ask for more help finishing a quilt.

turtlesdrawer

This quilt is for my childhood summer camp and has been a community project from the very beginning. Many artists have helped make the center turtle blocks as well as the tree blocks already.

treelineborder

What I’d love to have is more tree blocks for the final border of the turtles’ quilt. I still need 75 more to make it all the way. Will you help? There’s a block tutorial here for the easy 8″ x 11.5″ pieced blocks. If you’re sending some my way please email me for the address mrs.megan.null at gmail dot com.

treeblock

Day 6: I Made a New Friend

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A #31dayblogchallenge post.

I made a new friend last night. We’ve known each other for years. She’s my neighbor. It all started when I showed her my studio. The conversations are private but here’s what my studio looked like after an hour. We bonded over art and stories. Can you see how many quilts are laid out? So much fun.

newfriendhonestcraftroom

Day 5: My Kitties

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Check back all month during the #31dayblogchallenge for daily posts.

This one happens to be about cats. ‘Cause I like cats. Chances are, if you post a photo of your cat on Instagram I’ll heart it. (I’m quiltartbymegan on there.) I might also like your quilt or landscape pictures but the furry felines will almost always get my attention. So here’s a few pictures of my four kitties for your enjoyment.

Let’s start with the youngest, Wormy. She’s difficult to photograph! Wormy’s a squirmy little runner but does enjoy drinking from the faucet. She’s very talkative when my husband and I wake up in the morning and likes to be pet inside her box on top of a dresser.

wormywaterzoom

Next is LokiBear. She’s my sewing buddy and president of my husband’s fanclub. Seriously. If I’m petting her and he walks in she’s by his side in a flash. LokiBear loves to be snuggled under the covers and can be territorial. (I get to snuggle my husband too! Sheesh girly!)

lokipurrsnuggles

Velcro is so named because he stuck to everything as a kitten. He has a bit better claw control now but still makes the velcro-ripping sound when he runs across carpet. Silly boy! He’s our gentle kitty. When he wants to snuggle he waits for you to look over at him before jumping up, like asking permission. Want him to love you forever? Bring beef jerky.

Velcro on sink

Here’s Milo. He’s a stubborn boy who thinks he can do whatever he wants. Thankfully what he wants to do is usually acceptable, like curl up next to my head to sleep. Or clean behind the other cats’ ears. Sweet stubborn kitty.

Milo hears a noise

Day 4: You’re Beautiful. Really!

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You’re beautiful. Yes you. Really! Take that in for a moment and then click play on this video. Watch people react to Shea Glover telling them they’re beautiful. But first grab some tissues. You might cry. I did.

 

 

 

Check back all month during the #31dayblogchallenge for daily posts. See you tomorrow!

Day 2: Chopping Firewood

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I love having a fire in our fireplace! We had an outdoor fireplace at one of our houses growing up and a wood stove at another, plus I had lots of campfire fun at summer camp. Maybe those memories contribute to my love of fire now. It’s a full sensory experience: the woody smoke scents, cracking and settling sounds, and all the pretty colors are comforting.

biglogburning

We have some logs leftover from when the gigantic pine trees in our yard were cut down. So my husband and I have been chainsawing them into manageable lengths and then chopping them into firewood. Fed up with chasing the pieces across the backyard as they were cut, Jeff discovered the tire method. The uncut log goes inside a used tire (we have some leftover from growing potatoes) and gets chopped there. The tire contains them and we put ’em in the wood pile from there. Cool trick, huh?

splitwoodinatire

 

 

Day 1: Six Favorite Small Businesses

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31dayblogchallengeWelcome to day one of the 31 days blog challenge. This challenge is Cheryl Sleboda’s idea and I’m glad to be a part of it. I’ll be blogging every day from now until the end of this year.

Yesterday was Cyber Monday, which wrapped up the Thanksgiving holiday weekend shopping specials. The 30% off moving sale is still happening in my etsy shop. You know, ’cause I’m still moving and want to have less stuff to shlep. Anyway, I highlighted a few of my favorite small businesses this weekend on the quiltartbymegan Facebook page. Here they are in one spot. Check ’em out!

6favbusinesses

Alex Cook is the artist behind the Multi Mural Project. Community art at its finest, messages like “You Are Loved” are painted on places like school walls, city streets, and inside prisons. It’s led and organized by Alex and the community come in and help paint within his outline with colors he’s chosen. Here’s Alex’s website which includes the murals as well as his musical and written art.

Fed By Threads is a clothing store (in Tucson and online) with American-made organic clothing. It’s body-positive and built to pay everyone from designers to sewists living wages. This is in stark contrast to most clothing companies which use sweatshops overseas to manufacture most of their products. Facebook ’em here and check out their website and shop here.

Katwise makes whimsical coats out of old wool sweaters. Watch her Facebook page for announcements on when the next sale will be. You’ll want to be waiting at her etsy shop when it goes live because they sell out in minutes. No kidding. She also has patterns if you want to try your hand at it. I’ve made a bunch of arm-warmers from her tutorial.

Gregory Patrick of Mad Man Knitting is a blogger, author, and pattern designer. He knit teddy bears and worked his way out of homelessness with this small business. His story is inspiring and his stuff is super-cute. Here’s his website and Facebook page.

X-bility has experiential learning courses that have enhanced how I view myself, my relationships, and the world around me. They’re well worth flying into St. Louis for. Check out their website and Facebook page.

Carol Carter is a watercolor painter. Check out her website here: and find her on Facebook here. She’s great at posting photos of her paintings on Facebook so you’ll want to follow her page. Carol does commissions as well as buy-now paintings. She also teaches.

See you tomorrow.