Sew Scrumptious

Each week Craft Blog UK will be featuring one of our members and asking them a few questions so that we can all get to know a little bit more about their craft and why they enjoy blogging.

This week we will be looking at http://sewscrumptious.blogspot.com



"Get into twitter. If its good enough for Phillip Schofield its good enough for me."

This isn't a command but a new years resolution from Louise, the author of this enjoyable blog. Louise writes each post as if you are standing right next to her, nodding and laughing along.  Her posts are about her sewing and her family and she also uses her blog to highlight worthy causes and charities. She does have a slight obsession with Phillip Schofield but don't let that put you off reading this great blog which is full of very genuine and friendly posts.   


SewScrumptious - Shop

I asked Louise a few questions about her blog...

Can you tell us about your first ever blog post and share the link?
I started with a giveaway! I was convinced I wouldn’t get more than about 10 followers so I thought I needed to entice people to come and have a look. I remember being really self conscious about what I was writing – now I don’t care I just ramble on about anything! Its very funny looking back at early posts. You forget what you have done over time and my children look really young! 
http://sewscrumptious.blogspot.com/2009/05/new-blog-and-new-tooth.html

Where do you promote your blog posts?
I usually try and add a link in the folksy forums if I remember. I also joined British Mummy Bloggers which has widened the type of people coming to look at my blog. I think after a while your blog takes on a life of its own and people just seem to find you. I think the turning point for me was when I decided to have the challenge on my blog – organizing 70 presents for my mums 70thbirthday on Christmas Day. People really seemed to pick up on that and blogged about it which bought lots of new people to my blog. I always look out for new blogs and always try to comment on posts if I read something interesting which is a great way of getting people to come and have a look at mine.
http://britishmummybloggers.ning.com/



In what ways has blogging affected your crafting or business?
I find reading other peoples blogs really inspiring. They make me want to go off and make new things. I’m really enjoying getting involved in swaps at the moment. Having a blog is a great tool when you sell online or at craft fairs as you can give people the link and it’s a way of letting people know a bit more about you and your products without the hard sell. Hopefully they will remember you and come back to buy at a later date. I know a lot of people use their blogs to promote their shops much more than I do but personally I don’t want to do that. I blog because I love the process of rambling on about nothing in particular and personally avoid blogs that only post about things they have made to sell. I think it has helped my sales but that’s not why I do it.

Have you made any blogging mistakes?
I’m sure I’ve made loads. The blog looked a bit messy at the beginning as I was also getting my head around blogger and all the techie computer stuff. There were some weird font colours and formatting going on! Recently somebody (very kindly) emailed me as I had (without thinking) given out quite a lot of personal information on a post and they were concerned about it. It really made me think about keeping personal details safe. I have only had great experiences of blogging but it was good to get a little reminder that ANYONE can read your blog and not everyone is nice.


Do you have a favourite blog by another crafter - what makes their posts stand out for you?
http://kitschycoo.blogspot.com/
She is just so funny. She constantly makes me snort with laughter when I am drinking my tea reading her blog. She makes the most fantastic childrens clothes, does great giveaways and tutorials and most importantly of all is very honest in her posts even when that means sharing difficult thing. I really admire real honesty in blogs. It’s a hard thing to do.


Of all your blog posts which one are you most proud of and why?
http://sewscrumptious.blogspot.com/2009/12/she-loved-it.html
My favourite post was about achieving my 70 present challenge and posting photos of my mum getting her 70 presents on Christmas Day (her 70th birthday). I only finished the challenge with the help of my fantastic fellow bloggers who sent me beautiful presents for my mum, gave me lots of ideas and suggestions for things to make and buy and just gave me general encouragement. The look on my mums face when I told her that complete strangers had made things especially for her was amazing and made me realise the power of blogging. I have come across real kindness from fellow bloggers that has really restored my faith in human nature. You read about it all the time on other blogs too. People doing lovely thoughtful things for other people. For me blogging is not about promoting my business really but being part of a lovely community of really inspirational talented lovely people.

Whats Next - :
I’m working on a new range of bibs and activity bags for my folksy shop and I’m also going to be selling on a few new websites soon too. I also have a few new things in the pipeline. I have been asked to organize a craft event at the Bristol International Kite festival this year. They had over 35,000 people attend last year so that’s really exciting – please get in touch if you are interested in having a stall. http://www.kite-festival.org.uk/

Also a friend is opening a craft café/shop/workshop soon and has asked me to think about running sewing classes for children which I am very flattered about. If anyone has any advice about setting up classes I would love to hear from you or just come over to my blog and say hi anyway!