I don’t know about you, but blogging is kind of a job to me, albeit one which brings in NO money. I do it every day, and it’s never far from my mind. The people around me get really tired of my saying, ‘Well did you read Tuesday’s post? Where I said blah blah blah?’ (Do you do that too? Or am I the only freak here?)
And if you have a blog of your own, and if you happen to have posted tutorials on said blog, you’ll notice your hit rate goes up dramatically if you’ve had a tutorial featured somewhere big, like oneprettything.com. (I love Rachel – she is the sweetest person in the world.) Basically tutorials are good for blog business. And giveaways, too. (I will be having a giveaway soon to celebrate being a year old. Stay tuned.)
So far so good. Thing is, I’m not very good at remembering to direct people to the SewHappyGeek Flickr group at the beginning or end of a tutorial, so it’s not very often that I actually know that someone’s used my tutorial, still less if they’re happy with the result. But I got a comment on Tuesday’s mini quilt tutorial from Karen of Quilted Seasons. Karen said she was going to make the mini quilt right now, which is very flattering and still makes me smile 🙂
And she did:
She even used birds in the focus panel!!! Isn’t this the cutest thing ever? Karen blogs over at Quilted Seasons and is a thoroughly nice person. And she’s a very talented and FAST sewist! Got this done and dusted in a day!
So that = lots of job satisfaction for me. Do you get satisfaction this way, or does something else make you tick? Do tell!
And if you’ve made something from a SewHappyGeek tutorial,
- Please put it in the Flickr group!
- Perhaps you’d like to be featured, too? email me at jenna (at) sewhappygeek.co.uk
© J C Excell, 2011
That turned out very pretty- nice work, Karen! I definitely have it on my list, which is now infinitely shorter since the birthday dress of doom is FINISHED! :insert party and marching band here:
I do know what you mean. Most of my endeavors aren’t your traditional work out of home ‘real’ jobs (and I say that ‘real’ bit with a little sarcasm- I know way too many Work At Home Moms who go above and beyond the expectations and hours of the traditional workplace, but don’t get the credit they deserve). I have my own business through CafePress, which is a nice creative outlet for me without having to stress about supplies, schedules, shipping, etc and brings in some small rewards to feed my fabric stash. I also help run an internet board and manage the board’s congo on Hyena Cart, which is really rewarding 98.9% of the time and helps me keep my ‘real world’ management/marketing/graphic design skills fresh. And then there’s the Facebook group, which has been a blast so far!
All in all, it’s a lot of time put in without a ton of tangible reward (as my husband frequently points out when drama flares on the board, telling me I’m not getting paid to put up with this LOL). There are days when I wonder why I do it, but the feeling when someone responds to what you’re putting out there by following a tutorial or a recipe, getting inspired by your work, joining in on a challenge, helping out on a fundraiser, etc. is like a confirmation that we’re here for a reason, and IMO it’s worth every bit of it!
I added the Sweet Dreams quilt I made during Stashtacular to the Flickr page 🙂 My blog is not really focused on creating, so I don’t have the opportunity to see finished projects that I inspired – but for me, comments are my way of getting virtual “pats on the back”. I don’t get very much traffic, but it always make me feel special when I see that someone has taken the time to post a comment 🙂
I really enjoy your blog, and have several of your tutorials bookmarked for when my oldest starts school again next week. Keep up the good work!
I did think for a while I was blogging so that my mum wouldn’t think I’d been eaten by Alsatians in a Bridget jones type way, however I joined a get to know you gathering at lily’s quilts and causally mentioned to my mum that real people I didn’t know were following my blog for her to turn around with a blank look on her face and admit even she forgot I had a blog!
So my “job” satisfaction comes from being able to look over the things I’ve sewn for myself, friends, family and Bee’s but the biggest part of the inner glow we call pay is as Chrissa say’s when someone that has no need to stops by and says hi or comments on a quilt that I’ve made. It’s just lovely 🙂