Make My Day Award

I was delighted to be sent this award by Marie at http://zquilts.blogspot.com/
I started this blog about nine months ago in a fit of total self-indulgence and as a means of sharing what I was doing with some of the people I had met on online courses, and as a sort of disciplining tool: if I had a blog I would have to make stuff so I'd have something to write about! At that time I'd never dreamed people would actually come back to it and enjoy reading it; and actually getting comments was very exciting (still is!). But the best of all is the number of cyber-friends I've made as a result of the blog and some of the email lists I'm on: it's so good to be able to "talk" to people who know where you're coming from.

Anyway one of the things I can now do is pass on the award to others whose blogs I enjoy and visit regularly. Some I haven't included have already received their award from other people. I've managed to whittle it down with some difficulty to ten, the recommended number, though I don't require anyone to pass it on if they've already received an award or aren't for any reason able to do it.

I've chosen the following blogs though there are plenty more I could have included:

Andrea: http://cestandrea.blogspot.com/ who lives in Paris, produces wonderful work based on the idea of spirit-masks and includes her own drawings and photographs on her blog (I specially love her walks through Paris) - oh and she is a cat-lover too!
Maggie: http://www.stitchingwithschnauzerandsiamese.blogspot.com/ whose blog contains a wealth and variety of wonderful stitchery with entertaining episodes from everyday life.
Marion: http://artmixter.blogspot.com/ who I first met in the days when I used to trade at the Scottish quilt shows - again a blog that's a mixture of wit and wisdom, beautiful artwork and light-hearted and fun pieces (with cats, too, which is always a bonus!)
Dijanne: http://origidij.blogspot.com/ whose wonderful artwork I have admired and gasped over for a long long time.
Cynthia: http://cynthia-stcharles.blogspot.com/ who produces amazing mixed-media and textile work.
Linda: http://bilsblog.blogspot.com/ whose blog I find fascinating in the way it shows the inspirations for and the development of her textile art.
Kate: http://katesquilting.blogspot.com/ whose energy, enthusiasm and sense of fun are guaranteed to cheer me up on the darkest of days - and I really envy the mass of glorious work she does, though can't imagine how she finds the time with a lively family to keep tabs on - do you have a time-turner, Kate?
Shirley: http://shirleygoodwin.blogspot.com/ colour in blog-form, wonderful dyed fabrics (her latest monoprints are to die for - no pun intended), dyer and quilter extraordinaire!
Liz: http://lizplummer.com/blog/ again a really enjoyable mix of artwork and everyday life with lots of detail about the way her designs and her work develop, which is always fascinating to read;
Julie: http://mixedmedia-jem.blogspot.com/ great photographs, wonderful artwork and (my favourite) really inspirational watercolours.