Day 1 Guest Blog on 'Just Be Connected'
I'm Pat Sloan. What is the core of 'me'? Well I like... no let's say... I LOVE to blog!
Thank you Melba for creating a community blog.. this is so awesome! I enjoy reading the guest's post, your comments, and hearing from other creative people.
It's inspirational and motivating to hear why YOU blog and I love feeling connected to you.
So... why do I blog? I had to REALLY think about this!
I didn't start out as a writer, although I did 'write' in a sense. I worked for 20+ years in computers.. writing code. Old ancient code now.. code only those of who started a hundred years ago still remember. I wrote. It was English like. (later I wrote reports and employee reviews... sigh....)
But really I make stuff. My deep down desire is always to make stuff. So 'making' code worked for awhile. But in the end I was meant to make things for a living. And I always wanted to work for myself. I'd only been working about 2 years when I was trying to figure out how to work for myself (but it took about 22 until I did!)
Now I'm a designer of quilt books, quilt fabric, quilt patterns. I have a webstore. I travel. I teach. I lecture. I blog.
At some point I wanted to connect to more quilters, more often. So 5+yrs ago I started a yahoo group as there were no blogs that I knew of. I still have this wonderful group at yahoo. (see it HERE)
The group concept is not for everyone. And I wanted to put photos with my words. And I wanted to chat with people who wouldn't join a group. And I wanted 'different' kind of chat than what I did on my quilt group. Like chatting on decorating, trips, gardens, food...
So I started to blog. I'm crazy for blogs with photos, the more photos the better. I'm SUPER visual. So this is a fairly long post for me... hehe!
I use typepad ... well.. because I pay a fee and if it's broken they fix it.. pretty fast. I learned my lessons from having the 'free' service... you get what you pay for!
Has blogging changed my life? Such an interesting question. Life evolves doesn't it? I can't think of one person or one situation that has not changed during the course of things.. even it's only just a little bit.
So I would say blogging did not change my life.
My life changes.. changes fast at times.. changes slow at times. Starting to blog was a change that happened when it happened. It's good. I do it because I enjoy it. That's my biggest reason.
Do you have a blog? Put it in the comments!! I am ALWAYS looking at others work and I'd love to see yours...
so "Pretty Please with a cherry on Top"... put your blog addy in the comment so I can visit you.
This week I'm excited to chat with you about creativity.. that is my passion. That everyone who WANTS to do something creative, SHOULD. I'm all about throwing out theories and 'can't do ideas'.... I'm all about living your life as you want to live it. I'm all about doing it... can't wait to hear what you think!
Do you have a specific 'something' you want me to chat about? Put it in the comment or email me at [email protected]
Here is where you can check out what I do... what my crazy life is like
My blog - http://patsloan.typepad.com
My website - http://www.QuiltersHome.com
My Yahoo group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Pat-Sloan-Quilts/
Read 7 little know things about me - I was tagged recently CLICK HERE
My Second Life blog (oh yes.. I ADORE second life!) CLICK HERE
Don't know what Second Life it? Read my SL post on my RL blog
CLICK HERE
photos - First is me at Blarney Castle in Ireland, Second is my book on the Ireland trip, Third is my newest fabric line.
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Day 2 Guest Blog on 'Just Be Connected'
I ADORE this topic title Melba suggested... Creating Sparks!!
It needs MANY exclamation points ... It's catchy... it makes me think... I like that. Particularly the thinking part. She suggests we do a challenge or talk about our passion. More thinking... my passion... Sometimes I think my Passion is to be busy. To be productive. To have a 'job'.
I'm a little like a herding dog. I NEED to have that 'thing I do' and it better be fun and I better like it. If it isn't... then I'm like a herding dog with no sheep or cattle... standing around wondering what to do with myself... hehe!
So what's my 'Passion' in life? What makes me Tick? What do I get on my soapbox about?
I think my Passion is to help people BE creative.
-My Passion is to let you know you SHOULD be creative if you want to be
-My Passion is to tell you that you CAN be creative if you feel it.. want it... even just a little bit. If the desire is there you can do it.
-My Passion is to throw out 'The Rules' as I'm sure they were made by cranky people having a bad day.
-My Passion is to help you get rid of the 'shoulda, woulda, coulda' and 'I don't have time' excuses. No Excuses.. just MAKE STUFF is what I live by.
Everyone who wants to make something can. You can find the time, You ARE talented, there is NO room for perfection as it stifles you. Yep you heard from me, Perfection stifles you and keeps you from your passion. ... unless of course you are doing brain surgery.. then by all means please be perfect :)
So my CHALLENGE to you this week is NO EXCUSES, Let's BE CREATIVE. Let's Make Stuff. Let's pull out the paints, the paper, the fabric, the bag of soil to garden with. Let's find a little spot to call our own. Let's be happy and feel the SPARK.
Your assignment... in the comments tell me what YOU want to do this week that you've put off doing (and not the taxes or cleaning the house).
.. THEN get out your stuff.. TONIGHT... yes TONIGHT. I don't care how tired you are. How late it is. Get it out and look at it. Touch your paints. Sort your fabric. Feel all your wood grains or your dodads for scrapping. Pull the gardening magazine. Just GET into your things. Want to write? Then open a document and write about how tired you are... just write for 5 minutes.
Tomorrow I hope to be reading about a LOT of creativity here in the comments.. come on.. let's go!
Photos -
-Quilt is 'A Sunday Drive'. Here at my webstore
-Vacation photo - a cruise we took to relax... having a 'get away' sparks MY creativity!
ps.. LOVED visiting your blogs and hearing from you... I need to hear from more of you today!
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Day 3 Guest Blog on 'Just Be Connected'
We are creative people who read this blog. We are people Who Make Stuff (and write stuff... which is just another form of making). And life is good when we do enough of it! I love having this community and getting to meet others like me. I have a theory that people who 'make stuff' will 'get' each other. We have a common bond.
Recently my VERY YOUNG hair stylist asked me if everyone I knew 'made things'... this cracked me up. And it got me thinking. Most people I hang with make stuff. We 'get' each other.
Sometimes people write me because they can't find others who do what they do. It's a concern to not have people like ourselves. People with the same interest. The internet has bust open the field of friends we can find. From forums, to yahoo groups, to blog rings... we can find people who do what we do.
But sometimes we need to see those people in person. Do you have a group of friends like you? People you can hang out with and 'talk creative shop'? Yes? That is FANTASTIC!! Woot Woot... you are so lucky!
But what if you don't? Then you need to hang out where people 'make stuff'... any kind of stuff. Put up notices in all the usual places like bulletin boards at the grocery store, library, community center, church...etc.. Invite people to a monthly 'group' for people who like to 'make stuff'. Start a writers 
group.
Make it your mission to build the group of friends that you want.... they may not appear on your door step... you may have to work to find them. BUT .. they are out there waiting for you!
My very best girlfriend group is made up of gals that 'make stuff' but we don't all do the same thing. And the best part is that we ALL do other stuff. I think it's the camaraderie of 'making' that we crave... and we all GET each other!
I worked in computers for many years where we 'made' programs... and a large majority of the people I worked with 'made' things or 'fixed' things. That common interest builds
friendships...
It wasn't until my early 30's that I found people who sewed. My girlfriend convinced me to learn to quilt so she'd have a quilting friend.. hehe... and I never looked back.
Tell me about your friends, your community of like minded people. And if you don't have one, put that notice up on the bulletin board. It works... I've heard many a great story about friendships built this way.
PS - for a silly break, which we ALL need.. come over to my regular blog today and put on a smile! http://patsloan.typepad.com/
Photos - My quilt Celebrate, Eat Cake
Sherbert color chairs outside LLBean in the mall... just right for friends to sit in!
Coffee cup from my SideWalk Cafe Pattern
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Day 4 Guest Blog on 'Just Be Connected'
Quotes are one of my great loves.
---Love to search for them
---Love to share them
---Love to be inspired by them
I have several quote books, lists of quotes, and many bookmarks to quotes online.
I have a goal for myself to put more words and quotes on quilts (as quilts are my main medium). But I'm thinking of just doing little pieces of art with quotes. Not sure where that will go but they would be quicker to do than a quilt... maybe!
On this blog I've read many of the guest writers. We all have a Dream and I think this is a perfect quote for us.. I might have to put it on something VERY soon!
"There is nothing like a dream to create the future." ― Victor Hugo
If you don't have that dream, your future just muddles along doesn't it? No goal, No point you are reaching for, No purpose.
As you now know, I'm one of those people who must have a purpose. I am constantly working to FINISH something so I can say 'It's DONE!'. Often my next project is started 2 minutes later. It is a constant flow of projects.
I seem to like this, it's how my brain works, it feeds my soul, it lets me reach my dreams.
What is your dream and how will you reach it?
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Day 5 Guest Blog on 'Just Be Connected'
Every morning I love to look at blogs with inspiration...
websites with beautiful things...
any place on the internet with a photo or a quote that will kick start my day!
Put a few of YOUR favorite sites in the comments, because you KNOW I need to have more to look at!
So here we go... a few of my favorite Inspiration sites.
Big Picture Scrapbooking's Quotes and color.
http://www.bigpicturescrapbooking.com/colorquote.php
Decorating isn't any better displayed than at Poppytalk. I love how they find items with themes
http://poppytalk.blogspot.com/
Video's to inspire
http://www.ted.com/index.php/
Clothing that's IN at Who What Wear Daily (bag and glasses photos!)
http://whowhatweardaily.com/website/home.php
Stores I want to LIVE in
Pottery Barn
http://www.potterybarn.com
Anthropologies
http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/index.jsp
And my 'Friend List' at my blog with a list of MY friends and associates who blog!
http://patsloan.typepad.com/pat_sloans_corner/links-to-my-friends.html
I look at WAY WAY more than this. I hope this TINY taste of what I look at will spark your creative ideas...
Many Thanks to Melba for having the list and inviting me to guest blog. And many thanks to all of you for hanging out with me this week. I really enjoyed meeting new people and chatting about creativity! Please visit me at my blog where I post every day. http://patsloan.typepad.com/
Big Hugs everyone!
ps.. Photo at Pottery Barn, WWSW and Anthropologies
