Hey Sewists! Here’s a nice bit of fun… I hadn’t heard of the Mystery Blogger Award until I was very kindly nominated by Diane of Dream-Cut-Sew, then I read her post about it and it made me smile 😃 thank you Diane! Then… as I was reading through Sue’s blog at Fadanista, I saw that she had nominated me too! How cool is that! Thank you!! 😊🙏

From what I can gather it’s like a pyramid of appreciation- feel the love – pass on the love… I’m up for that! Here’s the official line…

“Mystery Blogger Award is an award for amazing bloggers with ingenious post. Their blog not only captivates; it inspires and motivates. They are one of the best out there, and they deserve every recognition they get. This award is also for bloggers who find fun and inspiration in blogging, and they do it with so much love and passion.” Created by: Okoto Enigma

These are the rules…

• Thank whoever nominated you and include a link to their blog.

• Tell your readers three things about yourself.

• Answer the questions from the person who nominated you.

• Nominate 10 – 20 bloggers you feel deserve the award.

• Ask your nominees 5 questions of your choice, with one weird or funny one.

• Notify your nominees by commenting on their blog.

So, with the official bit out of the way, here goes, with…

Three things about me…

  1. I once drove a VW Beetle with a sawn off roof and no doors across a Mexican island.
  2. In an audition once, I got to sing Copa Cabana with Barry Manilow accompanying on piano and singing back-up!
  3. I’ve, pretty much, had the same hair cut since I was 4 years old!

Diane posed five questions to her nominees, and here’s my answers…!

  1. Yes, I do have a bad habit… I smoke. Sometimes I don’t, but mostly I do.
  2. Where in the world would I fly if money was no object… That’s tricky; there are so many places I’d love to see, and so many I’d love to see again! Right now, I’d love a relaxing holiday, so I’ll say Mexico or Thailand.
  3. I hate raw tomatoes. Yuck!
  4. Sewing machine count… not too ‘bad’ really; a Janome DKS30 and a vintage Elna grasshopper, a Brother 1034D overlocker and my Mums old Singer that I keep meaning to drop off with her!
  5. My three famous invitees to dinner would be; Kate Bush, Tori Amos and hmm… do you think Mark Ruffalo would come? … Maybe I’d have to invite them to three separate suppers!

And Sues’ questions….

  1. The skill I wish I had but don’t; I’d love to be able to sing. I mean really sing- I’ve always wished that my talent for singing was as big as my passion for it!
  2. Podcasts, movies or music while sewing; if I’m on my own in the flat I usually sew in silence, not that there’s much of that in central london!
  3. Fibs I have told to make sewing time; I’ll usually lie to myself, well not lie as such, but I convince myself that sewing is more important right now than say, laundry or food shopping or tidying up – there’s time for that later… although there’s usually not!
  4. Favourite sewing tip; I think this would have to be the easestitch-plus technique I described in this post.
  5. What fitting issue have I solved or would like to solve?; well, my puny biceps adjustment was a revelation! And I was pretty pleased when I lowered the rise on a trouser pattern. But I have little or no experience fitting to women and would like to try this more.

Great questions Sue! Thank you!

My nominations… (please don’t feel any pressure to comply! It’s just for fun, so don’t do it if it won’t be fun! I know some people love these things, some don’t!) …

Self Assembly Required

Wanderstitch

Shirtartistry

BelleCitadel

Mainelymenswear

What I Sew

Male Pattern Boldness

Male Devon Sewing

… all these bloggers (… and many more…) have inspired me one way or another with their mixture of technical explanations, style ideas, creative writing, problem solving and inspiring makes.

And my questions to them… no pressure here at all, if you’ve got time and will enjoy it; go for it, otherwise please feel free to enjoy it from the sidelines! 👍 Namaste 🙏

  1. Summer casual or winter formal?
  2. Most made garment?
  3. Favourite fabric shop?
  4. Dogs or cats?
  5. Flatfelled or french seamed?

So to sum up, thanks again to Diane and Sue for sharing the love! And thank you in advance to my nominees for feeling the love!

Happy sewing!

*UPDATE!* Thank you SO much to Sarah at Wanderstitch for giving me a nomination too! She’s written a great post, check it out Here. And she’s set five interesting questions… It’s taken me a while to get around to answering them, for which I apologise, but now seems like the perfect time (…I wasn’t really waiting until I had a good answer for number three!)

1, If you could time travel, when would you go to? – Well, I suppose that really depends on whether I can come back or not? If it’s a one-way trip, I think I’d go to the past. For a day trip I’d go to the future.

2, If you could have one superpower, what would it be? – I guess flying would be the coolest, but pretty selfish I suppose… you’re never going to save the world just by flying. So maybe healing…? Although I guess that could come with some pretty hefty responsibilities. To be honest, at the moment I’d be pleased to master the rolled-hem-foot! Although, looking at the next question, maybe I’ll take invincibility.

3, What is the dumbest way you’ve been injured? – Well, this is an easy one as four weeks ago I was sitting in a friends garden, having fun… yes, and a few drinks. I stood up, lost balance, fell to the table and, I guess in my attempt to not fall on plates and glasses, I fell weirdly onto my left wrist cleanly breaking it while also compacting it into itself. I haven’t been able to sew for a month now, or do anything much else (of use) and don’t get the cast off for another two weeks. I can’t believe that simply falling over (not even all the way to the floor!) could have such a violent effect on a human bone! I clearly need more calcium as my bones must be made of chalk! A terrifying thought.

4, Would you rather know the history of every object you touched or be able to talk to animals? – I like to think that I actually CAN talk to animals already, so I guess I’ll take the other one, it could be really fascinating although it could also get a bit creepy.

5, If you could only eat three foods for the rest of your life, what would they be? – Now, If I said chocolate covered raisins, white buttered toast and Greggs sausage rolls, I probably wouldn’t last very long. So I feel I should say bananas, broccoli and chicken. But where’s the fun in that?

Thanks Sarah for five interesting questions, and thank you for giving me something to do while my broken arm heals!