nine years

[still quilting after all these years*] 

Sometime in February this blog hit the nine year mark. I couldn't think of anything that happens in nines apart from human pregnancies so I had a quick google and it seems nine years are most closely associated with prison sentences, wars, mortgages, circles of hell, cats' lives, and the length of Robin Thicke's marriage. So, all in all, not a great number.

But there are also nine muses in Greek mythology, and I have been writing here for nine years with my own nine muses: family, home, books, art, baking, knitting, quilting, flowers and life. And mostly I've had a good time doing so. There have been a few vicissitudes but that's to be expected, and I've now stopped wondering and pondering too much and learned instead to simply get on and write, say what I want to say and enjoy doing it. I don't know what I would be doing now if I hadn't started yarnstorm in 2005, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have written all those books you see on the sidebar to the right of the screen, and I doubt I would have managed to put into words all the thoughts and ideas and opinions I have published here.

Because this is the big thing: blogging is a brilliant way to publish. In the past it would have been called 'vanity publishing', but now that it has a new name and a new image and an immediacy and connection that writers could not have dreamed of even a generation ago, it's shed many of its negative connotations and instead has become a fast, cheap and egalitarian way of publishing. When I first pressed that 'publish' button, I couldn't believe how easy it could be. I didn't need to wait to be commissioned, I didn't have to write proposals or collect rejection letters and keep them, framed, in the downstairs loo as so many writers have (allegedly) done. I didn't need to seek permission to publish, or pull strings (not that I have ever had any strings to pull) to see my words on a screen. It was and still is an amazing way to publish and that's why I haven't stopped even though I've got my name on a fair few book spines and can find my books in libraries and shops. I get a thrill every time I put up a post and I always have a look at the blog as readers see it as soon as I've published something because it's a matter of wonder that my words and pictures can be there, just as I intended them, and be viewed by whoever wishes to do so, without any mediation or charge or sales talk or blurb.

So nine years have flown by in this way, and the blog has enabled me to develop a style and it's given me the freedom to choose what I want to write about and what I don't want to write about. It's pushed me to take photographs which pushes me to look more closely. In turn, these processes make me appreciate all the things I enjoy just that little bit more, because when you write about them you have to decide what you really think rather than simply saying 'this is what I like and this is what's important to me'. All in all, it's been good and, I imagine, a lot better than being married to Robin Thicke for nine years. 

* a few of the quilts I've made in the last year or so. 

Comments

[Heather]

Jane: I'm happy you and your nine muses (many of which I share with you) have been writing for nine years. Your blog is a wonderful respite during a busy day. You find beauty in the simplest things and elevate them to the status they deserve. Having read your work for a while now, I'm thinking about my own blog. Perhaps one day before long, I, too, will be hitting that "Publish" button. Keep doing what you do. I, for one, appreciate it.

[Penny]

Jane I have followed your blog for many years and I think this is one of my favourite ever posts. It gives us such an insight into why you blog and specifically what you enjoy about the process and outcomes of blogging. I know the adjective 'inspirational' has been applied to your work many times, but I think today is a good day to say again 'Thank you Jane, you are an inspiration'. I look forward to the next nine years, and the nine after that, and after that.....

[Carla (from Alabama)]

Nine years. Goes by so quickly in some ways and so slowly in others. I started my current job nine years ago. I started reading your blog 7 years ago. I have enjoyed your comments, photos, shared travels, baking, sewing and flowers. I look forward to seeing what you have posted daily. Thank you for the beauty all these nine years and I look forward to all the nines to come.

[Danielle]

Happy blog anniversary! Thank you for sharing your perspective; by slowing down to see and think and photograph your own experiences, you enrich our lives by encouraging us to do the same. Thank you!

[Barbara (WA)]

In the very beginning of discovering blogs, my sister noticed that blogs tended to lead to books which at times led to movies or fame. The first blog I ever read was Pioneer Woman in the days when maybe 100 people would comment. It has been so interesting to watch this medium grow and to enjoy the writing, ideas, photos from bloggers like you!

[Beth]

This post is very inspiring! I've enjoyed reading your posts and admiring your photos (quilts, bulbs, toe nails, etc.) for several years now. It's been a great, colorful joy! :-)

[hydeeann]

congratulations! it's certainly been a wonder to come to this space and see your thoughts and pictures for the last 4 years for me. (i'm a bit late as a reader.)

i love that the blog has given back to you and pushed you deeper, just as it has all of us. thank you for celebrating domesticity and for the intelligent insight, wit, color, and loveliness you have put back out into the world.

and for introducing me to Elizabeth Gaskell, as well.

oh, yes, and for giving me the courage to cut up some fabric and sew it back together. three years and over a dozen quilts later, i still cite you as my original inspiration and quilting muse.

[Beth in Maryland]

Happy Ninth! Beethoven's was a lasting inspiration, so why not yours? Thank you for expanding my horizons.

[Gracie]

Being "dressed to the nines" or residing on "cloud nine" are euphoric, positive takes on the significance of the number nine, Jane. So with those phrases in mind, I think it is very appropriate that we celebrate the ninth year of your blog: that you still enjoy creating it, and we still enjoy exploring it!

[DeborahS]

Congratulations Jane. Thanks for carrying on despite the more difficult times. Thanks for your books and the inspiration they have provided to do things. Thanks for the wonderful quilting workshop I came to in the autumn which gave me the confidence I needed to take the lovely fabrics I had gathered over the years and finally turn them into a quilt (well I'm on my way with it at least) . You blog was th first I ever read and has taken me to all sorts of interesting blogs places and ideas. A real achievement, nothing in the least bit 'vain' about it. The internet has simply opened up channels of communication directly between the writer and the reader, without the need for that to be mediated and approved by a third party.

[teresa c]

Happy anniversary, Jane (and Yarnstorm!)
I've been reading your blog almost from the start since I had the good fortune of finding it through Ervilha Cor de Rosa. And I still find reasons to keep on reading. Your blog is quite a source of inspiration (yesterday I quilted my first quilt ever!) - thank you so much for keep on writing! Best wishes for the years to come.

[Deborah Taylor]

Congratulations Jane on the 9 years of blogging. Your blog was the first I ever read back in 2008 after finding the wonderful 'Gentle Arts' book in the I knit London shop. Thank you for all you have shared over the years. You are truly an inspiration.

[kirstie]

I have an affection (if you can for a number?!) for the number 9...its the date of my birthday!

Anyway I too love your blog and have great admiration for your writing. I have been trying to describe to my mum what blogging is about and now you put it like that I think she might be more interested as she is a writer.

Am so glad to hear your positive views on blogging..there was a moment I thought yarnstorm might cease to be and that made me feel quite sad!

[Juti]

Congratulations! You've created a lovely virtual "place" we can visit to enjoy your ideas, images and philosophy -- thank you! I began reading in May 2005, right after I learned to knit, and it's been interesting and fun watching you develop this site over time. I found inspiration here even before you became a Published Author, and hope to be able to keep coming back for many years to come.

[Farmgirl Susan]

Congratulations on nine lovely years! :)