April Shout-outs

Today I am in the mood for 'shouting out' greetings to fellow bloggers who have brightened up my bit of the blogosphere.

Thank you to everyone for your supportive comments on Lupey Loops and for your kind emails at jodiebodiecrochets@gmail.com and messages through Ravelry. Since starting this blog about 18 months ago, my online world has expanded exponentially with lots of new friends, new ideas, new learning and the discovery of so many beautiful, beautiful crochet creations - lots of happiness to brighten up this troubled planet.


Firstly I need to SHOUT OUT to Kathryn Vercillo of Crochet Concupiscence for her amazing work at curating just about everything you can find online about crochet.  I have felt for a long time that whatever one might want to know about any aspect of crochet, the answers are surely to be found through Kathryn's blog.

When I was writing my post on working with mohair, I compared Kathryn's experience with my own. While we agreed on the attributes of mohair yarn, we differ in our opinions about the level of enjoyment when working with it.  I like to present a range of opinions and ideas about a subject when I can and I am grateful to Kathryn for allowing me to link to her article.

I need to say a big thank you to Kathryn for mentioning Lupey Loops in her weekly 'Link Love' post on 12 April 2014 in reference to my article. It will help to spread the word that crocheting with mohair doesn't need to be too painful!

SPECIAL THANKS must go to some of the regular respondents to Lupey Loops. I love hearing from you and visiting your blogs to see what you have been up to.  Please allow me to share your blogs with everyone.

Some of you are struggling with chronic health problems like me, you all enjoy  blogging, and some of you are also keen spinners, yarn dyers, knitters, crocheters and crafters, who may or may not have a special love of bunnies like I do! None of these descriptions are mutually exclusive.

Each person here has their own perspective and opinions. They are not necessarily exactly the same as mine, but I like that - it makes me think and see the world in new ways. I appreciate the encouragement, kindness, friendliness and everyone's enthusiasm for what they do. That positive outlook on life has made my early blogging experience most enjoyable.

THANK YOU (in no particular order) to the crocheters and crafters:

(*Australian bloggers are marked with an asterisk.)

• Helen* 'SweetSeahorse' at 26 Minutes Past: a blog about 'crochet & domesticity'
• Cheryl* at MummyCooks knits, sews, occasionally dabbles in crochet, and also shares her compilation of recipes for special dietary needs for children with multiple food intolerances and allergies.
• Stel at Haak en Stekie gives me a good fix of crochet (her own and that of others) and life in South Africa. She enjoys running and I am in awe that she recently competed in an Ironman competition.
• Amber at Woolbunnies keeps adorable angora bunnies and spins and dyes her own yarn.
• OneBadassMother knits, spins and shares my interests in crochet, gardening, pets and simple home life.
• Emma at My Crazy Mad World enjoys crafting, crochet and family life.
• Adrienne* of Student-Teacher-Mentor is an active person, very busy teacher and amazing crafter: crochet, origami, sewing, quilling, embroidery and more. Is there anything Adrienne cannot do? Like Stel (above) and Alice (below on the list), Adrienne is a regular runner. She is energetic, very clever and always challenges me (in a good way) and keeps me accountable!  
• Caissa 'Cami' at ArtLikeBread is multi-craftual and a regular contributor to Crochet Spot.  I love the attitude in her latest article. Caissa teaches too.
• Monica and Loly at HandMadeAwards are generous and supportive, prolific designers in both knit and crochet, and very active online and in print.
• Alice at KnitnRun4Sanity: 'running, knitting, crocheting and blogging along' asks the question in a recent post "Where will blogging take you?"  I am finding out!
• Nicole  'Fromage' at The Knitty Gritty of Hooking Around. Nicole spins, knits, crochets and teaches.
• Magda at Pigtails, always has a beautiful crochet project on the go, sharing her travels and inspiration along the way.
• Prudence* at A Scrumble A Week hasn't updated this blog for a while but has always been full of enthusiasm and encouragement and shared my pictures from last year's yarnbomb.
• Sue* at Yarn Glorious Yarn helps me find just the right yarns for the job. She has some beautiful yarns and knitting patterns to go with them.
• Mimi at Eskimimimakes does some beautiful knitting and is facilitating 2014's Knitting & Crochet Blog Week  which involves a bit of creative writing this year - appropriate for creative crafty people.

If you enjoy creative writing and connecting with other authors, you may enjoy the following blogs. Thanks and shout outs go to:

• Rachel* at Footprints Large & Small, a creative writer who encourages my blogging efforts and provides me with food for thought with her intelligent reflections on life as she tries to reduce her family's carbon footprint.
• Raphaela* at Hummingbird Redemption, a regular magazine contributor on women's health and author of the book "Lived To Tell" in which she shares her story of survival.  She shares her unique and profound insights on her blog.
• Jacy* at Jacy Arthur Blogs, is a new author whose first two books are at the front of the biography shelf at my local bookshop. She is new to blogging this year so you might like to pay her an online visit and have a look at her books "If Only You Knew" and "If Only You Knew Too". They are easy to read and hard to put down. The underlying important messages about disability becomes apparent through Jacy's story.
• Alicia* at Brain Noodles shares her trials and tribulations as a writer, and other aspects of her life.  If you are a writer, you may be able to relate to her post 'Evaluate This'.
• Sarah* at Sarahwilson.com is a journalist and television presenter who also suffers from autoimmune disease. She writes about her experience with autoimmune disease and healthy lifestyle issues.

I am also discovering that many people who blog also enjoy Pinterest, so if Pinterest is your preferred social medium, you can find me (Jodiebodie) on Pinterest too but I will warn you now, I am an infrequent visitor; it is so easy to lose oneself exploring that I dare not log into Pinterest unless I am after something very specific and have some rare time and energy to spare.

If you have found Lupey Loops via Pinterest, or found my Pinterest boards through Lupey Loops, a warm welcome to you and thank you for taking time and interest to visit both (and to read this far!).  I am keen to understand more about Pinterest and how you use it and what you use it for.

For now, I should really concentrate on one new medium at a time and that is blogging land.  During the Easter holiday break I have explored many of the blogs I didn't get time to visit during the busy school term and I look forward to meeting you in some of those (new to me) places and adding them to my blogroll.

Please, feel welcome to comment below with your favourite blog recommendations. 

THANK YOU!