Normally, as a former English teacher, I wouldn’t write a title like that, but it seems to fit, since that’s what I wanted to write about for my guest blog.

I have three blogs, you see, and some people think that’s crazy, but it works for me. While I’m a pretty creative person (okay, I’m really creative), I do like order to some things. Blogging, like my book library or my DVD library, is one of those things. Whenever anyone asks me my favorite pastimes/hobbies, I always say the same three: reading, writing, quilting. And because my anal retentive brain won’t let me write about all three in the same place, I have one blog for each favorite hobby.

My oldest blog, Queenbookworm’s Royal Decrees, is my reading blog. I began it a few years ago to record my short and hopefully helpful musings on the books I’ve read. Believe me when I say I started it decades too late, since I’ve been reading since I was five, and I average a book a week! I usually try to write AFTER I finish the book, but every once in a while, I feel compelled to write while reading a book. Lately, I posted about a series a coworker asked me to read. I felt bad, but I couldn’t finish the book! And the blog helps me put my thoughts to paper, since I’m not the best journal writer on the planet. I try to be informative and slightly funny. It doesn’t always work, but the blog is mostly for me and my few die-hard reader friends.

My newest blog is Etasjes. The word is Norse for "stories." I have been writing stories of all kinds since I was 11. It’s always been hard for me to share what I write with others, unless I truly trust them. One friend whom I can always count on for an honest critique is my friend Kendra. She blogs as well, and we regularly read each other’s writing and blog posting. I started Etasjes when Kendra and I began NaNoWriMo last November. It was nuts, but fun. And the blog let me post my stories in a slightly anonymous format that helped me be more comfortable with others reading my unfinished writing.

The third blog I write is Monochromed Quilts, the blog that led me to the Quilting Gallery and this stint as guest blogger. I come from a very crafty family. My mother knits, crochets, beads, and tats. My father is a welder and blacksmith. My younger sister draws, and my youngest sister does paper crafts. I have been sewing on and off since I was 12, when I learned in 4-H. My mother is also a sewer, but she doesn’t quilt. I started the blog to chronicle some of my projects, like the many Christmas presents for my sisters that I haven’t finished! Oops. And the baby quilts I have to make.

I enjoy doing all my hobbies, and I definitely enjoy writing about them on my blogs. I hope you check them out. Enjoy!

Hattie James