I’ve been looking at what other bloggers have on their sites as sites they read and follow and have found some fascinating sites to add to my own reading list.  And that got me to thinking.  What subjects do people enjoy reading and what are the links between them and the people who list them?

I enjoy blog sites that discuss a variety of things.  Obviously there are the fiber-related sites such as for weaving, spinning, knitting, and dyeing, but I also love to read about quilts and other sewing projects.  Lately, I’ve discovered a whole community based on making clothes from vintage patterns – mostly from the 30’s through the early 70’s (Cargo Cult Craft and Sew Retro).  As a person who started my fiber adventure as someone who made my own clothes (and sometimes my mom’s) when I was a teenager, I get what they are doing, but the idea of purposefully making out-of-date clothing and wearing it never occurred to me.  Fascinating!

Also, I love blogs about people remodeling their houses, mostly because Scott and I have been remodeling our house and these people are like us – fixing up our living space in a time of recession to make it more efficient and livable (Farm Folly, 5 Acres and a Dream and Thrums).  I think more of us are staying at home rather than traveling and shopping, and suddenly our homes are more important to us.

Sustainable farming and homesteading (as Leigh calls it) has always been a love of mine (Farm Folly, 5 Acres and a Dream, and Sylvia’s Farm.  I’ve dreamed about being self-sustaining and off the grid since before it was called that.  I have books and books about this very thing in my library that I’ve had since the early 1980’s.  I think that in a former life I must have been a pioneer because this kind of life seems so right to me.  Also, growing up on a working dairy farm with huge gardens and an orchard helped this obsession.

And then there is the whole weight-loss/fitness/cooking thing (A Forty-Something’s Weight Loss Journey and Pasta Queen).  Nutrition and food has been enough of an interest, I actually considered going back to school at one point to become a nutritionist.  Feeding our bodies, these temples given to us by God to live in, in a healthful, nutritious yet tasty way is important to nearly every culture.  How many holidays are based around families getting together and sharing food?  Not only that, but births, weddings, funerals and wakes, reunions, celebrations, commiserations…  Food is a center point in nearly everything we do (Confessions of a Pioneer Woman, Tales from the Coop Keeper).

I love blog sites that make me laugh (Yarn Harlot, The Panopticon, and Sanna’s Bag), think (WeaveZine, Queer Joe ), learn (Tien Chiu, Weaving a Life, Talking About Weaving , Jenny Dean’s Wild Colour), fall in love (Juniper Moon Fiber Farm, Gilead Goats), and grow as a person (all of them).

What blogs do you enjoy reading and why?  Which do you go to first every morning to see if there is a new post?  Do you actively search out new sites to add to your list?  Do you communicate with the authors of these blogs via email and comments?  Do you consider these bloggers as friends?

The answer to that last question, to me, is most important.  I have made several friends through blog sites, from all over the world.  I may never get to meet many of them in person, but I hope I can meet some of them because I’ve grown to love them.  They have given me more than I could ever give back, and this sharing of one another’s lives is important in a world that has become so impersonal.  No matter what happens in my own day-to-day world, thank God in Heaven I have these people in my life.  Thank Heaven for the sharing and fellowship we all have.