Today's Featured Friday blogger isn't just one voice. They're actually a group of lovely ladies who all contribute to the same blog. Connected by family ties and a love of creating, it's a mini-community of women sharing photos, ideas, recipes and tutorials...we love it!
We're excited to introduce you to...
Tell us about yourselves, your families and where you live.
There are currently four of us blogging on Threaded Together. I’m Jennifer and I live in Pensacola, Florida with my husband and two children, ages 4 and 6. My sister, Marissa, currently calls Suffolk, Virginia home where she lives with her husband and two children. Marissa’s husband is in the military so who knows where they will end up next! Our mother, Debbie, lives in Pensacola just a few doors down from my family. She works at a community college, is finishing up a doctorate and loves to sew when time allows. Kelley is my sister-in-law and lives in Panama City, Florida with her husband, their (almost) one year old and a puppy too! We are all strong, independent women with all sorts of interests but are “threaded together” by those family ties, history and a love for crafts, cooking, and creating.
We LOVE the idea of writing a blog with a group of women. What was your inspiration to start your collaborative blog?
We found ourselves constantly emailing instructions and pictures of our different craft ideas and projects on a regular basis. We thought the blog would be a great way to showcase our projects for each other and keep all those directions, recipes, and pictures organized and safe in one place. It also allows us to share with other friends and family … and we’ve also made new friends as a result (Jen’s husband calls them our “imaginary” friends).
We imagine that with 5 of you contributing, figuring out who posts what, and when, could be a challenge. Do you decide ahead of time or keep it spontaneous?
We like to keep it spontaneous! We each post when we can or when we have an idea we would like to share. We try to limit it to one post per day. When one of us creates a post, we just make sure that someone else in the group hasn’t put up a post for that day. If there is a post on the site already, we save it to the draft folder or set a date to publish. It helps having all of us collaborating on the same blog because there are usually several posts added to the site each week but we are able to take individual breaks from posting to craft!
Do each of you feel like you have something special that you like to post about or does everyone do a little of everything?
We each have our favorite types of projects but we all have posted in the various categories.
Marissa is our residence pastry artist. You will often find posts with recipes for her beautiful cakes and confections.
Debbie loves to sew and cross stitch so many of her posted projects involve the sewing machine or the needle! She also likes to try new recipes, both sweet and savory.
Kelley is our crafter and repurpose queen. She can take something that has been moved to the junk pile and turn it into something that you would be proud to display in your living room. She also sews and makes quilts that are meant to be treasured for a long time.
Jen likes to post projects that she has given as gifts and also some of her family favorite recipes. Right now, she is posting a weekly account of her efforts to de-clutter her house!
We have really enjoyed ALL the recipes you've shared, including at least one of ours! Care to share your favorite recipe from Threaded Together?
Jen: My favorite recipe from Threaded Together is Marissa’s oatmeal cookie recipe. It took Marissa a long time to find the best recipe for the oatmeal cookie. She sent me the recipe, but I lost it almost immediately. It has been handy to be able to pull it up on the blog whenever I want to make oatmeal cookies!
Marissa: My favorite recipe is by far the Chocolate Bomb recipe. I use variations of it ALL the time and my friends are always asking for it at parties and dinners.
Kelley: Cook? Does Chick-fil-a count? No? Do skillet meals count?
Debbie: I do LOVE all of my Gooseberry Patch cookbooks/recipes, but I think right now I need to say Jill’s Hamburger Dip. Our blog is about keeping friends and family connected and I just recently lost my dear friend Jill to cancer. Collected recipes remind me of friends, family, places, and special times.
These all sound great to us but we couldn't pass up sharing a recipe called...
Best Darn Oatmeal Raisin Cookies in the World!
2 c. flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 c. unsalted butter, softened
1 c. granulated sugar
1 c. dark brown sugar packed (I have also used light brown sugar and not noticed a difference)
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1.5 c. raisins (craisins are good too!)
3 c. rolled oats (not instant)
Cream sugar and softened butter in mixer. Add brown sugar and eggs, mix. Add dry ingredients (I put them all in the mixer at the same time and then mix): flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and mix until blended. Add vanilla and mix. Add raisins, mix. Add oats, mix. Drop by rounded scoops (I use a 3 tablespoon scoop) onto a greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 11 to 13 minutes.
How about a crafty idea or tutorial?
I think we would all agree that we have lots of favorite crafty ideas, but we loved our Thanksgiving tablescape. [It includes placemats, place card holders, centerpiece and personalized napkin rings!] What better holiday to celebrate family and friendship than Thanksgiving? Thanksgiving is the holiday where family and friends come together at the same table and our 100th post came right around Thanksgiving. We emailed back and forth, delegating projects, and created a tablescape. Even though we weren’t sitting at the same table that year, we were able to give thanks and celebrate friends and family through our blog.
What's the best thing to happen as a result of starting your blog together?
The best thing that has happened to us a result of our blog is that we can now share crafty ideas, recipes, thoughts, and encouragement despite the space between us. The blog makes it very easy to feel like we are just a few steps away from each other when, in reality, we are actually hundreds of miles from each other. It is like the digital version of the crafting group that meets once a week. We still meet but we meet online rather than face to face.
If each of you could design your ideal room, what would be in it?
Jen: My ideal room would include pictures of my family hanging on the wall, a way to play my favorite music, and all of my craft boxes!
Marissa: A double gas oven, a HUGE gas stovetop (with a griddle and warmer and all), an island with a deep double sink in it, trash compactor, wine refrigerator, a tray in a cabinet under the counter that will lift my mixer up to counter level, and I could go on forever….
Kelley: My ideal room would have my sewing machines lined up on one wall, a cutting table on another, an ironing board and iron ALWAYS at the ready, and shelves with all my supplies organized and easily accessible. Not that I have it drawn out for my next house or anything...
Debbie: My ideal room … has all of my family in it!
If you could spend a whole day (guilt-free!) doing something you love, what would it be?
Jen: My day would not even begin until ten or eleven in the morning because I would still be sleeping. Once I got moving, I would work on a craft project with my kids, then one of my own. I would end the day with some photography practice as the sun went down.
Marissa: Sunbathing at the beach while getting a 12 hour massage!
Kelley: Honestly, it would start bright and early. I'd hit all my favorite junk stores, come home for a fun lunch, and start on a project. At the end of the day, whether finished or not, I'd feel good about my progress and enjoy the evening in the backyard with my hubs and baby.
Debbie: I would love a day to do needlework, sew, craft, read … anything where I didn’t feel like there was some kind of deadline to finish!
Tell us something that no one would guess about (each of) you.
Jen: Even though my house is usually a cluttered mess, I can direct you to even the tiniest needle or button because my craft boxes are currently impeccably organized!
Marissa: It took me a while to get my life going in the right direction (finally did it a few years ago). Before that happened, I never appreciated my mother and my sister. Now I cannot imagine my life without their support, love and encouragement. I would have laughed at you if you told me I would be sharing a long-distance blog with them…and look where we are now! Wouldn’t give it up for the world!
Kelley: I normally play a radio while working on a craft project. If the mood hits, I sometimes take a break and dance around the room. My son LOVES this.
Debbie: I have always wanted to write the Great American Novel … instead I write grants to support community college programs and students. Our blog gives me a chance to do some creative writing and maybe even have a little audience!
We're happy members of your audience, ladies...please keep up your creative collaboration and thanks for taking part in Featured Friday today. We can't wait to see what you all come up with next!
Threaded Together is a must-visit for anyone looking for cooking, baking, crafting, stitching, organizing or...any kind of inspiration! Add it to your spots to stop today. You're bound to find something to make in the kitchen or craft room!
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