Here’s a confession. I am a meddler. I stick my nose in places it isn’t meant to be. I don’t do it maliciously. I don’t do it to be mean. I do with every intention of trying to be helpful, but I do meddle.
At the end of last week, I saw Judy at Patchwork Times was having trouble with her blog. I’m friends on Facebook with Judy and later I saw a post that she was thinking that her problem was bad enough that she might need to delete her blog and start over.
I was completely and totally sick about that. Seriously, I was sick. I kept imagining myself and my blog. I would be devastated if I completely lost the blog. I have so much in it. I have family. I have pictures. I have recipes. I have life. The blog pretty much tells my life story since June 2009. Everything from family facts to personal feelings are all in the posts.
The blog is a history. I periodically go back and find pictures of the house as we were working on it. Someone asks when something happened I go to the blog and look it up. Most things worth referencing I record in the blog.
I ended up messaging Judy and said I was so sorry she was in the predicament with her blog. I told her I would be so sad. Somehow I couldn’t get her blog off of my mind. Then I started worrying it could happen to my blog.
Well, you might remember that Kalissa and I met up with Kayla on Saturday. Judy’s blog was still on my mind. Kayla is my blog manager. She does all of the behind-the-scenes things. All I know how to do it load pictures and write the posts. THAT IS IT. I have no idea who or how the hosting is done. Kayla takes care of it all.  She always has. I sure hope she always will.
While we were eating lunch I started to explain to Kayla the little I knew about Judy’s blog. I frightfully asked if this could ever happen to my blog. Kayla said no about my blog and started questioning what was going on with Judy’s blog. She said as long as the blog was still visible, she thought it could be saved. Hmmm.
I went home Saturday and here’s where the meddling happened. I was still sick that Judy might lose her whole blog. I messaged Judy again. I told her about Kayla and I told her that Kayla was hopeful that her blog could be saved. At this point, I think Judy wasn’t hopeful. Then we started talking and as I talked with her, her problem sounded a little like the problem Mary at Country Threads had. I told her that and told her that Kayla had fixed that.
After many back and forth conversations with Judy and then Kayla, the two of them hooked up and…(drum roll please>>>) Kayla has Judy’s blog working again. Judy at Patchwork Times was able to keep her blog!!! She is blogging regularly again!! I’m so happy.
This Momma is so proud of her girl!! Kayla has long taken care of me as far as computer and internet stuff goes. As a teen, she built my early learning website Making Learning Fun. She has had zero college training on doing what she does, but she’s a quick learner and she has grown with the internet.
Kayla first started dabbling in building websites back when she was 12 years old. She had a website of her own. She continued to dabble until she built my website and later, it was Kayla that got me interested in blogging.
I remember Kayla coming to me and saying, “Mom, you need to be a blogger.” I’ll be honest. It was 2009. I had never read a blog and didn’t even know what a blog was. Kayla tried to explain it to me then finally sat down to the computer and said, there are all sorts of blogs out there. Let’s find some quilting blogs. Do you want to know the funniest thing of all? When she looked for quilting blogs, one she pulled up was Judy at Patchwork Times. Hers was one of the first blogs I ever read.
I read Judy’s blog, Quiltville, and a few others from people who no longer blog until I got a feel for blogs…then one day, Kayla made a blog for me. It was so funny. She made a total cheat sheet for me. She drew out step-by-step instructions with pictures of the buttons so I knew which ones to click.
It’s been a long time since those first days.
I think it’s funny that one of the first blogs I read was Judy’s Patchwork Times and now it was Kayla that helped Judy. It’s a full-circle kind of thing.
I do enjoy Judy’s blog and would have missed it had she lost it all and had to have started over…so the meddling was a bit selfish on my part.
I am so proud of Kayla. She often sells herself short as she wasn’t formally trained through college to do this. It’s something that started as a hobby and she’s learned as she goes. She is young but seriously has been at this since she was 12. I keep telling her hands-on experience can be better than book learning.
I have to tell you that for us bloggers, it’s really hard to find anyone that understands what we do. There are so many different entities to blogging on this scale that go beyond what many know. It’s impossible to explain to others the whole scale of blogging let alone find someone who can help fix problems. So many of us that have blogged for 10 years or more started out simple more or less as a diary of our quilting with no clue it would build into something so many read. We had no idea that technology would change and we had no idea how to change with it. We were people who have a need to tell a story…not people who wanted to delve into technology. But now, here we are and it’s hard to find anyone who can understand what we are doing let alone help.
I’m so blessed to have Kayla. She understands what we’re doing. I’m so happy that she’s helping others through her business Ms Pins Media.
I’m proud of Kayla, too. And I am proud of you, Jo. You have the best family and the best blog!
Hi Jo
I read 2 blogs, yours obviously and Judy’s ! Until a few weeks ago I had not read a blog, but found I wanted to read/talk to like minded people in Quilting and Cross Stitch. I so enjoy reading you both, giving me a window into your lives in America. So happy that Kayla fixed Judy’s blog , was feeling her frustration, WELL DONE KAYLA. Some things don’t translate to the UK, but with good old google I get to work it out. Love your recipes etc which i pass on to my sister in law, an avid cook, but first class procrastinator in everything else. At least I know she’s well fed. Waiting for our second day of sunshine, after weeks of grey skies and rain.
Off to hang out the washing/laundry. Take care and stay safe everyone.
Not sure if I found your blog first, or Judy’s. Don’t remember the year, but near the end of Judy’s quilting phase. So glad I found both of them as they are thec2 I make sure to read every day. Read Bonnie Hunter most days and Pink Shoelaces most of the time. Am so glad Kayla was able to make the save.
Jo do you have a place where all your recipes are located on the blog. I would love that they look so yummy.
It would so lovely to just be able to look through them for ideas for dinner etc.
Ginny, I had thought there was a recipes grouping in the menu, but I didn’t see it on my phone, so I looked for another solution.
At the bottom of the blog, there is a search option. Once you find that, you’re halfway there. If you put Recipes into the box, all of the posts with recipes will come up. If you know the name of the recipe you’re looking for, you can put that in. There may be other, easier ways of doing it.
Jo, I hope I didn’t steer her wrong.
I think meddling in a good cause is being a good Samaritan. I like Kayla’s card. In a way her last name is appropriate as safety pins help hold things together when. needed.
I had a blog for several years called “Quilted Chocolate”. I enjoyed it, but managed to mess around and lost it all. Can’t tlak myself into starting again.
Technology can be so frustrating when you only know alittle. I depend on our kids too to help me when I get stuck ! I tried to comment on your post with your beautiful quilt for quilters world. It is gorgeous! (I couldn’t comment as it said it couldn’t find that page to comment on). I’m going on a hunt for the magazine!
You are not a meddler!! You were very helpful to a friend. I found you through Judy! I have been so thankful Kayla fixed the blog.
Thank you to Kayla for sharing her talents with Judy. How wonderful that her blog could be saved for all of us who enjoy it. I consider myself lucky to have a husband who can fix my electronics, since he was an IT man for 35 years. All of the new gadgets can be confusing and they do change quite often. Bravo Kayla!
I also read Judy’s blog and was so glad that you meddled and it got fixed. Thank you Kayla!!!
Helping a peer is NOT meddling! Judy blogged about Kayla’s solution before you :-)
Thank God! you talked to Kayla about Judy’s dilemma !!!!!
I receive both of your blogs and I knew it had been a while for Judy…. but I no longer receive her day by day blogs, but just a whole slew of them on one email…. it’s weird. but sometimes it’s like that for yours too!
I’m so glad that Kayla was able to help Judy get control of her blog again! I don’t “follow” blogs as I can’t stand then showing up in my email expecting me to read or delete them. I just bounce around to them, reading them as I like.
P.S. Re the quilt you did for Quiltmaker’s Block: In that post you said that the red and blue fabric was the same print, but when I look at those two fabrics, the red has a black print and a line of three creamy dots. The blue has a darker blue print, but no black or creamy dots. I don’t think they are the same print.
Sorry Ruth. I meant all of the reds are the same single print. All of the blues are the same single print…not that the two prints were the same.
You have to have the mind for understanding the technology today. Not everyone has that. The rest of us learn by repetition. I’m like you Jo, I know how to do some things but don’t understand how the rest happens! So thankful Kayla can help others.
That kind of meddling is a good meddling and I’m sure it was appreciated. Good job, Jo, for putting the two of them together!
I’m a computer person and yet I don’t know the first thing about blogs, except for reading them. I also can’t design an app. I designed software for big companies back in the day. Kayla does a great job!!
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