1st Blog Birthday

I can't believe it is already one year since I started this blog! Some days I still feel like I'm just starting out, and other days I feel like I've been doing this forever...

After a year of blogging I thought it would be appropriate to give credit to the blogs that inspired me to do my own thing. I was a blog reader and a lurker for a long time before I took the plunge and started Sol y Sombra.
These people all had (and still has) a positive influence on what I do:

Futuregirl
Alice Merlino is one of those selfless creatures who just loves sharing her talents and creativity with everyone. She crafts and crochets, does web-design, writes and teaches. She lives in San Francisco.
Sea Creatures designed by Alice (patterns available from her blog)

Skinny Laminx

Heather Moore, a fellow South African, designs wonderful fabrics, makes paper cuts and is also an accomplished illustrator. Read more about her here.

Sevilla Rock range of fabric by Skinny Laminx

Dudecraft
Paul Overton is a maker, blogger and writer. He is extremely creative, but what inspires me the most about him is his generosity and spirit of sharing and teaching. Through him I have learned a lot about the ethics of being creative, and using craft and creativity to better the lives of people around us.

Papercut by Paul Overton

Lynette Andreasen
Lynette is an artist who makes the most wonderful things with metal, pearls and embroidery. The contrast between the harshness of the metal and the delicacy of the pearls and embroidery just floors me every time I look at it. I think she is one of the most talented people I've 'met' in the blog-world. spoon and pearls - part of a collection by Lynette Andreasen

Jafabrit's Art

Corrine Bayraktaroglu is British artist living in Ohio, USA. She is very talented as a illustrator and painter but it is her embroidery art that really inspires me.

Embroidery by Corrine Bayraktaroglu

She is also one of the Jafagirls , a group of artists from Yellow Springs, Ohio who keeps themselves busy with amongst other things public art, yarn bombing and running a gallery in a loo!

An example of yarn bombing, also known as guerrilla knitting

Contemporary Embroidery

Karen Ruane calls herself an aspiring freelance embroiderer, but to me she is an artist! Her work is so delicate and intricate but at the same time so pure and honest. I can't stop looking at and admiring her work.

Embroidery detail by Karen Ruane

The most wonderful thing about this blogging world is that I have never met any of these people in person, and still I consider myself a better person for 'knowing' them.

Thanks guys!

Note: The copyright of all the photos belongs to the respective artists.