How My Blog Got Its Name...

It's Friday and soccer season officially starts tonight with 3 of the boys playing and hubby coaching, weekends now through the end of October will not be our own.  Really wish I could find a craft team to join :)

Today I am taking the post challenge made by Karen of My Colonial Home, to tell you how my blog got its name and when it started.

I didn't grow up in a household that embraced technology, in fact I think it kind of intimidated my parents(they still don't own a computer or even a dvd player). We didn't have cable tv, no big stereos, and definitely no computer. Though I do remember walking in the apple store when I was about 10 yrs old and we lived out in California.  It was full of those ugly square computers, my parents and I walked in, they took about 1 minute to look around and then promptly walked right back out.  So growing up I didn't have much interest in computers(you follow your parents lead right), not even in high school. I did enjoy the electric typewriter that I got one year for Christmas though. I begged for that thing and it sure made writing papers for school much easier.

Fast forward to me getting married in 1993. Hubby was a computer geek nuclear reactor operator in the Navy.  He loved computers and had been "playing" with them for years. Within months of us getting married he wanted to buy a computer for our house.  I can remember being totally against it. Guess I was intimidated by them too, and it didn't help that I was newly pregnant and hormones were playing havoc with emotions.  Well, we did get that computer and it was the first of many, many more.

Jump ahead a couple years and a couple kids... and this thing called the internet is getting popular. I think we first logged on at the end of 95 or beginning of 96.  We had AOL as most people did. Remember that dial up sound? You hoped you got connected on the first try and it tied up your phone line while you were on. Don't miss those days!  Well, I found a wealth of information and camaraderie on the web. I was a Navy wife at home with little babies, no family or friends around, so those online bulletin boards with other moms meant so much to me.

Jump ahead again...2006 we moved back to Maine after a year in Texas. It was early fall and the kids were back in school and I was home alone with a baby in a new house.  I started googling decorating ideas for the house, I really don't remember what the exact thing was, but I ended up on a blog.  I fell in love with looking at all the pictures of her house and her crafting ventures. I then went to her side bar and discovered more blogs.  How I had I not heard of these things before?!?!  I was hooked.    I told hubby about them and apparently he knew about blogs, but not house and decorating ones, but political and geeky ones.  He even started one about that time(computer security related). 

After a few months of enjoying my new found blog friends, I was itching to make my very own.  I did, and on December 22, 2006 I made my first post. With the help of a wonderful blogger named Kim of Dear Daisy Cottage, she let others know of my blog.  I started out on typepad and you can see my original blog with the link on the left sidebar.

Are you still here?  That is a lot explaining to get you to how I came up with the name Folded Gingham, isn't it?!  When I finally decided to make a blog, I wanted a name that wasn't taken and that was different from what was out there.  I was up in my sewing room(which was in the bonus room above the garage at the time) and I started looking around for ideas.  I noticed a stack of neatly folded gingham fabrics sitting on top of the book shelf. Bingo! That would be it, Folded Gingham.  I love gingham fabrics and the name would be a bit quirky.   I suppose it is a bit misleading though, if you come here looking for gingham fabric ideas and projects. Maybe that could be a new blog venture, once a week I do a gingham inspired craft. Ya, we all know me, that will last about two weeks!!

So there you have it, how my blog got its name and how long I have been blogging, wow, going on 6 years!

I'll leave you with a picture I took from my old blog... I told you I used to have a lot more baskets!! Oh, and you see that giant French laundry basket? I brought that back from Texas when I fell in love with it at an antique mall when we lived down there. I still love it but I just don't know what to do with.   It is so big and takes up so much space. I tried it once as a coffee table, but didn't work too well. Any ideas? It's just sitting in the basement right now collecting dust.

Have a joyful weekend,

Tiff