New blog design

posted by Marie on Tuesday, January 29, 2013 18 comments
Some of you have probably noticed that I’ve been tinkering with the design of my blog for a few months now. Ideally, I would have ‘unveiled’ it all at once, but full-time work and many other commitments meant I could only tinker in short bursts.

Last night I added a couple more features that I’ll outline below, but it did strike me that the new look is actually very different to how my blog started out. Annoyingly, I never thought to take a ‘before’ screenshot, but luckily I stumbled across one (albeit very low-res) over at Ohhh Lulu’s.

BEFORE

 

 AFTER


I hope you agree that there’s quite a dramatic yet positive difference. I’m particularly in love with my ‘new’ header, which is actually made up of photos from vintage sewing patterns in my collection – I definitely need to get around to sewing up each one!

I’m also hoping that the additional pages will make my blog easier to navigate. Sewn Makes, Knitted Makes and Handy Bits have existed for a while and seem to attract a lot of visitors. I’ve also just added:

About – contains my ‘story’ and contact details.

Sponsor – I’ve finally taken the plunge in offering affordable sponsorship for crafty businesses and individuals looking to raise their profile. You can see how this works / looks from the static adverts already featuring on my right hand sidebar. But I promise that I will vet these carefully so they remain in line with your interests and so that they don’t compromise the integrity of this blog.

The eagle-eyed among you will also notice that I decided to change my blog name - I felt like A Sewing Odyssey was too one-dimensional considering I now dabble in knitting too...so A Stitching Odyssey was born. I'll be getting a shiny new url to reflect this soon, but don't worry, when the time comes you should just be redirected to it automatically.

Anyway, I still have more plans for improvement – including an I Like page featuring my favourite stitching related stuff – but there are only so many hours in a day! I’ll get to it eventually though...

Feedback and thoughts on the ‘new’ design are more than welcome. Ultimately, I hope that you like it and that you find it easy to navigate!
Marie

Obsessed with stitching since 2009. Passionate about vintage styles yet mainly using contemporary patterns. Instigated the #VintagePledge to rectify this and help inspire others.

18 comments:

  1. Kessem29 January 2013 at 12:12

    I love you header! The garment you chose are so perfectly vintage and beautiful!

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  2. Annabel Vita29 January 2013 at 12:22

    I love the new design with all those sassy ladies at the top!

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  3. Elisalex29 January 2013 at 15:14

    Absolutely love it! And the header tab taking you directly to all your makes is great - I've been trying to get around to doing that but I'm afraid my pages have all said "under construction" for way too long! I'm going to follow your lead and finally finish the makeover! Well done!

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    1. Marie29 January 2013 at 23:50

      Thank you! Blogging is more time-consuming than I ever imagined, so just take your time and you'll do it soon I'm sure!

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  4. Tia29 January 2013 at 15:21

    I love your new header. You have great taste in patterns (smile) and I can't wait to see them sewn up. I do see you've gotten rid of sewing blogs you follow. I always like that because I can find new blogs or ones I had forgotten about. Hope you'll add that back or make it a category someplace.

    Tia

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    1. Marie29 January 2013 at 23:51

      Thanks for the kind words Tia and don't worry about the bloglist...it will be coming back. Either as it was before, or in my new I Like page...just need to weed out all the dormant/inactive blogs out first ;o)

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  5. Adrienne29 January 2013 at 15:24

    Exciting plans ahead for Stitching Odyssey! I did notice your new design and thought it was lovely. Actually, everything about this blog is lovely!

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  6. House of Pinheiro29 January 2013 at 15:34

    Great it's great , looks lovely, I been slowing thinking about a new design but I lack the lc skills and waiting for Dibs lol

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    1. Marie29 January 2013 at 23:53

      Trust me Rachel, I've got very limited technical skills. My boyfriend actually had to centre my banner for me and I 'designed' it using picmonkey...haha!

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  7. Helen Made29 January 2013 at 16:42

    Think the new design looks lovely. Some of those patterns are gorgeous!

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  8. Craft Sanctuary29 January 2013 at 17:02

    One of the reasons I was initially attracted to your blog was your gorgeous header! You did such a lovely job with it! Loving all the new changes!

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    1. Marie29 January 2013 at 23:53

      Thanks so much, this is really good to know!

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  9. Amanda29 January 2013 at 21:19

    Such a fab look! The polka dots are too cute for words and the new navigation is radness :)

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  10. Kat29 January 2013 at 21:50

    I love your new blog design! I think it looks gorgeous.

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  11. Anonymous29 January 2013 at 22:27

    This looks gorgeous! I love all of your changes!

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  12. Bec Stitches29 January 2013 at 23:03

    It looks great:) good job

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  13. Alicia30 January 2013 at 01:31

    I generally read blogs in a reader, but I had to come check this out, and the design is lovely!

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