Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Blogging-- or can it just be my online journal?

If you've had a blog for over 8 years, then you may remember that wonderful time around 2010 of quilt blogging.. when there was such a positive energy floating around, just as the modern quilt guild movement got started (notice I didn't capitalize the guild, back then it was just a really good idea).  Many bloggers who experienced that time have lamented over the years that blogging has changed, the community is gone, it's just not the same... and it's true.  I'm sure blog posts have been written on it, this doesn't need to be another one.  I do miss that era.  But I also miss my own early days of blogging, back in 2006, when I was reading a whole bunch of really awesome craft and home blogs and I wanted to write!  I wanted to say something and see if anybody out there would read it.  And they did...
But in the beginning, it was mostly for me.  To track my projects.  To sort out my thoughts on trends and process.  To record my journey.  That's what I want to do again.

Because-- I'm not in the thick of quilt industry stuff anymore. It was fun to be on the fringe for a while, to know people and watch my friends become successful.  But my life has changed, as things do.  I'm still on my journey, it just doesn't look like theirs anymore.  It has always been mine and I have always written from my unique perspective, but I think the intent is different.  I think this space can be useful to me now.

Over New Years I put up a design wall.  Rich said to me, "It's not your place until you put up a design wall."  Now that's the truth.

It is for him.  He is important to me.
We make quilts for people when they are important to us.  To strengthen that connection and to spend time focusing on it.  It's a good way to spend time.


I don't know what other quilts I want to make.  I would like to finish up old projects and let them move on.  To become useful.  My closets are full and I need to make space.  My goal for 2018 is to finish 10 quilts.  Not start and finish, just finish.  I have jotted a list in my paper journal, it's not at 10 yet, but we'll see where the year takes me.

Now I'm working on just these two.. the string pieced crossroads (I know this block has a name, but I have forgotten it) and Travel Quilt 4, from my last post.  Still sorting out a functional sewing space in the new apartment.. I have a lot of multi-use spaces so I can't keep projects out for any length of time.  Oh!  I also bordered and basted Travel Quilt #5!  So I'll also need to find somewhere to set up the Janome so I can put some lines of machine quilting into it.   Here's a teaser shot for anyone who missed it on instagram.  One side of the border went on a bit warped, I noticed while basting, but I'll work with it.  I am so so happy this top is done.  There's a lot of my life in this quilt and I'm looking forward to revisiting it as I quilt and bind.


15 comments:

  1. Blogging tells the back story. IG shows the photo. I think blogging is still relevant, what do you think?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes you are right about blogging. But, I know that I cannot stop blogging,.... ;o)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am still reading blogs as well as checking IG and FB. It’s like the difference between a conversation and a hello wave. I like both!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I used to blog as well. Started in 2006 ended around 2014..Just did not have the same feel. Im glad your documenting again. its good to do.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I just happened onto your blog and love it. I prefer blogs to Facebook and don't use IG. I've only been reading blogs since I started quilting 5 years ago and I started my blog a year ago. I think the reason we blog depends on the individual but mostly to connect with others who share the joy of quilting.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I guess we all blog for different reasons. I follow your blog via email and enjoy your posts. I started my blog in 2010 with no fixed idea of its main theme. I'm into patchwork as well as knitting/crocheting. Well my blog is a 'hotch potch' but I still enjoy writing it. I write about the everyday things, my crafting projects, my travels now I'm retired from teaching school. I write to entertain, sometimes to teach/inform but mainly to make a record for me. Best of all, I've made friends through blogging and have even met up with fellow bloggers when I've travelled...even overseas bloggers. Being careful to use labels/tags on my posts, a former teacher from my high school contacted me via my blog when a post about my school came up in her google search.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I still like to read blogs. I use IG since it is quick to post a picture. FB to me is to busy so I have my own page just for my quilting and crafting stuff. I see other using their blogs to document their crafts, so I say they are using it more as a journal and not really caring who reads it or comments. It is a way for them to keep a record.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. FB is SO BUSY, it's true. I can't even keep up with close friends and family. It's too easy to get sucked in to something that just wastes time and then... what then? It's really amazing how it has taken over so much of our internet lives, but I think I'll have to be more intentional about pulling away. Thanks for the encouragement <3

      Delete
  8. It's so nice to see you you turn up on the blog again! I miss those days also. So many friends were made and ideas shared in the frenzy of that time. I also like the slowness of the blog world now. I've been a lazy blogger since July--reading, but not posting. Now that you're posting again, you've inspired me to do the same. I'll look forward to seeing your finishes, starts, and in-betweens this year!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Good to see you here again. Maybe you will inspire me to start a blog... I've been thinking about it for years!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Just want to say I miss the old blogger days but there is so much more in your blog than appears in any FB or Instagram post. Personal and informative. I feel like I know you, even though we have never met, and I enjoy catching up with you via theses blog posts. I keep reading and watching via email notices and I enjoy getting them. Good luck 2018 with all the finishes however many you get done.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Remember me? Hello after so so long, many similar thoughts about blogging. I just came a cross your name in a comment from 2006!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I'm so pleased to come across your blog and to see that you have started to write again. You inspired me to start EPP with your blog, I also bought Quilting on the Go and I've almost completed my own Travel quilt which has been 2 and 1/2 years in the making; so many thousands of miles in aeroplanes, sitting in traffic jams, sewing while my husband drives, journeys by boat and train, waiting to collect people from the station, waiting for appointments, sitting with a dying friend.. All those otherwise wasted moments now recorded and, interestingly, fixed like a photograph in my mind. So a very big THANK YOU!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I stopped using Facebook. Faebook is distracting. On Facebook is tempted with advertising and groups etc. Furthermore, the privacy of Facebook is wrong.
    5 years ago I had removed my quilt blog, but this month I made a new blog. Less distractions and less advertising and it is much more fun to visit and respond to blogs. In this way I have more time to be busy with quilting.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I love reading blogs and have always found yours interesting. There is more time to get to know the person writing and easier to revisit posts and quilts than on fb. I also like how you have involved us in your personal life, not just your quilting activities; I was so glad when you started posting again as I kept wondering how you were. Thank you for taking the time to blog.

    ReplyDelete

Free Zoom Quilt Class, October 20.

    Free Live Online Craft Class Learn to quilt with Jessica Wed., Sept. 9 Tues., Oct., 20, Nov. 9 7:00 – 8:00 pm Sign up now.   Take one or...