10 Years of Quilty Blogging

Well, it's been 10 years of quilty blogging! Funny how the very first post still holds true. Probably still be trying to talk to myself if it wasn't for all my blogging friends! Here's one of the first quilts that actually made it onto a post. I was super selective back in the early days, terrified of posting too many pics. It's an American Patchwork pattern that seemed pretty intimidating at the time. You know what that means, right? Yep. I was thrilled and feeling proud. Still hangs in my living room today!

2010

I seriously debated whether or not to forge ahead on the anniversary of that first year. There were definitely things that I was struggling with, such as being able to respond easily to comments. {Which thankfully took eons to start rolling in.} They were so wonderfully scary. Hey! Someone commented on my post! People get me!

I've pretty much figured out how to handle that particular dilemma, but others {run on sentences?}, I've completely given up on. Laughing, laughing, laughing.... In fact, it's become a feature, not a bug. How else to write in a conversational tone? After a little bit of trial and error, I think I've finally found my writers voice...

2011

Another thing that I worried about, just a little, was my exuberant quilting process. Transferring all the quilty journal-ling to the blog meant that I had choices to make. Would I continue to simply do an end-of-the-journey wrap up for each quilt?  Or would it be more interesting to write about process all along the way?

2012

Uh huh. I leaned in. Over time, this blog has become even more about the process. Always with the goal of helping me to better understand how to get from A to Z, even if 'Z' isn't really all that clear at the onset. Taking pictures and writing about the creative journey absolutely helps to clarify important details. I tell myself that it helps some of you occasionally too. Maybe that's just justification for endlessly long posts? Whatever. The thing is, for the most part I've gotten way away from using patterns and find great joy in going my own direction. Letting the quilt tell me what it needs/wants, and trying to figure out how to best make that happen.

2013

There has unquestionably been growing pains in the past 10 years. How could there not be? We're literally talking about a decade of quilty blogging adventures! One thing that is very sneaky, but oh-so-real, is the tendency for most of us to want to please others. It can make the most self confident among us want to self edit or try to make everything look good and shiny. 'Here's my amazing masterpiece. Don't you love how it came to be without any hiccups whatsoever?' Or perhaps we start making quilts in the same style that generate the most comments and likes. People are generally very kind, but criticism IS criticism. Bloggers who show the 'warts and all' need to develop a thick skin and learn not second guess every creative decision.

2014

It's a trap, and will only steal our joy. It also leads to paralysis and excruciatingly boring quilts. You know that's the truth! Best to make quilts to please us first, and and then in doing so, we more regularly fill up the well. There starts to be an organic sort of 'flow' from quilt to quilt as we continue in our quest for answers. So much more fun and satisfying in the long term!

2015

And if a few friends come along for the ride? All the better! My very favorite blogs are the ones where the quilters are generous, open and honest about how and where they got to where they were going. Or even more interesting, to where they ended up. Lets hear about the rough starts and missteps along with the cool moments of triumph and victory! Recognizing myself in others 'process' has undoubtedly helped me to become the quilter that I am today. Today's blog posts can be liken to yesteryear's quilting bees where it's easy to help others out just by being real.

2016

Some 'aha' moments were unquestionably monumental in terms of my growth as a serious quilter. So valuable to read about things that didn't make sense in the beginning, but became clear when reading about them through the lens of another quilter. There were things that unnerved me or seemed time wasting. Other things that made me feel inadequate or especially unskilled, even lacking if I didn't share the enthusiasm to 'better' some specific area of my quilting. 

Sharing back and forth with other quilters has enormously helped in clearing up many of those unrealistic expectations and unreasonable 'rules' many of us start out with. Do you know how cheering it was when I realized that there are actually other quilters out there who honestly work better on shhh...., eight or ten open ended projects rather than only one? Huh? This doesn't have to be a guilty little secret?

2017

The virtuous, feel-good crowd {less a problem today than ten years ago} would have you to believe that 'start one, finish one' is the absolute, number one, most rewarding way to do things. Good for you if that is your special zen, but that doesn't work so well for each and every one of us! I get bored almost into a coma and instead of finishing a dozen plus quilts a year, the outcome drops to a pitiful few. 

2018

The funny thing is, many of these ideas have been rendered meaningless simply by admitting to them here on the blog. Or unexpectedly reading a quilter admit that perhaps she doesn't bury her threads. What??? When a few quilters react positively to these confessions, taking the time to say, 'Oh, I do that too', well... then we can shrug off the garbage and get down to the business of making our wonderfully amazing quilts in earnest. 

2018

After a decade of copious {quilty} oversharing here at Quilty Folk, I'm can't say that I'm particularly immune to disagreements and general unhappiness concerning my creative choices. People do tell me once in a blue moon that they personally disagree with a point or two, and oh yeah, that they fear for my sanity. Well, maybe not the sanity part, but you know that is probably implied! 

2019

If I truly want to succeed at making original looking quilts, then I am going to have to take a different path than others once in awhile. It might be hard to understand. It might even make you uncomfortable as to the direction my quilting journey is taking me these days. You might think that what I'm doing is flat out ugly or that I'm wasting my time trying to figure out the color green. That's just the way that it works and I need not take offense. I've stopped following many quilters myself through the years due to diverging interests, and I'm sure others have stopped coming to here for much the same reason. In that same vein, I've started following completely different quilters who maybe didn't resonate with me so much, many years before, but now they do. 

I've learned that the diligent pursuit of individual passions, obsessions and yes, even the rabbit trails of all these various quilting adventures are vital. They are important because they are the very things that lead to finding our true quilting voice. This time I'm speaking to the style, elements, vibe, personality and feel of our quilts. That voice. That almost magical thing that so definitively says, 'This quilt was made by me'. It's truly special and I doubt that I'll ever be able to take it for granted. It's just too hard earned.

2020

It's amazing to look back 10 years and see so much progress. I can't even hardly put it into words! Starting out, it seemed like an almost unfathomable, practically unattainable goal! I'm not 100 percent satisfied, not in the least. Don't think that. There is still lots to learn and explore! I might not be in the 'It' crowd of quilting {some of us sort of float between the most popular genres}, but it has never been my intended destination, that popularity.

Over and over, I have self corrected by reminding myself that a great, robust creative process is absolutely about the DOING. Being present in the quilting room. Pursuing as many ideas that intrigue as possible. Participating in self-made challenges {and also, the occasional community challenge}. Definitely chasing after unique incorporation of many personally beloved quilting elements, whatever they may be. I intend to keep doing exactly that. AND, I want to keep encouraging others to gain confidence in their own creativity and originality. 

Ironically, this moment in time comes with a faint feeling of blogging fatigue. I'm not saying that I want to stop blogging. I think there's just too much crazy in the world for an introvert like me not to get overwhelmed once in awhile. It wears on me. Taking the time for quilty blogging these days feels like a luxury I can ill afford, and yet I thoroughly enjoy reading through other quilters posts every chance that I get. It's like taking a 'time out of time' in terms of current events. Yes, lets do continue to talk quilts and all the things that make us happy. And lets make good quilts. The more the merrier!

Thinking About the Importance of Quilty Blogging and Some Eagle Quilt Progress

Do you ever wonder why it is that you still bother to blog? It takes up time that could well be spent quilting. Maybe. But would you or I really 'quilt' with that time? Especially if there wasn't the motivation to post progress? I share a lot with you here. I'm a big believer in showing HOW I get from point A to point B. For instance, want to see my latest progress on the Eagle QAL quilt? The dark and lighter blue square border doesn't exactly look exciting so I was, well... reluctant to post.

Eagle Quilt

You know all most of my pain/agony/frustration {or delight} in getting through the process shared here on this blog. Still, there are times when even I hesitate to post. But then I get annoyed at myself. This blog is MY journalling of the quilty process. It is one of the very small, but important ways I connect to all my quilty creations! In trying to explain things to you here, it often clarifies things in my own mind and makes me see more clearly the way forward. Again, for me. Although the way you might go forward is often extremely interesting. Sometimes even thought provoking. Very thought provoking. We are all so very different! I think it's good to be made aware of that difference occasionally, especially if it's done in a positive manner.

Which brings me to the next thing I have pondered. Do I write for positive comments or do I write for my own benefit? And that is the part that can get a little blurred after a long time of consistent blogging. Because, well, lets just face up to it. Positive feedback feels wonderful. And negative feedback feels like garbage. Not that I get much of that that, thank goodness! Quilty people are generally very nice people.

So..., I have had a few conversations lately {and a few happenings} that have made me question why I go to the trouble of actually blogging--writing about the process, sharing my work, my successes and yes, even my failures. Doesn't Instagram seem the way of the future? It's definitely less time consuming!

But then you I wouldn't understand why I ended up sewing and keeping my dark blue/light blue border when it's clearly not a fabulous design element. I really, really wanted {and maybe even needed} the transition between that weird goldy color and the red hst border that was supposed to be next. The red didn't look 'right' nestled up against the gold fabric and everything I auditioned made me want to go throw up. Well, that or go to sleep. So I played and played and played with every color in the fabric totes until I came up with what eventually made it into this quilt.

Because it was important to me that I have this red border! And I like that I figured something out. You get that, all of you who come to this blog and actually read through to the end of a post. I didn't plan on the dark blue squares lining up exactly with the longest straight edge of the red hst's, but it'll do. I'm satisfied enough to keep it and try to move forward.

And another border....

Do you even care? I don't know. Some probably do, some decidedly not! That's the beauty of blogging. The answers are often there embedded in the post. You can click out if you just came to see the pretty pictures or choose to stay awhile and read if you feel more curious {which I often do when it comes to other blogs}.

The deciding factor on whether or not I needed wanted to keep on blogging was an encounter from someone who saw me appliqueing my scalloped borders and thought I was making curtains. I think they were disappointed that the 'fabric thing' I was making wasn't actually curtains, and then the conversation just sort of disgruntled me from there on out. I love quilting! And I love to talk about quilting with people who also love talking about quilting. For the record, I do have friends who quilt, but mostly they only quilt a little bit these days. Not with the degree of um, well... interest that I seem to have at the moment.

So..., I went back and read my beginning blog post from over four years ago. Yep! It still holds true. I personally, need to talk about quilting and not just show the pretty pictures. I'm confident people will click out of any particular post that blathers on for too long. Honestly, I'll never have to know the difference. It's all good! A big thank you to all who share this quilty journey with me. I do so enjoy following yours as well.....