In the second blog post about Community, I want to talk a little about Online Communities.
Years ago, in the year 1999, I joined an online community that started a Millennium swap. Eighty quilters from all over the globe swapped 25 2 1/2″ square of fabric to make a Millennium quilt. Quilts with 2000 unique charm squares! This was my first introduction to online quilting communities. This week, my mom (who participated in the swap) gave my son the Millennium quilt that she made with those charm squares. My son Jason has a quilt on his bed that I made with my squares. What a unique and fun project that was! At that time connecting with quilters from all over the world was a unique and rare happening. I was thrilled to be a part of this diverse group.
Today we are so lucky to have this opportunity literally at our fingertips! ….By typing a note on Facebook with those very fingertips, I can connect with quilters all over the world with the power of Facebook. I have friends from Ireland, South Africa, Japan and Germany! I have students and customers all over the world. I have met many of these quilters at either Houston or Paducah, and it is amazing the bond we already share and how our friendships have grown. It reminds me of an old fashioned Pen Pal!!
On Facebook you can find a group of enthusiasts about everything! From Sunbonnet Sue to Modern quilts. Whatever your passion, there is a group of equally passionate people out there who share the same love. These people could be the very same quilters that you meet locally at your guild, or they may be half way across the globe.
I am part of many different online quilting communities on Facebook. There is a group for Featherweight Fanatics, many others who obsess over applique. I belong to a group of Kaffe Fassett Lovers, as well as a group of Professional Pattern designers. My Quilt guild has it’s own Facebook group that is only open to our membership. There are bunches of us who love Wool applique and dozens that share Sewing Room Organization tips. No matter what your interest, there is an online community for you to join.
If you love using my templates for applique, we have a unique group for you too! Please join my Sue Pelland Designs open FaceBook page! This is where we share my customer’s quilts, my own quilts, snapshots of my daily life and anything Quilty that I am excited to share! This week I shared the story of an antique quilt that I was gifted by my Mom. She thinks it was made by my Grandmother, or maybe even my Great Grandmother! This quilt needs a good wash, so I asked opinions of the right product to take away the age stains. I am so excited about the responses I received! One of my own guild members offered to share her Retro Clean with me!
I also moderate a group called “Quilt Along with Sue Pelland“. This is a closed group (you have to answer a few questions and be approved), and is geared to my students and customers making SPD projects with my tools. On this page, we have a very active community of people who love to share with and teach each other! Just the other day one of my Belle en Rouge students needed some advise about thread choice for her Blue version of the quilt. Here is a snapshot of her post and the answers she received. She even got a note from Donna Morales-Oemig-Morales, an Aurifil distributor!
While not all of us embrace technology to this extent, I truly feel that Facebook and other social media platforms have made my reach a little wider! It surely has made the world a little smaller by allowing me to connect with people from all over.
I hope you too will benefit from this online community. Give it a try!
Leave a Reply