I am so happy to welcome Jennifer from That Girl, That Quilt to my blog today! Through blogging I have gotten to know her as a sweet, kind, creative quilter who inspires me regularly. Todays' post is called Minding Your P{oints} & Q{uilts} and I must say I LOVE that title. So creative!
I will hand things over to Jennifer now:
I'm so happy to be here today! When Randi asked me to guest blog I was super excited because I love to write almost as much as I love to quilt. And then I read that she wanted me to share a little more about quilting manners {gulp}. Now I'm not one to shy away from my own opinions but do remember that they are just that... my opinions.
When I blogged about the exclusivity that happens within quilting groups a month ago, I received twice as many emails than comments about the subject. Many were supportive emails but many more were heartbreaking personal experiences that quilters have had when attempting to share, gift and even donate their work. With each story I grew more and more sad for those who love a craft but then that love is damaged by others who take it upon themselves to police a hobby.
Now I'm passionate about quilting but I am even more passionate about including anyone who wants to quilt. We are all different and we all have different strengths and weaknesses. We ALL have weaknesses. So when I hear someone worried about participating in a swap or a quilting bee because they aren't sure if their work is up to standard, I have to wonder just who is setting this standard.
The simple answer is that we are.
How is that, you ask? It's the little things... churning out "perfect" quilt after "perfect" quilt on a blog... taking pictures that show the most flattering aspects of a quilt... discussing colors that are "in" versus those that are "out". No big deal, right?
But then we digress into picking apart a style. Modern vs. traditional... wonky vs. straight... Civil War reproductions vs. modern solids... hand quilting vs. machine quilting... dumbing down quilting. Can you see where I'm going? Yeah... and it's still probably no big deal until it gets personal.
Personal as in being flip about receiving a bee block that isn't "quality"...
Personal as in being ungrateful about a swap you received...
Personal as in being picky about quilts being donated to charity...
Personal as in terming someone's hard work as "dumbed down"...
All of these things happen and it's terribly sad. Especially when it happens to a newer quilter {or any quilter for that matter} and it destroys their passion for the art of quilting because they are too afraid to branch out again.
There is just no room for exclusivity or outright meanness when it comes to quilting. Why should there be an "in crowd", a group of superstar bloggers, a charity group that is better than another, an exclusive swap group? Yes, each group has their right to exist but that doesn't make it right. Can you imagine that there are actually quilters intimidated when participating in a swap? It happens. Or afraid to sign up for a bee? That happens too.
Now is every swap item or bee block perfect? Nope. Is every quilt you see blogged about without flaw? Do we fall in love with every quilt we look at? Nope and nope. But sometimes we forget who made the items.
A busy mom with little ones underfoot... a working mom with limited time between her job, family and friends... a mom up half the night with a sick kid... someone frazzled and weary that uses quilting as a therapeutic escape from their everyday stresses. These are the kind of people who make quilts.
So before we judge, we would be wise to remember that there is a feeling person standing behind their work hoping that it's good enough to withstand the critique of a guild, a blogger, or a fellow quilter.
And don't you remember when you were a beginner? I sure do and it wasn't pretty! But I would have never improved if I hadn't tried new things and failed. I also would have never improved if I hadn't had some encouragement along the way. My very first quilt along was here with Randi. And guess who taught me how to free motion quilt? Randi. :)
It's bloggers like her that make me proud to be a part of such a vibrant community of crafters. And if you have happened to run into a quilting meanie; try not to let it get to you too much. We can never be all things to all people even when it comes to a hobby. So keep doing your thing that makes you happy, associate yourself with kind quilters who will help you grow, and don't succumb to the pressure to be anything that you are not.
Thanks for having me here to share today, Randi!
Jennifer :)
Thank you, Jennifer, for sharing your thoughts here on my blog!
And, as always, please leave comments for Jennifer here in this post.
***Since this month's guest post is late I will be skipping May's post. The next guest post will be in June.
