community

March. National Quilting Month. IG Quilt Fest.  March Meet the Maker.

Maybe this means nothing to you, especially if you are outside the Instagram Community. Can we really call it that? A community? Does it count if it is virtual? On social media (the thing we love to hate) of all places?

It’s already cliched but we have learnt so much over the last 2 years. Our whole method and means of communicating and sharing experience and knowledge has completely altered.

quilting + community

So, what does community mean when it comes to quilters now? How do quilters do community? How do you become part of a quilting community, when you don’t actually meet anyone in person?

Here’s how…

online courses

I took my first ever online course in December 2020 (wow, was it only two years ago?) and now I couldn’t imagine not having the possibility to take a course on what I want, when I want, from where I want. Online learning has been forever changed. Good? Bad? Middling? I think there is a lot to say for the accessibility of knowledge, tailored, specific to you and your real true desires and needs.

I think there is also a lot that could be said about the range of quality of the programs being delivered. So far, the two major investments I have made in online courses have more than delivered. These shining examples are what motivate me to work on my own course (more on that soon…) I have great examples to live up to.

Other smaller workshops have been great for other reasons – the intimacy of chatting with the host/teacher/moderator (what do we call them?), the immediacy of feedback on a project, the ability to work on one small project in the given time.

global reach. local touch.

The opportunity to connect with people from all over is just astounding. This is nothing new (well, not new for the past 2 years), but honestly, sit and reflect on all the people you ‘know’ who you (likely) will never meet in the flesh. Amazing, right? All those lives you are connected with, all those stories you hold.

I wanted to write this post to reflect on the power of that community. That feeling you get when you are sitting in a room by yourself, on the internet, yet still manage to feel a sense of togetherness with others through shared experience. The wave of energy that arises as you all work on something simultaneously. The fleeting thoughts in the days/weeks between meetings where you think, ‘I wonder what so and so is working on right now’, or ‘What time is it there?’…

A country far far away…

Something else I think about often is the distance between Italy and the US, where the vast majority of quilt related activities and people seem to reside. There are certainly a great proportion of quilters in the US. So, as a quilter outside the US, how do you create or find community when you are physically distanced from this?

Well, online is one way. What about local physical connections? They are to be made, and sought out, but to be honest, there is a lot more time and effort involved. Not only in the seeking, but in the travel, small talk, ramp up and ramp down.

Instead of a meeting from 7pm to 8pm, it might look more like 6pm leave home, drive, park, walk, meet, wait about, start…meet… end… linger… walk, drive, and arrive home at 9pm. Efficiency is not to be baulked at. Nor convenience. Those intermediate moments can certainly be a means of creating deeper connections, maybe at the expense of efficiency. I guess it depends how much time you have (or how small your kids are).

My experience with in-person group settings is that there really is a collective energy. I appreciate it deeply in the moment, but I also appreciate skipping the ramp up and ramp down of arrival and departure.

I have also experienced this collective hum from an online community too.

What about quilt guilds? Quilt guilds seem to be the traditional way to meet and connect with quilters near you. What if there aren’t any? What if the quilt guild near you is traditional and you are modern?

the magic of the algorithm

I was lucky enough, and I still can’t quite believe how lucky, and the ripple effect of this luck is still being felt today, of coming across Quilt Improv Studio late one night in October 2020. Trawling Instagram, I hadn’t really got a feel for how to find people or things, and the magical (though often lambasted and lamented algorithm) presented me with work by a participant in Quilt Improv Studio’s orange summer challenge .

I went down a deep rabbit hole, reached out and connected with Paola, Giovanna and Carla, and through their gracious help discovered more about Improv quilting. It was recommended that I check out the work of Irene Roderick, that led me to take my first ever quilting workshop (I have only ever known online workshops), that then led me to be a participant in Irene’s amazing improv group. Another community.

I continue to broaden my connections on Instagram, and I also became a member of the MQG. I am an individual member, but I meet with the Beyond Borders group of members once a month, we come from all over! Italy, US, South Africa, Sweden, Spain…

ways to connect

So, what are some ways to connect with other quilters? In the real world, in the virtual world?

in-person events

It was interesting to watch the online reportage of QuiltCon this year. Many could visit (I couldn’t – family with small children logistics). Some lamented the lack of virtual offerings that had been available the previous year (and based on the hints so far, this looks like something that is coming back as well).

How did the real deal compare to the online deal? I cannot say, not having been there at Phoenix 2022. But for all extents and purposes, incomparable. Pros and cons on both sides, I’m sure.

shared…

experience

tools

techniques

tips

shortcuts

richness

stories

cakes/biscuts/snacks

lending + borrowing

In my post on place, I spoke about that flush of new thoughts and inspiration that rushes into you when you go exploring and seek and see new horizons. It’s certainly much harder, nigh impossible from your computer chair. Ultimately your literal perspective remains fixed, you have the same view, save the deep well of the screen in front of you.

Virtual reality maybe a solution/response to this in the future. Not something I have experience with. But if the technology they used on the Back to the Future ride at Universal Studios circa 1998 is anything to go on, the body is certainly capable of being tricked into experiencing things which are not physically there.

Another aspect of community is looking at how you might approach your own work. Are you someone who relishes work in a group? Do you get energized by the hum of others? Or do you prefer the silence and solitude of working alone?

What purpose does community play in your design work? Do you seek community for feedback, at the beginning, middle or end of your making process, or never? Do you seek or shy away from community?

see you soon?

I am so pleased to have ‘met’ a huge range of people online over the course of the last couple of years. I love the thought of one day meeting these online friends. What will they be like in real life?

What is your experience with communities of makers and designers, quilters and otherwise? I would love to know, and to maybe even ‘meet’ you one day too.