Quilting has always been a solitary activity for me, until this last year when I started getting involved with other quilters on social media. There are two guilds here in Boston. One is large but meets in West Roxbury, which if you're familiar with our subway system, might as well be in New York. The other doesn't seem to do a lot: I technically joined but don't see where they've done much. So, as most of us introverts have done in the last ten or so years, I've turned to the internet.
I've even found an active group for male quilters. There is a website that I joined about a year ago, but I'm not a fan of threaded discussions and I'm pretty lazy when it comes to my internets. So when a group started on Facebook, I pounced. I check Facebook every day anyway, so it doesn't take up any more time than what I already waste. If you're a guy quilter, be sure to check out the Men Who Quilt or Quilting Men Facebook pages - two popped up at close to the same time and there's a lot of cross-over. If you're not a man and want to see what the guys are up to, follow #menwhoquilt on Instagram. I always forget to add that to my posts... but there are others who are not as scatterbrained as I am.
But, in the end, the world of quilting is a woman's world - as Mary Fons reminded us in her Modern Quilt Guild presentation - and I'm just grateful you all let me tag along.
The best thing that social media has done for my quilting is helping me keep track of time. Because of Instagram, I know that the quilt I made for my next throw pattern took over a month to make. I designed it on Dec 9th, finished the top on the 15th, started quilting on the 21st.... and didn't finish until a month later.
Facebook plays a part too. I used Excel to design this on January 15th and had it done on the 20th. It actually took only 15 hours of straight work from first cut to tying off the binding thread.
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