The World Wide Web (remember when we called it that?) is full of quilting inspiration. Many of us use Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, Reddit, and many other digital platforms to get ideas and gain inspiration. With so many ideas at your fingertips, we can easily go down a rabbit hole and spend more time looking at ideas instead of sewing them. I know I have done this.
This week we are going discuss how we organize and manage our digital inspiration. Let's get our digital quilting lives organized while we are organizing our physical spaces. Heck, we may even discover new ideas to help us organize our space, too!
Here is the video and below are some more details.
Social Media: Social Media is a great source of inspiration for many of us, but it also poses its own problems. Here are a few I am going to focus on:
Pinterest This is my favorite, so let's start here. This is also the site that is the biggest mess. I have a lot of boards and I don't usually go back to clean them up. It is my go-to place to find inspiration, however, whether it is stuff for my house, planning a party, or quilting. I love visiting Pinterest for all kinds of inspiration!
Facebook Groups Facebook has a group for everything. Everything. Just type in Quilting Groups in the search bar and you will find tons of great groups. But you may already know that, right? Maybe you are in a lot of groups, like me. If so, how often do you visit the groups? Do you find that they drag you down or inspire you?
Instagram Oh, this is another personal favorite! I love watching my favorite quilters' stories, their posts, and of course, Reels!
Other Digital Sources of Inspiration TikTok, blogs, online shops, online quilt guilds, YouTube, Reddit, Twitter, Twitch, and many more! Which do you love the most?
How do you manage them all? How do you stop yourself from spending hours looking at these things and not actually sewing? What should we keep? What should we delete? What groups should we join? Which should we leave? These are some things to think about this week.
Digital Patterns
Next, let's talk about our digital patterns. Don't you love that you can go to Etsy or an online quilt shop and actually purchase patterns and download them immediately? It's instant gratification! BUT--there are problems with this, too! Who here has downloaded a pattern and either forgot about it or deleted it or simply just can't find it? I mean, we spend good money on these. Let's try to get them organized so we can use them.
Quilting Friends
Who here misses show and tell at the guild meetings? So inspiring, right? How about quilt shows? I love walking through a show, taking pictures, and gaining so much inspiration from other makers! And quilting retreats! Oh, how I miss these!
This week's tasks:
Clean Up Your Digital Sources of Quilting Inspiration. Ask yourself: Is this serving me or dragging me down? If it is dragging you down, delete it. Leave the group, delete the Pinterest board, unfollow the quilter who makes you feel bad about your own abilities. We don't need that negativity in our lives!
Clean Up Your Digital Content. Delete saved items on your Pinterest boards, get your digital patterns into folders on your computer so you can find them, and leave groups that do not serve you anymore. Do whatever you need to do to get your digital space organized and ready when you want to make something or have lost you SewJo.
Build and Connect with Your Quilting Tribe: connect with your quilting friends, attend guild meetings, either through Zoom or in person, depending on your situation, visit (if you can) local quilt shops, and make the connections we all so desperately need!
FUN TASK: Look up local quilting events, whether it is quilt shows or quilt meetings or country fairs. Determine the dates and write them on your calendar. Plan to attend an event that gives you inspiration!
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