I remember when I first started quilting (back around 2000/2001) I surfed the net for quilting insights and sustenance. This was in a BB [before blogging] era so quilting cyberspace was dominated by commercial operators promoting products and fabrics. I did exchange e-mails with a few quilters that I found online but I think my beginner’s zeal was a little scary for them. This encouraged rather than deterred me from setting up my own personal quilting website. With family and friends scattered all over the world, I embraced technology as a medium for sharing my creative endeavours and have never looked back.
The scene is so different now. Free blogging platforms such as WordPress.com makes a web presence accessible to anyone with a computer and quiltmakers everywhere are blogging about their lives. For my part, at last count, I administer three personal websites (plus the Guild website) and administer and/or contribute to four blogs. Make that five blogs…
The ever-enthusiastic and persuasive Diane, keeper of the Artful Quilters Blog Ring, put forward a proposal I couldn’t refuse and Twelve by Twelve was launched today:
We are quilt artists who are embarking on an art challenge together. The plan: periodically, we will each make a small quilted art piece — 12 by 12 inches — on a designated theme. We’ll use this blog to post our process, progress, and results. We’re from different places throughout the world and our artistic styles vary, but we share a love of art quilting and a desire to play, experiment, learn, and grow.
Aside from the fact that I struggle to make a quilt to a designated size, as this post demonstrates, I am really excited about this initiative and look forward to finding out what the first theme is. Even better, I’m looking forward to making new friends along the way. Thanks Diane!