First, I have to say a huge thank you to Pat Sloan for inviting me to be on her podcast. (Have I mentioned that I was on a podcast? Click the link, give it a listen, and let me know what you think!) It was an absolute dream come true for me. Quilting has been my passion for years and I’m still humbled by the opportunities it has brought me.
Since we get such a limited time to talk, I wanted to expand on some of the topics that we touched on briefly. I’m going to break this up into multiple posts so I don’t just ramble for days. If I miss anything that you want more details on, please leave me a comment and let me know!
I have to tell you about Quilting Around the World. It’s an online community that I joined over a decade ago when I started out in quilting. There’s a forum with diverse topics both quilting and non-quilting. There are individual blogs, recipe threads, games, and it’s a wonderful place to ask questions and get a wide variety of responses. There’s a gallery where members can upload photos of quilts, projects, pets, kiddos. It’s a great source of inspiration. I especially love the chat room where quilters can hang out, chat about projects, ask questions, and just generally socialize. It’s like an old-fashioning quilting bee, except online. There are quilt alongs and swaps – I’ve been a designer and a participant in swaps, and it’s so much fun!
One of the best things is that it’s a spam free zone. It’s absolutely free to sign up and there’s a real person running the show behind the scenes (hi, Glenda!). Any bots are weeded out and anyone joining just to spam the boards is removed. There are no ads, just a truly wonderful community.
There are several retreats each year, all member hosted in different areas of the United States. I’ve been to a few of them, and I’ve made some truly wonderful friends “in real life” from my online friends. I realize I’m gushing about this website, and I cannot urge you enough to check it out. It’s easy to sign up, there’s no spam, just lots and lots to enjoy.
I honestly would not be half the quilter I am today without the support and community of QATW.