Instagram for Crafty People

I hesitate to write this post, but it's been on my mind lately.  Instagram (IG) is so great for crafty people.  Quilters, knitters, crochet, doll makers, everything crafty seems to overflow on IG. It's a place to post your projects instantly, giving that instant gratification of likes and comments that bloggers love.  It's also been an easy way to sell fabric, finished products, etc.  I have done a destash and it was awesome to be able to thin out my stash without the hassle of posting to a site like Etsy.

Some of my favorite hashtags are:

#annamariahorner
#thegreatfabricdestash
#machinequilting
#longarmquilting
#scrappytripalong
#sewtogetherbag
#hourbasket

So many hashtags!!

There is so much to see on IG and I have been sucked into a few things myself.  When the hashtag #thegreatfabricdestash first came out, I spent waaay too much money.  I know I bought a ton of Good Folks, some way overpriced.  I had to dial it down when my credit card bill came in the mail! There were some pretty interesting conversations on IG regarding prices of popular out of print fabrics.  Some people were asking outrageous prices...$80-$100 per yard, $20+ per FQ.  It definitely created some bitter feelings, divisions between those who say it's the right of the person selling to ask what they want and the group who thought it was just an abuse and not in the spirit of the quilty community on IG.  There was thread about people who would buy from those selling at a reasonable price, then turning around and selling at a higher price.  After seeing what the destash was doing to people, I took a break from that.  Too much drama.

Another activity I have been sucked into is signing up for swaps.  You get paired with another person, secretly, and make whatever the swap is for.  I have learned that I am not cut out for swaps.  I am terrible at sending things on time.  Between working a full time job away from the house and 2 kids aged 9 and 11, I just can't seem to get ahead of the swap game.  I have 2 more swaps that I still have due in June.  Once those are done, I don't think I will sign up for anymore.

I saw a post on IG yesterday that bothered me a little.  I understand the reasoning behind it, but someone is putting together a list of "bad swapper" and circulating it to swap mamas.  I understand no one likes to get paired with a dud, but it seems mean.  I'm sure my name is on that list.  I have signed up for 2 swaps that I have sent out late.  I personally hate knowing I'm on a bad swappers list because life gets in the way and a package is sent late.  I still communicate with my swap mama and let them know I can't meet the deadlines.  I do understand the commitment before I sign up, but you know how that goes, things will be different this time and I will actually be able to meet my deadline!

Quilting bees-also not my thing.  For whatever reason, I can't seem to meet deadlines!  Again, same problem.  I love the idea, but I'm terrible at follow through.

My conclusion is that work is so much pressure by itself, life runs at the speed of light sometimes and I can barely keep up sometimes.  I don't need the extra stress and fearing I'm gonna end up on a bad list.

I love IG and won't be leaving anytime soon.  But I will be steering clear of the drama and extra pressures and sewing for those I love without the stress!  I have met some pretty incredible friends from IG that I am so thankful for!

WIP Wednesday - Anna Maria Horner Log Cabin Quilt

Hi all!  Another WIP Wednesday is here....I am loving getting back into blogging but it seems time passes faster than my blog posts!  I have a few updates on my works in progress.

I am still binding my clamshell quilt.  It's about 90 ish inches all around so it's taking a while!  So far, I'm halfway done.  The best time to work on handwork is when I am just veg on the couch and watch TV.  Somehow this is very relaxing to me and I'm still being productive.

My next WIP is the Anna Maria Horner log cabin quilt I started a couple weeks ago.  I couldn't get it out of my head and needed to keep going!  The top is all together now.  It's another queen sized quilt, seems that is all I am working on lately.  I love having new pretties for my bed.  Makes my room feel cozy and personal.

Here is the quilt top before the blocks were sewn together. It was all I could do to keep the kitties off the blocks!

Here she is all put together.  The solid color is Kona Glacier which matches perfectly with the teals in Anna Maria Horner's collections.  I used all the collections I have for this quilt, cutting a few strips of each fabric.  I used the pink cathedrals print from her Good Folks collection.  Now to quilt...I have no idea how I will do it.  I thought about maybe sending it out to a longarm quilter, but it depends on cost.

If I do quilt it myself, I need to figure out the best Aurifil thread color to use since the teal is a bit outside the normal teals.  I used a medium gray Aurifil 50wt to piece the logs but don't really want to use that to quilt...want the color to blend in more to not take away from the overall quilt.  I love me some Aurifil thread!

 And because I am a total fangirl, I had to share a picture of Anna Maria Horner liking my pictures on Instagram.  I would love to meet her one day.

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog!  I love looking at everyone's projects and hearing about their processes.  Linking up with Lee from Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday.