Another year comes to a close and this quilty social experiment is going better than ever. At the end of 2017 52Quilters reached 10k followers on Instagram and has had over 156 quilters take over the accounts.
For 2018 I am doing something a bit different. The accounts will have the same fresh feel of a different quilter taking over each week, but each month will be organised into a theme which will be hosted by a different quilter. This will help structure the accounts better, but it also means that I'll get a by of behind the scenes help, as 52Q is a big job for one volunteer to organise!
As the founder of 52Q I'm hosting the first experiment of this 52Q 2.0 experiment... by introducing the theme of wellbeing.
Now when I talk about wellbeing, I'm not talking about something new or revolutionary, or proposing that all quilting is a self prescribed art-therapy... but I do think that there is something important to my creative time, and over the past few years I have become more and more conscious about sewing being more than a hobby for me.
This month I'd like to introduce the theme and have a conversation about how quilting can be 'good' for us in different ways.
For me it all started with this blanket (not a quilt - shock! Horror!):
I'll make a long story short, but if you want the long story you can read about it on my blog here.
The short story is that I started knitting a blanket at a time when My dad was in hospital and felt the urge to do something with my hands. When my dad passed away, I put down the knitting for many months, but then slowly ceased all creative activity... more and more that turned into avoiding all possible distraction free, quiet moments, which I'm sure you can guess we're choices that didn't lead me to a very positive place.
It took me a really long time to recognise this and pick up my knitting, but when I did I started to recognise the value in having time to make, clear my head and reflect. I realised that making is not just a hobby, but it's a practice that helps me find balance among the other stressful things in my life... and since that realisation I've developed a bit of an equation for helping me keep that balance.
Depending on my creative mood, I find it is always important that I have three projects on the go. This is so whatever my mood I have something at hand that fulfills my creative needs in three different ways:
Me projects: these are projects that slow me down, can be done at my own pace and give me time to clear my head. They are just for me and tend to be slow or enjoyable so that I can enjoy doing it and clear my head.
Challenge projects: these are projects that push me creatively and practically, sometimes they have deadlines - these often have a goal or aim in mind, these tend to be stressful in a good way, and challenge me to work out problems and create new ideas
Share projects: projects that are collaborative or conversational - where I can share and learn from others at the same time. Sometimes these are projects I share with friends, or sometimes I get this through freelance workshops or teaching I do - it forces me to see creativity through other people's eyes and gives me time to reflect and refresh on my own work.
I'll be sharing a bit more about my approach on instagram, this week and asking to hear about what you make and why, but I'll save that conversation for IG!
Post by Chris: Chris is the founder and organiser of 52Quilters. He is a crafty guy who has been making his whole life. Although his crafty roots are in Canada, he has been working and crafting in the UK for 11 years. For more of Chris' work visit http://www.chrismakesthings.co.uk
For 2018 I am doing something a bit different. The accounts will have the same fresh feel of a different quilter taking over each week, but each month will be organised into a theme which will be hosted by a different quilter. This will help structure the accounts better, but it also means that I'll get a by of behind the scenes help, as 52Q is a big job for one volunteer to organise!
As the founder of 52Q I'm hosting the first experiment of this 52Q 2.0 experiment... by introducing the theme of wellbeing.Now when I talk about wellbeing, I'm not talking about something new or revolutionary, or proposing that all quilting is a self prescribed art-therapy... but I do think that there is something important to my creative time, and over the past few years I have become more and more conscious about sewing being more than a hobby for me.
This month I'd like to introduce the theme and have a conversation about how quilting can be 'good' for us in different ways.
For me it all started with this blanket (not a quilt - shock! Horror!):
I'll make a long story short, but if you want the long story you can read about it on my blog here.
The short story is that I started knitting a blanket at a time when My dad was in hospital and felt the urge to do something with my hands. When my dad passed away, I put down the knitting for many months, but then slowly ceased all creative activity... more and more that turned into avoiding all possible distraction free, quiet moments, which I'm sure you can guess we're choices that didn't lead me to a very positive place.
It took me a really long time to recognise this and pick up my knitting, but when I did I started to recognise the value in having time to make, clear my head and reflect. I realised that making is not just a hobby, but it's a practice that helps me find balance among the other stressful things in my life... and since that realisation I've developed a bit of an equation for helping me keep that balance.
Depending on my creative mood, I find it is always important that I have three projects on the go. This is so whatever my mood I have something at hand that fulfills my creative needs in three different ways:
***
Me projects: these are projects that slow me down, can be done at my own pace and give me time to clear my head. They are just for me and tend to be slow or enjoyable so that I can enjoy doing it and clear my head.
Challenge projects: these are projects that push me creatively and practically, sometimes they have deadlines - these often have a goal or aim in mind, these tend to be stressful in a good way, and challenge me to work out problems and create new ideas
Share projects: projects that are collaborative or conversational - where I can share and learn from others at the same time. Sometimes these are projects I share with friends, or sometimes I get this through freelance workshops or teaching I do - it forces me to see creativity through other people's eyes and gives me time to reflect and refresh on my own work.
***
Post by Chris: Chris is the founder and organiser of 52Quilters. He is a crafty guy who has been making his whole life. Although his crafty roots are in Canada, he has been working and crafting in the UK for 11 years. For more of Chris' work visit http://www.chrismakesthings.co.uk
Losing someone is so hard to deal with... and keeping busy AT ALL TIMES is one way to deal with it. I sometimes use my quilting to keep me busy for that reason... but the rewards are having a beautiful project that can be gifted to a loved one still with us.... that just makes me very happy :)
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