Thursday, August 02, 2007

Triangle madness and blog censorship.


Boy Oh Boy...Dog days indeed! We've been spoiled by the very sweet summer temps that have dissolved into the soup that is August. You can cut the air with a knife and a general lethargy has settled in around here.
I'm working on some doll quilt pieces that are gifts and so I have sewn up hundreds of triangles. Not sure what will become of them yet but it's a kind of mindless thing that makes me feel like I have accomplished something. They will be turned into little pieces soon as I have a couple of gifts due soon for various things such as friends birthdays and such. I used the half square triangle papers that I printed out from some on-line thing like Block Central a while back.
I notice that so many bloggers are either on vacation or just as out of it as I am so there isn't a lot going on. A few people, who are a lot more serious about their work than me have posted about wonderful things learned at classes. My good friend Gerrie took a class in Shibori dying last week. If you get a chance go and look. You have to scroll down a bunch but it's worth it. Gorgeous stuff. I am beginning to thing that Portland(Oregon) is the most amazing art mecca. In fact it seems that the left coast is an amazing place to be an artist in general. So many great art quilt groups and shows and classes Oh My! It seems to be a very nurturing environment for that type of thing. I'm a life-long New Yorker and I love it but what you have to do in order to get to anything resembling art in NY is a death defying feat. It's all much further in towards Manhattan and I'm, frankly, not up to it anymore. There is are a couple of guilds here on the island and they are big and eventful but the women I have met so far are not very friendly in general and they stick to a fairly traditional type of work. Independence is not nurtured. In fact the last quilt show I went to the members were trashing fellow members work as being "out there" as I was walking by. Not my kind of thing at all. Again, the Manhattan guilds are just too far away.
On a related subject, why are women sometimes so mean to each other? 99% of the bloggers I encounter are the most helpful and kind people but there seems to be the one or two factions who are waiting somewhere for someone to say the least little thing that displeases them so they can jump out of the bushes(anonymously_very brave) and bitch about it. What has happened to our sense of humor and ability to laugh at ourselves and be lighthearted. It's so bad that a couple of friends have removed posts from their own personal blogs rather than be slammed about something they wrote. In essence they had to censor themselves to please a few cranky witches. We are living in scary times when that happens.
Well, I need to get some laundry done and sew up some more triangles and think about what's up for dinner. It's almost too hot to grill anything-I may just make spaghetti and skip the grill. Hope everyone has a relaxing and pleasant day. Lets continue being nice to each other. There is something wonderful about the company of women and those similar experiences that draw us together.

10 comments:

QuiltMom said...

Hi Dee,
It is an interesting world that we live in- I appreciated your honest comments. everyone is entitled to his or her opinion- Someone once said to me that our perceptions are 9/10 ths of our reality. Censorship is indeed a slippery slope. Keep expressing and exploring your ideas both with fabric and in print- you do both very well. It is not always easy to find a quilt guild or group that meets your needs. There are lots of talented quilters out here doing all sorts of wonderful things- I hope you find that group that makes you laugh.
Regards from a Western Canadian quilter,
Anna

Debra Dixon said...

I think of y'all as my guild!

Anonymous said...

I think the seeming anonymity of the internet emboldens people to go off when, in person, they might think twice.

On another note, I think it is either vacationing or blog fatigue!!

Kim Carney said...

Hey Dee! I will always be nice to you! That is terrible that someone removed their own post ... really, everyone is entitled to an opinion whether someone, or no one agrees with it or not. I do feel we live in a little "hall monitor" time. The anon part makes it easy to be nasty to someone. I think being nasty to someone on a personal blog is just silly! You look busy. Hope all is well!

Finn said...

Sending hugs for any and all owies that might still be there! I know what you mean and have only experienced a mild form of the anon. criticism, but have friends who've gotten broadsided. It's a cheap shot, and if the writer lacks the courage to have an identity and a place to be found, the shame on them. We need to 'own' stuff, and let it be more of a live and let live world. There really is room for everybody.
Hang in there!! Sending big bigs, Finn

Rian said...

Every time I complain about the cool gray days of summer around here I think of how it could be...I could be lethargic and red and sweaty and not happy. Thanks for reminding me.

Michele Bilyeu said...

Oh my! There are blog posting witches out there? Mean-spirited and bad commenting quilters in blog land? Sprinkling rose petals and holy water~~~~~~Finn, grab your gremlin broom, we need to help Dee and the others clean house!!!

Susan said...

Hear, hear! Nicely said, kindly meant. I love your mess of triangles and will have to come back to see what they become. =)

Libby said...

Even with the cloak of internet anonymity - I try to live by the 'if you can't say something nice' rule. But there are just some people in this world that love to be a touch acerbic or stir up a little something/something *s* Don't let 'em get ya down . . . trust me - not worth it *s*

Anonymous said...

"Why people tear the seam of anyone's dream is over my head."

LOVE this line from "Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me." It runs through my brain sometimes when I read blog comments.