Thursday, December 30, 2021

The Word of the Year: Connect on Off the Wall Friday



Can you believe I've been active online since 1998?  I've been writing this blog since June 2009.  22 years online....geesh... Honestly, I don't know where the time goes.  I knew the internet  was going to be a game-changer on how we communicate but really not nearly to what extent.  I remember learning how to communicate in my first chat room, joining my first online quilt group, making my first cyber best friend (Julia in AK by way of Nebraska).  I joined quilt block exchanges, millennial charm exchanges, round robins.  If it had to do with quilting, I did it.    It seemed like the whole world was suddenly discovering a way to connect through shared interests.  It was exhilarating and sometimes a bit overwhelming.   


As the internet insinuated itself into all facets of our life, that sense of connection became more and more commonplace.  The novelty of it wore off and I at least take it for granted.  I used to spend hours emailing my cyberfriends, but now I might just take a quick glance at blogs and Quilt Art on Facebook.  I miss my quilt list emails and my quilt group The Crazyquilters. That sense of connection is not nearly as strong.

Then came Covid which only added another wall to us staying connected.  Sure, everyone learned how to Zoom and Facetime but it's not nearly the same.  Little by little, things seem so much more isolated

So I'm bringing back an old tradition.  On our quilt art mail list every year, we would take this week and pick words that would represent the new year.  I  really loved learning what words people picked and why.   This year, my word is Connect.  I am going to make a conscious effort to stay connected in person as well as by email with my fellow artists and quilters.    I don't know about you but honestly, I can't stand trying to communicate in 45 characters or less.  Also, I never bought the idea of Instagram with its instant gratification of images scrolling by.  Don't EVEN get me started about Tic Toc where it seems like an endless rabbit hole of "Look at me, Look at me".  No, this year is about making real connections with real people.

I am going to erase the phrase "Social Distancing" from my vocabulary.  There are ways to be safe without hiding away in your room.  I found the last two years disheartening and lonely.  Enough is enough.  

To that end, I did plan a 5-day art quilting class.  Normally, I would plan Quilting by the Lake and John
Timna Tarr

C Campbell.  But no plans for QBL have been announced and JCC is sticking to its mask, plexiglass, vaccination mandates.  So this year, I'm heading to Marc Adams School of WoodworkingYEP !! You read that right.  I'm going to go to woodworking school with my husband.  Paul has been going to Marc Adam's school for 23 years now.  Because of it, he's become this amazing artisan woodworker.  Now, Marc is offering other craft classes there including - wait for it - art quilting.

I plan on taking a class with Timna Tarr called Stitched Mosaics.  Although nothing exactly new to me, it looks like it will be fun and interesting.  Plus Paul can take a woodworking class and we can enjoy each other's company on our 29th wedding anniversary week.  Included with the class, are daily lunches and one dinner/lecture.  Not to mention, it's in Indiana and I love the midwest in the summer!  Finally, some time to connect without a screen or plexiglass to interfere. 




The class is still open if anybody wants to come and connect with me!

So What is Your Word of the Year and Why?

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

8 comments:

Jan @Cocoa Quilts said...

Thanks for sharing. I had never heard of Marc Adams. Going to check out his classes, not that I'll get that way, but is good to dream! Looking forward to hearing how your class goes.

Angela said...

I love that you are doing a word a year. I have also done it in the past and decided to it again this year. I plan to do a word a month actually. It will put all the words into a fabric journal at the end of 2022. Happy New Year!

LA Paylor said...

I feel very unconnected and it is depressing. I was allergic to the vax so I am in danger more than vaxed people who are still in danger. I an an extrovert. I make do with zoom and phone, email, etc. I met you once at sacred threads, and saw you again as you were at the workshop on the lake... I am happy that we connected in person at some point in history. We are connected with a fragile but real thread,...
LeeAnna

Laundered Cotton said...

Congratulations for choosing freedom during your anniversary week. My husband and I did the same for our 25th wedding anniversary just this past Tuesday, Dec. 28. So many people seemed happy to be out and about, and the weather was unseasonably warm, which added to a festive atmosphere. Here's wishing you a Happy New Year from western Maryland!

Sherrie Spangler said...

Wow, you've been blogging since before I even knew about blogs! Thank you for connecting us with your Off-the-Wall Fridays, which I always look forward to. Have a wonderful and creative New Year!!!

Margaret said...

Happy New Year, Nina-Marie! I confess I have mixed feelings about 'connecting'. I'll be 70 next year, have had a break-through infection (probably delta; it was in late August) and have had a 'booster'. I'm also an ex-nurse with s B.Sc. in nursing...so I understand the science...but I live in a rural hamlet full of deniers and unbelievers...including my next-door neighbours (a good 5 years older than I). So...I am thankful I am relatively introverted, and don't belong to a guild. SAQA is my guild, and I connect regularly through a variety of ways; the organization is great that wey. I'd be lying if I said it hadn't affected my artwork...cancelled shows can do that to a person. But I have plenty of stash materials, access to online podcasts and videos ets.

Who/what have I missed? Lunch with a close friend (not due to COVID -- due to other health challenges on her part). "In person church" with singing (only recently reinstated and VERY limited). Coffee with my neighbours (unvaxxed because they think this is 'a bad cold')...and YES I want to travel to TO for SAQA 2023, and HOME to Quebec at least once more this side of the earth...and maybe to Scotland one more time...

But as a blogger since 2003 (Feb. 8 to be exact), and an faithful follower of all you write in this space...I consider ourselves connected, even if we never get to meet in person. Blessings for 2022 and may it be better for all of us.

Andree G. Faubert said...

Hi Nina Marie, that's a wonderful word for 2022! I hope that you get to connect with others. I'm sure that you'll enjoy taking a new class at the same time as your husband. It really sounds great. All the best for a year of connections! As always, thanks for the linking party.

The Idaho Beauty said...

Ii applaud you for hanging in there with your blog for so many years and not defecting to, imo, the less satisfying social media that sprung up after blogs. I started mine in 2005, and although readership has dwindled over the years as well as how often I post, it's still an important form of communication and even recordkeeping - my creative journey history is there!

I'm choosing "More" for my word this year. Last year it was "Finish" in the hopes that I would quit with the squirrel reaction to starting new projects and get back to the UFO's I really wanted to finish. I didn't get very far for a variety of reasons, and so I want to continue finishing projects, More finishing, More doing, just more of a lot of things that got suppressed this year.

That workshop opportunity to learn what looks like a really interesting art quilt technique while your husband hones his woodworking skills sounds fantastic. The very best to you in 2022 and keep on blogging!