No, not that. We are still waiting for our fabric. Maybe it has something to do with Japan. If so, that is totally fine. There are way more problems in the world than our little ol' fabric delivery. So, when we have it, we will show it. Promise.
The "finally" I'm talking about is I finally got my invitation to this:
But, honestly, I just don't get it! I get the part that you find things on the net that you love, pin them to your boards and share them with the world. What I don't get is why anyone needs an "invitation". For weeks, I've found our (Sweetwater's) photos and ideas on lots of other people's "boards"- but we weren't allowed to participate. Just want to know why that is. I almost just gave up on the whole thing- until last night at about 12:30 in the morning when I was e-mailed my "invitation". Who gets to decide who gets an invitation? If anyone can help me out on that invitation thing, let me know. As of now, my mom still doesn't have hers.
Actually, I have mixed feelings about the whole issue. I don't even do Facebook. Seriously. I may be the last holdout on earth, but I just don't do it. Mostly because I'm afraid I will get caught up in it and waste too much time checking up on people I just sort of know.
Anyway, back to Pinterest. I really shouldn't be on my computer any more than I am- it might blow up on me. But, I love, love, love seeing our stuff on other people's boards, even though, as a designer there are reasons not to want everything so accessible. That's another topic for another day.
But I do think I will have fun organizing things I love- clothes, photographs, decorating things, etc. So, if you are on Pinterest, let us know how you use it, any tips you have and what you love about it. And if you have any information on the invitation thing, we would love to know!
Also, we want to thank everyone who voted for us in the Modern Madness fabric competition. To my excitement, we made it to the "Sweet 16"! Thank you so, so much. If you would like to vote in the next round, visit the Fat Quarterly blog here.
And, because a post is not a post without a picture, here is a photo of one of our "Countdown to Christmas" quilts. The photo was due last week and we had to take this in about 80 mph wind. The pattern is called "Holiday Twist" and will be available next month!
It seems like you see the same exact pictures over everyone's accouts. And I don't like the process of pinning.If I want to talk to someone, I will call them, or write them a letter.
Posted by: Canvas Bags | Friday, April 29, 2011 at 05:42 AM
Love the Hoilday Twist pattern and the Hometown line. I even found my hometown in the pictures, Thank you for the sneak peek!
Posted by: Gina.S | Monday, April 11, 2011 at 11:12 AM
I'm on facebook. I have found another use for it besides keeping track of my family (we all live in different states). SEWING! I have shops that tell me whats new, sales, free patterns or tutes. Then i have the blogs i like best and they can link me up with contests or other blogs i didn't know about. Saves me a lot of time by just going there and seeing who has a blog post or sale going on, or a new design release. I saw your interview that way, the one you did for sunkissed. It's like free advertising. If you list under a business ther's no snooping into personal lives. I even have Moda on there! :)
Posted by: Gina.S | Monday, April 11, 2011 at 11:04 AM
I've never felt so "in" by not doing the "in" thing! I'm not on FB either! You couldn't have stated it better: "...waste too much time checking up on people I just sort of know." I spent an evening on my husband's account. Found some people, got over it, went back to blogging.
As for Pinterest- I didn't realize it was invite only. I've only visited it a couple of times- browsing for ideas and inspiration. Meh. It was interesting at first, and then it just seemed to be a random bunch of gobbillty gook.
-p.s. love love the quilt. it's on my ever-growing to do list.
Posted by: Lori | Sunday, April 10, 2011 at 07:46 PM
I've never felt so "in" by not doing the "in" thing! I'm not on FB either! You couldn't have stated it better: "...waste too much time checking up on people I just sort of know." I spent an evening on my husband's account. Found some people, got over it, went back to blogging.
As for Pinterest- I didn't realize it was invite only. I've only visited it a couple of times- browsing for ideas and inspiration. Meh. It was interesting at first, and then it just seemed to be a random bunch of gobbillty gook.
-p.s. love love the quilt. it's on my ever-growing to do list.
Posted by: Lori | Sunday, April 10, 2011 at 04:04 PM
dunno about pinterest either, but I do know that i was able to snag 2 charm packs of your new countdown to christmas line and I loved it even more in person than I did via computer screen! didn't think it was possible! can't wait to make something fun with it and get my hands on actual yardage!
Posted by: Sarah Watts | Friday, April 01, 2011 at 04:19 PM
I haven't heard of Pinterest. Is it like Flickr? I am not on Facebook either, for the same reasons you have stated. I enjoy my favorite blogs (like yours!) and write occasionally on my own but that seems to be all I have time for.
Posted by: Linda | Thursday, March 31, 2011 at 09:19 PM
I also do not do facebook. I have a heard time managing my real life and don't have time to keep up with my "online posted life". I do follow several fabric designer/quilting/sewing blogs. I have not been out to Pinterest but I have heard of it....it may be intriguing...
Posted by: Susan | Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 06:46 PM
and I LOVEEEEEEEEEEEE this fabric and quilt...bless you for always following your heart and doing what you all do BEST...you are HERE!
Posted by: madame samm | Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 01:37 PM
Ok, this will no doubt surprise you, I am a GEEK, flat out, always have been, I have every gizmo, techie thing ever invented, I have worked main frame, write software, can do up almost any graphic known to mankind...I don't tweet, I don't do facebook. I blog...I don't have time for anything else...Did get an invite to Pinterest, didn't get it either. Sew I did not join...My blogs have grown in the thousands....why, maybe because I look after one thing and do that well( from what I am told) lol. Sew continue doing what you do best...do your blog, take your pics, design your fabric and keep growing, it is obvious you have a pulse on that...still such a fan...and had a min to tell you ... BLOGGING is the best thing for Marketing that has ever brought in results....just saying...
Posted by: madame samm | Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 01:35 PM
I am not on Facebook, either. It's a great tool, but I just simply don't have time to get into... I already have a few blogs I am following. ; ) I often ask one of my friends who is on Facebook how everybody else is doing. LOL This Pinterest thing is new for me. I guess I will stick to visiting websites and blog sites. I am getting old. I cannot keep up with all new things, you know... Sigh.
Posted by: Miwako | Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 11:24 AM
i love the holiday twist pattern, can't wait to make it myself.
Posted by: Lindsay @ Simply Mae | Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 10:17 AM
no facebook for me either. for the same reason you said but also- i like my anonymity. and reading quilt blog is alot more fun!!!!!!!
Posted by: Jenne Dudrear | Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 06:49 AM
I've seen Pinterest boards - they're interesting, but I have a wall at home that does the same thing. I am on Facebook, but only to make sure my family is alive and well - they all live out of state and it allows me to catch up with them. I did reconnect with a long-lost cousin, which is totally wonderful. I only look at it in the morning. I'm on the computer too much as it is, so I'm trying not to get into too many other things. I don't get Twitter at all.
Posted by: SuzK | Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 06:41 AM
Oooh, I hope you'll love pinterest -- Twitter and Facebook seem totally useless to me, but Pinterest is so ... beautiful! I hate Facebook -- it's ugly and messy. I've been on Pinterest many times when a message pops up that says come back later, the servers are all busy. I think the invitation thing is just to control the growth while they figure it all out. Have a great time with your new account!
Posted by: Thimbleanna | Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 06:14 AM
No face book for me either and for the same reasons that you stated so you are not the only one out there but yes i am still waiting for my invite email to arrive from pintrest.
Posted by: Linda in Aus | Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 12:58 AM
spectacular quilt!
Posted by: Tracy | Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 12:23 AM
I can send you an invite if you like! Just need an email address!
Just finished with quilting Countdown to Christmas quilt! Love it and can't wait for the new one!
Posted by: CaraQuilts | Tuesday, March 29, 2011 at 07:08 PM
Can't help you on the pinterest thingy...just saw it last week myself for the first time. Have helped you out on the Modern Madness...and I don't do facebook either so welcome to the club. I too think it would just devour too much of my time.
BUT...now on to that Quilt!!! LOVE it and it will certainly be on my birthday wish list for my kids...they've been asking and I haven't seen anything I wanted...that is until now. Did I say I LOVE it? Well I absolutely love all things Sweetwater. Thanks again for all your work and inspiration.
Posted by: Cheryl | Tuesday, March 29, 2011 at 06:49 PM
I have my Countdown to Christmas pre-ordered and I can't wait! I love, love the depths of the greens and reds and the addition of black. Now I wait until May :)
Posted by: Lisa LeBlanc | Tuesday, March 29, 2011 at 06:08 PM
I have a pinterest account. It was fun for the first few days, then I quickly lost interest. It seems like you see the same exact pictures over everyone's accouts. And I don't like the process of pinning. What I really need is a way to organize all my blog articles that I want to keep. Keep it all in google reader. I can't figure out the pin toolbar either. As soon as Pinterest goes public, you won't need an invitation anymore. Right now they are beta testing it, working out the kinks, and launching small. Have fun with it!
Posted by: Jen | Tuesday, March 29, 2011 at 05:41 PM
I LOVE Pinterest. I'm "barely" on facebook, don't twitter, and don't really blog much, but I LOVE Pinterest, and am totally addicted. It is a great place to keep "wish lists" and have all the beautiful things I find on the internet in one place. I have no idea how the "invitation" thing works - so good luck everyone.
Posted by: Amy | Tuesday, March 29, 2011 at 05:07 PM
You're not the last facebook hold out. I don't do facebook, twitter and to the despair of my children, I don't do text messaging and rarely even use my cellphone.
Posted by: SuperMom | Tuesday, March 29, 2011 at 04:20 PM
Yeah! Im so glad to know that Im not the only one without facebook....I actually had it for a little while, found some old lost friends, said hi, realized I checked it a little too much and I canceled my account. I dont even miss it. I guess one liners didnt make me feel connected to anyone!
Posted by: Kristin Stout | Tuesday, March 29, 2011 at 04:09 PM
Thanks for posting about this as I still haven't received my invitation and was getting really frustrated. The responses have helped me understand the process so thanks guys!!
Posted by: Di | Tuesday, March 29, 2011 at 04:00 PM
I am ashamed to admit it but I don't text, tweet, facebook or have my own blog. I love looking at everyone's blogs but I don't have the time for my own. I work full time so I am a internet surfer only. If I want to talk to someone, I will call them, or write them a letter. I will get off of my soapbox now.
I have not received a Pinterest invite yet. I thought the premise was a good one so I may give it a try.
The quilt is beautiful. Gorgeous shades of red and green. Thanks for sharing.
Also, please let us know when you figure out Pinterest.
Posted by: karen q | Tuesday, March 29, 2011 at 03:59 PM
I was able to access Pinterest through my Twitter account without having an invitation. I think it works with a Facebook account, too. I love it for the same reasons everyone else has given!
Posted by: Vicki | Tuesday, March 29, 2011 at 03:03 PM
Its a common thing with Beta programs - they start out small and invite people one by one to join so they don't crash their servers...as it is their servers get overloaded sometimes. They are still growing, and someday when they are out of their "testing" stages they will probably open it up to the public. I love my pinterest boards, and I don't know what I would do without it now!
Posted by: Janet Waack | Tuesday, March 29, 2011 at 02:50 PM
You are not the last holdout on Facebook. I don't and get a lot of hooey from my friends about it. I don't get the invite thing either. Maybe they need to make sure their servers can handle all the users or something. I have an account on Pinterest but have yet to do anything with it.
Posted by: A.J. Dub | Tuesday, March 29, 2011 at 02:44 PM
I love Pinterest! It is definitely addicting. From what I understand, the invitation issue was to help the site gradually grow, rather than be slammed with people. There are still certain times of day when you will try to pin something and the servers are busy.
I use it to keep track of all the inspiration I find. We are hoping to build a house soon, so I have a decor board. I am a scrapbooker, so I have a couple of boards where I pin inspiration for layouts. I pin recipes I want to try, crafts I want to make, stuff I want to do with my kids. I used to put all these links into my bookmarks and then I'd hardly ever look again. Now, I see them on my boards with a picture and get inspired!
Posted by: ArlaMo | Tuesday, March 29, 2011 at 02:42 PM
I'm finding myself addicted to Pinterest too! I waited about a week for my invite, but when I added friends, they were able to create usernames right away. Maybe that would help your mom?
Posted by: Kelly | Tuesday, March 29, 2011 at 02:35 PM
I read somewhere that they were doing the invitations just to control the # of people using it to start off, I think. Also, I think it makes it more appealing (stupid marketing tricks!).
I remember that gmail and ravelry used to be that way, and now that they've taken off you can sign up instantly for an account.
As far as I know, no one is ever denied an invite, it's just crowd control. ;)
I personally use pintrest as a replacement for bookmarks. I pin quilts based on the piecing or quilting patterns, and then I can scan through them for inspiration. It works a lot better for me than sifting through 100's of bookmarks for that one quilt with the swirly quilting design that I kinda sorta liked. ;)
I think I enjoy it most because it's so visual. And while it does take a bit longer to pin something than to bookmark it, it's a lot easier to reference later. I've started using it to pin stuff I might want to buy, too.
Posted by: Nikki | Tuesday, March 29, 2011 at 02:35 PM