Page 59 - IA Shop Hop 2021

ALL IOWA SHOP HOP 59
Quilters
— BY DIANE L. MURTHA —
in the Virtual World
I am not a dinosaur, but I am a bit old fashioned. I prefer the weight of a book and flipping each page over an e-reader such as a Kindle, and I personally learn better in a classroom environment. Honestly, I do not care for change – my new Bernina sat in the box for almost a month because I was a little afraid of it.
But like many of us, the COVID-19 pandemic changed my daily life and pushed me to try many new things. To par- ticipate in quilt guild activities and other meetings, I had to learn to use Zoom, Go- ToMeetings, and other virtual platforms. As a teacher/lecturer, I further learned to host Zoom meetings, share screen, video tape class segments, and edit the taping (well my husband did the
editing part for me)!
Many of my friends and even my 84-year-old mother figured out FaceTime and Zoom to safely “see” adult children and grandkids. These technologies have been a blessing and a necessity for our mental health and social well-being during a time of isolation. We pulled up our big kid pants and tackled the scary computer and other social media!
Our local quilt stores did the same and more! Many offered on-line mysteries, Block of the Month projects, virtual sew-along days, You Tube tutorials, and shop news to show us new fabric lines and new items in the store.
Every quilt association and network I belong to did similar things: re-publishing previous magazine issues on-line, offering weekly Zoom interviews with popular quilt designers, quilt challenges, and chat- sessions. The Iowa Quilt Museum offered lunch and learns with virtual tours of new exhibits. I couldn’t keep up! I could have been busy the entire day with on-line quilting opportunities! Sorry, hubby,
no time to cook dinner!
Virtual not your thing? I hear you quilt- ing friend. I prefer meeting and learning in person, but my desire to learn more
pushed me through my fear. As I reflect on this year of pushing boundaries and trying new things, I wonder what we’ll “keep” and what we’ll leave behind us as we get closer to “the good ole’ days”!
No matter where you fall in what you hope will stay and what you hope we will stop doing, I challenge you keep growing and learning. I suspect that our local quilt stores and guilds will take advantage of fu- ture hybrid arrangements where some of their activities will be live and some virtual. Will I go back to in-person classes, large group quilt meetings, and shows when of- fered – absolutely. But I will also continue to take advantage of virtual
opportunities to hear my favorite quilt teachers while in the comfort of my
home and my fuzzy slippers.
Below is my list of what I THINK we might see in the future:
POSITIVE THINGS THAT CAME OUT OF A BAD SITUATION
CHALLENGES THAT MIGHT PREVENT THIS FORMAT IN THE FUTURE
Students work in their familiar sewing space with their own equipment and ready access to their stash and supplies
We lose the human interaction and comradery of in-person learning
Access to teachers and classes from all around the world
Not able to touch or feel the quilts at a meeting or class
Everyone has a “front row seat” and clear visibility of teacher demos
No fabric fondling
No travel required or lugging of all your stuff
Occasional technological hiccups
Quilters with children at home or any quilter who is a caregiver can attend a virtual class
Can be difficult to see student work depending on tech set up
Guilds save money with reduced/no travel costs
Harder for teachers to unobtrusively scan the room to gauge student progress
Increased flexibility in class delivery -i.e., a 6-hour class can be broken down into 2 or 3 sessions
Lecturers miss verbal feedback and body language clues
Quilters who aren’t a member of a guild have access to teachers/lecturers who previously only taught live for shows or guilds
Not as much time for casual chatting and “osmosis” learning
Guilds no longer need to schedule lecture & work- shops close together: rather than having a teacher in town for 3 days, everything can be scheduled over 3 separate days/time.
No impulse buying – like when you see someone else with fabric at the cutting table which you suddenly cannot live without!
Diane L. Murtha is a quilter, fiber artist, lecturer, and instructor. Quilting for over 30 years, she gravitated to art quilts 10 years ago and discovered she loves challenges! Her quilts are included in 3 books, numerous magazines, and multiple juried exhibits and international shows. She loves to challenge herself and others through quilting and thinking out of the box. After many years in Germany and Northern Virginia, she currently resides in Iowa. Learn more at: www.dianeLmurtha.com or Instagram @dianelmurtha