Saturday, August 20, 2011

All for the STITCH… On blogging, flickring & tweeting like a joyful MOFO

Keeping this blog has rocked my world.

Editing photos for a blog post in my NYC hotel
This is kind of embarrassing to admit, but there you go.

I started reading arts and crafts blogs about two years ago. At first, I lurked on the whipupFeeling Stitchy sites, gobbling up the posts and following the links to the amazing creative spaces of artists and crafters around the globe.

Through Feeling Stitchy, I remember stumbling upon Jenny Hart’s Embroidery as Art and feeling like I was home, like I had found a long lost, secret family.  Here was a stitcher who was making art, often out of portraiture, and I was mesmerized.

Turntable embroidery featured in a whipup mosaic
When I found my way to the MrXStitch blog, things really cracked open for me. Beefranck and MrXStitch have a gracious, loose, egalitarian approach to blogging and feature the work of so many individual stitchers in their Stitchgasm posts. Following links from their posts, I found my way to the blogs and flickr galleries of 20-30 other stitching artists, including (to name a few of many):

The Smallest Forest .  Joetta Maue  .  Penny Nickels .  Bascom Hoage  .  Drucilla Pettibone  .  Ric Rac  .  Mimi Love  .  Beadgirl  .  Jennifer Andrews

So, I took the leap last fall and started cocoaeyesthestitcher. And my creative world flew open. Suddenly, I had a space to capture all of my attempts and thoughts about making. Not only to document, but to muse. Not only to record, but to connect.  When MrXStitch and Feeling Stitchy featured some of my work on their sites, I could NOT believe it.


Blogging lead to flickr and wonderful flickr groups like Phat Quarter and Embroidery. Phat Quarter lead me to the January 2011 Music Swap, which introduced me to jojobooster, gigglymama and so many others. Gigglymama invited me into the EFU group on Facebook, where equally stitch obsession people happily gush about stitching.

Unexpected present from jojobooster,
all the way from New Zealand. LOVE!
And about a month or so ago, in a completely non-stitching turn, I met a new friend who turned me on to Twitter, which I completely adore.  I follow dozens of textile artists and it gives me a view into a more casual, quick and organic part of their stitching lives… a tweet about thread selection is followed by one about melting chocolate croissants or a tune. I love the joyful, random playfulness of tweeting.


Now I tweet almost every day, too, mostly about work I’ve seen online, but also about songs, my changing moods, dinner dates, and my own stitching.  Check out my twitter stream for lots of little posts about amazing artwork… a running quick list of things that inspire me. And tweet me a tune! @o_corcoran.


And my thought of the day, as I pack for me move next weekend, stitch on my Phat Quarter Swap piece for Salvaged Mutiny and dine al fresco and see the Paperhand Puppet Intervention tonight… 

...link to work and artists you love...
...leave comments on blog posts or flickr shots that touch you...
...tweet and share your creative life with like souls online...

BE GENEROUS. It makes life more fun. And it can give other makers a much-needed charge in the loneliness of their making.

Besitos, my friends!

That's it. Just be generous. 

6 comments:

  1. I know what you mean, my blog has really changed my world as weel, and opened up opportunities and created friendships that would never have happened without it. I love my blog !(and yours) but have to say I don't think of myself as a stitcher at all, I still have sooo much to learn.
    This week i am going to do a sharing post - thanks for the reminder.

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  2. You freakingly awesome person! Your post has really touched and affected me, for all sorts of reasons (not least of which is the name check-so glad you love the penguin). I have been having a tough weekend after a very busy week and have been questioning my creativity, my place in this little crafting community and feeling very lost. This post has brought me so much joy, reminded me of all the lovely people I have met out there. I talk about you and the EFU like you are old friends (which hubby doesn't get) but I feel so connected to you guys. I am so glad we got paired up on PQ. It is joy to know you! LOve love love xxx

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  3. it's so true!! i've said that stitching saved my life, but actually it might be blogging! because it opens out onto this amazing world and wonderful people and community (some of which turn out to be in your back yard!!!) btw i think i might start tweeting again now, i'm so inspired by your post!!
    xxoooo

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  4. Gaw! So happy that this post resonated with other artists, makers and bloggers!! Write about what you love... simple but weirdly true. For me, it makes the actual "making" of things feel less lonely. xoxo to all of you!

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