Hi there- My name is Sarah Jane King
and I would like to tell you about a new

Online Quilting Community
called “My Quilt Patch”.

I know that I don’t have to tell you that quilters and patchworkers constitute one of the most friendly and sociable groups that you will find anywhere and that we are all interested in sharing our love of the craft and hearing about what others, who are also passionate about patchwork and quilting, are up to.

The new and developing features of the internet (dubbed “Web 2.0”) are ideal for the creation of special interest groups with a social media dimension and for building online communities around a particular activity or interest. The growth in popularity of “Groups” in sites like My Space and Facebook is testament to this.

It is this approach that is behind the “My Quilt Patch” site, which we hope to build into a worldwide community of quilters, such that it will be a place where people can share their joy of quilting with others using a range of simple online tools and applications that enable them to do a number of fun and useful things.

However, in addition to being a quilters’ online sharing and communication facility, we want the site to be entertaining and informative as well and therefore there is also a ton of articles and other resources available (including tutorials, patterns and projects) covering a wide range of quilting related topics, many contributed by internationally acclaimed quilting tutors and textile artists.

Here is a brief selection of the kind of thing available on the site:

A super Free Block Pattern from textile artist Pat Archibald entitled  Celtic Tree, where she shows you how to use her own technique of using iron-on foils to create a shiny metallic motif on the block.

A beautiful mixed media project for you to do, incorporating delicate fabric painting together with free machine embroidery. This design by Tracy Curtis called "Thistle Project" is suitable for a number of different applications. It could be used as a framed picture, a cushion cover or part of a design for a quilt.

Why not let Annette Morgan show you how to add some real sparkle to your quilting? In this article she walks you through one of her techniques, in an extract from her book "Glitzy Quilts". Here you will learn just how she cleverly makes use of all sorts of materials for Beadmaking, which she then uses to add sparkle and interest to her quilting designs.

Now, what about these Web 2.0 utilities? What are they all about and what do they enable you to do online?

Well there is quite a long list of features that are available to members of the community to use, which are mainly about different ways of celebrating and sharing your own quilting creativity and also interacting online with like-minded folk in a variety of fun ways.

A sample of these include:

(For the full details of everything available on the site visit the MQP ‘Getting Started Guide’).

• Creating your own Quilting Photo Gallery to ‘showcase’ your work and share it with members and others via the internet. This can be displayed as individual images with narrative descriptions, or as a slideshow. 

• Browse and/or participate in the My Quilt Patch Forum and exchange views with other quilters around the world, ask questions and pick up (or pass on) patchwork and quilting tips. (There is also a facility to set up private sub groups on the forum). 

• Online Chat-With this feature it is possible to communicate with other members of the community anywhere in the world in ‘real time’ via text, audio or video (or a mixture of all three) simply by using your web browser (no phone charges) This is also great for use by private groups! 

• Create a Quilting Website without scripting, coding or HTML. An intuitive and fun tool you can use to easily make your own custom quilting website hosted at “My Quilt Patch” at no additional cost. 

• Send Online Audio-Visual Postcards to your quilting circle (or anyone) by simply using your webcam or microphone. Use this tool to email personalised ‘rich media’ communications to any email address. 

It is a members only website with a small monthly subscription (to keep down the advertising!) but no long term commitment is required. There is a month’s FREE TRIAL  available so that anyone interested can check out the community thoroughly before deciding to remain subscribed as a member.

I hope this information has been of interest to you and very much hope to see you inside our new quilting community.

To check out the full MQP site just click on this link:

www.MyQuiltPatch.com  

Best wishes and ‘happy quilting’.

Sarah Jane

Sarah Jane King

MQP  

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