I'll be thinkin' about you...

Much is happening in my personal world, but I have also found myself with a few quiet moments to sit at the computer. Soon I will be leaving the cyber-world for a simpler world of sand, surf, shells and sea breezes. It will only be for a few days… alas, there are not barn quilts on the barrier islands of the Carolina’s (yet!). I will have to do some serious catching up here (and the day job), when I return. In the meantime, I want to leave everyone here with at least something positive to contemplate.

The Ning, social networking site (Barn Quilting), is up and running, with a few mildly interesting (forum), subjects to help start conversation. I was exploring the Ning world, and I discovered almost 40 sites that had some interest in quilting. [There is a search bar in the top right of the home page.] Many of these I will need to join (apply to join), before I am allowed to read the posts, or leave any comment. I hate being a spammer. I hope to visit most of these sites tonight, and I will consider this as leaving my calling card. Maybe I will get some interesting comments in return.

One of these Ning sites has been started by Donna Sue Groves, and it is called: National Quilt Barn Trail. If you are familiar with the history of the Barn Quilt Movement, then you already know who she is. I applaud what Ms Groves is doing, and I am certain that it is only a matter of time before there is a National Quilt Barn Trail. Hard work, organization and determination will help, yet I honestly believe that this is an inevitable step for such a great community of communities.

The other tid-bit I would like to throw out is the images that already exist on Flickr, and other image sharing sites across the web. It’s easy to search for these by typing in the words associated with Barn Quilts. I don’t have time this week to introduce myself to all of these wonderful and talented photographers, but it would be great to have someone drop a few pictures on the Barn Quilting page.

Share the stories…

Is there anybody out there ?

I am very content in my belief that my path is charted, but still unknown. I have started a blog called Barn Quilt Memories, and what is referred to as a social network that is devoted to Barn Quilts called (what else...) Barnquilting. For weeks I have toyed with the medium, and there has not yet been any response. I have a store on Cafepress called the Barn Quilt Shop and it has not become a hit... not really discovered. All is well! I am not discouraged, but I do wonder what my next step will be. I suppose that I will in the next few days start telling the personal story of what has brought me to this place. Stay tuned!

stealing moments

It is all that I can do right now... to steal a few moments between being the taxi driver for my son, getting shopping and house work done, trying to fix the car, scout treasury reports, not to mention my real job. There is other stuff on my plate, yet I keep coming back to the Barn Quilts. I think that I will post several topics for discussion on the Ning "Barn Quilting" Network. There is a way to create and post to a blog on the network, but I may use this Blogger format to post my personal opinions, and try not to get carried away on Ning. Actually Blogger would be a good place for me to explain the question, or statement, or explain why it interests me. I don't want to make my Ning network statements too lengthy or it will be difficult for people to comment and allow themselves to feel ownership of the discussion.

If anyone acidentally (or otherwise), reads this post, please take a few seconds and go to http://barnquilting.ning.com/. I guess that (maybe) you will need to sign in to post any comments, but there is no reason that you would have to use your real name (unless you wanted to come back one day). Anyway, I am trying to connect some interesting and creative people that share a common interest. If you don't want to join right now, maybe you have a mate or buddy on-line, or a messanger contact that has mentioned Barn Quilts, or maybe just someone you know in one of those states (Ia, Ky, Md, Mi, NC, NY, Oh, Tn, Tx, or Wi).

Time flies

How the time does fly. My last post was in a whirlwind of moving stuff off of the farm, and for the past few weeks my life has seemed a little nuts. Actually my life has been nuts for more than a few weeks, but we don't need to go there tonight. I started another blog about the same time as this one, thinking that it was easier to create and maintain a list on MSN Spaces. Well, I guess that you can teach an old dog new tricks (see list at right). Because I have not been posting, I have not been getting any traffic. Let's see if we can get this changed. Right now I have more than 50 Barn Quilt web-sites listed. It's worth a look-see... See if your favorite is here. If not, I would love to add any that are sent my way.

I am also starting a "social network" on Ning called Barn Quilting. My plan is to be listener and a facilitator, but I do not want to tell anyone how to do their thing. Let's share a little information, some pictures, and some laughs. I am open to any and all ideas, but this is a family network, so let's keep it clean. I have not come across another idea that has as much potential as Barn Quilting to connect the communities that we want so much to share.


Find more photos like this on Barn Quilting