I’ve been mulling over some blog/craft related issues. The thoughts are not chosing to leave on their own, so I will put them here. And so as not to bore anybody, first some photos.

I finished the 3 bags- gifts for various young women in my life.

I made patches from the fabric I printed for a swap last summer- almost exactly a year ago now.

So now for some blog thoughts. I was at a party a month or so ago. I was sitting with a small group of people, all of us involved in the on-line world in various ways. Two of the people at the table, one a man and one a woman, started making fun of the type of comments that people make on food blogs (and also craft blogs by association, although I’m pretty sure they have never spent any time in the online crafty world). I was hearing that the comments were somehow not legitimate (?) or stupid because no one is giving criticism. Too much nice. All very kindergarten. No real issues are discussed. hmm… I don’t know…  I’ve been turning this over in my mind ever since.

We, in crafty blog community, are in a unique corner of the internet universe. To prove this point, this sequence actually happened to me recently.

A man commented on one of my Flickr photos. This flashed through my brain- OMG, a MAN on the internet!

Does that say something about the corner that we inhabit? I don’t think many of the art/craft blogs I look at are putting their work out into the world seeking constructive criticism. Who asks for that from strangers? If I want a critique of my work, I ask someone I know well, whose view point I respect, who I believe has some understanding of where I am coming from and who I can watch as they interact with my work. So why do I put my work out there? To connect with other people who are interested in what I’m interested in. Imagine- look! look! embroidery! wool! cool!…. I can assure anyone who questions this- it is not so easy to find people who get excited about this stuff. So, of course all the comments are nice and oh so gushy- we are thrilled to find someone else who gets what we are into!

Okay, that’s the first rant off my chest. I’ll leave more for another day.