Where ya going, Glitter?

[irish*eyes]

[kneesocky]

Gee whiz, I just poked around the pink & brown boards...

made me pretty nostalgic. I signed up on them in April 2001 (!! geeeeez!) I remember being really wowed & excited by it. I didn't have regular internet access at that time, and only got a chance to 'surf' the net when I visited my parents - so the internet was this incredible source of ideas & information to me. When I found pink & brown & saw that there were PAGES and PAGES and PAAAAGES of people just sharing their crafty ideass & questions & projects & swapping .. oh wow, my mind was blown & I was so excited.

I mostly stuck to posting about crafts on those pink & brown boards, I remember feeling shy/weird about starting to post more in 'la vida crafty' when the boards switched over to here.

Is this place on its way out? I don't think so. I don't post as often as I used to/should, but that is mainly because my offline life is pretty complicated. On one hand it is great to come on here & talk about nail polish & babies, but when I come on & there is trouble, I just cannot handle it. Not to say that I don't think those blowouts shouldn't happen - they usually (hopefully) end up okay & with people maybe learning something new.

To say that 'a lot' has happened to me since I first signed up is a big understatement. in 2007, my world went topsy turvy upside downy & this was really one of the first places I came to cry about it. I took a break for a while & then last year, when again, everything went bonkers in my life, glitter was here to catch me & to support & love me with no questions asked. I see it time & time again - even people who admit to being mainly lurkers but are looking for insight & support are (usually) met with nothing but. To me, that is special. That isn't something you'll find very often. Heck - like... you guys threw me a virtual baby shower & one of you delivered a box of yellow love & awesomeness right to my door in a time of incredible need & craziness.

I do wish the craft board was more active, but in order for that to happen I have to start being more active - which I'll admit I haven't been.

I'll also admit that since Ravelry popped up, and I joined a group on there of ladies who all had their babies at the same time, I have been mostly posting there but really, they aren't the same as g*. You guys are special.

I've learned SO MUCH here. More than I realize, probably.

And also, when I signed up 11 years ago, I could totally pull off the whole 'kneesocks' thing & now I couldn't possibly. Maybe time for a name change & a new dedication to reviving the beloved craft community.

[Melmont]

I think it's time for a break for me too...I have found that I usually have little to contribute to a lot of discussions, and that most posts are about things I don't experience in my life -- professional/office stuff, baby stuff, wedding stuff. I don't really feel like it's a DIY sharing community at this point. For two years now, I've been doing an intensive diploma in Fibre Arts at a local craft and design college, but to my recollection, I've never discussed that here. It's rare that a question comes up that I feel qualified to answer, except maybe where color theory is involved.

Glitter used to make me feel engaged in a lot of socio/political and feminist debate and discussion, but over the past little while, that hasn't come up very often except in the big blowouts. I don't know, I don't really feel like I belong or contribute much lately, which makes me a bit sad, but it is what it is. I think some time away might give me a fresher perspective on what G* means (or meant) to me.

I've been spending too much angry/frustrated time here, which usually means it's time for a change in my life.
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http://montgomeryfibrearts.wordpress.com/

[Chiquita]

Yes, planning on sticking around. I've learned so much from you all!

Quit for good, not really. Many strong people = many strong opinions = occasional misunderstandings. The good stuff more than makes up for any bad moments. And even in those bad moments - I learn so much from you all!

Since I haven't been around that long I suspect that the cyclical nature of life is reflected here in G* as well. We have time for crafts (but no money) - we get busy with family/career/etc - things change - we find more time for crafting again. So no, there is no end for a need for a place where artistic/creative people get together and hopefully inspire each other.

I wish I had a IRL community that could replace G*. But I'm working on it, not to take the place of G* but because having more glitter type gals close by so we could visit etc would be so cool. I have a degree in art but a full time job/child/lots of home responsibilities that make it darn near impossible to carve out time to make cool stuff. I love the reminder that making art is what I need to change in my life - like the #1 thing. Coming here on a regular basis reminds me I'm not the only one who struggles with the balance and I do keep my craft supplies out in hopes one Sunday I have more than just a couple of pictures to share.

[christinaheart]

I use glitter when I have the time. I'll probably continue to do so. I generally stick to fluffier topics (like arts and crafts and fun little swaps).

The Blowout has me a little concerned with... word choices. I mean, I know I've said things in an ungraceful way. I do my best to be respectful, but I'm not perfect. So far, 90% of G* has been very forgiving of any ignorance I've shown and I appreciate this immensely. We're *not* all immersed in feminism studies and that's ok. I'm so interested in learning about different cultures and ideas and -isms, but it's not going to work out if people are blatantly dismissive and rude. I can't learn from someone if all they're doing is yelling at me.

When using only written word to communicate, you lose a LOT of context and a lot of the opportunity to respond in a timely manner. (We all have a life outside of glitter, after all.) There's a lot of time for the shit to hit the fan and without underlying respect, the "community" won't work.

I've cut a lot of drama out of my life recently. I don't really want or anticipate G* being one of these dramatic things. And if it does get too drama-filled, I'll just walk away for a while.

I like you, G* people. You're rad.
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<3

[scaredsi11y]

I took a break in 2011, but other than that, I've also been here ten years. Although I haven't met anyone in person, I do feel like I "know" a lot of you after so many years of conversing, picture-sharing, swapping, etc. I think of you as real people, not just usernames!

I still think there's value in Glitter. I took my break because it had ceased to be a welcoming and inspiring place for me. (Maybe I should have bolded the 'for me' part?) I never thought it had become an awful place in general, but I found myself getting more upset about certain issues than I would have liked to. I needed some time away to reflect about what my participation here means to me, and what my boundaries should be in the future.

Okay, now for the part that's sad-but-true:

If I were to stumble upon the Glitter of 2012, I probably wouldn't be as excited about it as I was to find the pink and brown boards in 2002. The topics have shifted in a way that has become a lot less relevant to my life. Melmont, I can relate to what you said about finding very little to share at this point.

When I check the main boards after a week away and find only fluffy threads, I feel sort of like I do when I see one of my old friends and realize that I have very little in common with them anymore. You know how that is, right? It's not like I don't care about them or never want to visit with them again, but I've lost the "can't wait to hang out all weekend!!" feeling I used to have when we were both at the same point in our lives. I guess that's the best analogy I can come up with for how I feel about Glitter at this point.

[caropop]

Glitter is the Heath Ledger to my Jake Gyllenhall.

I don't know how to quit you all!




(I have more productive things to say, but not the time at the moment and couldn't resist sharing that thought. I'll be back.)
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country cookin' makes you good lookin'

it's a blog!

[Kelly.]

[goddamnit, internet ate my post]

[scaredsi11y]

I didn't read that as antagonistic, Kelly. I think it's a good question. While I think that the archives are useful and helpful, sometimes I kind of wish there wasn't so much history here. I don't like to see threads get deflated when someone points out, "we already talked about this in 2007 and 2009, and here are the links."

[Kelly.]

[PurpleDoor]

[agsine]

I've been intermittent for a while now, but I'm another decade-plus-long poster (though on pink-and-brown I had a different name or five -- it was my teen years and my self-invention stage!).

When I found y'all, I was a dorky, shy, crafty kid who didn't know much beyond a very conservative religious perspective of the world. You basically WERE my friends when I was in high school -- some people I wanted to be BFFs with, others I didn't "get" just yet. Likewise while I was slogging through the military. I told you all everything I couldn't tell people in "real life". I knew, sometimes, that y'all were probably rolling your eyes at whatever I was babbling (crushes, especially) but I also knew that you'd been there or would be there.

And I've met a handful of y'all in person. I've maintained decade-long "internet friendships" which are more like true friendships with more than a few. And others, well, I probably like something about you even if I've never said it out loud.

But...the internet's not the friendly world of wonder and knowledge that it seemed to be when I was 16. I think most of us know that. Even here, we've had our few sneaky trolls, and that has made me wary of sharing as much anymore. And, well, I don't have as much free time as I used to for sitting and playing. I'm a lot better about staying focused on what I *need* to do, and my catalog of interests is HUGE these days.

And, yeah, I've learned a lot from y'all. I hadn't knowingly met anyone who was gay or lesbian before I first found pink-and-brown, for goodness' sake! I still thought that I couldn't be religious and liberal! Hell, I thought anyone who wasn't my flavor of Christian was a bad person! I thought Celestial Seasonings was good tea!!! Y'all showed me a lot more of the world than an insular church, suburban high school, or the military could. Not to mention the different kinds of crafts. Y'all helped that process, because I had to compare the people I was talking to with what I'd been told about "them" and figure out what was real and true.


But, I do see that there's a lot less activity. I think most of us are pretty busy, and don't have time to sit and carry on a ten-page discussion about doing feminism/vegetarianism/veganism/activism/any other -ism over the course of an afternoon. Personally, I might have time for a few posts, then I'm gone for several hours -- the message board format is great for reading the discussion later, but a misstated idea might turn into dozens of analytic posts. It's a lot easier to keep up with a "fluffy" topic that way, KWIM?

I don't think glitter is going anywhere, honestly. I think members come and go, and posting is heavy or light, and the venue may change. Glitter itself has changed.

And, am I the only one who never made or had marble magnets?
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We are the ones we have been waiting for.

Another etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/sinemoria

And a blog about writing and knitting:
http://storiesfromsockyarn.wordpress.com/

[lozenge]

I was a lot more crafty when I was a member back on pink/brown member and have been somewhat intermittent since then.


I think sometimes I check here out of habit rather than having an actual drive to post and my posting has been erratic for a few reasons.

The board can be quite NA-centric on occasion and I really don't have much to add to threads about spring when it is going into autumn here. I also work full time and have quite the busy fitness schedule. Even though I mostly lurk I think the majority of people are quite awesome though so I would be sad to see G* go.

[Lassi]

[scaredsi11y]