First, I have to say that I LOVE hosting the Blogger’s Quilt Festival, and it is not going away. I do however, need to make a few changes in order to keep my sanity in check! My current Market commitments are many, and I don’t see that changing, and the amount of work that goes into hosting the Blogger’s Quilt Festival is quite large, so I need to schedule myself and my commitments better.
Important Dates
#IGquiltfest – March 21-25, 2016
Blogger’s Quilt Festival – September 19-30, 2016
#IGquiltfest
With the shift away from blogging and to Instagram (IG) for many quilters, I’ve been asked multiple times if quilters can participate from IG. In the past the answer has been no, since the linky tool requires a permalink, and link back to my site. So with the adjustments to the dates that I’m already making, I decided to focus one festival on IG and the other on Bloggers. I think this will be a lot of fun, and if you aren’t on IG already it’s much easier to set up an account there, than it is to start a blog.
Here’s the details –
When: March 21-25, 2016
What: A one week photo challenge on IG
Who: Quilters on IG
How: Use photo prompts, the #IGquiltfest hashtag, and tag me in your photos
Win: I’m currently seeking sponsors for this March, to donate prizes to ship after the event. The drawings will be random, to be eligible to win, you will need to follow the sponsor and myself.
Also: There will be a post here on my site with a photo viewer. Even if you aren’t on IG you can view all the photos and click through for the inspiration fest that is bound to happen!
Blogger’s Quilt Festival
The general premise of the Blogger’s Quilt Festival is not going to change at all, just the dates. You’ll notice I’m starting the Festival on a Monday, instead of a Friday, but we will have categories, and voting just like we have the last few years.
So what do you think? I hope that you are excited about the changes – I am! I’ve been trying to find a way to make changes that would be good for me and the community, and I really think this will be great.
Looking forward to your response in the comments –
Amy
Great idea Amy!
We would all love to keep on participating in the Festival, but the addition of the IG fest is so exciting!!! I am so looking forward to it! Take care of yourself!
Hugs,
Esther
I think that these changes are smart and make a lot of sense based on the pulse of the online quilting community and the fact that these changes will be better for you and your family. I am looking forward to #IGquiltfest!
One quick question about the Bloggers Quilt Festival happening in September. Since that will now be a once a year opportunity, will you open up and allow more quilt submissions per person (not per category, but say 3 or 4 per blogger instead of 2)?
Sounds perfect. Thanks for continuing to provide a place to share our quilts with new friends!
That sounds fabulous Amy. Thank you.
Hi Amy! I think you made good decision and the changes are perfect. Can’t imagine how much work this all is to you. Thank you so much for organizing these events! Greetings from Greece! x Teje
That seems to be the perfect solution and a great way to get people on Instagram involved! Thank you for all the work you oput into the festivals Amy!
Of course you have to do what’s best for you and your family first! The #igquiltfest sounds like a fun way to change things up. I’m looking forward to participating.
Works for me! Really enjoy the event and looking forward to it.
Sounds like a lot of fun! Thanks for planning it out :)
Sounds great – IG is definitely a major platform, and it’ll be fun to share our work there!
Can’t wait – I’m always inspired by what I see and I’ve made friends, too. thats for your hard work.
It works for me! Glad to see it change and evolve. IG is a much easier thing than a blog post! Thanks for all you do!
I think this is a great idea!!
The changes sound reasonable and they fit with the times. Thank you SO much for starting this and keeping it going. I’ve seen so many amazing quilts and found great blogs through the BQF. Here’s to the next iteration of the festival!
I think this is a great idea. I can’t imagine what a huge time commitment this is for you but the festivals have been so amazingly inspiring both from the quilts shown and the blogs behind them. Widening it this way is neat because I still think it’s great to have a platform for bloggers only but IG is a force to be reckoned with and further opens the door. But I hope IG submissions will include a brief write up on the creation otherwise you are left with doubtless a beautiful quilt but as makers I think we love to hear about the background and choices made in its construction. I’ve learnt and been inspired as much by the explanation not just the picture.
This sounds great! Thanks for organizing it.
Thanks for hosting this fun event and trying to make it work with your busy schedule! I think the IG idea is great even if I have always preferred the blog posts format because it allows multiple pictures of the same project, nice write up with stories about the creative process, inspiration, etc. I was happy that the events coincided with Market because that allowed many people that do not have the chance to go there to still feel the excitement and share their inspiring creations with everyone. I know how much of a time commitment those events are, so thanks again for trying to keep them all running!!
I have wondered how you have managed to do all this in the past because the work has to be huge so thanks for all of that! I welcome the changes and now that I can get on IG I have not issues with that. I do feel that IG is fleeting. Love the eye candy though. However, I want to know more about the people behind the quilt and I want to know about the process, pattern info or tutorials they offer so I still prefer blogs.
I’m not on Instagram and have NO desire to sign up, so I appreciate you hosting a photo viewer on your site.
I am only on IG, not all of us quilters are able to support a quality blog, but we still love to share what we do. So, I appreciate you hosting something for those of us only on IG.
Great idea, Amy. I have all but abandoned my blog but use IG frequently. Thanks for the option.
OK! Change is good! As both an IG’er and blogger this works fine for me. More importantly, thank you for continuing to host this and all the work behind the scenes!
Yes! Thank you for hosting these wonderful forums, Amy! This is a terrific idea to alternate the shows between Instagram and Blogworld. I prefer blogs to IG, but IG is so popular that it makes perfect sense to do this! I can’t believe all the work you do each time to make it so much fun.
Thank you, Amy, for making changes that can include more quilters!!
(Like me!)
I don’t blog (love to read them, though!)… but enjoy the eye-candy on Instagram… And I quilt! So now, I, too, can participate in the fun!!
*Thank you!, Amy!!*
Pat T.