Check Pinterest or Google It – My Thoughts

This is a short post that, while purely my opinion, I hope will resonate with many of us. Personally, I always cringe when a quilter has asked a question on social media and someone inevitably responds “Check Pinterest” or “Google it”.

Let’s talk about it for a bit.

“Check Pinterest”

I love Pinterest. I do. But it’s been around for quite a while now and often times I find that the link for the picture either is completely broken and takes you no where, or it takes you to someone else who is using the photo 2nd hand (or even more) and it doesn’t take you to where you actually learn more. It’s still a great site for inspiration. But not always knowledge. Especially in quilting.

So please rethink responding “Check Pinterest” to people who are asking a specific question. Unless that person is looking for a general inspiration site, I just don’t think sending anyone to Pinterest is helpful to them. People who are familiar with Pinterest know how to utilize it and will do so.

“Google It”

Let’s talk about “Google it”. I would imagine most don’t mean it as in insult, but this response definitely feels like it. Let’s face the facts, nearly everyone who gets on the internet knows how to use Google, at least in its most basic form. There are other deeper ways to use Google, such as Reverse Image Search – my personal favorite. If they don’t know how to really use Google then that response is still not helpful.

Now of course Google can be part of a response. I’m not suggesting we can’t ever mention Google! If you have some knowledge but not all of the knowledge, sometimes that can still help their Google search.

Example: Question: I saw some cheat sheets on here about Accurate Strip Cutting I think, does anyone have a link?

Answer: I remember that too and I think that was Erin at Quilting Rebel. You could try googling Quilting Rebel Accurate Strip Cutting to see if it comes up. You can even leave off the “try Googling” part.

Sometimes we have time for a short response but not time to find the link for someone. And that can still be helpful.

Did I pique your interest in Accurate Strip Cutting? It’s in the Resource Library here! Plus when you are member of Quilting Rebel Membership all our Mastering Method cheat sheets have additional video instruction when helpful.

Let’s also be very considerate of the fact that not everyone is on the same knowledge level as everyone else. First there are varying degrees of quilters. Beginners, intermediate skill, advanced skill. Also quilters can specialize in different areas. General quilting, EPP, appliqué, wool, etc… One might be very knowledgeable in appliqué but have no knowledge of EPP.

Knowledge and skill level can also be greatly effected by health. Someone can suffer a health event that diminishes their ability to understand or perform what they once did. We don’t know what kind of struggle the person asking the question might be going through and always need to respond kindly.

Better Responses & An Opportunity to Connect

Now that we’ve covered “Check Pinterest or Google it”, Here are some other tips for responding to someone on social media.

When someone asks a question in a social media setting this is an opportunity!

It’s an opportunity to connect with another human, another quilter.

It’s an opportunity to uplift, provide confirmation, and share your knowledge with another.

A positive and helpful response is encouraging not only to the one posting the question, but to others seeking an answer to that same question. It might give someone who never commented or even liked a post to ask their own question an improve their quilting or their confidence to quilt! How wonderful is that? Pretty awesome I’d say.

Tip: Answer the question. Stick to responding to the exact question. Of course if you can elaborate for explanation, please do. If someone is asking how the colors look, don’t criticize their wavy piecing.

Tip: You see a mistake. What if you notice a piece that is sewn wrong in their quilt. Only point it out if you can tell the quilt has not been quilted yet! This is my rule of thumb. If I am posting a top I have recently made, and I’ve got a block or piece turned the wrong way – I definitely want to know. I, or anyone who shows off their quilt top, still has time to fix it if they so choose. If you see that it has already been quilted – tell them it is beautiful and move along. There isn’t much they can do for it at this point so I would not point it out. But BE GENTLE when doing this.

I hope this helps you understand some and who knows maybe the people who respond “Check Pinterest or Google it” won’t be the ones reading this type of post. I don’t know. But I want every quilter to feel uplifted and supported no matter how basic their question. We were all beginners once!

If you would love to join a fun quilting community and receive monthly quilting products, join us at Quilting Rebel Membership. Membership is only open the first 6 days of the month and you can learn more right here!