What I Love About Pinterest
Hercules Montero
I learned to embroider when I was a kid, when everyone was really into cross stitch (remember the '80s?). Eventually, I migrated to surface embroidery, teaching myself with whatever I could get my hands on...read more
Pinterest inspires me, because there, I find images of beautiful needlework, shared by other embroiderers, needleworkers, bloggers, and artists who have exquisite and interesting tastes and creative ideas. And their tastes and ideas are different from mine; this divergence helps form me, too, by exposing me to other approaches in the vast world of needle arts.
Pinterest motivates me, because it confirms that aspiring to and achieving greater skill is possible, that beauty in needlework is appreciated by others, that the needle arts are alive and people are hungry for the beauty that needlework can bring to their lives. And all this gives me something to work towards.
Every good blog needs this. Without it, the blog withers, either because the blogger becomes bored since no one is responding, or because the readers become bored, since the conversation is only one-way.
So the direction of traffic from Pinterest is a really good thing for a blog, on a number of levels: 1. more traffic is good; 2. and more importantly, the influx of new people with similar interests is good; 3. the growth of a stable, interactive community is vital to keeping a blog alive, interesting, and forward-moving.
In the arts-crafts-needlework world, when Pinterest first emerged, there were many false conceptions about Pinterest floating around on the internet. And, because Pinterest was new, and it involved images, the questions of copyright control with the sharing of images became a big issue.
And while copyright issues are always a concern for artists, writers, and bloggers alike, the notion that, once an image is posted on Pinterest, we lose control of that image or we hand certain rights over to Pinterest (the rights to publish images and make money from them and so forth) is false, by the very nature of copyright.
I LOVE PINTEREST! And agree with you 100%. I have found many needlework artists and blogs through Pinterest and find the visuals so inspiring and motivating. And very useful. Often I go to Pinterest to look up how to do something instead of Google. I find it easier to search for an image of what I am interested in learning about which then leads me directly to the relevant website (most of the time, if the image was pinned correctly). Thanks also for reviewing the etiquette of pinning.
Thank you, Mary, for your clear views on Pinterest. I value the many blogs and websites I have learned of through Pinterest, including yours! I try to always give credit andto add comments when I see an image not properly credited. I will work harder at checking that links work in future. My boardsare Threadworks-Quilting, Threadworks- Embroidery and Textures, and Threadworks- Tutorials, etc. Which shows how my mind works, I guess.
I enjoy clicking on various pins to get to the original source, which often leads from blog to blog. Very fun. Also, I follow a number of people who almost always pin things I love. Very enjoyable. ?
If this were not true, then Pinterest would not have a procedure for removing copyright violating pins. Having followed this a few times myself, I can confirm that all one has to do is prove that one is the originator of the photo and state that it was pinned without permission and Pinterest will remove it. There would be no need for this if it were not actually legally problematic.
I write a blog for beaders and jewellery makers and go through blogs for hours to find those little gold nuggets to write about. Pinterest is a great complementing resource in my research, even if I still rely a lot on dear old Google too.
It has detailed pictures so it may seem a bit long but has tons of useful info. I have been using Pinterest from the days when it was brand new and it has improved alot. Like with everything else, it is a way to pass the time during the cold snowy blizzard days of winter. Alas, one day Spring and summer will arrive and we shall all benefit from the sun!
I used to cut up my magazines and file the pictures and articles into various files for everything from remodeling ideas to childcare. Now I can do that online! Takes up no room in my tiny house and its quick!
I latched onto Pinterest and had a blast! Then came the big hullabaloo over copyright infringement and I left Pinterest alone for a year. Seeing as no lawsuits against Pinners made the news, I have been enjoying Pinterest again.
I am addicted to pinterest. I found your blog there and am a faithful follower of your work and ideas. I also use it as inspiration for work I do. I also found out about Trish Burr on pinterest and have bought two of her books and am attempting to do needle painting. I agree with your blog 100%. I just need to quit pinning and start stitching.
Maureen
I LOVE Pinterest (and your blog). I love all embroidery, especially reproductions and have a number of Boards. Needlework, Needlework Wallets, Needlework Purses, Needlework Caskets, and a few more. I use these for storing info that I find and like but also to share with others who enjoy stitching. Thanks for posting and encouraging use. ann
i would never have found your very helpful site. i love the beautiful work, i am humbled by your talent. i aspire to your ability. but more than anything, i am learning so much about style and how-to from you. i am excited to try so many new things that you take the time to explain in a way i can understand. i thank you
I love pintrest. I do have a board simply labeled embroidery.
One reason I love it is that it has linked me to places like your blog. In west Texas area there are no resources for people who want to do embroidery not cross stich. I love doing my own thing but need inspiration. There are so many techniques that I had never seen before finding you.
Thank you for sharing.
I love pinterest! My main embroidery interest is crazy quilting, and I have been amazed at the inspiration I have discovered through pins. Like you my boards are pretty simple, crazy quilting and embroidery, but they are a constant source of ideas and enjoyment!
Thank you, Mary, for that info on Pinterest.
I am relatively new to blogasphere stuff and you really cleared up the fog about Pinterest. Wow,the light shines in the darkness.
I will have to explore now.
Your articles are clear concise and a daily source of interest, inspiration and knowledge. I love Pinterest as it has so much information in such a beautiful format, another source of inspiration. I stayed away for almost 2 years for fear I was going to use it incorrectly by pinning. Now I relish in the sites. Your information today has been helpful and informative. Thank you for shedding more light on the issues around Pinterest.
I love Pinterest like you it inspires and motivates me. It also excites me to see all the beautiful embroidery and because I will never get to do even 10% of it I can go back again and again and get so much pleasure out of looking at it. Last year I found a pin of a beautiful cross stitch that had been turned into a work box using embroidery hoops, I contacted the blogger who told me where I could purchase the pattern and I now have my own lovely work box with the cross stitch on the top. Mine is a different colour and quite a lot bigger than the original one I saw but I love it and through it I got to correspond with someone on the other side of the world from me about a shared love of embroidery
I love pinterest although I find it quite hard to use at times and linking back to the original can be confusing. So many ideas and so much inspiration that I spend hours looking at other peoples work and just looking at a picture can sometimes solve a problem for me. Thanks to all who allow people to pin their images.
I see Pinterest as an electronic scrapbook and use it mostly for inspiration. I sew and use it for inspiration for projects, but I also write and use it to collect images for settings, clothing, hairstyles, furnishings, etc., of the places and people I write about.
The fact that images can keep a link to their original site is fantastic! I have a whole heap of bookmarked blogs and sites to explore now through all my boards. Exploring links and new images is as much a part of how Pinterest works as just collecting images.
When using Pinterest, i try not to pin too many images from one single persons boards. Replicating another persons seems pointless. So i just follow that board and even find alternative images based on images from that board.
I love Pinterest, it is inspiring as you say, plus you get to see what other people are doing there is so much beautiful embroidery out there along with lots of other craft I have a few boards now, personally I have been a fan of your website for quite a long time (firstly for church linens)and often see your work on Pinterest and often go to you for inspiration and technique keep up the great work
I was blessed, and I do mean blessed, by a fantastic tour around San Francisco and Silicon Valley for what I call the Ultimate Geek Day with Guy Kawasaki as my tour guide. I'll be sharing photos and stories from our day and I'm starting with our first stop which was Pinterest.
I was most excited to visit Pinterest of all the places that we had planned for the day. I love Pinterest, really love it! I found out via email at 3:30 am the weekend before that Pinterest was confirmed and I immediately posted on Google+ with the Pin All the Things meme. I know that all my social media friends and blog readers wanted all the details on this visit so there will be a lot of photos and I'll pin them as well. Guy posted all his photos on Google+ and they are amazing.
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