teaching sewing confidence, tip by tip

Tuesday 16 April 2013

Have You Ever Met Up With Someone You Talk To On The Internet? Today I Did!


Now if your teenage son or daughter told you that they were going out to meet someone they'd been chatting to on the internet, how would you respond?

Yep, I think we all know what we'd say to that one!

So what's so different about a middle-aged mother doing just the same?  Weird or what?  Does it make it okay just because we're both quilters and bloggers and expats with children around the same age and our life circumstances are remarkably similar even if one of us is English living in America and the other American living in Tokyo?

Well, today I did just that, for the first time I met up with one of my blogging friends, Cynthia @AQuilterbyNight.  For safety's sake, we met in a very public place in broad daylight, The City Quilter, and given that we were both remarkably normal individuals who were very pleased to finally meet each other in person we then went to Stout on 33rd Street for a tasty fish and chip lunch.

It was so great to chat with someone who knows and understands everything I've been experiencing over the last 2-3 years as a wife and mum/absentee mum living a long way from 'home' and better still that we both love to quilt - I don't think either of us stopped nattering long enough to catch our breath the whole 3 hours we were together!!!


I gave Cynthia a small gift that I'd made - a needlecase made with some of The City Quilter's exclusive NYC fabrics and a small strip of Stars & Stripes fabric that I had leftover from my 'An Actor's Life For Me' quilt.

And, Cynthia returned the favour with a fab gift of Japanese fabrics.
This is a plain navy woven cotton - in reality, it looks incredibly navy but the camera's picked up all the different shots of thread running through it.
A fab piece of Kimono fabric - that's the full width of Japanese fabric apparently - this piece is only 14.5" wide (left to right), - how amazing!
This is a large piece of Tenegui fabric, white with blue dots - I could tell you all about it but Cynthia does a much better job here on her blog :)

As we were leaving I remembered that Flicky had said I had to take a 'selfie' photo for her to see and here it is:
We were both struggling with this 'selfie' photo stuff, which part of the phone to look at and all that and fortunately Cynthia spotted that my phone was set to video or I don't know that I'd have a photo to share at all!

We had such fun and on Thursday we're meeting up again and heading over to the "Workt by Hand": Hidden Labor and Historical Quilts exhibition at Brooklyn Museum. 


So, if you've got a quilty internet friend coming into town, go for it, meet up with them, they may just become a real life friend too!


Disclaimer: 
This post is for informational purposes only, no payment or commission is received on click-throughs and opinions are my own.



Follow on Bloglovin








40 comments:

  1. Well, I met my boyfriend on an internet college football message board. For reasons you mentioned at the beginning of the post, I did not tell my mother about it beforehand! :) We e-mailed for several months before meeting (in a public place, of course--and we each had check-in friends for safety purposes!)

    It's obviously something you have to be cautious about whatever your age, but I definitely won't judge you for meeting an online friend in "real life"! :) Glad you ladies had a good time!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's such a great story of how you met your boyfriend, these things can work out so well and you're right we had a great time :)

      Delete
  2. What a fabulous story and budding friendship for you! How sweet.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Julie, I'm so glad we met up, you just never know where friendship is going to come from do you? :)

      Delete
  3. How lovely! Just so you know I met my Fiance in the chatroom in 1998 and we were friends for a year before it turned serious. I was living in the US and he was living in Hungary. We met at JFK in 2000 when he decided to visit me and stayed. We've been living together since. To Be Continued... :)))
    I also met my best friend in the same chat in 1998 She was going to college on Long Island and we talked on the phone for weeks before I went to visit her for the weekend. We've been friends since then.
    Your needle case you made is so adorable I'm sure Cynthia was touched!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Another great internet story Kati - of course we really will have to get together too one of these days, we live closer than most people I chat to via the blog and yet I bet we never get our act together and sort that date!!! :)

      Delete
  4. Chris, great story! BTW, is Stout a good place for a Kubrick meetup?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Mark, we had a really great day and the Brooklyn Museum was amazing on Thursday, I hadn't been before and I just loved it.

      I've only been in the ground floor rooms at Stout and they're most def not suitable for a meetup - crazy popular with lots of noise. I think they might have rooms in the basement and I'm not sure if there might even be an upstairs but I don't know what they are used for or like :)

      Delete
  5. What a lovely little needle book and you both look like having fun (you´re pretty!).

    Nana

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for such a lovely comment Nana, we had a blast :)

      Delete
  6. I I'd meet a few blogger friends, including Lucy (only once) at the a festival of Quilts!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Isn't the quilting community just great, I love how we're all looking out for each other and meeting up, I've not been involved in anything like it before in my life! :)

      Delete
  7. You and Cynthia should have invited us all along - to chaperone :-) Glad you are having fun together! I hope you'll be allowed to take photos at the museum.

    Since starting the blog I've been quite surprised how many of "us" are living in countries that aren't our place of birth. It makes for some interesting blogs I think!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're so right about so many of us being ex-Pats, do you think we all turn to sewing/quilting as a way of nesting in our new homes/country? I'd love to have had you with us and I have taken so many photos at the museum that you'll just never believe it, I think I might have to share them over a couple of posts maybe - it was just amazing :)

      Delete
  8. Oh it sounds like the perfect afternoon! I love the needle case, in that oh so gorgeous fabric, I'm so lucky I have some too ;-) Enjoy your day on Thursday, the exhibition sounds fab too. xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was indeed perfect and glad you like the needle case - you enjoy your NYC fabric too, I've just been reading your email and I'm loving the pattern you've designed for it :)

      Delete
  9. A great meet-up Chrissie and I am putting the fabulous needle case to immediate use! Thanks again!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was my pleasure Cynthia and I loved our trip out to the museum on Thursday too, a really special day. I look forward very much to your next NYC visit :)

      Delete
  10. How great to be able to meet a 'virtual' friend. I am sure any flys on the wall would have been amazed at the non-stop chat :) Hope you have another lovely day out at the exhibition.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We really had a great time and the exhibition was just incredible (so many photos to share in a future blog post). I bet you can imagine how we just gabbed and gabbed too! :)

      Delete
  11. I just met a twitter friend last week! We're both quilters and met at a quilt show. We had so much fun and plan to meet up again soon! We live about an hour from each other. I wasn't scared at all but you never know. Glad it all worked out for both of us!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh that's wonderful Rosemary, to think that we're all doing something we love and making new friends too. I wasn't scared but I did wonder what it would be like if we didn't get on - how silly, we had so much in common we just hit it off instantly! :)

      Delete
  12. Fun, fun, fun. You two are some of my favorite bloggers that I never skip over and always read. I would have bummed along with you if I have been there! Glad you had such a great time!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You have made my day, that is just the nicest comment ever, we wish you could have been there too - get planning an NYC trip so I can meet you too :D

      Delete
  13. Ah - looks like a great day and such lovely gifts that you gave each other. I'm lucky enough to be going to the Fat Quarterly Retreat in London in July, taking the train with a blogger (who I met just last week) and sharing a room with another blogger that I've never met. I'm both excited and nervous in equal measure but know (hope!) that we'll have lots and lots of fun :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh now it's my turn to be envious - the Fat Quarterly Retreat, I want to go!!! You'll also get to meet my great internet friend Sarah @Quilt Candy, I just so wish I could be there with you all :)

      Delete
  14. that looks like fun! And, neat needle case :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Great post! I'm an American living in Canada. Not too far away, just a ten hour drive but still Canada is not home. And so when we moved sewing became my comfort! Funny how that happens. So exciting to meet a new friend.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I so agree Sara, part of the nesting process I guess. Blogging has certainly introduced me to many new friends in a way that I never expected! :)

      Delete
  16. So nice to meet up with a bloggy friend in real life! Love the needle book!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Great fun Kristy and thanks for your comment about the needle book, I like how it turned out too :)

      Delete
  17. Isn't it great to meet a fellow blogger and discover they are just as wonderful as you imagined! Cynthia is a winner!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Absolutely Julie and Cynthia really is great isn't she? :)

      Delete
  18. What a lovely story and I hope it is the start of a long friendship. I love, love, love your needlecase and the fabric is just brilliant.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for your lovely comment Sara, I very much hope I'll get to see Cynthia again and, as her daughters are studying in NYC, maybe it won't be too long off! :)

      Delete
  19. How lovely that you met up! I met one fellow bee member once, which was great. I'd love to meet more 'virtual'friends :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It really was great and if you're ever coming to NYC be sure to let me know! :)

      Delete
  20. Oh I actually met few sewing buddies this month. I went to my first quilt show and meeting the internet pals was fun.

    ReplyDelete

I love to hear from everyone, thank you for taking the time to read my blog and share your thoughts. Please leave a message to let me know you visited, it's a great way to get to know you all better too :)

Chris Dodsley


Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.