APQS Quilting Channel on YouTube
October 25, 2009Technology is moving faster than my mind can absorb! My children don't hesitate to remind me of that fact, either. If I ask them a question about Twitter, Facebook or anything related to computers, their eyes roll in the back of their head and with a heavy sigh they make a feeble attempt at answering me. I'm sure they secretly think, "She’ll never get it, so why bother explaining it?" But they don't dare utter their thoughts out loud, for fear they'd lose their "parental funding"!
Despite their doubts, I am pushing forward into the next century, and have even cajoled them into letting me be their "Facebook friend"! APQS is also jumping into technology, and we have created a YouTube Channel specifically dedicated to quilting. Throughout the next several months, we will be uploading everything from "short takes" at quilt shows to training and technical videos.
While the printed page is still the preferred communication mode for many of us, having visual aids like videos can really enhance your learning experience. If you haven"t explored the world of "YouTube" before, you will be overwhelmed by the number of videos uploaded for the world to see! In fact, you can quickly find yourself addicted to watching everything from a cat playing the piano, to a person doing back flips over a car!
To make your experience more enjoyable (at least in terms of quilting), here are some tips to get you started:
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In the "search box" on the YouTube home page, enter the words "APQS Quilting"
- This will take you to a list of all the current videos on the "APQS Quilting Channel". Scroll down through the video titles and highlights, and use the numbers at the bottom to see additional pages of videos.
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To play a video, simply click on the video title or the picture link. Use the controls at the bottom of the video screen to pause, play or rewind the video. Check out the example below:
APQS Quilting Channel
If you like watching video techniques, then consider "subscribing" to the APQS Quilting Channel. Click on the yellow "subscribe" button on the right side of the page. You will first be asked to join "YouTube" (don't worry; you simply create a username and password). Once you join, you can "subscribe" to the APQS Quilting Channel and receive notifications any time we add another video!
You'll also find videos created before the APQS quilting channel began. For example, if you type "Dawn Cavanaugh" into the YouTube search box, you'll see several videos that I uploaded previously.
Another way to stay on top of what's new in quilting is to join Facebook or Twitter. You'll be amazed at how interconnected we really are once you start building a network of quilting friends! Both Heidi Kaisand (National Sales Manager) and I maintain Facebook pages, connecting to both family and friends through the social network. While Heidi's quilting connections as a former American Patchwork and Quilting editor make her blogs much more exciting, you can list us both as friends and we'll do our best to keep you in the loop! However, be prepared for "personal" observations about our lives from both of us as well; Facebook reaches our friends from all walks of life, quilters and non-quilters alike.
As you navigate the APQS website, you will see the Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking icons on my blog page and Heidi's page, "Between Stitches". (Scroll back to the top of the page and look under my photograph for the icons.) Click on those links to take you directly to our Facebook pages or to our "tweets" from Twitter (you may be asked to sign up for each service if you aren't already a member--they are free services, by the way.)
Finally, I am very interested in what topics you'd like to see presented in "video format" on the APQS Quilting Channel. Send me an email with your suggestions and I'll get my camera rolling! In the meantime, I'll try to post to the APQS Forum whenever I add a video, so you can keep up with the technology (and I'll try to do the same!)
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