Lemons, No I Meant LEMMINGS

What's that word when you're a follower to your detriment?  Lemmmmm....on, no LEMMING!

I frequently give over to better judgment and become a figurative quilting lemming.

You know as defined:

Any member of a group given to conformity or groupthink, especially a group poised to follow a leader off a cliff.  (Wiktionary)

or

Lemming is now slang for fierce and loyal avid supporters of someone or something who are narrow minded and foolish. These types of people mindlessly follow even if it means their own destruction.

(Blurtit)


I've been known to force myself to like a new quilting style, fabric, tool just to be a part of a group.
 
Mindless, that's me.
 
It's no secret that I've become really jaded about the quilting world.  I didn't always use to be this way.  Quilting has never been about the quilts and that is the problem!  But, identifying the problem has never been the road to solution for me.
 
I started quilting because I loved fabric.  I had limited sewing experience.  I had no family tradition to call on. When I started learning to quilt I was unfamiliar with the Internet and didn't even have regular access until 1998.  I learned as much as I could about quilting on my own, but my love of the craft grew as my sewing skills improved and I reached out to others online at places like World Wide Quilting and Yahoo Groups.  I participated in Round Robins and Block Swaps routinely.  I did so because doing so filled a gaping social void in my life.  I was rarely with the things I worked on and, in fact, was usually frustrated by the craptastic stuff I received back.  I got annoyed but chalked it all up to the price I paid for belonging and having quilting friends.  Everything was fine as long as I didn't gripe to much and went along with the crowd.
 
The quilting world is just like high school all over again.  The Haves and the Have Nots.  The Haves are leaders of groups and Bees and have blogs with a mass of Followers.  Everyone looks to those to see what they're working on, which fabric they've purchased, which tool they're using, which Blog Tour they're a part of, the Giveaway being hosted.....  You could be appliqueing a giant vagina on the ugliest fabric imaginable as a 12 month free BOM, but everyone would be clamoring to participate because a Quilting Have was hosting or sponsoring it.
 
Yeah, I'd be a Quilting Have in a heartbeat.  For now, I'm just a Quilting Lemming.