What Are Those New Buttons About?

If you’re like me, you are more likely to hit the button links on blogs than sifting through lengthy blog rolls. In fact, some reading I’ve done suggests it’s not a great idea to have blog rolls on your site. Why encourage people to leave your site, after all?! That’s why you don’t see such lists on my blogs. You will find references and resources as that is part of my mission with my blogs.

But buttons…they’re a bit different in my opinion. To me they are links to community sharing and community building. A good thing. Blogging and computing can be such isolating activities so it’s important to find some connection to others, for your

sanity
creativity nurturing
perspective
education
giggles

With giggles in mind, let me tell you about the TUSAL button. TUSAL stands for Totally Useless Stitch Along. Yup. Totally Useless! I love it! Once a month you post a picture of the container you store your orts in. What is an ort you might ask?

ORT
noun
Usually, orts. a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
Origin: 1400–50; late Middle English; cognate with Low German ort, early
Dutch oorete; compare Old English or- out-, ǣt food (see eat)

Stitchers use this term to mean the scraps and morsels of thread, floss, ribbon, etc left over when working a project. They are typically thought to be totally useless. So instead of “stitching along” with one another on a project, this SAL is all about saving something thought to be useless! Hence TUSAL! Want to know more, click the button!

Totally Useless SAL

So, what about the other button? WIPocalypse! Sounds scary, right?

WIP = “Works In Progress”

a·poc·a·lypse
noun
3. a prophetic revelation especially concerning a cataclysm in which the forces of good permanently triumph over the forces of evil.
Origin: 1125-75; Middle English Late Latin apocalypsis Greek apokálypsis revelation, equivalent to
apokalýp (tein ) to uncover, reveal kalýptein to cover, conceal) + -sis

You’ll notice that Measi made a new word using WIP and apocalypse. But what does it mean?

Most family members and friends of stitchers view the various works in progress and new starts as a kind of horror story. It is not uncommon to hear, “but you haven’t finished x, y, or z yet” when a new project begins. One’s home may actually look like a bomb has gone off when the stitcher sorts through the ‘stash’ of stitching patterns, projects, and paraphernalia.

On the other hand, per the dictionary definition #3 the forces of good (intentions) can overcome the forces of evil (stitching stagnation)! Through WIPocalypse we stitchers can unit and REVEAL our WIPs and the actual PROGRESS part of “WIP”!

Not scary after all! No, very exciting in fact! Join the revelation, push the button!