I switched from the bird app when the Nazis arrived and found a home on Threads. It struck me how appropriate that name is. There is a fantastic and diverse community of #womensupportingwomen, especially in the writing community #bookthreads. Threads were not always just a cute social media name but an integral part of women’s lives.

My grandmother became a single mom in the late 1800s when her husband abandoned her in a lumber camp in Idaho. She was a gifted seamstress and kept her and her son from starving with…well, threads. She went to southern California and became a seamstress for wealthy women. My mother was also a gifted seamstress, and I also learned my way around a sewing machine, but I never rose to their level of excellence.

During the early days of Covid, an army of sewists (the appropriate gender-neutral name, as men were sewing as well) created a network through Facebook to coordinate the mass production and distribution of face masks for our hosiptal workers and first responders. With the help of my spouse, we ended up contributing over 400. It was a proud moment for all of us to be able to do something to help…and it involved lots of threads.

Threads can be a metaphor for many things, including social connections. We are creating community through our posts and connecting and creating beautiful things, much like a quilting bee. I will continue to think of the historical perspective whenever I see the Threads logo or sign on to connect with my newfound creative friends.