AQS to Stop Publishing Books, IMQA Shutting Down, Quilt Shows Closing...There's a Lot Going on in the Quilting Universe

Generation Q

There's a lot going on in the quilting universe. Jake Finch, co-founder and publisher of "Generation Q Magazine," discusses the latest happenings; why they happened; and what might happen in the future.

Comments

#18 Julie B. 2018-11-19 14:28

1. Is it even ethical to stash fabric? Cotton production has severe environmental and socioeconomic impact around the world. Buying it to make functional objects is one thing, but buying it "because an artist needs a stash" is irresponsible. The great quilters in the beginning of the tradition did NOT have hundreds of yards of fabric lying unused and wasted in their closets, and they did fine work.
2. Never let anyone shame you into thinking an expensive machine makes a great quilter (or as I call it, the Bernina Fallacy). A machine doesn't make a quilter. Practice does. So do good pressing and accurate cutting, all of which can be accomplished with inexpensive tools.

#17 Handmade menagerie 2017-11-29 14:18

#cultusquilter Are you actually suggesting that we "older" quilter who have built our stashes up over years or decades, and from which we pull daily, and which have cost us thousands of dollars, should just give them away because you don't think you should have to pay whatever your area charges for them? Seriously?!

#16 cultusquilter 2016-12-16 17:02

Quilting cotton in Canada can be around $22.00 a meter so the American prices seem a bargain. It is too bad that older quilters who have built up a huge stash cannot pass it on reasonably to young quilters who cannot afford the current price of cotton.

#15 clairequilty 2016-08-23 20:56

Quilting has become a craft for the wealthy. My good fortune to build a stash has come from scraps left by students from the expensive quilt lessons by well-known teachers. My skills have been learned from The Quilt Show programs, You Tube videos, and the many wonderful quilt bloggers. Thankfully there is a Quilt Angel for those of us who have shallow pockets.

#14 Leann 2016-08-05 17:36

I have what some would call a small stash, and I build it when I can. I, too, regret the increase in the price of cotton and most recently paid $16 (US) a yard and thought perhaps I should scale down. Quality anything is expensive and I'm glad I have bought my top of the line Bernina and APQS Millie BEFORE retirement, which will not provide enough income to afford them in that day soon to come. While I love online classes, which fit my schedule better, there is no substitute for hands on with a good teacher. My students ask me time and again to please teach another class. While I thoroughly enjoy traditional quilts, I have begun to embrace the modern quilts and enjoy seeing the next generation fuel up. I don't believe it is gloom and doom for the upcoming sewists, but a weeding out of excesses. Great article.

#13 Sharon Joy Frear 2016-08-04 11:09

We have found that in the last few years more quilt shows have been bringing in jewelry and other products unrelated to quilting. Maybe the sponsor needs these to fill their booths; I don't know what the solution is. I've also noticed that quilt guilds who hold their own quilt shows are expanding their own "boutiques" in order to bring in more money for the guild. One show we participated in a couple of years ago had 6-8 booth spaces right across the front of the show dedicated to the "boutique". I think this is overkill and detrimental to the vendors.

#12 Juliet Fitness 2016-08-04 08:30

I am a New Zealand quilt tutor, and increasingly find my classes cancelled because of lack of enrollments. I hear comments like "I can learn that on YouTube for free". But is it the same as having that one on one personal tuition from a quilt tutor? Our hourly rate to teach may be quite high, but we have spent many hours developing the class, making the class samples (at $30 a metre for fabric), printing out the class notes and then teaching for 6 hours or more, often dealing with 20 students in a class, all with different abilities, different ideas of colour and speed of working.

Personally I love the Modern Quilt movement. I support my local quilt shop, rather than shop online and have to pay heavy shipping costs from the US as well as the exchange rate. I still buy the best quilt magazine published, the NZ Quilter magazine.

#11 Susie 2016-08-03 18:06

Fabric in Australia is $30 a yard from a LQS and about $20 at our equivalent of Joannes.

#10 Susie 2016-08-03 18:01

Trying living in Australia, good quality quilting fabric starts at $30 a yard.

#9 Denise L. 2016-08-03 17:31

Thanks for sharing Jake's article. I am still feeling sad about Quilter's Newsletter magazine, and I still miss The Quilt Life! We will adapt to changes, and create and Quilt On!

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