Post by Honeylioness on May 4, 2013 22:35:53 GMT -5
From FaceBook
Patchworks that Praise - Thursday, May 2, 2013 at 8:40 am
If you have some time today, I'd like your opinions. It seems that the number of quilters in the US has dropped by 23% since 2006, though the remaining are spending more money.
Are the numbers down because young people are not interested in quilting do you think? Do they not have enough time/money or are the styles of the majority of traditional quilts themselves not visually appealing to them?
If you have any ideas about reaching the next generation of quilters, please share them. (If you don't want to go public, you can just send me a private one...)
Thanks!
**************************************
Patchworks that Praise: I'm working on my book so anything I can incorporate to help inspire the next generation to love textiles and fabrics would be good. Thanks again for reading.
Verna Price: I was inspired a year ago! My mother's friend was staying with her, one day I stop by and she was sewing. The next day I went back and watch her sew. So I told her I'm going to buy a machine so I got one from walmart. Guess she didn't believe me so I went to my mothers house and she showed me how to use my machine. So I started taking a beginners class at my local fabric shop, now my 6 yr old learning to sew from me. I also gave her my machine and got me a used 150Bernina.
Leslie Tidaback Hilmer: I belong to a guild of about 150 and there are not too many under 30. Seems like an art people come to a bit later in life. Perhaps you need to create an app for their phones that will link to your book. I am not kidding as I believe that is where the younger heads are at.
Cynthia Kendall: I learned to sew and quilt at home as a child from my mother and glad to see Verna is reviving the practice. This may be part of the reason the younger generations are not learning because their mothers have been forced to go to work outside the home to make a living, some by choice and some not. When there is no one with the time to pass the skills ad love for them on at an early age then the younger generations must seek out mentors later in life if they truly want to learn.
Peggy Moeller Collins: In our Andover Kansas High School quilting is alive and well with 40-60 kids
(mostly girls. But some boys) taking sewing. The vast majority making quilts.
Kathy Riedel: gee they seem up around here, and into the modern quilts and super bright colors
Cynthia Kendall: As far as inspiration goes, when younger people see something of mine and they want something similar I tell them if they really want one that while I don't have the time to make it for them I will teach them how to make it themselves and this seems to work. Especially if it is an exceptionally nice item. They are more inspired to give it a try when doing so is the only way to own something like that they want badly.
Susan Ritchie Voegtly: I think the numbers are down because so many had to go back to work because of the economy, stock market, and housing crisis. The new ones are coming, as child raising allows.
Liz Renner: Just browsed your quilts, Cynthia. They are amazing! You've got a lot of talent!
Sharon Snow: Well put Cynthia Kendall. I could have not said it better myself.
Cynthia Kendall: I know my two older nieces never wanted to learn this stuff, we are in an age of instant gratification. I am a hand quilter and find that while quilt piecing is thriving most take and have their tops machine quilted so they can be finished faster.
Dwynette Valenti: My thoughts....we live in an ever-changing world. People change their home decor more frequently and don't want to spend a bundle on something they may use as a bed spread for only a couple of years. Buying already made is so much cheaper, with no work involved....and people are very busy these days, and the younger generation enjoys their technology. Also, with the down-turn of the economy
Jeannie Andthedogs: I think patterns and fabrics need to be guided towards the decor of the younger persons homes. If you want young people to want to make a quilt or wall hanging for their homes it needs to fit in with thier styles. So by studying younger peoples homes and designing quilts with patterns that suit those homes it will encourage them to want to learn.
Wai Ching Chan: the young does not like to sit down and quilt, if they need to quilt a project, they like to complete them fast. the y-gen are young and restless.
Cynthia Kendall: I love traditional quilts BUT many modern traditional style quilts use far too many busy fabrics together in my opinion and are hard on the eyes. If you look at older traditional quilts there are restful fabrics in the mix be they solids or read as solids. There needs to be balance and a timeless quality for a quilt to be successful. Maybe I am biased by my own quilting roots in this but if you look at my own you wont see very many busy prints and people seem to really love them because the patterns are not lost in the plethora of prints and the hand quilting can shine.
Cynthia Kendall: All of my albums are set to public and I have one,"wedding quilt" that details the process of making the quilt from design to finish. It is a California king shadow trapunto. There is a lot of interest by many in how to make these quilts. I love both brights and earth tones depending on the quilt.
Melissa Dawson - Saturday, May 4, 2013
I spent several days thinking about this question which is something I have asked myself as well. There does seem to exist an unfortunate trend with many people under the age of 30 for the Instant Gratification in whatever they focus their attention on. I also see quite a LOT of "modern" patterns and colors which for me are borderline discordant and I do not care for. But I am not sure that it is specifically colors, fabric or patterns which might account for the change in the number of quilters reported.
On one hand there were a lot of quilters who took up the craft in the 1970s when it went through such a revival. Many of those women were already in their 30s and 40s at that time - these ladies are now in their 70s and 80s and while many of them would probably still like to be sewing for many it is not physically possible anymore - perhaps due to joint issues or failing eyesight. So I see there is attrition at the top end of the age range - not just a shortage at the younger end.
I also think part of the shift comes from an entire generation that has had virtually NO exposure to any domestic skills/training - not just sewing. When I was in school everyone, boys included, took some version of Home Economics. The biggest benefit of this I see is helping kids see that most of these skills are not that difficult and are nothing to be afraid of.
I also see less and less beginners classes being offered by fabric and quilt stores - something I think would help new quilters gain a lot more confidence.
Patchworks that Praise: You make a lot of very good points Melissa. I had Home Economics as well and none of my children have ever had any of these kinds of electives. I agree also with other posters that many in the young generation expect things to happen too quickly and have that instant gratification problem.
I'm still thinking about these things too... maybe seeing if my book can get on a kindle or phone... though boy the pictures will be small. But maybe we do need some quilting apps for the phones. Designing blocks, choosing colors... etc. A phone app. interesting.
Now if I could just find an app to do the sewing, lol.
Melissa Dawson: I hear you on wanting an app to do some of the tasks. For me it would be the cleaning up and restocking of fabric!
Actually, there are apps you can download - I have several on my iPOD:
BlockFab - You pick a pattern for a square, put in how many colors you want to use, how many blocks you want and the size of the finished square. The app tells you how much fabric you will need for the blocks. You can then choose options like sashing and setting squares and it will give you yardage requirements for those as well.
iSewingRoom - Which lets you track projects, cost and create a shopping list for the projects. You can also take pictures of fabric in your stash and it stores them electronically building a library of your fabric.
Quilting Calculators - This figures out how much yardage you need for various components like binding, backing, borders etc.
QuiltFab - Another yardage calculator with multiple options for multiple borders, setting triangles and backing.
QuiltRef - Various reference information on different aspects of the quilt making process.
Superior Thread Selection - A guide to choosing thread for different applications (applique, quilting, beading etc.)
Patchworks that Praise - Thursday, May 2, 2013 at 8:40 am
If you have some time today, I'd like your opinions. It seems that the number of quilters in the US has dropped by 23% since 2006, though the remaining are spending more money.
Are the numbers down because young people are not interested in quilting do you think? Do they not have enough time/money or are the styles of the majority of traditional quilts themselves not visually appealing to them?
If you have any ideas about reaching the next generation of quilters, please share them. (If you don't want to go public, you can just send me a private one...)
Thanks!
**************************************
Patchworks that Praise: I'm working on my book so anything I can incorporate to help inspire the next generation to love textiles and fabrics would be good. Thanks again for reading.
Verna Price: I was inspired a year ago! My mother's friend was staying with her, one day I stop by and she was sewing. The next day I went back and watch her sew. So I told her I'm going to buy a machine so I got one from walmart. Guess she didn't believe me so I went to my mothers house and she showed me how to use my machine. So I started taking a beginners class at my local fabric shop, now my 6 yr old learning to sew from me. I also gave her my machine and got me a used 150Bernina.
Leslie Tidaback Hilmer: I belong to a guild of about 150 and there are not too many under 30. Seems like an art people come to a bit later in life. Perhaps you need to create an app for their phones that will link to your book. I am not kidding as I believe that is where the younger heads are at.
Cynthia Kendall: I learned to sew and quilt at home as a child from my mother and glad to see Verna is reviving the practice. This may be part of the reason the younger generations are not learning because their mothers have been forced to go to work outside the home to make a living, some by choice and some not. When there is no one with the time to pass the skills ad love for them on at an early age then the younger generations must seek out mentors later in life if they truly want to learn.
Peggy Moeller Collins: In our Andover Kansas High School quilting is alive and well with 40-60 kids
(mostly girls. But some boys) taking sewing. The vast majority making quilts.
Kathy Riedel: gee they seem up around here, and into the modern quilts and super bright colors
Cynthia Kendall: As far as inspiration goes, when younger people see something of mine and they want something similar I tell them if they really want one that while I don't have the time to make it for them I will teach them how to make it themselves and this seems to work. Especially if it is an exceptionally nice item. They are more inspired to give it a try when doing so is the only way to own something like that they want badly.
Susan Ritchie Voegtly: I think the numbers are down because so many had to go back to work because of the economy, stock market, and housing crisis. The new ones are coming, as child raising allows.
Liz Renner: Just browsed your quilts, Cynthia. They are amazing! You've got a lot of talent!
Sharon Snow: Well put Cynthia Kendall. I could have not said it better myself.
Cynthia Kendall: I know my two older nieces never wanted to learn this stuff, we are in an age of instant gratification. I am a hand quilter and find that while quilt piecing is thriving most take and have their tops machine quilted so they can be finished faster.
Dwynette Valenti: My thoughts....we live in an ever-changing world. People change their home decor more frequently and don't want to spend a bundle on something they may use as a bed spread for only a couple of years. Buying already made is so much cheaper, with no work involved....and people are very busy these days, and the younger generation enjoys their technology. Also, with the down-turn of the economy
Jeannie Andthedogs: I think patterns and fabrics need to be guided towards the decor of the younger persons homes. If you want young people to want to make a quilt or wall hanging for their homes it needs to fit in with thier styles. So by studying younger peoples homes and designing quilts with patterns that suit those homes it will encourage them to want to learn.
Wai Ching Chan: the young does not like to sit down and quilt, if they need to quilt a project, they like to complete them fast. the y-gen are young and restless.
Cynthia Kendall: I love traditional quilts BUT many modern traditional style quilts use far too many busy fabrics together in my opinion and are hard on the eyes. If you look at older traditional quilts there are restful fabrics in the mix be they solids or read as solids. There needs to be balance and a timeless quality for a quilt to be successful. Maybe I am biased by my own quilting roots in this but if you look at my own you wont see very many busy prints and people seem to really love them because the patterns are not lost in the plethora of prints and the hand quilting can shine.
Cynthia Kendall: All of my albums are set to public and I have one,"wedding quilt" that details the process of making the quilt from design to finish. It is a California king shadow trapunto. There is a lot of interest by many in how to make these quilts. I love both brights and earth tones depending on the quilt.
Melissa Dawson - Saturday, May 4, 2013
I spent several days thinking about this question which is something I have asked myself as well. There does seem to exist an unfortunate trend with many people under the age of 30 for the Instant Gratification in whatever they focus their attention on. I also see quite a LOT of "modern" patterns and colors which for me are borderline discordant and I do not care for. But I am not sure that it is specifically colors, fabric or patterns which might account for the change in the number of quilters reported.
On one hand there were a lot of quilters who took up the craft in the 1970s when it went through such a revival. Many of those women were already in their 30s and 40s at that time - these ladies are now in their 70s and 80s and while many of them would probably still like to be sewing for many it is not physically possible anymore - perhaps due to joint issues or failing eyesight. So I see there is attrition at the top end of the age range - not just a shortage at the younger end.
I also think part of the shift comes from an entire generation that has had virtually NO exposure to any domestic skills/training - not just sewing. When I was in school everyone, boys included, took some version of Home Economics. The biggest benefit of this I see is helping kids see that most of these skills are not that difficult and are nothing to be afraid of.
I also see less and less beginners classes being offered by fabric and quilt stores - something I think would help new quilters gain a lot more confidence.
Patchworks that Praise: You make a lot of very good points Melissa. I had Home Economics as well and none of my children have ever had any of these kinds of electives. I agree also with other posters that many in the young generation expect things to happen too quickly and have that instant gratification problem.
I'm still thinking about these things too... maybe seeing if my book can get on a kindle or phone... though boy the pictures will be small. But maybe we do need some quilting apps for the phones. Designing blocks, choosing colors... etc. A phone app. interesting.
Now if I could just find an app to do the sewing, lol.
Melissa Dawson: I hear you on wanting an app to do some of the tasks. For me it would be the cleaning up and restocking of fabric!
Actually, there are apps you can download - I have several on my iPOD:
BlockFab - You pick a pattern for a square, put in how many colors you want to use, how many blocks you want and the size of the finished square. The app tells you how much fabric you will need for the blocks. You can then choose options like sashing and setting squares and it will give you yardage requirements for those as well.
iSewingRoom - Which lets you track projects, cost and create a shopping list for the projects. You can also take pictures of fabric in your stash and it stores them electronically building a library of your fabric.
Quilting Calculators - This figures out how much yardage you need for various components like binding, backing, borders etc.
QuiltFab - Another yardage calculator with multiple options for multiple borders, setting triangles and backing.
QuiltRef - Various reference information on different aspects of the quilt making process.
Superior Thread Selection - A guide to choosing thread for different applications (applique, quilting, beading etc.)