I've made a little progress on this Bunny quilt. It's fun to make the swirls on the bunny fur. This is coming along great.
I think this little basket would make a great block all on it's own. Can't you see a whole quilt with just this cute little basket?
I've been thinking a lot about a post I read on Lisa Bongean's blog. It's the post about Vegas Market and how she is thinking of new ideas for her quilting store (Primitive Gatherings). Possibly adding home decor or making a a retreat etc.
She was saying sales were down and that she is lucky to go to 10 shows a year (as a vendor) where she used to be able to go to 25 a year.
At first it saddened me to think that this craft I love is not as popular as it used to be. But, the more I got to think about it I realized that there are still lots and lots of quilters out there who love to create and share. The problem is that most of us don't go to a quilt shop to find a project anymore. We have numerous projects in our stashes that we still want to make.
I know my latest project, the wheel of fortune quilt, was made from fabric I already had in my stash. There has been so much wonderful fabric and rulers and kits and on and on that I previously bought and I still like them. I only have so much money to spend and I only have so much space to store what I bought.
I am truly sorry that quilt stores are going out of business because of lack of sales. But, I'm not any less zealous about making the very item I bought all that stuff for - QUILTS. I don't think there is less enthusiasm for quilting, there is just less inclination for buying.
I can understand why Lisa is trying to figure out a way to encourage quilters to come to her shop. And, she has a fabulous shop BTW. I've been to the one in Menasha Wisconsin twice.
I'm still just as "in" to quilting as I ever was.
Robin
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6 comments:
I think quilter's are everywhere. I love going to my local quilt stores. I like interacting with the owners and guests. Friendship can be formed during a class. I value my local shops. But many buy fabric online and that still is a quilting business. It just does not have the overhead that a small shop has. I have often wondered how many yards of fabric has to be sold each day to maintain a shop. There is a need for both ways of buying fabric, as an older quilter, I like to touch the fabric and have it immediately, I guess you may call me old fashion or just old. We have been fortunate in our area to have two new shops open, I think that is a positive step that quilting is still alive.
Dotti
I'm with you on all you said Robin--I think the basket would make a great quilt, possibly with a different basket fabric and a different colored tulip in each block. :)
Also, I agree that you reach a point where you don't need to accumulate a bunch more fabrics, patterns and kits. I just came home from a "Club" meeting at Village Dry Goods for the Circa 1880 quilt. As I browsed the shop afterward there was so much that caught my eye--that I would love to make. But I don't need more projects to add to the queue, which is already longer than I like. I can't store more kits, and I really feel like I have spent so much on what I already have on hand, I can't justify not shopping there first when I want to start something new. I don't want to see my favorite quilt shops go under, but newer quilters who are building their "resource center" (as Kyle put it in her post today) are not inclined to buy the kinds of fabrics I want from a shop, so I don't know that they will keep the shops going that I want to have around. So I keep buying more than I need (9 FQs and one yard came home with me today), hoping what little I add to the shop revenue will combine with others to keep my favorites afloat. :)
Oh yes! Love the tulip basket. I have a block pattern laying out that is tulips in a watering can but I like this basket design better.
I agree that the basket would make a great quilt. I agree too with what you have to say about buying fabric -it seems like lots of the focus now is on shopping your stash and using up scraps,but hopefully there will always be newer quilters who still need to buy fabric and help the stores to thrive.
Interesting and crucial topic about trying to keep our quilt stores in business. The same can be said for any of our favorite stores, but sadly we can only do so much as individuals. That said, I did my part for Temecula Quilt Co. last month when we happened to be in the area. I won't say how much I spent, but some of the items (and fabric) were gifts for other quilters. We do have a couple of quilt stores locally, but they cater more to the modern quilters (not that there's anything wrong with that..) so I do the majority of my shopping out of town. At least I'm supporting someone ~ ~
Oh, I love your basket, Robin. It reminds me of some of Cheri's patterns. I especially like the background fabric. I don't think I've seen a photo of the whole quilt and I'm looking forward to it.
I couldn't find Lisa's post but it doesn't surprise me that sales are down, and it makes me sad. I wish I had more money to spend -- and sewed faster so I could use more fabric. I wonder if brick and mortar stores at the end of the 1800s and early 1900s worried about their sales going down when mail order catalogs for Sears, Montgomery Ward, and others became popular. These days it seems like there's a transition from buying in a store to buying online. Maybe that's not the whole problem, though. Perhaps there are fewer quilters than a decade ago. Despite having plenty of fabric I'm sure I'll continue to buy some as the need for a particular color arises.
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