Quilting Inspiration

We all need inspiration, don't we?  And gathering with like-minded souls who share our passion for creating with fabric and fiber (or paper and paint, beads, yarn, whatever you create with) is an important aspect of that inspiration.  At Artistic Artifacts, there is a monthly group that meets to do that - share their work and inspire each other.  JAMS is the name of the group and stands for Judy's Altered Minds (Judy Gula is the owner of AA.)  Yesterday, we were joined by Sue Warburton of Manchester, England who is in the area visiting family.  A friend of Judy's, she was kind enough to bring part of a collection of journal quilts she made - this was a one-a-week project for her, so she initially made 52, but has since doubled that number. So in addition to the regular member show and tell, we were treated to seeing Sue's work close up.

Here is Sue explaining a fabric bag project to one of the attendees. Below are several of Sue's journal quilts.  Her work includes a variety of techniques, from applique to wool, vintage and found objects to collage, surface design, beading, hand embroidery and machine thread work.  All a treat for the fiber enthusiast!

These small pieces are all about 8 x 10 inches in size, a good size to experiment with a new technique, focus on your own individual style, and stretch your boundaries.  Maybe a new goal for 2018? 

VCQ Quarterly Meeting

We spent Veteran's Day at our quarterly Virginia Consortium of Quilters meeting in Manassas, VA.  As always, it was a fun day with classes, Come Quilt with Me, socializing and quilting.  This time we had 2 workshops going on - Deb Schupp of Gumbo Design Studios taught "Big Blue" Modern Mini and Penni Domikis of Cabin in the Woods Quilters taught Nested Petal Machine Applique.

Above is show & tell of Deb's class - as you can see, it didn't have to be blue! They had fun creating their own compositions with Deb's guidance.

In Penni's class, we learned to use Terial Magic spray to stabilize our fabric for machine applique.  Above, Karin has 4 completed blocks sewn together.  Below, some of us were assembling in rows.  Penni's pattern, called Merry Blossoms, has 9 blocks and a border.

Meanwhile, in Come Quilt with Me, folks were busy with their own projects they brought to work on.  Some of us come to learn something new, others come for the "retreat" type atmosphere of CQWM and the camaraderie. Here is some of the CQWM show and tell.

We had a delicious boxed lunch from Pot Belly Sandwich Shop, and our business meeting followed.  At the end of the day we gather for show and tell and a door prize.  Here are a few more photos from show and tell.

We are also gearing up for our 4 day Celebration retreat next spring.  We gather at the Smith Mountain Lake 4-H Center and bring in national teachers for 2 full days of workshops, plus other fun activities.  There are still spaces available, check out all the info at the link above.  Block lotto kits were available for purchase and the finished quilt that can be made from the blocks (if you win!) was on display.

Since November is our annual meeting where we elect officers, we also bring our memory quilt to display.  This quilt was made by Sherry Whitford to honor our members who have passed away.

If you've never been to a VCQ meeting, come check us out!  We meet 4 times a year in various locations around the state.  You get to meet quilters from all over Virginia, see different parts of the state, and find new quilt shops along the way.  Check out our website and come join us in March in Staunton, and/or Celebration at the end of April!

Quilting in America™ 2017 Survey

The latest survey of the quilting industry in America shows that it is a $3.7 billion industry!  The article below is by Morna McEver Golletz and reprinted with permission.

Morna McEver Golletz is the founder and CEO of the International Association of Creative Arts Professionals where creative arts entrepreneurs craft business success. Her weekly e-zine offers tips, techniques and inspiration to help you craft business success from your creative arts passion. You can sign up for a FREE subscription at http://www.creativeartsprofessionals.com.

HOUSTON- October 27, 2017- The results are in for the Quilting in America™ 2017 Survey. The survey shows that the annual industry value in terms of consumer spending is $3.7 billion. Quilting in America™ is presented by The Quilting Company and Quilts, Inc., but conducted independently by ORC International and Advantage Research, Inc.

Highlights of the Survey show an estimated 7 to 10 million quilters in the U.S., the total number of households with a quilter at 6 to 8.3 million, and an average dollar spending per quilting household at $442 annually- that’s a 48% increase over 2014. Modifications to information gathering for the 2017 Survey also reflect an even more accurate assessment than previous editions.

“Dedicated quilters are spending more time and money than in the past. It’s also exciting to see that over the past few years there has been a tremendous increase in the number of quilters who are utilizing websites, social media, and other digital resources to learn about quilting and buy quilting related products,” says John Bolton, Senior VP and General Manager, F+W Media.

“I know that quilters create with their hands, but they often speak with their dollars. And I am very glad to see that they are speaking loudly with their purchasing power,” adds Quilts, Inc. CEO and Founder Karey Bresenhan. “I am honored to be involved in such a creative and artistic community. An added bonus is that quilters are just some of the warmest and most generous human beings I’ve ever come across.”

Dedicated Quilters

Within that total group of U.S. quilters are “Dedicated Quilters” who spend $500 or more a year on their art form and hobby. The average Dedicated Quilter is female, 63 years old (down by a year in age since 2014), and has been quilting for 19 years. She is well educated (70% attended college), affluent (average household income of $95,900), and leans toward a preference of traditional quilting styles (85%) over modern {37%) and art (20%).

Other trends noted among the Dedicated Quilters — who are responsible for 72.2% of entire industry spending — are higher levels of purchases of longarm machines, cotton thread, and pre-wound bobbins. Overall spending by Dedicated Quilters has also increased.

Large percentage jumps since the 2014 survey were also seen in those who get information from quilting-related websites (64%, up from 28%), learn from online classes and videos (52%, up from 30%), and are active in quilt-related social media (5O%, up from 14%). They are also spending an average of 2.5 more hours overall online browsing quilt-related websites, and 68% of them are purchasing items online.

Finally, data showed that a younger group of Dedicated Quilters under the age of 45 are a rapidly growing segment of the quilting population. While this important group is often involved in quilting less due to time, work, and family constraints, they still devote an average of 10 hours a week to quilting. Quilters under 45 spend only 10% less than those of a higher age bracket, but do have a higher participation rate of time spent on quilting-related websites and online video viewing. We’ll cover the Under 45 Quilter in more depth next week.

About the Quilting in America™ survey and its partners

Quilting in America™ 2017 is the eighth in a series of studies done since 1994 with the intent of measuring the amount of time and money quilters spend on their hobby in addition to profiling the key segments of the market.

The study is conducted in two phases: Phase I, administered by ORC International in January 2017, involved surveying an online, national panel of households to measure incidence of participation and the dollar value of the quilting industry. When 6,105 completed surveys were received, ORC closed the survey for tabulation. This information, along with new sources of market data that were not previously available, were used to present the 2017 findings.

Phase II was conducted by Advantage Research, Inc. in April and May 2017. Survey invitations were sent to a total of 415,104 quilters over a period of several weeks. The invitees were comprised of customers from APQS, The Quilting Company, Hobbs Batting, Northcott Fabrics, Quilting Treasures, and Quilts, Inc. When the survey closed, a total of 21,347 completed surveys had been received, yielding a response rate of 5.1%.

The Quilting Company, a division of F+W Media LLC, is building off the tradition and excellence of established brands including Fons & Porter, McCall’s, and Quilting Arts. The Quilting Company is dedicated to inspiring, educating, and equipping quilters of all interests and skill levels. Its websites, online education programs, video services, live events, magazines, and books all serve to meet the needs of the quilter wherever they may be. Building Your Passion Piece by Piece. www.quiltingcompany.com.

Quilts, Inc. is the producer of the wholesale industry trade show International Quilt Market (fall edition since 1979, spring since 1981) and consumer show International Quilt Festival (Houston edition since 1974, Chicago edition since 2003}. The Houston Festival is the largest quilt show in the U.S. and regularly attracts more than,55,000 attendees from 35 countries. We’re Quilts! www.quilts.com

Your turn!

What are your thoughts about the survey results? I’m excited about the drop in age of the average quilter.

Magnificent Monarchs Migrate

It's postcard time again!  Sue's swap group decided on a fall theme of Animal Alliteration - a 3 word phrase including an animal.  Some examples: "Are artichokes artful? Can cats count? Elephants eat enormously! Squirrels scamper speedily." 

As evident from the post title, Sue's alliteration is "magnificent monarchs migrate".  Using a thermofax screen of a monarch butterfly, she printed 2 sizes of butterflies with black paint on orange hand dyed fabric.  These would be used to made fusible appliques.

In order to make them a bit more realistic, Sue used a paint pen to add white dots around the perimeter of the wings. Below you can see the difference with and without the dots.

Here's one close up.

Next, MistyFuse fusible web was applied to the back of the fabric.  Then they were cut out.

After fusing a mottled blue hand dyed fabric to the postcard base, the butterflies were arranged on each and fused in place.

Stitching around each butterfly secured them, and after fusing on the back of the card, satin stitching finished off the edges.

Then they were ready to migrate to the mailboxes of their recipients!

Sue Pelland Designs

Way back in August when Elizabeth was on vacation in New Hampshire, our friend Terri Sontra from Purple Moose Designs invited her to attend a lecture at the Belknap Mills Quilters Guild. 

The speaker that night was Sue Pelland from Sue Pelland Designs.   She brought with her gorgeous quilts made using her versatile applique template method.  As Terri and Sue are good friends, after the lecture Terri helped out with vending in her pop-up store and that meant Elizabeth got to fold and pack up these gorgeous beauties.  It was wonderful to go to the lecture and see the quilts but a special treat to see them so close up as they were packed away.  We hope you enjoy these photos.