scraphq

I think the LA quilting is responsible for the boom. Makes quiltmaking fun for a lot more people. I am still hand quilting, but "thanks" to all the LAers out there!

Friday1961

Now that I'm a quiltmaker, I think often of my maternal grandmother, who had eight children (seven of them girls including a set of twins!) to cook for and sew for every day in an era with no modern conveniences and not a lot of money. I no longer have one of her quilts but I remember a Dutch girl quilt that I slept under as a child; I can still remember the fabric pattern and color (and that's been a LONG time ago!). I'd give anything to have even a corner of it left. I believe quilting was her outlet from all the hard, backbreaking, unceasing work she did every day of her life, that it was a creative art that fulfilled and calmed her when she had a few minutes at the end of the day to sit and sew something besides children's clothes or household goods. And, although I think she had a sewing machine later in her life, I'm sure she hand pieced all her quilts and I know she handquilted them. My mother, who was a tomboy, an outdoor girl, and an adventurer (she loved photography and in another era might have been a professional) did not inherit her mother's domestic skills. She could sew but didn't like it, and she never learned to crochet. She made one quilt in her life (obligatory for a family of girls, I think), a string quilt, which I do have. She used to say that I got the genes that had skipped her. In a world that was both practical and with more work and fewer entertainments than today, quilting was a necessity, a pastime, a creative art, and an outlet. I suppose the same is true today!

RkayD

I think its because its such an incredible creative outlet. Everybody has a bit of artist in them. You can do it with a group or by yourself. Its such an emotional craft that it fits the bill on so many levels. It is what you make it and the more you do it the better you get. =)

carolynjo

I feel that with everything getting so automated, technical, etc., that we subconsciously need something that we or someone else made with their own hand and that is not "cookie cutter" made. One of the constant joys of quilting is that, no matter who makes the quilt, it is different from the person next to you, even if the pattern is the same.

karenpatrick

I forgot to mention all the gorgeous fabric out there to buy. Sometimes I think I'm just a fabric collector, knowing that I can't use up all the fabric i have bought so far.

CAS49OR

I just wanted to learn to sew. I had bought a sewing machine that sat in the box for four years. Saw a class offered to make a sampler quilt, and learned how fun it is, and how nice quilters are. The sampler quilt is hanging over my bed, and I've made four other wall hangings and a full size pieced quilt since. I have material for two more -- but I'm back to trying to learn to sew clothes.

Psychomomquilter

for me, I get bpored, and with me learning the how tos this past couple of years, its better than watching the junk on TV, Zand am not wasting my time either. when I finish a project I give it away

vickig626

There's a great PBS show called "Why Quilts Matter" currently running in my area (Detroit MI). It's been fascinating to watch and hear about the technology and advancements made in the "art" of quilting.

A recent episode was about the re-emergence (excuse if I didn't say that right) of quilting. It is estimated that there are around 20 million quilters just in the U.S. and that in 2010, almost $4 Billion (yes, billion) was spent on this craft.
The average quilter has around $4,000 worth of fabric stash (I'm probably half way there LOL) and has spent around $8,000 on supplies (machine, rulers, tools, etc.).

If you get a chance to see this, it's definitely worth it. Here's a link to the official website --
http://www.whyquiltsmatter.org/welcome/

Not sure you can watch all the episodes online.

chris_quilts

As for me, I quilt for my sanity and my family's health!! I also quilt because of the fabric as I think about the 70s fabric that I worked with in home ec classes and how I wouldn't want much of that fabric in any my quilts today. It is my therapy and my creativeness all rolled in to one thing.

As to the fabric stash per vickig626's post, I probably have over $4000 in stash but the $8000 is high for me because I buy and use only vintage machines (about 40) and I don't have a lot of rulers, templates, thread, etc.

captlynhall

I decided to make a quilt because I wanted to try my hand at what my grandmother taught me over 55 yrs. ago. I had no idea then that quilting was such a big thing. My trip last year to the Houston Quilt Festival was as about as exciting as it gets and I was astonished that so many people, thru out the world, quilted. I have to say, all the help I got from YouTube and from books at the library, and suggestions from the ladies at my LQS were instrumental in making the experience of my first quilt so enjoyable. Also the great girly time I had when I took a quilt class was something very new to me and I loved it. Forums like this make me feel like part of a much bigger world, and I feel like I have 'met' so many upbeat, sharing and talented ladies that love quilting as I do. Although I hand quilt on floor frames like my grandmother did, I couldn't do without my rotary cutter and mat. All these new techniques are a lifesaver for those of us with limited time, not to mention I think I do a much better job than if I had to use scissors and paper templates. The fabrics do tend to be expensive, but oh how great it is to have such fabulous choices. I think all of this combines to make quilting such a popular and pleasing pastime. Besides, I won't be leaving my kids and grand kids a fortune when I die, but I hope the quilts I have made for them will be treasured not just by them, but by their kids and grand kids as well. I guess we leave a bit of immortality with each quilt we do.