Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Quilt Magazines

Anybody else finding the quality of quilt magazines lacking lately? After many years I am letting my subscription to American Patchwork & Quilting go. I guess the bottom line is there really isn't anything "new" in quilting. Although....

I love Primitive Quilts & Projects! It's not just quilts and it fills a need for primitive style projects, projects made with wool, home decor, dolls, bears and much more.

Do you still subscribe to quilt magazines?

124 comments:

  1. I still have a subscription to AP&Q but there is often an issue that there is nothing that thrills me. I am tired of patterns for quilts made with squares and rectangles. I do like "Primitive Quilts and Projects" very much. I can see that the magazine would not appeal to people who do not like that style as it is rather taste specific for prim. I dropped all my other quilt magazine subscriptions a long time ago.

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  2. Not in a long time. I don't even buy them at the grocery store anymore. You look through them and don't see anything that looks interesting. Takes all of 5 minutes to read it cover to cover, and then throw it away. Too expensive for that!

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  3. I, too, love Primitive Quilts and Projects. I have let my other subscriptions lapse because they seem to be same old, same old. Love your blog and all of your creativity.

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  4. I only occasionally pick up a copy of Quiltmania, the French magazine. Although it's expensive, it's usually loaded with good color shots of unusual quilts and homes of quilters/collectors. However, I don't subscribe. Sometimes the content isn't worth it and I'm running out of shelf space!
    Magazines are suffering because of the internet. We've either seen it already or can get a free tutorial on someone's blog. And as Karen said, the patterns offered are often uninspiring.

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  5. Only Quilt Mania, I suscribe, and it has been that way for years. I stay away from American quilt mags. I am starting to stay away from American quilt blogs.

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  6. I let all my subscriptions to magazines go a long time ago. They seem to repeat the patterns, just change the color, and the price of the magazines just can't be justified. And, I get enough ideas from blogs!

    LaDonna

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  7. I was discussing this very subject with a friend recently - magazines are just not fun anymore. I still subscribe to AP&Q, although the most recent issue was awful. (MHO) I used to get excited about a new quilting magazine but no longer.

    Sigh!

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  8. No subscriptions left, it was just the same thing over and over. Some new colors, but not worth the money and storage. I do look at them at the store and enjoy for about 5 minutes. The blogs take up a lot of the slack of what is "out there" in quiltville.

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  9. I stopped my subscriptions a few years ago and very seldom even buy a magazine off the shelf. Just seems like they are all "blah" and nothing at all new in them. I find that I have gone back to my older magazines to find good patterns.
    Kristie

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  10. I stopped all my subscriptions this year. I was told recently by a reliable source that many of the magazines are really hungry for new designers with new ideas.

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  11. I've let my subscriptions go except AP&Q and I think when it's time for renewal I'm going to let it go too. Boring!

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  12. hi lorri,i have subscribed to the french quiltmania magazin and since last week to primitiv quilts and projects,they are my favourite magazines,have a nice day,susi

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  13. There seems to be a pattern going on with all of us quilters. I still have my subscriptions to AP&Q and to Primitive Q and P but the rest are long gone.

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  14. I have done the same with AP&Q and will probably let another subscription lapse when time to renew. I had rather purchase quilting books with quilts that I really like.

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  15. I really like QuiltMania and Quilter's Newsletter, but buy them at the newsstand. It does seem like the patterns repeat themselves. I like seeing all the new fabrics, but not well enough to purchase the magazines. I prefer a magazine with something to read like the two I mentioned. Just having patterns is not enough for me. The same goes with quilting books. I limit my book purchases to those with interesting reading about history and process.

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  16. wow! look at that quick response
    I love Primitive Quilts too but let my subscription go after a year because I have done so little stitching and felt guilty :)
    I am regularly tempted by Quiltmania too.

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  17. wouldn't a magazine dedicated to reproduction or doll quilts be wonderful.....

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  18. I have to agree with the commenter who said she thinks there are more good patterns in her old magazines! I still buy the latest AP&Q, but have not seen anything that really grabbed me in ages. I have been thinking of picking up some of the Japanese magazines and having a look. Of course they are all in Japanese...

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  19. I've quit subscribing/buying them as well! After awhile I realized that they were using pretty much the same old patterns with new fabric lines!

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  20. Yes, indeed. This last issue of AP&Q was very uninspiring, and so was McCall's. I dropped Quilter's Newsletter last year, after taking it since 1990. So much simple piecing, and patterns just to sell fabric lines, really. At least we still have those older issues!

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  21. This is really interesting, as I also have let my subscriptions lapse. Not just because there wasn't anything that grabbed my attention but too many advertisments. I find the same problem with Country Living.

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  22. I agree. AP&Q just doesn't have what it used to have. My subscription runs for another year so I'll see how I feel when it ends. The ting is, I have so many wonderful quilt books that I know I'll never make all of the patterns that I love. I get Primitive Quilts, too, and love it because of the variety. I'll definitely renew that one when the time comes.

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  23. i think like most print media, quilt magazines are having a difficult time keeping up with the volume and accessibility of the internet. before quilting exploded on the 'net, magazines were a major source of patterns, knowledge, fabric lines debut and inspiration. i used to buy one occasionally at joann's but hardly even do that any more.

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  24. Wow! I can't believe all of the comments you have received about people not renewing their quilting magazines due to lack of content - I have done the same thing this year!! I always loved getting McCalls and AP&Q in the mail and couldn't wait to get my chores out of the way so I could slowly enjoy looking through them. Now, I have found that I can flip through them in about three minutes and there isn't anything worth spending anytime on or that I would want to make. That being said, I have to agree that Quiltmania has some wonderful ideas in their magazine, and I just subscribed to Primitive Quilts and Projects last month.

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  25. Honestly, I got the new AP&Q on Saturday, and it was so thin and truly useless. I like getting them in the mail, but this month I thought to myself, ehh. Who cares? Unless one of my special peeps is in one, then I buy it. I do love Primitive Quilts. It's more of a real book than a magazine. I do however love Quiltmania. Oh my god. I love it. And I do buy it on the rack and B&N...with a coupon. Gorgeous quilts and nice writing, too.

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  26. I'm not currently subscribing to any magazines. Occasionally I'll pick one up, but for the most part I haven't seen anything great, and most mags are more ads than actual patterns or tutorials.

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  27. No, I dropped newsletter magazine last...but I am so seduced by mags at the store! And then am disappointed...

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  28. OK, I had to read the comments before I started typing. I am SO glad to hear it's not just me in my isolated corner of the world that thinks the same way everyone else does. I let both AP&Q and McCalls run their course and have not renewed. Yawn........I have been saying for the past year, American quilting is getting boring, I look to the Aussies and Tazzies for inspiration. I find in the US either quilters are making very "art" quilts or "big block, make it fast, knock it out, and get on to another one" make it fast. I purchase Quiltmania from my LQS and subscribe to Primitive. Bloggers are a bigger source of inspiration to me along with books that include history. I love the 'state" quilt books. But having said all that, for every new quilter out there, AP&Q etc are still fabulous. Maybe it's me that's tired, not the magazine?? ;-)

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    1. It is not you, it is the place American quilting is. Aimed at the young - short of time - quilter, sewer. More and more "craft" projects for these peeps. Even my local quilt store is now geared to this crowd. They have money and are spending it. In the mean time I have rediscovered my stash.. Back to the Aussies.... their quilts just look different from ours even if they use the same fabric. I guess if fab costs $45 a yard.... you USE it not just stash it.

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  29. Yep, the newest issue of AP&Q is the most uninspiring thing I've ever seen! I think they're trying to appeal to the new 'modern' quilters (ick) but they'll definitely loose those of use who love traditional quilts. Thanks goodness for Primitive Quilts & Projects!

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  30. I subscribe to Quilting Arts and Cloth Paper Scissors but I'm going to let CPC lapse I think. I look at the other quilting mags in the grocery store - but the patterns are too easy for me - big squares and rectangles. Not much there.

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  31. Right there with you! I have let my subs lapse over the past two years until AP&Q is the only one I still get. I love Quiltmania but can have a hard time finding it. I'm going to check out the Primitive mag you suggested, thanks!

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  32. I subscribe to American Patchwork and Quilting magazine and I buy every issue of Quiltmania
    I love traditional quilts and find that these two magazines fill that need for me the most.
    Yes I have purchased other magazines over the past year or two if something caught my eye...
    Seeing antique quilts in the magazines and then some are reproduced and patterned I love that!
    love seeing how they showcase quilters homes and studios and how quilt mania shows you the antique quilt collectors homes and how they use those antique quilts through out their home
    LUcky for us in the USA we have a selection of magazines that fit our style and needs as they change over the years....
    we have new magazines we can be inspired by.
    Kathie

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  33. I still subscribe to American Patchwork and Quilting, but this last issue left me wondering why? Just the same,I just can't seem to let that one go, as for the rest not so much. For me they are all versions of quilts that I already have patterns for.

    I do love Primitive Quilts and Projects and have gotten it for the last two years, even though I have little time to do the projects in it. That of course doesn't mean I haven't started a couple.

    All in all I don't see giving them up completely, since I find myself waiting for the new issues to appear in my mailbox. I am always hoping to find that project that makes my heart skip a beat and my mind to become obsessed with which fabrics to use and where I will find them. Yes, a new project makes want to discover that one perfect piece of fabric to make the project soar to new heights!

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  34. Yes.....I agree the only one I get is Quiltmania. And lucky for me my Sister-In-Law lives in San Francisco and there is a French Store very near her so she buys me most of the issues....very cool

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  35. Totally agree with you. I only ever buy APQ and Primitive Quilts and Projects.

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  36. I TOTALLY AGREE, JUST GOT HOME FROM HOBBY LOBBY, AND I DID PICK UP THE LATEST FONS AND PORTER, BUT FOR THE BAGS THEY HAD PATTERNS FOR, NOT THE QULTS..I'VE BEEN SEEING THE SAME OLD PATTERNS JUST DONE IN DIFFERENT FABRICS, AND THINGS ARE GETTING SO MODERN, AND SIMPLE..I THINK QUILTING IS GOING IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION WITH THE YOUNG WOMEN COMING ALONG. NOT A BAD THINK, BUT I WISH I COULD GET REALLY EXCITED ABOUT A MAGAZINE LIKE I ONCE DID!!!

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  37. Hi Lori, I have not subscribed to a quilt magazine for a long time. I occasionally buy one when I look at it first and see an article I want to read or a pattern I'd like for future reference. Even then I don't enjoy them like I used to. I guess after being a quilter for so long, having seen so much it's hard for there to be something new for us. I would love to see a magazine focus on really wonderful antique quilts, including those in private collections that have not been seen. I'm trying to save my money and buy books instead of magazines, especially since the price of magazines has gone up. I loved the issues of Vintage Quilts by McCalls that was available for awhile.

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  38. About three years ago I decided to cut back on my quilting magazine subscriptions simply because it was getting too expensive and there wasn't a lot of quality publications out there. Today I subscribe to three magazines - Love of Quilting, Amer. Patchwork & Quilting, and Quilter's Newsletter. My all time favorite mag is Quiltmania but the cost has gotten so prohibitive . . . Haven't seen the Primitive Quilts publication yet. Need to check that out. I like articles, quilt history, humor, etc. not just quilt patterns.

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  39. Looks like lots of people have opinions on this :0) I subscribe to AP&Q and my mom always gets me Fons and Porter subscription for my birthday. I look forward to their arrival in my mailbox so much. I don't make many projects and some issues are better than others but it always gives me a rush of excitement to pull it out of the mailbox.

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  40. The only magazine I've ever subscribed to is The Quilt Life. At most it has two patterns and usually has at least one article on quilters around the world - very cool. I've never picked up Quiltmania but I like the Primitive Quilts pub, but not enough to subscribe. I like to buy an issue here and there when I hit Barnes & Noble (b/c no shop in the StL area carries it).

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  41. I have never subscribed to a quilt magazine, but I would buy one in the store now and then when a cover would catch my fancy. AP & Q was the one I bought most often, but I haven't even been tempted by them for a while. I think the last two I bought were cover quilts by Kathie Holland.

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    1. I am right there with you! The last two AP&Q magazines that really caught my eye had Kathie's quilts.

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  42. The only magazine that I have a subscription to now is QUILTMAKER because of the article that Bonnie Hunter writes. The other magazines have become too many quick quilts, bags, and advertisements. When I buy a magazine it is usually Quilt Mania as they still have Quilter's stories and challenging patterns. I hope that some of the publishers read your blog and take note of the interests of US Quilters.

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    1. Thank you, Marj!! I'm doing my best to stick fun scrappy and easy things in there for sewing up the scraps!

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  43. I do not subscribe to any quilting magazines. The one I subscribed to the longest is AP&Q and I will occasionally buy one of them. And I like the Primitive Quilt magazine too. I also have saved a lot of magazines and have plenty of books and magazines with pages marked for possibly making at a later date. I really don't need any new ideas. Of course, I get lots of ideas from bloggers too (like you)! I really enjoy AP&Q's article about a famous quilter showing their studio, etc, but wouldn't pay $6 or whatever just for that article. I don't know how they can improve their magazines. Are we on information overload now?

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  44. Another thing: The AP&Q subscription is too expensive for not getting one every month. How come you can get Better Homes & Gardens so cheap, but not quilting magazines. I guess they don't have as many advertisements, maybe.

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  45. I agree; I let all my subscriptions go. I do buy Quilt Mania regularly and occasionally maybe I'll pick up something else, but only because it has something of particular interest in it. I prefer my inspiration from more fully developed books or from blogs; since I rarely use a pattern, I wouldn't normally look to a magazine to get patterns.

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  46. Lori, unfortunately I still gave 2 years left on some subscriptions but like you I feel they are seriously lacking in quality projects. Seems like we get the freebies from the designers.
    I too started subscribing to primitive gatherings and I have made several things.
    I love the Australian ones but they are pricey.
    I am glad others are noticing this turn.

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  47. I have never subscribed, but did pick up a few occasionally and that hasn't been for several years now. I have noticed a couple of Fons & Porters recent covers featured quilts/patterns that were first seen out in blogland. One was a version of the butterfly quilt some of us made here a while back. The other one is a block/pattern that was a flower block we did on Block Lotto. I must say I was a little miffed. I have often wondered if we quilty bloggers are not too generous in our ideas and original tutorials and such. It is just way too easy for publications to scroll/lurk the blogs looking for ideas......since they seem to be lacking in their own. This is all just my 'humble' opinion ya know!!!

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  48. I totally agree, I rarely buy them any more because the quality is so poor and unless you are looking for beginner patterns there is nothing much in them. I buy Quiltmania regularly, since they do have a good selection of patterns and more interesting items, and I do love the new Primitive magazine (which I bought after I saw your comments about it). It's a pity - there are many magazines now but nothing very interesting.

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  49. I recently let AP&Q go, too. I understand that magazines need to appeal to a broad spectrum of styles and skill levels, but honestly an issue with at least 3 patterns for log cabin?!?!? I cancelled the next day and really haven't missed it.
    My only subscription is Primitive Quilts and Projects. Guess that shows that my opening statement is incorrect - magazines can target a limited audience with GREAT appeal!

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  50. I used to subscribe to a jillion quilt magazines well maybe not a jillion but a lot. I have let them all go except American Patchwork and I just subscribed last month to Primative Quilts. I was at WalMart today, they a a pretty good selection of quilt magazine but tell me why is there not a quilt magazine at is completely devoted to reproduction quilts? I think that PQ is trying to fill that need but I'm not really into the real primative look. Thank you for letting me let off steam.

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  51. I'm with you Lori, I look through them and just don't find any reason to take it home. I let mine go last year, and I love Primitive Quilts and projects. It is the only one I subscribe to now. What I love to do is make quilts and I don't have time to make everything out there so I am focusing on whats in progress....you sew alongs are killing me. I like the the get togetherness of them, I do miss being able to be in a group, that will come again some day!!

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  52. Im with you too. I used to love many magazines, but lately they are all the same (except for Primitive Quilts). I still buy some but I look through them closely first and make sure there are at least two or more patterns I like :)

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  53. Still subscribe to AP&Q - it seems like every other issue has some quilts that I like which contain reproduction fabrics or some applique. Also subscribe to prim quilts and it contains some fun projects, but I haven't made any yet. Wish McCalls would bring back their vintage quilts issues. I treasure my copies of those!

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  54. You are so right. I find myself looking at old books, blogs (like yours) and yes old magazines from the late 90s and early 2000. Oh, well I am saving money for more fabric. Yippee.
    Janet

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  55. Amen! Let Fons and porter go a couple years ago, mccalls this year, quiltmania got too expensive :-(
    Down to American patchwork and primitive quilts. AP is on the endangered species list. All the magazines have gone big simple pieces. I think it is market driven....the fabric companies are pumping out so much fabric they need us to buy so the industry is publishing quick and easy patterns that we can sew quickly so we buy more fabric. They are interested in us producing quantity, not quality. They are neglecting advanced quilters...I'm sure we can all work out of our pattern and fabric stashes untill they come back around to us.

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  56. Last weekend I went to my local library and grabbed all the quilting and sewing magazines and spent an enjoyable time flipping through them, but I wouldn't subscribe to them now. When I started quilting, I subscribed to lots of magazines. I was so excited by everything quilting. Couldn't get enough. That was years ago though. It takes a lot more to get me excited now because I've grown so much as a quilter. What inspired me before kind of bores me now, and I'm letting my subscriptions lapse. I think for newer quilters, the magazines are probably as inspiring as they once were for me. I wish there were a quilting magazine for the quilter I am now, but I wonder if one could compete with the Internet.

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  57. I don't but have considered it. Everyone I've seen lately is focused on machine quilting which I'm not interested in, hand quilter here. I guess I'm not interested in a lot of gadgets either.

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  58. I haven't subscribed in a long time and discovered that the public library has 3-5 different mags I can check out or sit and look through. I recently "discovered" a stash of old mags in my sewing room dating back to the 1990's and I have been rediscovering patterns I would like to try. Otherwise I have to agree that the internet has plenty of eye candy and free patterns to fill my needs. Bernie

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  59. I so agree. I used to get a bunch of magazines, but over the last few years dropped most of them. Still getting McCalls and APQ, but recent issues have been veru disappointing. I do not plan to renew either one. I do like Primitive Quilts and projects and I usually buy it.

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  60. The last few issues of American Patchwork & Quilting have been hugely disapointing! After recieving the latest issue, I decided that I would not be renewing again, and I have subscribed to it since the first issue. They seem to be catering to the Modern Quilters now, and that does not fit my needs. I do love Primitive Quilts and Projects! I just buy it at the quilt shop.

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  61. I hate to have to say it, but you are sooo right. I have just been selectively purchasing quilt magazines for some time now. No subscriptions. I do like the quilt sampler of shops that Merideth's publishing puts out. At least there is great pictures of shops I will most likely never get to in that. I just love to look back through all my "old" issues from the 80's and 90's. So many in there I still haven't gotten made. It is good enough for me.

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  62. I only ever subscribed to Quiltmaker for 1 year, the most economical way to purchase it in the UK, but it palled after only a few issues. I seem to recall a a while ago much discussion in Blogland about quilt magazines "dumbing-down", or is that another can to open?
    Regards from me in England

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  63. I just subscribed to Primitive Quilts and Quiltmaker. I only wanted Quiltmaker for Bonnie's patterns. That's it. And yes, every once in a while I will succumb to temptation when in the store and buy a magazine on impulse. But always I am disappointed at what I find to use/read after I get it home.
    Love your blog by the way. Oh and I first got Primitive Quilts because of your Cheddar pattern in there!

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  64. I'm with you, too! I dropped my subscriptions about 5 years ago and it's a relief. I would rather purchase a quilting book that speaks to my heart once in a while than gather endless magazines filled with fluff and ads.

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  65. I totally agree with everyone. The last issue of American Patchwork was horrible. I can't believe they wasted 6 pages of the magazine on directions on how to make a quilt with 33" shoe fly blocks. Good grief! So disappointing. The "tips" section was all common sense stuff (like "Carry your handwork in a plastic bag in your purse") really???? How enlightening! Even the interviews with quilters is all "fluff". I want to see their sewing space or how they decorate their home or see them working on their designs and talking about the process. I don't want a close up of their fabric or one block, I want substance! I also feel that the other magazines are just as lacking in substance. I don't think giving directions on how to sew strips of fabric around a preprinted center panel is worthy of being published and certainly not worth buying a magazine for $5.99. What are these editors and publishers thinking anyway?

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  66. I stopped all my quilt magazine subscriptions over a year ago and frankly, I don't miss them. It seems they got smaller each month and had very few things I was interested in. I buy a Sampler magazine when they come out and enjoy that and sometimes when I am at the library, I flip through the quilt mags there, but otherwise I am fine. No magazine clutter either and that is a bonus.

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  67. I wish there was some way AP&Q, QNL,McCalls and all the other magazines could read these comments. Once I had a subscription to all of the above and bought many more. Now I have no subscriptions and hardly ever buy one at the store.
    I think for a multitude of reasons the magazines are boring, not worth it, simple and all the other things mentioned.
    I do not need a magazine to show me how to make HST quilts, log cabins, stack, slash and sew projects etc. I understand those new to quilting may not know these things, but to make every single issue about the easiest and fasted ways to make a quilt is just too much.
    Like several of the other commenters have said, I now look at my old magazines and my older books for inspiration and new projects.
    BTW, it isn't just the magazines that are doing this, most of the books published are this way too, along with the classes offered in most quilt stores.
    Now I'm depressed...I think I will go sew!

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  68. I stopped having the British P and Q a while ago. It was just rehashing old stuff all the time. I now subscribe to Stitch.

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  69. Yeah....we have a spokesperson here for all of us who feel this way! Now if we could get the Editors of these magazines to take notice that they are leaving those who love reproduction behind. I was VERY disappointed in my new issue of AP & Q and had the thought of not renewing. I've already let the others expire.
    Granted that I've been a quilting 20+ years and have seen just about everything when it comes to quilting blocks and quilts so perhaps seeing it "done" over and over again is getting old and then to know that I'm paying for the same similiar pattern again is getting old! Of course having said that...how many times have I looked at a pattern in a fabric line I didn't care for so didn't take much notice of the quilt...UNTIL....it was done in reproduction or worn look and I said WOW!? I bet same is said for many of us commenting here. I miss the old Minature Quilts magazine and wish there was a magazine that only had small quilts...skipping the totes bags, rug hooking, etc. I'm not a big tote bag maker, and I don't rug hook....so those tend to be a waste for me. Oh gosh...hope some editors take notice of your post and the comments!!!!

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    1. I TREASURE my old Miniature Quilts magazines! I bet if they started that one again....

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  70. yea, I've been thinking they are lack luster.
    I'd love to see a really traditional magazine and one with small or doll quilts too.

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  71. I let all my subscription go years ago. It's all redo of the same patterns. Just newer funner fabrics. Something "new" in quilting is rare. I'm not saying there's not a lot of talent out, there is. Just a lot of it is doing old in a different way. (not that it wasn't done years before in the same "new way") Sometimes it's all so depressing. I think I new a new hobby but I do so love to quilt : )

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  72. A long time ago I subscripted to a couple of quilt magazines, then let them lapse. Than I saw Quilter's Home and was subscribing to that until they changed the format. It was the only magazine that I ever read from cover to cover. After they changed the format, I couldn't even look at it anymore. I now get more inspiration from the blogs that I read than any magazine that I've read. Thanks for sharing.
    cindy

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  73. I have a large collection of vintage Quilters Newsletter, Quilt, and Lady's Circle Patchwork Quilts (LCPQ was my favorite because they also had a section featuring historical quilts -- many with patterns). More recently, I loved McCall's Vintage Quilts and have every issue, but it only came out sporadically and I haven't seen one in a few years.

    The designs in the newer magazines just don't appeal to me anymore. I have even stopped bothering to look through them when I'm at the news stand. What I'd like is a magazine about quilters who use old fabric to make their quilts :)

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  74. I am more of the thought that the magazines haven't deteriorated so much (well, yes, a bit) but that instead I have changed in what I am looking for as inspiration. Maybe those of us who no longer find inspiration there have grown or changed our focus to the web. There are newer quilters out there who may find inspiration in magazines.
    But on the other hand, while most current quilters are from home-ec/4-H/mother taught sewers, the newer generation of quilters are going to come from the home dec/theater/design areas and will also look to the web.
    Maybe the quilt magazine has become obsolete.

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  75. I just received my last AP&Q, let McCall's lapse as I don't find much in any except lots of advertising. I just subscribed to Primitive Quilts and am waiting on my first issue. I agree with an earlier comment about finding inspiration in many of the older quilting magazines.

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  76. Wow, this is amazing! I agree with you all. I used to subscribe to all the quilt magazines, but one by one, I let them go. My favorite was always Quilt, because I liked the stories about the individual quilters. Most of them are full of either very simple quilts or modern brights, NOT my thing at all. If someone would come out with an all reproduction quilts magazine, I'd definitely subscribe.

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  77. Not sure I have much to add. I've subscribed to APQ since the beginning. I now can go thru the mag in about 10 minutes. Seems like I used to linger for hours and put little stickers on all the ones I wanted to make. My takeaway thought on this subject is....as much as we love new fabric, it seems the manufacturers have taken away the thing that made quilting personal and fulfilling (at least for me) - choosing our fabrics. The patterns haven't changed but the way we choose our fabric has. I too would love to see quilts made from somebody's real stash and not from a stack of fabrics put together by committee! Maybe somebody's listening.

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  78. I, too, am getting bored by the current magazines. In a side note, we are moving next week. I've been doing change of addresses for various magazines on the internet. For the life of me, I cannot log into the AP&Q site to change my subscription address. I do exactly as instructed and it doesn't work. I have an engineering degree, and if I can't get it to work, who could? Maybe the new owner of our house will enjoy the magazine, since I cannot seem to change the address!

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  79. Several months ago I went thru all of my magazines and tore out only what I wanted and put into a binder notebook and gave away the rest. It was the older issues that I had marked the most with sticky tabs. I did see that someone turned this blog over to AP&Q editors which I was going to do if someone else didn't. I love applique quilts and old antique quilts made new and updated. I also have quit taking quilt magazines as it only took me maybe 10 minutes to quickly look thru it, nothing was in it that I would take time to make.

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  80. Good for you Lori, I agree, haven't bought many quilt magazines of late. Although Quiltmania can be really fabulous. But here iin Oz it costs $10+ to buy a magazine...I can get a fabulous quiltbook from Amazon for $20 or so. It's a no brainer which one I'd rather have.

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  81. I haven't bought a quilt magazine in over a year. It seems like a lot of the quilts in the magazines are being made just to sell particular lines of fabrics and don't involve much in the way of interesting piecing or appliqué. It almost makes me wonder who's paying the designers - the quilt magazine or the fabric companies? I've got a nice stash of Australian quilt magazines and find myself drawn to the quilts in those over and over as great avenues for inspiration.

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  82. I subscribe to Primitive Quilts and Projects as well (BEST MAGAZINE EVER!), and haven't bought any other quilt magazine for many, many months. I don't even bother to flip through them anymore as there seldom is anything that appeals to me.

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  83. I'm bored by the huge prints with lots of large flowers. I think this kind of became the craze when Amy Butler first started getting popular and while I do like some of Amy's things it's just not my style and I don't care for these large prints with "crayony" colors. I really don't know how else to describe the colors but they border on flourescent. Perfect example is the magazine in the picture, top left. I'm also bored by the patterns that are so simplistic you could create the pattern yourself. Like a box in a box. Or just a bunch of squares with sashing. It's boring. The appeal in the Primitive Quilts and Projects to me is the quality of the paper, the photographs, the layouts, and of course the patterns. I think the magazine is very well done. I am glad to hear that magazine editors are listening.

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    Replies
    1. Just what I was going to say, "patterns that are so simplistic you could create the pattern yourself". I need to be challenged, or at least inspired.

      Delete
  84. I just read Sister's Choice Quilts' blog, about the issue of quilt periodicals, and felt I wanted to leave my comment here also. I am a fairly new quilter, and initially looked to quilt magazines for ideas and information, but I found that after an initial look-thru, I would set aside the magazine. Therefore, I decided a few months ago not to renew my subscriptions. My feeling is that it appears that a designer put some criteria into a quilt computer program, pushed a button, then got a pattern. I find many of the patterns to be unattractive and too simple. While I recognize that others may want patterns that can be completed in 2 or 3 sittings, I am looking for something that requires a little more effort and challenge. So, from a magazine, I am looking for
    1). patterns that are not predominately simple;
    2). patterns that don't look hodge-podge;
    3). technique instruction - how to refine a HST or flying goose; thoughtful, detailed articles about applique; tools to use for accurate measurement; more thoughtful information about machine quilting;
    4). articles about using color-that is a challenge for many people; 5). more articles - I like reading about quilting as much as I like quilting.
    The magazines I've read are beautiful-the pictures are bright, the print is easy to read, but I've decided their purpose is to sell new lines of fabric and new products. That is not what I, as a quilter, am interested in.
    I guess because I'm a fairly new quilter, I haven't settled on a style yet (maybe I never will). So, regarding content, I would like to see a mixture of traditional, modern, and art quilting, as well as a variety of quilt products (bed, wall hangings, purse, apparel). There is so much to be learned by studying quilts - how quilters used color, space, how they've altered a block and changed the look and feel of the quilt, that having a variety would be beneficial.
    Thank you for starting this discussion.

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    Replies
    1. I agree! This is very well said! This is what should be provided to the Editor's of the quilting magazines.

      Delete
  85. I let all my subscriptions go several years ago. Too expensive for what you get, too many errors in the patterns, nothing new. I do not care for the primitive look. I've always loved the traditional look but am getting interested in more modern looks. Maybe I've been quilting long enough that the stuff in the mags seems old hat to me?

    Riley

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  86. I hope the quilt magazines improve. They used to be such a source of pleasure & inspiration, but now not so much. For me, it was the same with the home dec magazines. I spent so much time in those magazines and now they just leave me cold.

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  87. When I first started quilting, in 1999, I loved quilt mags, but then there wasn't much else out there. There weren't virbant blogs updated daily. Now with so many beautifully photographed and well written blogs to read, I feel that the magazines just can't keep up. Why am I going to buy a magazine for $8 when I only like one or two of the patterns? I can subscribe to hundreds of blogs that publish exactly what I like to see and it's free!

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  88. I agree and don't get anything out of American Patchwork and Quilting. I don't find their patterns very easy to follow. I know I haven't been quilting very long but even their patterns for beginners are difficult. Seems like everyone really liked the primative quilts magazine. I will check that one out! Thanks

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  89. I was a subscriber to AP&Q for years, probably since the beginning of this publication. Can't say that I have every issue, but pretty close. I do agree that the older issues have more patterns and articles that I enjoy, and I am so glad I saved many of them. It's like going through them again for the first time. Another bummer is back in April I did not receive my magazine. So I emailed the company. I was informed that my subscription had run out. WHAATTT????? How come nobody told me????? I have not received anything in the mail concerning my subscription except back at the holidays when they wanted me to extend my subscription and a gift subscription I had given my friend a couple of years ago. I did not resubscribe, for the very reason that everyone has mentioned. Magazines are becoming too costly with too many ads and not enough content. So I am letting most of my subscriptions go.

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  90. I prefer traditional quilts and stumbled onto QuiltMania about a year ago.. it is fabulous. I'll have to try Primitive Quilts -- had not heard of this one.

    I'm still buying APQ and pick up others @ stores if I find something interesting. I thought the latest issue of APQ was good. And that Shoo Fly quilt was very eye catching. I don't mind they took several pages to explain it, plus they included the color option. :-) I could easily see doing that pattern in a kid fabric for Xmas gifts. Easy peasy.

    However, in the last "Shop Hop" APQ issue they did not include the "color option" for the quilts shop owners designed - just a note to go online to see it. I have yet to find where it resides. Their website pages are filled with advertising, ways to acknowledge an article on FB, Twitter or email to a friend, etc. At least 2 large reminders to sign up for the APQ for zero $. The article/quilt pictures are embedded in a small space and when you click to see the next picture the entire page refreshes - changing to new ads. If I click to zoom in all I get is that one picture. No way to just page thru just the pictures in the article. That was annoying, so I bailed out. Bottom line moving the color change option to online is a big fail for me. Something I use to get in my $6.99 issue is now gone. At least for that issue.

    What inspires me and prompt me to buy a quilt magazine?

    * Seeing how others decorate with quilts. I cannot never get enough of seeing pictures of quilts on display in homes.

    * Articles on sewing spaces.

    * Featured shops. I would enjoy seeing one in every issue. They don't have to offer a pattern to feature them.. but if they want to include one it's great. There are so many shops - I'd like to see continued support for them as I've seen so many closeup.

    *I'd like to see APQ take a few of those shop owner quilts and make scrappy versions then feature them in a future issue - with big pictures. It would be a nice way to give more credit to the shop owners. I understand a pink star quilt or black and white quilt appeals to some quilters, but not me. However, I could easily drool over a scrappy version of either of those patterns. The best quilt featured in that shop hop issue for me.. Page 47 -- the big scrappy Log Cabin quilt by Laundry Baskets.

    * Articles on Technique tips - cutting, piecing, use of color are always useful. Alternative ways to make the same block.

    * Always show me color alternatives on quilts you feature. In the magazine.. not just online.

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  91. I used to have subscriptions to five magazines, now I'm down to two and probably won't renew when they expire. There's just nothing awe inspiring in them any longer. I can get what I need from blogs and other free on-line patterns, so why spend the money. I usually go to Barnes and Nobles quarterly, have a coffee and browse through the magazines to see if there's anything I can't live without, lately that hasn't been an issue. Great subject.

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  92. I've been so disappointed in quilt magazines for about the last couple of years. Just a few days ago, I decided to pick a couple up at Barnes & Noble and see if I've been missing anything. Well, I actually went a little crazy and bought 4 of them....and now I have buyer's remorse. There's nothing that appeals to me in ANY of them. I don't know why that is because I can read 5 quilting blogs and get excited about 4 quilts! I don't necessarily thing the magazines are different - I think I am! I subscribe to hundreds of blogs - not all quilting of course - and I enjoy each and every one of them. There's so much detail there, along with shared knowledge - and it's done on such a personal level. A magazine can't do that.

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  93. I used to subscribe to at least a half a dozen quilt magazines, and a gift subscription for my best friend. One by one, I've let them go, 'til I'm down to Quiltmaker and Quick Quilts. Oh, and The Quilter, because it has great articles. I like the smaller projects for times like spring when I spend more time outdoors than inside quilting, and for gifts. I am not a fan of primitive anything, so that's not a draw for me.

    I do like color options for quilts, as I have a hard time getting past all the red/turquoise combinations, the new pink and chartreuse Christmas color combos, and blended quilts. Those colors so turn me off, I will often pass up a perfectly delightful pattern because my imagination doesn't extend far enough to visualize it in different colors.

    Of course younger, newer quilters are probably turned off by older, traditional colors and quilts, and don't have the time to spend with the more detailed patterns because they have young families. I get that. Watercolor quilts don't do a thing for me, and it wasn't so very long ago that they were all the rage.

    But I think to stay current, a magazine needs to either appeal to a variety of different customers, or narrow its focus to one particular field.

    I am also in agreement that they all seem to cater to fabric lines, in that the quilts are designed only to show off a manufacturer's current stock. I am not stupid. I can go to a fabric shop and mix and match very well, thank you.

    Why don't the magazines feature some quilt bloggers out here? Are they threatened by the access the public has to tutorials and examples here on the internet? Well, if you can't beat 'em.....

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  94. I am letting all my American subscriptions expire too. I have made enough quilts that I am
    No longer interested in the easy/quick/ kit type of quilt. I want a challenging pattern that will take
    A while. I miss the old Quilters Newsletter magazine. I still love Quilt Mania. I like Laundry
    Basket and Lori Smith style patterns...and my current favorites are redrafted antique quilt patterns
    By the Australians. Hope some quilt editors are reading all these comments.

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  95. I have to agree with the majority on this one. I used to subscribe to them all because I had a shop. We would get customers who came in with the "Did you see such and such quilt in this or that magazine", so I had to be on top of it. We only carried four magazines in the shop. While I understand that in today's world, a lot of quilters are pressed for time, myself included, that magazines have been gravitating toward the quick and easy....those types of patterns offer no appeal to me. I also feel like magazines are 'copying' each other's easy patterns. If it shows up on the cover of one this month, you will probably see a similar pattern in another the next time you receive it.

    I'm also not a fan of being referred to their websites. I paid for the magazine...I want to see it in the magazine. I want to be able to pick it up, take it into my sewing studio and use it.

    One of the things I do appreciate is when they show a "prim version" and a more "modern/bright" version of the same quilt. I think it is appealing to more readers.

    I don't care if you put a million ads in your magazine, that helps keep my cost down. I can simply flip the page and not look at the ones I don't care about. I do believe, however, there should be a happy balance between ads and the meat and potatoes of what your magazine is about.

    Tutorials on new rulers/techniques would be great!

    I'm one of the subscribers letting all of my subscriptions run out. The goal for me in subscribing is to stand by the mailbox waiting for that monthly inspiration to come and send me straight into the sewing studio. If the magazine comes, I flip through, and just toss it on a pile...there is no value for me.

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  96. The magazines are all about keeping the advertisers happy, which means promoting quilt designs from the manufacturers' current lines. (IMO the worst in this regard is The Quilter. The designs are blah and soooo slavish to the mfrs.)

    QN is about the only magazine that focuses on quiltmakers. QN's patterns feature whatever fabrics the designer used. (AQS is also about quiltmakers, but it devotes pages and pages and pags to its quilt show winners.)

    That said, I *like* magazines and I get a lot of them. I have QN back to the single digits. I have AP&Q from issue #1. (As a rank beginnger I made the Storm at Sea, the first cover quilt, not knowing anything about cutting triangles or bias...and it turned out great.) They can get boring -- AP&Q in particular is predictable: it seems that each issue has one pattern in batiks, one in 30's, one in CW, one in 'modern'. But in each magazine there is at least one that I'll mark with a post-it to consider.

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    Replies
    1. Oh, yes....to add to those "in every issue" -- one tote bag!

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  97. Interesting discussion. I don't know why anyone would buy a magazine when they can click on any quilting blog and follow the sidebar for great ideas, at no cost! Many of the magazine's designers' post photos of their quilt the day the magazine is released. You can see them as easily on their own websites and blogs. The magazines are flat and repetitive, their is no difference issue to issue. I really wanted to send a message directly to Elizabeth Beese, because I give her props for responding to you, but found no way to contact her except through a general mailbox. That is another problem with magazines, so impersonal, unlike blogs. Thanks for the great discussion.

    Donna Barker
    donna.barker@cox.net

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  98. I let my subscriptions lapse about 5 years now ..... the trend that I could see coming was not for me and there was no point in putting out money for a magazine that would hardly be flipped through or even hold my interest.

    In order to bring along new quilters, the magazine people have forgotten about those that made their magazines a success in the first place.

    Everything now is bright, bold and fast and there is a need for these types of quilts. There is also a need for other styles as well.

    I get more enjoyment designing quilts with my EQ7 than picking up a magazine.

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  99. I agree with many of the comments posted. I once subscribed to many of the magazines pictured in your post. I o longer subscribe to any quilt magazines. Storage and cost are two of the reason I cancelled my subscriptions. I also felt the magazines were trying to sell new lines of fabric.

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  100. IMHO, a factor might well be that there is so much wonderful and helpful information on-line and glorious photos, too.

    One reason I have let all of my quilting magazine subscriptions lapse is I became tired of the promotion of fabric lines and kits in the quilt construction articles. Where is individual choice and creativity?? I know I don't want my quilts to match any other quilt on the planet - unless it's by accident and that is a bazillion to one chance!

    I also believe it's hurting the quilting community when the magazines fail to list quilt block names with their patterns. Thousands of blocks have at least one name and there are great books that list blocks and their common names. How hard is it to give a nod to our quilting heritage and teach current quilters by adding this simple information? I like to sometimes choose a block because of its name.

    These days, I most often find a block I like in a book or on-line, then plan a quilt or wall hanging using that block.

    I, too, and glad I kept the back issues of the magazines I used to subscribe to - with their post-it notes sticking out the top of the magazines!

    Popped in from Sister's Choice Quilts to add my voice to your interesting post.

    Cheers!

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  101. I no longer suscribe to quilting magazines for two reasons only. The quilts seem only to " be" to feature a line of fabric. They are not like traditional quilts at all. Secondly the cost. In this economy???? SO at first I narrowed it down to just a couple and kept those but when I didn't find them interesting any longer I canceled those too.

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  102. Yes, like most of you, I have cut way back on the quilting magazine purchases. Since I have been quilting for many years, to me it seems I see the same patterns, just in different fabrics. And too, there are all those advertisements.........please. With computers, we can look up anything that we want with a click of a mouse. I want to see creative, beautiful quilts with patterns. Magazines are very expensive and it has to be special for me to purchase it. No more subscriptions.....

    When I see those over seas quilt magazines, they have lot's of patterns, beautiful pictures and it is a very thick magazine. Seems you get a lot for your money.

    I used to think my mail carrier kept my magazines, read them and then delivered them. I would see them in the stores before I received mine in the mail.....what's up with that.....

    Anyway, came here from another blog....just my 2 cents worth.....

    Still happy in quilting, gloria g. Hemingway, SC

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  103. Wow, This really hits home. I stopped buying them a few years back. Even Fons and Porter that comes in a wrapped package, really, is it a secret what is in the magazine? Not spending my money just to open the plastic. I would like to see American quilting magazines look to Australia and Japan and France to open up their eyes to something new and different.Quiltmania is completely overpriced. I think quilting has reached it highest point. What more can we do? There are only so many patterns, Fabric is so overpriced that a lot of us have stopped buying and are now using up our stash. I personally am sick of red and teal. Not some glossy pic with one page of text. But an on going series of say... a museum and each quilt documented with a pattern at the end of the article. Articles with some meat would be nice. The fluff gets old, we are not giddy teen agers turned on by glossy images. Most of my friends that quilt are close to retirement age and want something that is interesting to read, educational and has images and patterns to accompany the article. Great subject Lori.

    Lizzie

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  104. I have to agree with most of the comments! The current issue of AP&Q is the WORST issue ever! BUT...don't forget to check MY quilt out when it is published in the AP&Q Magazine (issue is yet to be determined). It is a red & green applique quilt inspired by an antique quilt in "Arkansas Quilts: Arkansas Warmth". I am thinking that it will be in the December issue because of the colors? Time will tell...

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  105. For the first time since the 1980's, I'm not renewing Quilters' Newsletter, and debated about American Patchwork. My favorites are Quiltmania, but I don't buy it unless there are several quilts that I really like and/or an interesting article with antique quilts.

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  106. I subscribe to American Patchwork and they send me a newsletter on-line. The last issue was the final straw. I won't renew and their newsletter is a joke. They keep rehashing the same stuff they've been showing for the past two years. Doesn't anyone ever do anything new? Sad isn't it? I love all kinds of quilts from traditional to modern, and I know that there truly isn't anything new. But I also know that there are creative people out there still taking the traditional designs and using them in new creative ways. Where are they? The magazines don't seem to have them.

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    Replies
    1. I think the magazines make it difficult to submit projects. Give the average quilter a little help and they'd have a lot of submissions.

      Delete
  107. I'm a modern quilter and my complaint is that there isn't enough modern quilting in magazines. Even when they try to be modern it's not even close to what members of the Modern Quilt Guild are producing these days and it's always presented as if readers have never heard of modern quilting before and might find it scary. I would love to see more antique patterns -- they are challenging and timeless (and often surprisingly modern.) I also despise all of the "quick and easy finish it in a week-end" patterns. I want advanced, interesting, challenging patterns. I don't understand the point of publishing a pattern on how to sew together a few nine-patches.

    However, some new magazines have come out lately which are a whole new breed. Fat Quarterly is digital only but it's also my favourite. Quilty magazine is awesome -- it exceeded all of my expectations (the articles were even mostly fluff-free.) I'm excited to see what the first issue of Generation Q Magazine is like as well.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for your comments. I'm glad to hear there are a few magazines looking to fill the gap.

      Delete
  108. Hello!
    I'm Jenifer, the Creative Director of Primitive Quilts and Projects magazine, I was sent to this blog post by a nice lady at the NQA quilt show today! I just read each and every comment to my sister/partner, Gretchen, the Advertising and Circulation director, out loud! And after drinking some much needed water (haha)I wanted to post a comment to you! First of all, thank you to the many people who had such nice things to say about our publication. Secondly, we are all quilters just like you, and you have touched on issues close to our hearts. We would love to have more submissions of projects to our magazine, and it is as easy as sending us an email of a quilt or sketch of a project that is unpublished. Send them to homespunmedia@aol.com and we will consider them! Most of our projects have been primitive, but at least in every issue there has been a traditional or reproduction quilt, so we are open to that as well, for possible future publications. We will be sure to keep all of your comments in our thoughts as we plan our upcoming issues! Thank you Lori, for opening up this discussion, it is very helpful for our "new" magazine!
    Jenifer, Gretchen, and Judy (even though she isn't with us here at the show!)

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  109. I have been thinking about this issue for a few days to get my thoughts in order. I agree that magazines don't have the appeal to me that they used to. I am a blogger and read many blogs, but I would still really appreciate magazines with good projects. I have been quilting for over 15 years and prefer "meaty" projects, not simplistic ones. I think this issue is part of the larger issue of how quilting has changed in the past 10 years--especially with the internet and the way we shop for fabric. It used to be that you went to the shop and it was all arranged by color and you could usually find the exact shade of blue or gold or whatever you were looking for. Now it is all "lines" and the coordinates for them. Have you tried to find a gold lately? There aren't any. I can see the attraction of purchasing a line of fabric to make a quilt. If you are doing so over the internet, you know it all matches. Now that we are changing the way we buy fabric and in differnt amounts (precuts) magazines and pattern designers have to focus on those needs. Meanwhile, those of use who have a different stash can't find the shade of gold we need or a pattern to use! I stopped my magazine subscriptions a while ago. I used to get one in the mail and there would be 3 or more projects I wanted to do. No more. I was wondering if the quilting trends moved on and I didn't. I was feeling a bit stagnant, but now I see that I'm not alone. Who is it that is deciding the trends anyway? And even while I've been thinking about this the past week, last night helped me decide. Our guild had an auction: members brought things from their quilting room that were no longer desired. Many of these included older issues of magazines. I started looking through them and got excited again. There were 2-3 projects in each one that I wanted to do, just like before. My message to the magazine editors is to quit manipulating the "trends." I know you are trying to attract new people to quilting and make it easy for beginners. But don't forget the core group of long-time customers who want more complicated/challenging projects in the traditional style.

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  110. Interesting topic. I have saved tons of old magazines which I enjoy browsing through - I stopped all my subscriptions over the last couple of years. I did take Quiltmania for several years and loved that one - and have plenty of projects in them if I want one. Loving old quilts, I mourned the loss of two things (1) Traditional Quiltworks magazine (not sure when it ended - yrs ago now - and the Mc Calls annual Vintage Quilts publication. I am not looking for projects. I prefer to read interesting articles. I have enough patterns, books, magazines etc for a lifetime. Then there is the library, (can flip thru those new quilt mags in a few minutes) and the internet sources. It's like fabric - I have enough (I keep repeating that over and over!)

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  111. You too! OMG! When I just stumbled upon your comments I cracked up. I always purchased Quilting Arts Magazine and this will be my last year with the magazine because their are too many advertisements, not enough explainations of the techniques,and they have the same quilters in their magazines and not enough new faces. The techniques in Quilting Arts seem to overlap again and again, and I find myself saying, "Okay, I can do this and I get what I need to do." There are too many ideas if you ask me but primarily what I have noticed is the magazine is getting smaller and thinner, and they have great pictures but the quilters seem to share very complex ideas that I do not have time to do. The one idea that freaked me out with Quilting Arts was the technique of dying fabric with snow.LOL! I said to myself,"What if you live in a climate where it rarely snows?" this means that you don't stand a chance at dying fabric with snow. Luckily, I live in Chicago so hey this works for me....hahahahaha! Yet,there could be a myriad of quilters who are not around snow. Quilting Arts has so many advertisements and I know I am done after this year and I have seen changes in the past 6 years as a subscriber, and I really think some ideas are too far fetched and over the top. Quilting Arts has the best pictures for the cover which draws you in, but overall it's now all fluff and no stuff.

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    Replies
    1. I wondered if the changes I was seeing were also being seen in the more Artsy magazines. It does seem that they are all going to more and more advertising. Aargh!

      Delete
    2. Yes Lori,
      I agree too much advertising and I have also noticed over the years as a subscriber to Quilting Arts that the magazine keeps shrinking. Quilting Arts was more detailed and now every page is about new machines, products, and supplies. It feels more like a supply book. Also, the last thing I noticed is that the directions are sometime not clear, and I always notice that when Quilting Arts TV airs that directions make a little bit more sense. I could go on and on for days on this subject as a quilter, but I want you to know that I agree with your comments, and now I feel good about ending my subscription.

      Delete
  112. Like many of the peeps here wrote: I love Quiltmania. I have found many Minick & Simpson and Edyta Sitar quilts in there as well as some of the beautiful Australian designer quilts. I also really like Primitive Quilts as well. Other than those two I just poke through blogs to find my inspiration. I love your blog and Bonnie Hunters too. I really miss the inspiredbyantiquequilts blog though. Do you happen to know what happened to Kathie Holland? I hope she is still out there quilting her heart out somewhere and just gave up blogging.

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