Luckilyforus
quilters,the
sewingmachine
madethequilting
processmuch
speedier!
Qui l ti nga sa na rt form
took a turn ,un ti lqui l ters
rea li sedt ha tt hey could
machinequilt,t hus
sa vi ngt hemselveshours
and hours of sewing
hoursofsewing.Verysimilartonow,
peoplewerecrunchedfortimeand
lookingfora moreefficient way to
sew.Andtheyfoundit!
Flashforwardtothepresentand
quiltinghasgrownin popularity.We
havefabricstoresdedicatedjustto
quiltingfabric,quiltingnotionsand
quiltingbooks.Beforethe1970s,
fabricstorescarriedallkindsof
fabricandmostlyforapparel.It was
difficulttofindprettylightweight
cottonthatworkedwellforquilts.
Now,dedicatedquiltersspend
millionsa yearonkits,fabric,tools,
and,ofcourse,sewingmachines.
Themassivechangein thequilting
industrypost-sewing-machine is
nothingshortofepic.
Eventhoughthesewingmachine
hasenabledquiltingtoblossom
intoanaccessibleart,in myopinion,
there’sstillnothingquitelike
channellingyourinner,pre-1850s
teenager,andhandquiltinga piece
thatwillstickaroundtoseeyet
another generation of quilters.SUZY QUILTS
suzyquilts.com
suzyquiltsBytheturnofthecentury,quilting
waslessofanobligatoryhousehold
chore,andmoreofa business
opportunity.Livingthegoodlife
meantconsumptionmorethan
production,andpeoplestarted
buyingandsellingquiltpatterns
likeneverbefore.Thequilting
industryturnedintoa consumer-
facingbusiness,andin an
interestingplottwist,thatmade
somesewistsfamous,household
names.Insteadofjustquiltingfor
necessity,peoplebeganhoning
their specific tastes and styles.A resurgence
Beforethe1970s,eventhough
mostquiltswerepiecedwitha
sewingmachine,quiltersmostly
stillhandquiltedtheirquiltlayers
together.Evenbythe1950sand
60s,theideaofhandquiltinga quilt
was,well,notappealing.Moreand
morewomenwereenteringthe
workforceandlifewasbusy!
Quiltingasanartformwastaking
a turn,andnottowardspopularity,
untilquiltersrealisedthatthey
couldmachinequilttheirquilts,
thus saving themselves hours andIN THE KNOW
WWW.LOVEPATCHWORKANDQUILTING.COM 35