The average quilter is a retired woman in her 60s.
Premier Needle Arts conducts an annual survey of quilters. Here’s this year's analysis of their “average quilter.”
Has a household income of $65,000+.
Only 17.5% have full-time jobs.
Each starts 10-12 quilt projects each year. (Does not say how many are finished.)
Uses traditional style.
Spends more than six hours a week in quiltmaking.
One of 9-11 million active quilters in the US and Canada.
Who shop in their stashes lately rather than shopping for new fabric.
Something us fabric designers hate to hear.
See the survey results here:
https://cialliance.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/2022_TodaysQuiltingTrends-1.pdf 
Well, I 've never been referred to as "average" and this survey only serves to confirm it. Does anyone take these surveys seriously anyways ?🤔
ReplyDeleteSorry about shopping my stash first, if I don't there won't be room for new! We'll not discuss how often I end up at the store anyway because I don't already have the right fabric.
ReplyDeleteI fit the survey maybe 80%. Sorry, I'm one of those who isn't buying much fabric, and what I do purchase is from thrift stores & yard sales. I'm primarily working on USING my nearly 50 year stash before I go 'toes up' so my children don't have to deal with all of it. I also teach a sewing/quilting class at a local senior center (where most of my students are in their 80's up to age 98) - and those girls are a HOOT to teach! I bring most of the fabric we use in class from my stash. I also cut up my scraps and USE them to make scrappy quilts (my favorite). One Ikea cabinet stores all those 'pre cuts' now, sorted by colors and sizes. When I do pass I've made it clear that my entire book collection is going to the local library, which is disgraceful as they have only about 5-6 quilting books (all very old).
ReplyDeleteI love the photo illustrations in this post! I have a huge stash in which I shop -- and this year I've augmented it. Thanks so much for your research and inspiration, Barbara.
ReplyDeleteIt's always good to work for an appreciative audience Nann.
DeleteInteresting results. Since the survey was sent to 1 million quilters and they had 26,000 responses, it is clear that we all like to quilt more than we like to fill out survey forms. I do send them in whenever I get one because I feel this information is important to the industry. And don't worry, there are many people (like me) who could shop from their stash 'til the end of time, but we just keep buying fabric anyway. Happy New Year!
ReplyDelete