I saw this one too! He has some very delicate pieces! I loved how he talked about the history of quilts in this country!
Just spent $150 at the quilt shop today. I made quilts when I was first married, then took it up again as an empty-nester. Really don’t need more blankets around here, but I do need something to do. I hand quilt, and thought as I was buying the fabric, that’s a good idea because it makes the project last a lot longer and saves money because I’m not buying more fabric so fast. I did buy 96 yards worth of 3 yard cuts at an auction last fall, and have been working through that too. Not all prints that I really want to use 3 yards of, but had to buy in lots.
I still use the Brother from Walmart DH got me in the 90’s.
My mom and MIL sew. My mom made my wedding dress and a bridesmaid dress and flower girls. MIL made the other bridesmaid dress. My mom makes utilitarian quilts for world ministries, my MIL makes works of art 
DDs have dabbled in embroidery and a little mending. Older DD crochets- can’t follow a pattern- but can visualize and make it work as she goes.
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I took sewing classes requested by mom, back in jr. high (Typing classes too). I did not appreciate either until much later.
Sewing classes served me well. I sewed clothes for awhile, and actually sewed my own wedding dress (no lace), and then moved on, to sew much of our home decor (pillows, curtains, etc.) - much easier.
Mom’s machine (60’s Singer) died last year. It was all I ever used, and we knew each other well 
. It started skipping many stitches (long runs). We have a fantastic local service shop, which I would use for maintenance every few years. The repair master with years of experience (he was older than I!), said he could not determine the problem after several tries, and declared it was time to say goodbye. I found the same model on FB Marketplace, but unfortunately, it also had issues. I’ll still hand-stich repairs or hems, but I really don’t want the learning curve and expense to replace with a machine built as well as the old Singer.
Typing classes have also served me well on the computer!
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I hand quilt my quilts too because there’s a limit to how many quilts I need to make and I also enjoy it. I can listen to podcasts or audiobooks and keep my hands busy.
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I know the year I stopped sewing clothes for myself – 1990 – the last garment I made was a pair of mother-daughter matching jumpers for my oldest and myself while I was pregnant with my second. (Yes, it’s cringe.) The cost of fabric and patterns jumped so much that it was cheaper to buy, and we were wearing so many knits that I didn’t have the equipment to sew easily.
Then 30 years later I needed a hobby (if that sounds pathetic to people who have hobbies they love, it is) and took up quilting because I knew I could do it. In the process I also started collecting vintage sewing machines. Now that all the kids and grandkids have quilts I am confronted by “how many quilts does the world need?” and my production has really slowed down. I still love the vintage machines but I don’t have the space to work with them the way I would like.
Then this summer I taught the granddaughters (6 and 9) how to use a sewing machine. We made pillowcases and gathered skirts. They were so excited to wear something they had made.
I also have a niece who sews all her own clothes. They are lovely and fit well. I am in awe of her creations. She’s an engineer whose hobbies are sewing and baking and she brings that love of creation and precision to both. They could have interviewed her for the article!
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Now that all the kids and grandkids have quilts I am confronted by “how many quilts does the world need?” and my production has really slowed down. I still love the vintage machines but I don’t have the space to work with them the way I
If you like to quilt but family members no longer need or want quilts…have you thought of donating them?
The quilter’s guild in Albuquerque and quilter’s guild here in Virginia, both have charities that want quilts and solicit quilts from local quilting organizations.
You could contact your local guild and ask them if they collect quilts for charity. Or you can contact different organizations yourself to ask if they accept donations.
Places that want quilts include police departments (whose victim response officer hand them out as lovies to child trauma victims), hospitals /children’s hospitals (who give them to the parents of premies and newborns or to older children who have longer term hospital stays), day care centers in low income areas want quillows to use for nap times with their students, homeless shelters, senior citizen centers (in ABQ, we used to make special wheelchair lap quilts for the local veterans home), foster care social services or youth detention centers (those kids get shuffled from place to place and have nothing special to call their own), immigrant resettlement organizations, etc.
If you enjoy quilting, don’t stop because there are plenty of people who would love to have a special handmade quilt–even if it’s one your “ugly duckling” quilts.
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I just read that a new sewing shop, with what appears to be an excellent variety of fabrics, is opening soon in a nearby town. 
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A new sewing shop is so exciting!
I live in an area that has lots of shopping for everything - except fabric. The wonderful local fabric store closed without warning a few months ago. Joann’s closed. Now the closest place I can get good fabric is half an hour away. It has a huge selection of fabrics but very few notions, trims, etc. Closer is Walmart for thread and the such, but their fabrics are complete junk. Michael’s has added some fabric but you have to get really lucky to find what you need.