While at Barnes and Noble today I came across the premiere issue of Quilter's Home magazine. The tag line says it's for the "new generation of quilters." Well, I say Hooray for something other than just patterns!I didn't actually buy it... but now I wish I would have. (The design didn't grab me and the $5.99 price tag was a bit steep.)
I did hear a rumor that one of our own blog ring members might be featured in an issue, so I did scan every single page looking for her name. It wasn't there. Maybe in future issues, which means I'll have to give it a second look.
I like cover very much. It's got a "Real Simple" look about it. And I like all the teasers and their format. I think it's gutsy not to make the actual quilts the star of the cover photo.
I read the letter from the editor, Mark Lipinski. In it he says he was inspired to create this magazine to cover all the things that quilters love -- not just patterns and new fabric lines. He plans include cooking, gardening, home decor, crafting, etc. Interesting. There's potential there. (Sounds like all the stuff we discuss in the blog ring.)
He also says he thinks we quilters are tired of having to buy several magazines to cover all the things we love. I had to laugh out loud at that. I love to buy magazines and I am perfectly happy to purchase Rachael Ray's Everyday when I'm looking for new recipes, Domino when I want shopping inspiration, Oprah for personal development, Somerset Studio for arty stuff, etc. etc. ect.
I was very impressed with the short article about quilting podcasts! Very enlightened and tech-saavy. (No mention of blogs, though -- at least that saw.)
If Mark is as tech saavy as he appears, he will surely come across this blog post. Mark, I hope you'll offer a comment. In fact, I hope you'll read through this blog ring for a good idea of who we are -- "the new generation of quilters." And keep it up!
10 comments:
I haven't seen the magazine, but I have heard about it. I did take a look at the table of contents you posted and it does sound promising. To talk about things related to quilting - psychology of UFOs, how to sell, how to find inspiration - all those things would be good additions to quilting magazines, how to store your stuff, getting support about your addition, how to properly present quilts as gifts, etc. Recipes / pet stuff would not. It would be too off topic. You are right, if you try to do too much, it doesn't work as well, and very hard to find the right quilt / off topic balance.
Quilter's Newsletter and McCall's are very popular with quilters like my friend Kay. Everything has to be useable as a bed quilt--no wall art. she only buy enough for the piece and throws away any extra (I've warned her that she might be needing those bits for repairs), and will turn any size project into a twin or full size quilt. Funny because there are only king size beds in her house. The quilts are stacked in the closet or used to pad the brick fireplace surrounds. And she thinks I'm weird.
What amazes me is that I clicked the Next Blog button 5 times and 3 of them were people doing blogs about knitting.
What's up with that?
kind of reminds me about an article someone was going to write once about ...hmmm...what was it? The blog ring????
I've gotten several emails over the months from this Mark Lipinski guy and he always says to call him. I say email me your questions and he won't. I don't do phone calls so nothing ever came of it.
Wierd. Now I can see what he was up to.
I am sure I don't need a quilting lifestyle magazine in my life!! Having worked for a magazine as the DTP for several years, I know it is not easy to come up with the visual treat that QA is.
Going to Fort Worth tomorrow, and I will definitely pick up a copy!!
I bought this magazine a couple of weeks ago and REALLY liked it... loved the "jumpstarting creativity" article, loved the one on the Jane Stickle quilt.... Love that it is geared towards under-60 quilters, and quilters who enjoy and appreciate (and even make) traditional quilts but ALSO to folks who want to make contemporary and art quilts...
I'm pretty tired of Quilting Arts. I'll continue to subscribe, but I'm so tired of "stuff glopped on the surface." Hope this new magazine lasts...
Sorry, I'm going to butt in and be negative. I saw this magazine, looked at it, and put it back. I'll probably never look again. (Right--the mind IS closed.) If the new generation of quilters is as dumbed down as the contents of this magazine, it's a sad thing. But I know they're not dumb, because I read the blogs! My objection is the technically simple stuff as well as the non-quilting articles. If I want to read non-quilting info, I don't buy a quilting magazine. Of course all the other magazines mentioned have their problems too, so I guess the answer is to pick and choose.
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