Tales Of A Fourth Generation Textile Executive: Have You Considered Mentoring?

Just the other day, one of the Studioe Fabrics sales reps forwarded me this amazing article about mentoring kids about quilting. It was written by Linda Thielfoldt of The Quilted Goose. Here is a link to the article if you want to check it out for yourself: http://lindathielfoldtthequiltedgoose.blogspot.com/2016/08/the-sky-is-falling-in-quilt-universe.html?spref=fb

This was definitely a fresh angle on how to keep our industry alive and kicking. I must say that it was the first that I had heard of this idea. It had me wondering….why didn’t I think of that? Right?

Recently, I have been blogging about the issues of the quilt industry, but unlike some others, I don’t think that the quilting industry is going away. It just isn’t. It just can’t. And it just won’t. A couple shops, a couple vendors, a couple publishers…..maybe, but no way is this industry going bye bye. Well, at least not as long as I can help it. Don’t mess with me!

There have been loads of ideas tossed around about how to keep this industry alive and kicking, but none of them have stuck and gotten very far. In fact, most that I recall have not withstood the test of time or much time at all for that matter. In this day and age, everyone wants instant gratification and something like rebuilding an industry to the high number of participants as in the past is very challenging to say the least. We all just need to be patient and take some baby steps. Mentoring could be that baby step that gets the ball rolling.

Anyway, let’s get back to this idea of mentoring and some things that everyone can do. I think if the vendor community and the quilt shop community could start to promote this idea of mentoring that we could make a dent at starting to rebuild those quilting numbers back up to where they were in the last decade. The possibilities are endless. Shop owners could reach out to the local schools to see if some of the students are interested in getting a mentor. Or family members could just mentor the younger generations. Shops could even have mentoring classes. Mother and daughter. Grandmother and granddaughter. Father and son. And so on. This really shouldn’t be that difficult to get going. We just have to find willing and experienced quilters that have the patience to share their wealth’s of quilting knowledge with today’s preoccupied and distracted youngsters (I am speaking from experience with my own kids.)

Usually, at about this point, I come up with some way to promote this idea of mentoring. But I want to give some more thought to an idea that could get this ball rolling in a meaningful way. Maybe a contest. Maybe a charity blanket drive. Maybe a quilt line with some beginner level projects for mentor classes. Something that would be fun for the mentor and the mentee. So give me a little time to come up with something with my team. But in the meantime, it is in all of our best interests to try to promote this idea on our own to keep the industry alive and our businesses prospering. Together, we can make a meaningful difference as long as we are all willing to give it a shot and be creative.What do you think? You have any good ideas? Have you considered mentoring? I would love to hear all about it. Please share your comments. This blog is to be continued at another time. Stay tuned, but in the meantime, don’t stop brainstorming. I would love to hear your ideas and help you to promote them.

Until Next Time,

Studioe Scott

One Comment

Joanne Hubbard

October 10, 2016 at 5:40 pm

I agree with you that the quilting industry is not going away or becoming a lost art. I think it’s changing and evolving into something new, but since many of us resist change, we freak out and fear the worst. Quite honestly, it can’t go away because I have too much fabric and thread for that to happen. 🙂

I love the idea of mentoring and have been involved with this in various forms for a number of years. I was a 4-H leader and helped a number of youngsters with their sewing projects. At that time, many of the projects involved clothing construction, so that’s what we did. But, quilted wall hangings, quilted pot holders, and eventually quilts themselves, began to emerge as project options and I encouraged my membership to give them a try. They loved it!

Fast forward to the 1 million pillowcase challenge by American Patchwork and Quilting. I made a bunch of pillowcase and lap quilts for area charities and decided that I wanted to get others involved, so I facilitated sew-in days for making pillowcases. I encouraged mothers and grandmothers to bring their children for a fun day of sewing and fellowship. I had lots of adult participants, but just a handful of kids. I was disappointed, but not discouraged.

I contacted a few area schools that required community service hours for Confirmation, graduation, etc. and organized a sew-in for 9 kids. I sent letters to area businesses requesting donations of money for fabric and was pleasantly surprised to receive some. (I supplied the rest from my own stash; and sadly, it hardly made a dent in it.) I secured a donation to provide lunch for the group and invited all of the donors to join us. I thought it was important for the kids and adults to meet and interact. It was slow going at first, but once the kids got sewing they were really productive! I did all the cutting, as I didn’t want to be responsible for rotary cutting injuries. The kids worked in groups, and each group had someone pinning, pressing, and sewing. They rotated jobs and by the end of the workshop, everyone had learned to perform all of the tasks. When the adults showed up, they were “assigned” a group to join and it still makes me smile when I think about how well they worked together. We made 15 pillowcases that day, which thrilled me. I continued to host those workshops for a couple of years and love it that a number of the “kids” in that first group are now adults who sew for themselves.

I still offer an all-day sewing event, but it isn’t dedicated to pillowcases anymore. I can comfortably accommodate 24-30 people and encourage participants to bring youngsters, and a few have. If youngsters do join us, they often don’t stay the entire day but it’s fun having them. They bring a freshness to the event and are usually fussed over pretty darn good.

An area quilt shop hosts a “Kids Sewing Camp” each summer and it has been a huge hit. The teacher is terrific and the kids learn a lot about sewing in general. They love showing off their quilts, bags, etc. and I love being there when they do it.

My grandchildren (8, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1) love playing with my fabric and thread. (Yes, I let them play with it and even encourage it. Of course I have chosen what can be played with and what can’t.) They have their own “Jelly Roll Race” and there are often crashes as the rolls collide, but that’s ok. They know that once the plastic comes off the roll, that roll is put away to be sewn into a quilt by “Quilting Grandma.” They have their own type of thread play too, and it has helped them learn their colors. The three oldest kids have each helped sew a pillowcase and a baby quilt, and had a blast doing so.

Here’s what I think the quilting industry already has in place for helping kids get into quilting. Much of the fabric I see today is perfect for youngsters. It’s bright and cheery and that’s what the kids like. I like projects that are big block based so they can learn and not get bored. I like them also because they are often more “user-friendly and there is more “forgiveness” in the piecing. I like working with fat quarters because they are more manageable for kids, and because their projects can be scrappy yet controlled and many youngsters need that until they gain confidence. I like the smaller, yet good quality travel irons that are the perfect size for little hands. I like the safety-conscious items like cutting gloves, etc. It not only helps me feel safer teaching them, it helps parents feel safer too.

It has been a year since I offered a pillowcase sewing day. You have inspired me to schedule another one in the new year. I need to step back and evaluate the program and figure out what works and what doesn’t. I want to figure out a way to take what is already in place and working and move it forward to the next level. I look forward to seeing what others have done and are doing.

Thanks for another thought-provoking post!

Joanne Hubbard

October 10, 2016 at 5:40 pm

I agree with you that the quilting industry is not going away or becoming a lost art. I think it’s changing and evolving into something new, but since many of us resist change, we freak out and fear the worst. Quite honestly, it can’t go away because I have too much fabric and thread for that to happen. 🙂

I love the idea of mentoring and have been involved with this in various forms for a number of years. I was a 4-H leader and helped a number of youngsters with their sewing projects. At that time, many of the projects involved clothing construction, so that’s what we did. But, quilted wall hangings, quilted pot holders, and eventually quilts themselves, began to emerge as project options and I encouraged my membership to give them a try. They loved it!

Fast forward to the 1 million pillowcase challenge by American Patchwork and Quilting. I made a bunch of pillowcase and lap quilts for area charities and decided that I wanted to get others involved, so I facilitated sew-in days for making pillowcases. I encouraged mothers and grandmothers to bring their children for a fun day of sewing and fellowship. I had lots of adult participants, but just a handful of kids. I was disappointed, but not discouraged.

I contacted a few area schools that required community service hours for Confirmation, graduation, etc. and organized a sew-in for 9 kids. I sent letters to area businesses requesting donations of money for fabric and was pleasantly surprised to receive some. (I supplied the rest from my own stash; and sadly, it hardly made a dent in it.) I secured a donation to provide lunch for the group and invited all of the donors to join us. I thought it was important for the kids and adults to meet and interact. It was slow going at first, but once the kids got sewing they were really productive! I did all the cutting, as I didn’t want to be responsible for rotary cutting injuries. The kids worked in groups, and each group had someone pinning, pressing, and sewing. They rotated jobs and by the end of the workshop, everyone had learned to perform all of the tasks. When the adults showed up, they were “assigned” a group to join and it still makes me smile when I think about how well they worked together. We made 15 pillowcases that day, which thrilled me. I continued to host those workshops for a couple of years and love it that a number of the “kids” in that first group are now adults who sew for themselves.

I still offer an all-day sewing event, but it isn’t dedicated to pillowcases anymore. I can comfortably accommodate 24-30 people and encourage participants to bring youngsters, and a few have. If youngsters do join us, they often don’t stay the entire day but it’s fun having them. They bring a freshness to the event and are usually fussed over pretty darn good.

An area quilt shop hosts a “Kids Sewing Camp” each summer and it has been a huge hit. The teacher is terrific and the kids learn a lot about sewing in general. They love showing off their quilts, bags, etc. and I love being there when they do it.

My grandchildren (8, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1) love playing with my fabric and thread. (Yes, I let them play with it and even encourage it. Of course I have chosen what can be played with and what can’t.) They have their own “Jelly Roll Race” and there are often crashes as the rolls collide, but that’s ok. They know that once the plastic comes off the roll, that roll is put away to be sewn into a quilt by “Quilting Grandma.” They have their own type of thread play too, and it has helped them learn their colors. The three oldest kids have each helped sew a pillowcase and a baby quilt, and had a blast doing so.

Here’s what I think the quilting industry already has in place for helping kids get into quilting. Much of the fabric I see today is perfect for youngsters. It’s bright and cheery and that’s what the kids like. I like projects that are big block based so they can learn and not get bored. I like them also because they are often more “user-friendly and there is more “forgiveness” in the piecing. I like working with fat quarters because they are more manageable for kids, and because their projects can be scrappy yet controlled and many youngsters need that until they gain confidence. I like the smaller, yet good quality travel irons that are the perfect size for little hands. I like the safety-conscious items like cutting gloves, etc. It not only helps me feel safer teaching them, it helps parents feel safer too.

It has been a year since I offered a pillowcase sewing day. You have inspired me to schedule another one in the new year. I need to step back and evaluate the program and figure out what works and what doesn’t. I want to figure out a way to take what is already in place and working and move it forward to the next level. I look forward to seeing what others have done and are doing.

Thanks for another thought-provoking post!