On this episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast I’ve asked award-winning quilter Thomas Knauer to talk about the state of the quilting industry.
Thomas describes himself as both an artist and a geek. He has an art degree from Kenyon College and two MFAs, one from Cranbrook Academy of Art and another from Ohio University. He taught design at Drake University before moving to upstate New York to start a family. Shortly thereafter he fell ill with a rare form of muscular dystrophy. He began sewing for his daughter and instantly fell in love with the practice and launched a career in quilting.
Thomas has designed textiles for Andover and Kokka. He wrote a feature column for Quilter’s Newsletter for three years. He’s the author of two quilting books, had a show in QNNTV, and has exhibited his quilts at esteemed venues such as AQS Quilt Week, QuiltCon, and the International Quilt Study Center.
In Defense of Handmade (90″x90″) by Thomas Knauer
In piecing a precise replica of the barcode of a mass-produced Martha Stewart quilt for Macy’s, this quilt is a critique of the ways in which individually made objects have been re-envisioned as a mass-market aesthetic, with the outward appearance of craft being sold as a signifier of authenticity.
A few months ago I was working on an article about Quilts Inc.’s decision to name a seating area at International Quilt Festival the Husband’s Lounge. My friend, book agent Kate McKean, suggested I reach out to Thomas for comment saying, “Call Thomas. He’s got something to say about this.” So I did. And he did.
In fact, while we were talking it became clear to me that Thomas has some perspectives on the quilting industry that are unusual and rarely talked about. I asked if he’d be on the podcast to explore those ideas further and you agreed.
Palimpsest (64″x72″)
In stitching a patchwork Pride Flag with the traditional quilting for a Double Wedding Ring quilt. Made as a gift for my aunt and her partner, this piece subtly demonstrates the natural union of same-sex marriages, the fact that same-sex relationships are first and foremost loving relationships born of comfort and communion.
We talk about:
- The relationship between quilting and the quest for perfection and how this interplay drives constant consumerism.
- The idea that “the quilting industry has nothing to do with quilts,” a provocative statement that Thomas has made and that I ask him to unpack for us.
- The future of local quilt shops and a new idea for how they might function (hint: no more bolt fabric).
Mitosis (48″x64″)
This quilt utilizes a geometric progression of colored squares (2,4,8,16,32…) to represent the biological process of cellular mitosis. It was made as my wife and I were using IUI to have our second child, a choice made to avoid knowingly passing on my rare illnesses. Beyond representing the process, this quilt is a promise to my resulting son that he was always already my child regardless of the biological reality.
And, of course, I ask Thomas to recommend great stuff he’s enjoying right now. Thomas recommends:
- clutter
- playing vinyl records
Keep up with Thomas on his blog and on Facebook.
I talk to quite a few people about the quilting industry on a regular basis and I can honestly say that Thomas’ ideas are novel and worthy of consideration. I hope you’ll give this show a listen and let both of us know what you think. Is he right? Do you have more to add to the conversation? I’d love to hear how these ideas resonate with you.
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Re: “the idea that ‘the quilting industry has nothing to do with quilts'” – he basically described business in general (i.e., purpose is to make a profit), and I agree – nothing wrong with that!
For the idea of having fabric shops be more of a showroom rather than carrying limited selection of fabrics. I thought it was an interesting suggestion as well. Sometimes, though, I go to the fabric store with a project in mind, and sometimes I just want to browse what’s available and take it home that day so I can get started right away. Part of the challenge with waiting for fabric to be delivered is that I wouldn’t get immediate satisfaction of having the product in hand. Maybe a hybrid makes more sense?
Future shops can be a combination of both …. have the books for direct mailing orders and have the bolts available for immediate purchase. The shop would just have a more limited amount of fabrics.
The problem I see ….. once a quilter knows the basics they go out on there own ….. and take less classes.
Interesting and provocative interview. One question: I could not get the name of the sewing machine that Thomas was referring to as being excellent but inexpensive. Can you provide the name? Thanks.
It is EverSewn…
Thank you Abby and Thomas for an interesting and thought-provoking discussion. I have been pondering on comments about the purpose of a quilt and the reasons that people have quilted over the centuries and continue to quilt. I really appreciate the opening up of discussions about quilting and it’s social and historical context – here are just some of what I have been thinking about since listening to the podcast.
I believe the motivation behind us making what we make is incredibly varied and complex – and I think it has always been affected by a gendered society. The majority of quilters are, and always have been, women – and understanding the role of women in society is important in understanding our quilt making. Looking back through history, many women made quilts for practical purposes – Thomas suggested that this may have been different in the UK – it wasn’t, many women sewed for their families or to make money. In both countries women who were wealthier could sew for pleasure and their quilts are certainly different, generally more decorative, but women have always sought to be artistic/creative in their quilt making, whatever their social position. If quilts had been solely practical, we would not have the amazing wealth of diversity in our quilting history that we have.
Many women quilted at a time when it was difficult for women to pursue art – they had to be artistic in the crafts that they were ‘allowed’ to do. Historical quilts are often not perfect – but many demonstrate great skill, they are beautiful, unique, sometimes political or subversive – women used the medium open to them to express themselves and I think it is important to remember that. They were not just completing practical, functional sewing.
Thomas talked about perfectionism – I think this affects everyone in society but is a particular pressure for women. Think about the ‘ideals’ of beauty – companies sell us fake nails, fake hair, fake eyelashes, we are supposed to sculpt our body to a particular shape, make our skin lighter or darker to fit someone else’s idea of what a woman is. Women are supposed to be the perfect mother, wife, daughter, employee. There is no wonder then that we take this into our quilt making – and I absolutely agree that the quilting industry – who is trying to sell us things – encourages this. But at the same time, there is nothing wrong with wanting to be a skilled craftsperson. Again, I think that there is a gender dynamic to this – no-one criticises a painter for wanting to improve, or a footballer (historically male dominated) – but women are supposed to be modest, unassuming – we are not supposed to want to be the best at something. I have quilted for a long time and enjoy practicing my craft and improving my skills. I should be able to say ‘I am really good at this’. I know that this has taken a long time, and there is no magic tool which has made me a good quilter. I have learnt through practice – and through learning from a lot of amazing quilters. That’s the lie we are sold – that skill can be instant, if we have the right ruler, or the right fabric. What we need to value more is learning and developing – by yourself and with others. I can show anyone how to refine their skills, with very little equipment – but I do charge for classes. Many people don’t want to pay to learn quilting (‘cos you can get it for free on-line) – but they will spend any amount of money on fabric and tools.
The other issue I have been thinking about is that of critique. Women are told by society that they have to be nice and I think that makes us overly cautious about criticism. When I go to an art gallery I will have opinions on the pieces I see – I will like some, not like others, and will try to work out what speaks to me, why I feel the way I do. Quilt shows are no different – and yet we are told that all the quilts are perfect – you can’t say anything because someone made that. Yes they did, and there is never any need to be mean, but you can have an opinion on someone’s work. It is about context and how you give feedback. If someone hasn’t asked for feedback then don’t say anything – but if they genuinely want to improve their work (and it is ok to want to improve) then thoughtful, constructive feedback can be invaluable. This is not ‘the quilt police’ but is artistic discussion and critique.
So why do I quilt – I like and use my quilts but that’s not the main reason, I could buy covers to keep me warm if I needed to (for a lot less time and money than I spend on quilting!). I quilt because I love the process – every little bit of it. The act of sewing soothes me. The process of practicing and developing skills challenges me. The act of creating makes me feel alive. Making the choice to quilt honours the women who have gone before who were creative even when they weren’t supposed to be.
For me quilting is absolutely a craft – and I resist attempts to rebrand it as ‘art’ or ‘sculpture’. I have the greatest respect for craftspeople of all disciplines. You can be artistic in your craft as well as skilled. Sticking quilting in a box of women making functional items and being nice to each other is too restrictive for me. But then each and every quilter should quilt for their reasons. As I said at the beginning, these reasons will be varied and complex. But own them. As Dolly Parton said – find out who you are and do it on purpose.
Sarah, I loved your ‘ thorough’ answer and agree with what you have said , I thought it was very precise.
I would like to add an emotional element. I have found that sewing, quilting, knitting, etc.., any ‘creative’ act is a catharsis, it alters our mood, it lets us experiment emotions , it injects energy and vitality, and as the ancient greeks thought, it purges, cleanses and renews the spirit.
Quilting raises my spirits to a maximum, its an emotional discharge of anything I am feeling…
I started quilting about 8 years ago. My father was ill with Alzheimers and I took care of him…..I felt I was dying along side of him and I could not get over my depression until a friend invited me to her sewing group….I was very hesitant to go, I did not know how to sew.. I started going and sewing took me to a place in my mind that did not have to deal with depression or my fathers illness, it liberated me for a while from the dispair I was in.
My father passesd but the quilting has keept me going. It has purified my spirit!!
Well said…thank you.
loved the podcasst, Thomas has many great ideas about creativity and his interviews are always thought provoking. I have to say that making quilts is an amazing thing that people can do to create a very unique item that can be used, loved and cherished. Business is a totally different thing and as consumers we can choose to participate in it as we want, need, and have the means to do so. Well done!
Thanks for the interview with Thomas. He’s consistently one of the most interesting people talking about quilting today. It is a challenge to find a meaningful reason to make a quilt when we’ve gifted everyone we know already. Becoming more perfect seems like a worthy goal, but can drain the pleasure out of quilting. I welcome any suggestions from Thomas on drawing inspiration from our lives so we can “keep it real.”
Thank you for the thought-provoking interview with Thomas. Two points he made resonated with me. I recently retired from a 30-year professional career and am now devoting at least 6 hours a day making quilts for Project Linus. At first, I would stress over making these children’s quilts as perfect as possible. Then I realized, as many other quilters have said, “Finished/completed is better than perfect.” A sick child in a hospital is not going to notice if my quilts are perfect or not, just as long as they have something warm to cuddle with. After I realized this, I relaxed about my charity quilting. I do make sure that the quilts are squared up though and are machine-quilted well enough so they won’t fall apart after a few washings. And as a second point, ironically I have benefited greatly from the quilting industry telling women to buy lots of fabric. Several generous ladies have donated their stashes to me to make quilts for Project Linus. They don’t have time to use it all up or they are moving and don’t want to bring all the fabric, orphan blocks and unfinished quilt tops to their new houses. I combine fabrics from the different stashes for Project Linus quilts and somehow “make them work”.
So much food for thought in this conversation, on so many levels. Thanks to you both.
Thank you so much for listening to the show, Annette.
I can’t tell you how much I appreciated this episode. I’ve been following Thomas for quite awhile now and I love his approach. On a personal note, for about a year now I’ve thought to myself, ‘I need to re-read A Room of One’s Own now that I am an adult woman.’ I read it in college and looking back probably understood less than half of what Virginia Woolfe was trying to communicate. To hear Thomas bring that novel up made me smile inside and out. Thank you for a great, thought provoking interview.
I loved this podcast, Abby and Thomas. The shop overhaul idea particularly piqued my interest because it spoke to all the problems I’ve found with local shops. (Especially now that I live somewhere remote with a very different average quilter than myself – there is nothing in shops that I want to buy!) I want to see and touch fabrics before I buy them (and I regularly seek out online shops that I feel best photograph and represent true colors to shop from or reference if buying somewhere less expensive), and have often wondered why the sample boards shown at markets aren’t available in store to consumers like paint chips or your wallpaper correlation. I would buy more if I could see the sample first. As for Shirley’s comment above about needing product right away to begin, shops could certainly stock precuts of fabrics that were sure sellers, perhaps bolts of solids for immediate shopping, but allow you to see 100% of what each line carries, too. Love the idea!
This was one of your best interviews Abby. You sat back and let him talk, but yet asked the questions we all were thinking. Bravo! I loved everything about what Thomas was saying. It is so refreshing to hear some real thought provoking ideas on how to move forward in this industry. Thank you so much for sharing this with us listeners.
Thank you so much, Marlise.
Thought provoking in many ways!
I wanted to mention that you are right about the relationship between Brewer (exclusive distributors for the new Eversewn sewing machines) and Bernina. Brewer Quilting & Sewing Supplies is a subsidiary of Bernina. https://www.bernina.com/en-US/Why-BERNINA-US/Strong-partners/Subsidiary-Companies
This was a great episode. The discussion on changing the industry is truly innovative and I think would truly work if everyone said we can do this. Also Thomas’ comments that making a quilt is easy. I’m in agreement with him.
I’m late to this party but thank you both for this interesting episode. I can remember dancing to records and making them skip too (though I’m much older than you, Abby…Yes, Jackson 5 – ABC!) I’m coming at this with a husband who, having recently become employed by a major sewing plus store, has been reinforcing and building racks for bolts of fabric (tough work), SO the book or hanger idea for fabric selection/orders sounds great to me. There is also a quilt shop very near my home where I shop and on occasion teach. One of the best things about teaching in a shop is that students are able to get fabric for the class, during the class. I also have watched and even helped shop customers spread their quilts out to “audition” for the quilt top, sashing, or binding. If a shop offered only swatches there would be a problem in those situations. There are over 15,000 bolts of fabric in the shop near me; over whelming even for a seasoned quilter. In general swatch books would be much more doable! I really liked Thomas’ idea of offering drawing or classes other than quilting in a quilt shop. It will be interesting to watch and perhaps participate in the changes as time goes on. Thanks again, Ann
Thanks for listening to the episode, Ann, and for sharing your perspective as a teacher in a shop.
I found this podcast episode with Thomas Knauer to be incredibly insightful and thought-provoking. As someone who is interested in the quilting industry, it was fascinating to hear about the challenges and changes that the industry has gone through in recent years. Knauer’s perspective on the need for the industry to adapt to changing demographics and consumer preferences was particularly compelling. Overall, this podcast episode is a must-listen for anyone who is interested in the quilting industry or in the challenges facing the wider crafting industry as a whole. Highly recommended!