The Dumbing Down Theory

Dang.  I had no idea about this dumbing down thing on quilting that I've been reading on some blogs.

At the risk of being banned and beaten, I do think there is some dumbing down.  That doesn't mean quilters are dumb or lazy.  We are artistic.  We see color and design as an inspiration for our quilts.  We take risks and are constantly evolving in our skills.  We build each other up and inspire others with our talents.  We take every challenge and create works of art.  We are not dumb.  

The dumbing down is through the media via books, shows and magazines and even manufacturers.  Same style of books year after year, boring magazines with the same easy patterns, and same fabric lines just with a different name. Yawn and Zzzzzzz...

I don't want another book on 9-patches,  log cabins or machine quilting techniques that don't work or aren't advanced enough for me.  I understand that for new quilters, they are a treasure trove and I started with those same books as well.  But after being more advanced, there just isn't anything new out there.

Magazines carry the same patterns over and over with the same boring articles.  I want to puke over the ugly baby quilts.  Another 9-patch?  Come on now.  Another article on how to get an accurate 1/4 seam allowance?  You've interviewed lady X seven times now.

I don't have a problem with fabric tends.  What's old is new again.  If this year it's browns, I can work with that.  But if I see the same brown flower on every bolt I pick up in different lines, forget it.  My biggest issue with fabric is that most of it is in mediums.  That makes it very difficult if you need lights and darks.  I also hate fabric lines that have same print, different color.

TV shows/webinars are visual representations of those books and magazines.  What's worse is when they become an informercial on a specific brand of machine or tool.  I don't want be sold on anything.  I want information.

I would LOVE books on fabric history, design, how patterns evolve, the people/cultures surrounding those quilts.  I have a book called "Quilted Gardens: Floral Quilts of the 19th Century" that does just that.  It's one of my favorite books and I have it on my Kindle.  If there are more out there, they aren't in stores.

I hate feeling restrained and trapped by the quilting media out there.  There is more access to information than every before, but none of them use it.  

You as quilters are my true inspiration.  The creations you show online, your ideas, your love of quilting,  what you do with the fabric that I hate, the support you all give me when I'm feeling down make every book and magazine obsolete.  The internet transcends any physical media and brings us all together making us the smartest people out there.

That's my take on the "dumbing down" theory going around and I'm sticking to it.