Originally Posted by auntpiggylpn
I was just looking at a picture here on the board about someone's 5 or 6 year old niece wanting to sew. I'm wondering if quilting will go by the wayside with today's youth? They all seem so preoccupied with all the electronic gadgets: Ipones, Ipads, Ipods, tablets, laptops, Hi-def TV, video games. I know that I got my interest in sewing and quilting by watching my mother and my great aunt but I have never had any friends that sewed or quilted. It seems to be the trend for young people today to do everything as fast as you can and if some gadget will do it for you, that's even better!
I do think you have valid points- the military is seeing a difference in youth these days when they enter the service. Give these youth a video game like controller, they know what to do with it. Same with anything computer related. But some of them are missing basic physical coordination, and gross motor or balancing skills.
The computerized quilting aspect- that I think today's kids will get immediately. A sewing machine that has a million features or the computer-aided Long Arms won't be a problem. Hand sewing- that they won't. The time commitment of making a quilt...not sure on that one. I agree most of what they are doing electronically is all about instant rewards, and quilting is not instant.
I think it's more an aspect of the kids appreciating ARTS in general. I think those exposed to color theory and pottery and creating things with their hands will get quilting. They will get the point of creating things with fabric. But a lot of today's education for kids is focused on testing and test scores, and as a result art programs are disappearing from schools- those kids won't get quilting.
Will it die? I don't think so. I didn't start quilting until college when I had kids of my own. None of my family quilted or sewed when I was young. Walmart was available, yes, and all sorts of cheap stuff, but I saw the value of creating something myself for my kids. Quilting went hand in hand with sewing dresses or baby doll clothes for my girls, repairing pants of my boys, and then out of that grew a quilt. It was about what I could do for my family. And, I think that will be true for today's youth too- once they grow up, their priorities will change.