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Old 11-28-2012, 02:33 PM
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TexasGurl
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Originally Posted by SonjaG View Post
This article is about a lot more than quilting. This article is about the dramatic change our society has undergone. The author states that "quilting fails to hold the interest of most Americans today." I hate to agree with him/her, but it is true. MOST Americans, especially younger ones, have no interest in handcrafted arts or learning a skill that they see as useless. The author also states, "...department stores carry a wide selection of affordable bedding, and special memories can be recorded by photographs and videos rather than by laboring over scraps of cloth, quilts have become largely irrelevant in modern culture." This speaks volumes about how Americans raised on electronics and gadgets view things. Why labor over a quilt made from scraps of every dress your daughter owned when you can record a video of her in the dresses? That's not how I feel, but I am certain there is a large segment of America that thinks that way. Too may children have never taken on a project that requires commitment, such as quilting, and seen it through to completion without bribes from parents. I mean, really, we live in a society where every kid playing soccer gets a trophy so their feelings aren't hurt, and they don't keep score, because apparently winning is bad and losing doesn't build character anymore. As for the wasted money? I don't think the government should be funding museums like this or any other. Let private enterprise do that. I'm not a fan of big government, and I'll leave it at that. Oh, goodness, let me jump off this soapbox now. LOL.
SonjaG -
You make some good points BUT - I do know that THERE ARE A LOT of 18-30 yr old NEW quilters and crafters out there, who DO have a big interest in quilting and hand crafts !!

Take a look if you haven't, at all the "Modern" quilts, the books, the blogs, blog hops, and pattern marketing ... these "Kids" are USING THE INTERNET and their Hi Tech devices to share and promote their ideas. The founders of the Modern Quilt Guild said the first Guild and all their new chapters wouldn't EXIST - if they didn't have the Internet to meet up and communicate. My daughter and a number of friends are now into quilting, crafts, home decor and knitting. They are in their early to mid 20's, and the modern quilts and fun fabrics brought them to quilting. At the Houston Quilt Festival a few weeks ago, the largest quilt show in the US - there were a LOT of quilters in this age group !

As far as the funding issue ? ... Federal funding of ANY museum doesn't bother me NEARLY SO much as the ongoing, massive waste of our hard-earned money!! What about the Smithsonian ?? Valley Forge ? Gettysburg ? Vicksburg ? Should the government not fund these historical and cultural museums ??
I'll take a museum anyday over corporate bailouts, secret deals, funding inept "Green energy" opportunists and the continuing handouts to all the chronically UNMOTIVATED in our country !!!!

Last edited by TexasGurl; 11-28-2012 at 02:50 PM.
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