I only subscribe to 2 now compared to 5-6 a few yrs ago. Agree that much in them looks very alike, and a lot of their "designer" patterns look recycled too ... they are just made to show the new fabric lines. Too many ads now in most, and some haven't even offered good renewal rates, so I haven't renewed ! :(

I have some REALLY REALLY OLD quilt magazines and actually, I think I like going into those and coming up with ideas... Plus, I think on-line here and the Board is one of the best.... I love watching the videos on the internet and have learned A LOT from those....

It all depends on the magazine. Some you can download in PDF format to your computer and some you can only view and print while online. For "The Quilt Pattern Magazine" you get both options. 8o)

Cindy Mccoy
http://www.quiltpatternmagazine.com

I dropped every one of mine....first to go was Fons and Porter's......now I go to Library or Borders and if I see something I like, I buy that issue...........

i stopped my subscriptions on about 5 magazines. I agree
its all the same thing. Can find things on the internet, along with great tutorials for extra help. Betty Lee

I've got so many ideas and patterns saved to CD that I don't need magazines. And the ideas and patterns presented here are more than enough. Why spend the money on something that duplicates what we get for free?

Yes I've gone through STACKS of old magazines in my sewing room and found very few worth keeping. I've cancelled everything but QNM.

Does anyone know ANY OTHER good quilt shows on TV...I don't watch a whole show online, just videos. I get Fons & Porter but since it is her and her daughter, I don't care too much for it. Maybe it is just me. I just REALLY miss Simply Quilts on tv.

it seems it's all the same over and over again, or am i to cynical????
Maybe read too many over the past 30 yrs or so.
i look in them to find something new, and it seems that sadly , it's notheing new.

I'm with you. I really miss Simply Quilts, too. I liked her online show with Ricky Timms but I don't really care for Alex on it. She acts a little childish which she didn't do on her own show.

That's interesting, too. Maybe she LIKES him. You know how when you have a crush on someone, it makes you act STUPID and CHILDISH! ha.

Hum well after meeting both Ricki and Alex. No she does not have a crush on him. It is all business and making money. This is what I saw with them. Remember we love to quilt. They and a few other big name quilters have made quilting into a big business. Ricki is in a very commited relationship and Alex is a typical Califorina girl. Simply Quilts was a great show but she had little control over it. It was definitely Station run. So she was really restrained on the show. These are my humble opinions on the subject. I find the shows and magazines all work hard to get beginners into quilting. The seem to forget that solid intermediate and advanced quilts exist! Have a Happy Day People!

Merely joking == sometimes we act differently around different people. I just enjoyed Simply Quilts so very much that I just couldn't hardly stand it when it went off tv. I didn't know she had little control over that show - but whomever did it, they did it to my liking, at least what came over in the shows. I'm still a beginner quilter so I need all the help I can get.

Very well said, crafterrn. The TV shows are all business but we still love them. Ricki is such a talented guy. His partner is also part of the show. I was totally blown away the first time I heard him play the piano. I would love to purchase their shows again but, like magazines, there is so much that don't work for me. It's imposs. to satisfy all of us. I think that's why this board works so well for us though. We get something for all of us.

I used to get 4 or 5 quilt mags each month but have stopped subscribing to all of them. I had a huge stack of them and went thru and tore out any patterns that I thought I would make and took the mags to my guild and the new members were glad to have them.

I just got the new American Quilter today, and it seems to have a lot in it that interests me. It's well thought out and has varied subjects. The subscription allows me to be able to order books on the AQS website at a discount, and I think it's a good value.

Everything is going to the internet. I think it is sad in a way, and predict we are going to be required to pay even more for it in the future.

I used to subscribe to a few. The last was Mark Lipinski's magazine but when he left, I did too. He really inspired and motivated me. I now know you don't need to be perfect lol.
Many magazines belong to the same publishing house and it shows. Plus being in Canada we pay 2 or 3 dollars more per magazine. Not happening with me anymore!

If I have an itch to look through a magazine, I go through the pile in my closet or look online. Or look at the photos on here.
Barb

I am seriously bored with Quilting magazines also.....I recently went through all of my old quilting magazines and ripped out the patterns I may want to do someday.....I then put them all in a three ring notebook.

I was looking at my boxes and boxes of magazines from the past few years the other day and thinking I need to do the same thing as I am keeping them because there are probably one or two items in each that I really like and might use in the future sometime?

Time to get serious about De cluttering I think and making some room for other things.

Maybe1day

Linda, I would say you touched a nerve here with so many pages in just a few days with your question.

Funny to find that other quilters think similarly to me... same old same old... gets tiring after a while. I haven't done the Barnes and Noble coffee mag browsing but that sounds wonderful in so many ways. Especially in the pocket book. We can use those extra $$ saved for the extra expense of rising fabric prices.
:shock: :shock:

I received my AQS magazine today...not too bad and at least it had more than 10 pages!!

I've let mine lapse. I decided it was better to look at the newsstand and buy a single copy of a magazine thaat has something tha I like than have a subscription. That way I get only what I want, instead of whole issues of items I don't want to make.

I have stopped all my subscriptions. Like all the other magazines there is more ads than artcles or pictures. I get more from this wonderful board or the Internet

I was sew glad to see this ! I went to the library and looked at a couple magazines nothing in them struck me enough to buy one. I thought maybe I was being frugal but I see everyon is at the same burnout.

I agree also, I am getting more inspiration on the net, or here on the blog. I hate to part with them, so I have a ton to look back thru when I need a paper copy.

I stopped most of my subscriptions. I still get Fons and Porter's Love of Quilting, but my mom pays for that one. I don't know if she renewed it this year or not. I enjoy looking at it, but I rarely make anything from it. I do get McCall's, American Quilter and Quilter's Home. I am really rethinking what I can afford in subscriptions. I'd rather have the money to actually do a project than just look at some pretty pictures.

I no longer buy magazines. They containe way too much advertizing and not enough patterns and sewing advise. They are hard to store. I now save my money for good quality books that are filled with techniques to make new blocks or simplify old blocks I have admired for years but have been too intimidated to make.

I have several reasons for not renewing my quilt magazines. I hate all the pages of advertising, the loose postcards that fall out of the magazines everywhere, and the price we have to pay for them. If they have that much advertising I would think the subscription price could drop. Also some of them don't put the expiration date on the address label and you keep renewing because they keep sending letters saying your subscription is about to expire. They are right, my subscriptions are about to expire and I won't renew.

I was reviewing an OLD quilting magazine this morning while waiting in a repair shop and this 1984 magazine was most interesting. I don't suppose anyone KNOWS how to make SUN PRINTS or knows how they printed photos on the quilts back in '84?

Since I have been working on my pattern book I stay away from the new books and magazines.

Linda you really asked a GOOD question!! I just came across it & was amazed at the number of comments in just 3 1/2 days!
:thumbup:

I subscribe to -0- mags, but my mom was getting nearly all of them. So she passes them on to me to look thro, we take out what we think we may use someday, put it in a binder & recycle the rest of the mag. :thumbup:
However! --- she is or already has, let most subscriptions expire. Why? exactly what many of you are saying, same thing over & over. :roll: Change out the fabric, rename the pattern & reprint from last year. :thumbdown: Or so it seems. And for a long time I've had a problem with some patterns being shown in attrocious fabrics! Yuck! Who would EVER do them??! I think a few designers need to be introduced to BLENDERS! LOL They give the eye a place to rest in what is otherwise a sea of confusion!

I think this topic [of magazines] came up a few months ago - & the question was raised - 'Do you suppose the editors of any are reading our posts??' If they are, maybe they will heed our advice & change/shake things up a bit! THAT would be refreshing!! :thumbup:

I think sun prints needed special fabric or cloth dye--and sunshine. I did it in a class with dye. Try Dharma-they have all kinds of dyes.

Yes, I know about sun prints. I did a 60th anniversary quilt for my in-laws many years ago. Used the real old chemicals and printed out in the yard, in the street, and in the neighbors yards, wherever I could get the best sun. It was a chore but turned out wonderfully. You need the chemicals, half-tone negatives of the pictures you want to print and a piece of glass the size of your prints as well as an old card table that you can easily move around. I doubt if you can get the chemicals any more, I borrowed mine from a friend who didn't want to do any more of the sun prints. Some place offered fabrics already treated with the chemicals but I don't know if they are still available. Once the fabric is treated it has to be stored in a very dark place and if you treat your own you need a darkroom. I ruined a whole bathroom with my printing! Would not do it again.

I understand that there are all different levels of quilters. We were all beginners. I am just saying as I read this thread, that many more of us that used to subscribe to many magazines have stopped. The industry is huge. We support it. I think many are getting back into scrap and stash quilting which is great. But when a local or fav online store closes we all moan and wonder why! We need to balance the fine art of scrap and buying. Maybe use up lots of scraps and buy borders and a focus fabric to enhance the quilt. Also the magazines get a lot of money for the ads they sell. Those ads are from fabric companies, they want to push their new lines. Hence many quilts from designers that where scrap or stash quilts get remade with the new fabric lines. Which is why so many patterns all look alike. Just my thoughts! Stay Warm Dry and Safe out there!

I hear you whenI sit to design and write patterns, I have to try not to accidentaly copy what I see. I do date the projects and hope I am an original. I do use public domain patterns and try to design my own versions.

And yes, the magazines are getting very boring. Same old patterns and ideas with the latest "must have" fabric lines being featured. Are the magazines owned by fabric companies?[/quote]

Is it just me? I just don't understand how some of these quilts get published. They sure as a rule there is nothing original. Just don't get it.
Robin in TX

I also feel that as a designer the amount of money I receive for my design is way to small for the work put into it. The design has restrictions for the designer as well. Either you lose the rights to your design forever or you have to wait a certain amount of time before you can publish the pattern. It stinks![/quote]

Sounds like the magazines need a big overhaul from points of view from a lot of different sides. If they don't treat their designers right they are sure going to be up the creek w/out a paddle.

I let all my subscriptions run out, too. I recently subscribed to Cloth, Paper, Scissors, and find it really creative.

[quote=Kate01]I agree, today I recieved a renewal bill for almost $50.00 for 1 magazine for 1 year. I

They have lost their minds.