Got the latest Quiltmania mag. today. In it there is an article on the Houston International Quilt festival which quotes from the 2010 Quilting in America survey and says that there are 21.3 million Americans "playing with bits of fabric" and that in 2009 they spent 3600 million dollars on fabrics, books, sewing machines and notions!

Here comes the stinger: "This is much, much more than their golfing, hunting and fishing partners spend put together"

I always thought that his hobby (photography/vintage cameras) was more expensive than mine. I will have to find another justification LOL
Pippa

HIDE that magazine! The traitors, putting information like that in print! LOL

Wow, really? Bullets cost WAY more than fabric....we just must buy way more!!!!

It all goes to a worthy cause..our sanity! I refuse to admit I spend more than DH on his golf and bullets.

Shhhhhhhhh!

Don't think about how much we may spend, think about how much we do give back.

Golfing doesn't put a smile on someone who is in need of comfort.

A gorgeous picture brings memories, doesn't provide the warmth, other than the one of the heart.

As long as we enjoy our (different) hobbies and don't go overboard, it's all OK.

That's one statistic I'll never quote to my husband, LOL. :)

I really find that hard to believe. I'm not sure what greens fees are now even on public courses, but when I was playing 20 years ago it was expensive. I also know how much golf clubs, golf ball, boats, fishing poles and reels, shotguns and rifles, cartridges, etc, etc, etc. for all the other hobbies our sons, husbands, SILs, GSs, all put into their hobbies. Then you add on the cabin and lodge fees, food, gasoline, special trailers, it goes on and on. I would have to see their figures in black and white. I bet a man wrote that article!

Wow, I would never let him seen that article. Buy a little at a time,they never know how much we spend.

I'm trying to use as much of my stash as I can before buying more. I have spent about $30 so far this year. Which I must admit is a fraction of what I usually spend.
DH has no idea how much fabric is per yard - he would just freak!

I know i don't spend as much on my hobby as my DH...he's into R/C cars.

Interesting article..thanks for sharing.
Polly, depending in the area and golf course, green fees can be from as low as $15 to as high as $500+, so yes, they can be expensive. Golf balls can be bought at very reasonable prices these days, and as far as other golf equipment...well, they last a lifetime once you make the initial investment. My husband is a very avid golfer, and during a recent budgets analysis we did, I was spending a lot more on quilting than he was on golf....go figure! That being said, we really need to look at the difference, quilting IS about material..we need to buy material for every project..we need inspiration from books, patterns and magazines, we like to buy tools and gadgets to make certain quilting aspects easier or more accurate...which means money, money, money. For golf, if you have your clubs, a good golfer who needs one ball for the whole round,lol, and not golfing TPC Sawgrass, you probably can golf for pretty cheap.

Know nothing about fishing and boating though. But again, it seems like once you have your equipments, it seems like the costs won't be that high.

I really know of no statistics, just our personal experience here as a household.

When I'm finished with a quilt or other sewing project whether it's for me, my family or charity, I have something tangible. Car racing and golf give you nothing.I think that's why I have such a hard time doing jigsaw puzzles, there is nothing to keep when I'm finished.

As long as your bills are paid responsibly, your money is to do with as you see fit. Quilting is expensive. Maybe we all "spend too much" on our hobby, whatever that means, but what is the alternative? Do we save every penny to leave to kids and grandkids?

Money has no value unless it brings joy. Some people find joy in big bank statements. Some find joy in travel. Some find joy in golf or quilting or whatever.

Thats why I am so happy that QB is FREE!! Maybe we should write Pres Obama and tell him how we as a group are keeping the economy going. :)

I know my husband would rather I spend my money on quilting than on more power tools. I want to go build a shed outside, along with some other things. The wood alone for a picnic table would cost more than I am spending on my current quilts.
I am one of those handymen that says "if it ain't broke, fix it till it is" Needless to say he gets annoyed with all my home improvment projects and likes it when I sit still to quilt.
he never asks "do you really need more fabric?" I do get asked "Do you really need to go to Lowe's? Do you REALLY need a new power sander?!!!"

You have nothing to show when you golf but you do when you quilt. Our hobby keeps on giving long after a day at the greens!! Money for a quilt is money well spent in my book!!

DH & i both know i spend way more money then he does on his art

I agree! Lies!

HOGWASH!

My hubby spends less on golfing at the sporting goods store, BUT add in the greens fees and that is a different story. $35 to golf and he goes two times a week in the winter, more in the summer. And their golfing clothes are also purchased a regular stores and I'll bet that isn't added in either. He can't golf in regular clothes, has to be special golf shirts. And special golf shorts. So I repeat.......HOGWASH!

still cheaper than therapy....lol

You know, I'm a beader before I am a quilter (I know, blasphemous) but at least if you buy $200-$300 or more of fabric at a time, you need a large bag to carry your stuff. My husband can't believe that I can spend that much in a bead store and only come out with 1.5 sandwich sized baggies...

I bet a non quilting spouse from a quilter wrote it to justify their hunting, fishing, camera, car ,wood working hobbies. I know for a fact DH spend way more on tools and wood then I did on fabric and machines. I think he knows it too because he totally enables me.

Yes! And I need lots of therapy. Trust me I am a mess if I do not get it. LOL

I have my own personal spending money and DH has his so we seldom discuss what something costs we each buy. I do know he spends a lot more on his toys then I do. I see his account balance too! LOL

I have never kept a check on what I spend, but this year I decided that I would. I started at the beginning of the year with a notepad and I have marked down everyrhing so far, including thread or pins or anything connected to quilting. So far £75 which I think would equate to about 120 dollars

I demand to see the references the author used to make such claims! :-D

I don't see golf courses or country clubs going out of business around here, or the local gun stores. Yet, there isn't a specialty LQS within 30 miles of my house anymore (Just a JoAnn's).

Now I find that REALLY hard to believe ! I know we quilters spend a LOT, it's a multi-billion $$$ industry.
BUT as the wife of a life-long FISHERMAN I know that a LOT of $$$ is spent by the guys. My DH buys at least one new pricey rod & reel every year, plus the latest lures, live bait, lodging, food, gas, boat expenses, insurance, not to mention some offshore fishing trips too etc
Thank goodness he doesn't hunt or golf TOO ! Some friends of his do all 3. Hunting leases are expensive here in TX and golf is too :roll:

One big difference between quilts and bullets... both the giver and receiver are happy.

Wrong if you ask me.. I do jigsaw puzzles when I can't afford to quilt. I glue them, adhear them to wood and hand them.. I have more then 100 puzzles glued boarded. Most of them are sitting at my moms right now. However I usually love to display them.

But it all goes for good causes. You know "when mamma's not happy, nobody's hap.............".

So very True :)

I would be willing to bet that those numbers could be skewed any way the you want to twist 'em. But even using those numbers, sewer's end up with a product that is beautiful (sometimes), useful (most of the time) and satisfying to the soul...

I agree with you. My SIL used to spend THOUSANDS of dollars to go hunting out west and hire a guide, etc. Now he hunts on the 120 acre farm he bought up in the Poconos. I haven't spent that much in my lifetime on my sewing, including my many expensive sewing machines, software, etc. That article was some phony statistic invented by a MAN. And our "hobby" provides love and inner peace to everyone around us. I can't say that I find inner peace when I have a bunch of elk and deer staring at me with glass eyes from high on a wall.

Just last night I said I was thinking of looking for a featherweight. My hubby responded that he was thinking of a few guns he would like. I said I would pay $25. He said his would be more than that...I don't think he has seen that magazine and I have just started my stash....hmmmm

Well now that doesn't seem like a fair comparison. Quilting uses disposable materials. We need to continuously buy new material to complete our quilts. I would say compare it to someone like my husband who does wood working. That would be more appropriate as he needs to buy more wood to complete each project. Seems to me these statistics were looking to cause a stir.

Quilting is my only hobby, it may seem like it costs a lot, but my Hubby has a horse and everything that goes along with it, guns,ammo, guitars, music books, tools, fishing rods and reels, lures(which he has lost a few the first time out). He never says anything about how much anything related to quilting cost,and he does go with me sometimes to the LQS,so he knows, he just wants me to feel happy and satisfied, gotta LOVE him he's a keeper.

When my then 12 year old daughter started quilting, I mentioned that it was getting a little expensive. Her reply "well it's cheaper than drugs!" She is now 32 and is an accomplished quilter!! As someone said to me in a Quilt Shop where she was selecting fabric for a project "she will have a lifelong hobby". She now volunteers teaching young girls the craft. The projects are simple, but many of then get "hooked"!

You just know it!!!

How many golf balls are donated to a charity? How many bullets are given to a sick friend? Let's face it, we may spend more but a lot of it is for gifts, friends, charities. And the ones we keep are to keep us warm. When was the last time your DH cuddled up on a cold night with his 9 iron or his shotgun?