One of my favorite questions that’s often asked in Q.S.O.S. interviews is “have advances in technology influenced your work?” Almost always the answer is yes–from new sewing machines to embroidery machines and even the rotary cutter, now tools and technology have certainly changed quilt making. One tool that’s mentioned over and over again isn’t available in a quilt shop, but many quilters use it every day: the internet! In today’s Q.S.O.S. Spotlight, three quilters share the way the internet has affected the ways they learn, create, and collaborate in the quilting world.
Patricia Wright tells how she uses the internet to learn new techniques and tricks:

Mary Kay Davis talked in her interview about how sharing a quilt with her mother-in-law was made even sweeter by developments in technology:
“I recently made a quilt for my mother-in-law–she just turned 90–and I had
made one for her when she turned 80. I didn’t know I’d be making one for her when she turned 90. And, it was so much fun because of the Internet age, so here I sent her this quilt which was fun, but then her granddaughter took pictures of her opening up the box and showing the quilt and then she put that out on Facebook so that I got to see the pictures so the whole family was involved in seeing this quilt and learning about the quilt, and I think that was a lot of fun.”

Collaborative quilts and block exchanges are nothing new, but Jill Herndon used the internet to make quiltmaking bee an international experience:

Interested in reading more about how technology has changed quilting? You can find more quilt stories (online!) at the Quilters’ S.O.S.- Save Our Stories page on the Alliance’s site!
Posted by Emma Parker
Project Manager, Quilters’ S.O.S.- Save Our Stories
qsos@quiltalliance.org