Interview with Marti Michell - part 1

Chevron table runner by Marti Michell

I spoke to quilter and author Marti Michell a couple of weeks ago. We discussed the state of the quilting industry in this rough economy, her new templates and patterns, and her upcoming workshops and lectures.

I asked Marti how she thought the economy was affecting the quilting business and said she was in a store in mid-January and was surprised by how busy it was. She said people were not just browsing, but "buying, selecting, doing".

Marti said that she's been in the quilting industry though several recessions and each time the economic chaos has barely touched quilting. The difference now is that nearly every quilter - even hobbiests - have huge inventories of books, patterns, templates, and fabrics on hand, so there may be less need for them to go out shopping for new things.

"Quilting is comfort food," Marti said, and people want comfort at a time like this. On the other hand there are many, many quilt-related manufacturers and publishers - maybe more than the market can bear. It will be interesting to see how it looks in a year. Marti thinks there will be a little tightening and a shake up where businesses that are just on the brink may fail whereas shop owners who have a good business plan and don't lose interest might continue on indefinately. Marti pointed out that interest in quilting was at one of its highest peaks during the Great Depression.

Even the loss of a local quilt shop may not impact quilters much when you take into account the reach of the internet and the sheer volume of information available to new and experienced quilters. You can take classes and participate in swaps, shop hops, and block of the month programs online. And the amount of fabric one can find online is staggering - if you don't mind buying it sight unseen. (Marti and I are both fabric fondlers but even we admit to shopping online from time to time when you need a particular fabric.)

I asked Marti what was new in her line...

Her latest effort is her series of Strippity Do-Dahs patterns. These inexpensive patterns (only $5 each on her website!) go hand-in-hand with her 2 1/2 inch Strippers templates. The templates came about because a friend asked Marti for a 2 1/2-inch hexagon specifically for use with the 2 1/2-inch jelly roll strips. From there, Marti developed three templates that cut seven different shapes.

The hexagon has a triangle on one end giving it an odd shape. Marti calls it "the conehead". This one will make a Grandmother's Flower Garden block without the need for a center hexagon. The triangle repeats to form the center of the flower. The triangle will also let you cut the little corner triangles you need for an eye-spy block, so if you make a hexagonal eye-spy quilt you'll have all your templates in one convenient ruler. Marti's Strippers set also includes a 60-degree diamond and a 45-degree diamond template. The 60-degree diamond allows you to cut diamonds, half hexagons and triangles. Marti's template "Set B" has other templates that work together with the Strippers and the jelly roles.

The Strippity Do-Dah patterns are very beginner-friendly but the quilts they make are something a quilter can be proud of even after they've become more experienced. (No more embarrassing samplers!) The patterns look much more complicated than they are. For example, Marti's Inner City pattern looks quite complex, but is made very simply.

Check out the slideshow for some photos of the Strippity Do-Dahs patterns and templates.

By the way - each "patterns" link in the article above will take you to a different pattern, so check them all out! You can also see a list of Marti's upcoming appearances.

'Til next time!

Kelly