- Marti Michell

March 2, 2009
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.

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.

Marti has been hard at work designing block-of-the-month patterns for Patchwork Party, an online block-of-the-month club. The new BOM starts March 15, 2009.

So far Marti has designed six sets of blocks for them. Marti said that the blocks she designs have to look good with the selection of finishing kits that are available for people to buy and she has to make sure she provides a good balance of colors. She said she loves this kind of challenge – designing within restrictions.

Marti also has 10 block-of-the-month kits available to quilt shops. Quilt shop owners should contact Marti to get info on how to order these.

Marti’s book Kaleidoscope ABCs came out last year. The kaleidoscope is one of her favorite blocks and in previous years she had written some smaller books about it. For Kaleidoscope ABCs they took some of the old quilts from those early books plus some brand new quilts. Marti says she likes this block because it has only 12 pieces but it is very versitle and can be used to make a wide variety of looks, including curves with straight lines.

Marti’s Kaleido-Rulers let you easily and accurately cut the 67-1/2 degree angle at the bottom of shape without making your own templates. These shapes and quilts have been possible forever, but the rulers make it easier, more accurate, and more fun to do.

Marti has also developed three log cabin rulers. Now at first you might wonder why you need a special ruler for a no-brainer pattern like the log cabin. You wouldn’t be the first to wonder! Marti says people are always really surprised when they fall in love with the ruler. At first they don’t understand why they need it, but once they use it, it all makes sense. The ruler makes it easy to cut pieces to exact size and chain piece them. Every strip you sew will be perfect. It reduces the effort involved in measuring and cutting with a regular ruler.

Marti said that she quilts because she loves the sewing, fabric, geometry, and the business of it too. She would love to have a six-month sabbatical where she made quilts just for her – not to showcase a new product, or for a new book. She has a new blog so you can keep tabs on her work directly by visiting her site.