Wentworth County Quiltworks

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Canadian availability of spray products (or lack thereof!)

Posted by wcquiltworks@gmail.com on May 9, 2011 at 9:00 AM Comments comments (0)

I had mentioned in a previous post that I was thinking about starching some quilt blocks to crisp up the fabric a bit. I've never starched anything, but do have some Mary Ellen's Best Press Starch Alternative I can try.


It was suggested to me that perhaps just steaming the blocks would get them back into shape, so I think I'll start with that first and see what happens. But when I was given the suggestion that sizing could be an alternative to starch, and that Walmart carries it, I decided to investigate.


I know that American Walmarts do not carry much of the same stuff as Walmart in Canada does, but you don't know unless you look. I looked at two different Walmarts, Canadian Tire and Fortino's this weekend and all any of them carry is "speed starch."  The prices vary considerably too!



This is all that appears to be available locally:  Easy On Speed Starch.  No other brands, and nothing called "sizing."


Do Ontario quilters only use Mary Ellen's, I wonder?  The above-pictured spray can of stuff ranged from $2.50 - $3.50 a can, depending on the store, so I picked up a can of the $2.50 stuff from Canadian Tire.


Why don't we have .97 cent sizing?


I'll keep my eyes open in my travels around here, and make note to look in the Buffalo Walmart during a cross-border shopping trip in the future.  Sometimes the differences in product availability between the two countries can be both frustrating and annoying!

Man Quilter = Oxymoron?

Posted by wcquiltworks@gmail.com on April 1, 2011 at 2:25 PM Comments comments (0)
In my Facebook travels yesterday, I came across the neatest link to an article in Maclean's magazine:


I thought, "How cool!  Canada's news magazine publishing an article on quilting - and not just quilting, but men who quilt!  What a newsworthy angle!"


I have heard of men who quilt.   But since the word association that comes to mind when most people think "quilting" is "traditional craft done by women," I thought it fascinating that men who quilt have a niche within a niche, so to speak.  


And why not?  Men have designed and sewn for eons as tailors, so why should their expertise be confined to clothing?  It's not much of a jump to go from clothes to quilts, although going from quilts to clothes would be quite the challenge for me!

I was surprised, however, by the feedback from people I talked to and from the Maclean's readers who commented on the article.  Apparently not everyone thinks men who quilt are cool, like I do.   Some people really do seem to believe that "man quilter = oxymoron."

When I mentioned the Maclean's article in discussion, the response I got was, "Well, that seems pansy.  They aren't real men!"

Now I know from the article that male quilters are used to the implication that if they quilt, they must be gay. My reaction to that, however, is "how small-minded is that?? What's the big deal? If women can drive truck and become auto mechanics, then why can't men quilt?"

I read the article myself more than once, and I don't understand the comments such as this one, posted by "unknown:"

"i think it great men like to quilt too but being snotty about is another thing i wouldnt get to over cofindent you might get knocked down" [sic]

and the following snippet from NightOwl:


"I'm a female quilter and artist, who started woodworking a few years ago. If one is mechanically inclined, has good visual/spatial abilities and fine motor skills, it's pretty easy to become competent at most crafts.I must confess to being a bit irritated by the inordinate amount of attention and rewards paid to male quilters, when women have been making masterpieces for 200+ years, with very little financial reward. It's like it doesn't matter, until men start doing it."

 Other complaints were of the male/female stereotyping that was contained in the article, but I'm sorry, I just don't see it.  Men and women are different.  Men and women quilt for many of the same reasons, but I don't doubt that there are gender differences behind some of the other reasons that we quilt. To which I say, "so what?" I agree with the commenters who said that "all press is good press!"  


Having been a message board moderator for a number of years, I know how easily the written word online can be misconstrued.   Myself, I saw the article as newsworthy and a way to make people aware that the "quilting = traditional female craft" stereotype isn't true in this day and age.  If people want to display what appears to be pettiness and jealousy in their comments, well, I'll just assume they didn't understand the intent of the article.