For any traditional craft to thrive and survive, skills need to be passed on to new makers who can then share the knowledge they acquire further down the line. As well as working to safeguard and promote traditional crafts, the national charity Heritage Crafts (www.heritagecrafts.org.uk) keeps a list assessing the viability of the UK’s heritage crafts. Currently, patchwork and quilting are considered to be: “… in a healthy state and have sufficient craftspeople to transmit the craft skills to the next generation.” However, there is a caveat that being “currently viable” does not mean there will definitely be no issues affecting a craft’s future success, such as a lack of opportunities to learn, costs of materials and tools, and so on.
For those already engaged in quilt-making, the quilting world is a lively one, with local and national groups, a year-round calendar of shows and exhibitions, specialist shops, magazines and books and even quilting holidays, as well as a plethora of online resources and social media groups for various quilt-y interests. But, whilst definitive facts and
