Story from the Detroit Free Press
Sex sells. Even, it seems, when it comes to quilting.
The March issue of Quilter's Home magazine sold out despite -- or maybe because of -- a little controversy. The issue came sealed in plastic, like many adult magazines, and boasted the headline: "Shocking Quilts: We show you the controversial patchwork."Inside, an artful photo spread includes quilts stitched with a gun-toting Jesus, one woman's homage to Viagra, ample male and female nudity, and at least one newborn "peering out from his mother's lady parts," as it was described recently in the Washington Post.
Needless to say, the graphic images have caused quite a stir in quilting circles. At least one major hobby retailer, Jo-Ann Fabric and Crafts, pulled the issue from its stores across the country. And the debate continues to rage in quilting forums online, where some are calling the material "objectionable" and others are praising the magazine's creator, Mark Lipinski.
"The quilts are not offensive. Jo-Ann's small-minded censorship is," wrote a poster at www.marklipinski.com.
Jo-Ann's declined to comment, but has pledged to carry future issues.
Reached by phone at his home in New Jersey, Lipinski, 50, said Quilter's Home has always attempted to change the perception that all quilters are conservative older women with nothing on their minds but quilting fabrics and thread.
"All the other quilting magazines you see are tea parties, and we're more like a cocktail party," Lipinski said. "Everyone loves a cocktail party."
