Quilting and Covid-19

Today's post is a bit unusual for me, as it's not full of pretty quilts or a helpful tutorial. Instead, I'm pulling out my crystal ball to view the state of quilting, or any business for that matter, during the Covid-19 pandemic.

So here we are, 4 months after my county became the first to issue stay-at-home orders, shuttering businesses and laying off workers. The immediate impact was astonishing, with long, masked and social distanced lines of people attempting to acquire basics necessities to live. And yes, there were shortages, some of which have recovered, and some that have still not. 

So what's this have to do with quilting? Many quilters turned into mini factories, making masks for those who had none. Some, with new found time on their hands, dusted off the sewing machine and are learning to quilt. From my fellow bloggers, many find this a chance to finish those UFO's, start projects that have been held in waiting, and use up what's in our extensive fabric stashes.

But eventually, we're going to run out of fabric, thread, batting, etc. Really? Is that possible? We've already seen it with elastic for masks becoming a scarce commodity. So, yes, there will come a time when there's not enough of some supply to finish a quilt, and we'll need to go shopping.

Which brings me to: Have you been to you're local quilt shop or fabric store lately? I visited JoAnn's two weeks ago in search of a few greens. And this is what I saw: 

a lot of empty shelves, and bolts still in plastic wrap. I'm not sure if the plastic was due to lessening contamination, or if there just wasn't enough staff to unwrap them. Visits to other quilt shops, or any store for that matter, reveal their shelves are also becoming bare, with expected orders delayed. It is a disheartening site.

Now, if we think about this, country-wide shutdowns happened in March. Which means manufacturing of new goods was halted, as were deliveries. Stores that were allowed to stay open used or sold what they had in stock. If they received ANY new stock, it was most likely from what was held in a warehouse.

With no or curtailed manufacturing, the warehouses are now becoming depleted. This affects not just the quilting industry, but many others as medical supplies are once again becoming scarce. Manufacturing has not fully ramped up in order to restock the warehouses. 

Which brings me to: Have you tried to order fabric (or anything) online? I have, and have been met with 'out of stock - provide your email and we'll let you know when it's back in', to 'out of stock - expected delivery mid-August'. With shut downs happening again, who knows if and when deliveries will happen. A massive snowball is just starting to form: if there's no manufacturing, there's no deliveries, translating to no sales, and worst case, more out-of-business signs.

The supply chain is not looking good, and I'm concerned about what we're going to see 6 months to year from now, not only in the quilting industry, but other goods too. I truly hope it does not get worse, and that our country can get back to work, and our economy humming again. 

As quilters, we'll make do with what we have, as is the history of quilting. And if we have to return that UFO to the pile, then so be it. It will get finished eventually. As for new projects, who knows?

I'm sorry for the distressing view from my crystal ball. A year from now, I want to look back at this post and say that my prediction was wrong, along with a more positive, uplifting view of the future. But the way things are headed, my prediction just may become reality - consider this a heads up. And if it does, we will find a way to cope, as humans have done for thousands of years, in even more dire circumstances than now. 

We will get through this.