The Update Newsletters eventually closed down; I don't remember if I subscribed to the end or just until I decided I had to pick amongst the subscriptions. Sew News changed formats...and dumbed down its content to the point that it was like reading a women's magazine that had crafty discussions. I didn't save those, but I do have a folder full of articles that I cut out of them. I gave it another go a few years back when I won a subscription in an online contest, but I was disappointed to see it no longer was a monthly publication. And, while the content had improved somewhat...it still seemed more basic than creative and it didn't really seem worth the expense.
But Threads has rolled on and on. Not too long after I subscribed, (maybe a year?) they altered their focus a bit from all-things-fiberly to strictly sewing. I missed the interesting articles on making buttons from polymer clay and felting wool into hats, but since I wasn't likely to really use that (although I do have some aging Fimo somewhere...) it wasn't tragic.
But today I got this in the mail:
The content has dropped over the years; those first issues were over 100 pages; this potentially last one has 82. The quality of info has kind of vacillated; it's better now than it has been. The decline in the printed product is a reflection of the times more than anything else, I think. I mean, we haven't had a daily newspaper in these parts in years...it's all online.
And, to be honest, that's my biggest beef. I'm a print subscriber, but I have to fork over more dough if I want to see the online content they call 'Insider'. Maybe it's just me wishing for a perfect world, but it seems to me that the print subscribers should have access to the online content. I don't even click most Threads links I see on social media anymore...what's the point if it's likely to be 'Insider only'?
And...then there's the fact that I'm simply not sewing as much. It just doesn't seem justifiable to keep up the subscription so I can flip through it, smile at the end page story and put it on the shelf.
Maybe 27 years' worth (that's 162 magazines, all stashed in custom slipcovers) is enough. Maybe.
Or maybe I'll put a check in the mail next week...lol. Can I really pull that plug? Do I really want to? Do I have good reasons not to?
Hm, hm and hm.
I got the same notice yesterday with my Threads magazine. So often, I see their clothes and think the design is old-fashioned or otherwise unattractive. I never see anyone wearing clothes like many of their designs. Sometimes I file the magazine away without looking at it much but then read about an interesting article in that magazine, so I'll dig it out. I have every issue since the first one, but now I think I'll just look at the magazine on the newsstand and if I see something of interest I'll buy it. The early issues were wonderful -- fabric dye artists, weaving, knitting, lots of inspiring articles.
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