applecore – We Love French Toast

3 May 2013

The Cost of Unfinished Projects, or Why I Love Inklingo

I originally posted the below in a rant to the Inklingo group. I wanted to defend the pricing of the collections to people who seemed upset that they weren’t free. The internet has made it easy to get a lot of things for free, but when it comes to small businesses, especially those that are providing a wonderful niche service like quilting tools, I think it’s extra important that we recognize their value and pay for their work.

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Occasionally I see rumblings over the cost of Linda’s collections and it surprises me. The way I see it, this method of getting shapes out of fabric that are accurate and fun to piece is worth way more than the price tag in convenience and a FINISHED quilt.

I found Inklingo during a search for a better method of getting shapes that couldn’t be rotary cut (one day soon, I will have that double wedding ring quilt I dreamed of from the beginning). I was at the point of making my own rubber stamps (egads) when I stumbled onto Inklingo.

Now, when I start planning a new quilt, I start with Inklingo and EQ7. I easily spend $100 for the fabric and notions and another $75 for batting and backing. Then, of course, there is the time spent piecing, basting and quilting. Imagine if I only half-pieced a quilt and after hours of tracing and cutting, just got tired of the whole thing. Into the UFO pile it goes and along with it, $100 and time lost.

The best part is that, unlike paper-piecing, when I’m done, I still have the collection, pristine and ready for more projects. Also, there is a lot of thoughtful work going into these collections. Marks that make matching so easy and combo sheets that optimize fabric use and rotary cutting. Maybe it’s that the download of a digital file feels like you’re buying something that isn’t worth actual money, but that is so wrong.

Every month now, I budget for more Inklingo. That apple core quilt I finished recently would never have existed without it!

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The featured image shows my completed apple core quilt covering my partner, who likes to make photos more interesting through a variety of facial expressions.