Welcome to the One Quilting Circle blogs here at our new home on blogspot. The One Quilting Circle posts are targeted towards the quilting industry and quilting professionals; they will appear on Thursday morning. If you have a question or something that you want to see addressed, please post a comment here or email me at Linda@thepatchworkpearl.com.
If you're a shopowner who's been swimming in the tide of rising prices for cotton for the past several quarters, there may well be a change coming...finally. According to a Bloomberg report this morning, there have been a dramatic increase in production of the crop - coming from sources outside the United States at the same time that demand has been decreasing. The cost comparisons from 2010 are staggering - the raw commodity prices are on pace to decline over 35% this year alone.
So that's the good news...after having weathered the economic downturn as well as inventory costs skyrocketing, in 2012 we can hope to see a reduction in the cost of a yard of fabric. If that holds true, shopowners and designers are now faced with re-training their frugal customers to come into the shops and buy new product as they work through their existing higher priced inventory.
2012 looks to be as challenging - in a different direction - as the past couple of years. But change is good...keep repeating that.