Obsession, Guilt, Subterfuge and Penury: The Rhetoric of Addiction and the Construction of Creative Identity in Australian Quilters' Magazines

Abstract

Quilt-making has enjoyed great popularity in Australia, as in other countries, since a resurgence of interest in the craft in the 1970s, Specialised quilters' magazines emerged and proliferated in Australia from the late I 980s. While some of the magazines are mainly instructional. others feature editorials and other content. including profiles of quilt-makers, that emphasise the benefits of quilt-making to individuals and to communities. The article explores the ways in which quilters' magazines integrate a rhetoric of addiction in their construction of the identity of "the quilter," a ploy seemingly at odds with the overall positive and promotional tone of the magazines. Drawing on two prominent Australian quilters' magazines (Down Under Quilts and Quilters Companion) over a five-year period. the article demonstrates that the concept of addiction is exploited within the magazines 10 reinforce the quilter's creative drive. her communal belonging and her vocation.