Over the last month, we quietly sailed through four GenQ milestones. First, we posted our 400th post here on our GenQ eZine. Second, we welcomed the 500,000th page viewer to our site. Third, we surpassed the 4,000th “like” mark on Facebook, which allows us to extend our reach even further into the q-niverse. Last–and best–we reached our two-year birthday. For more than 24 months, we’ve celebrated all of the wonderful stitchiness we’ve been privileged to ferret out and share with you, our best Q-bies. It’s a little bit heady, when we think on it too hard. So we don’t, most days. Honestly we’re usually so focused on our looming deadlines that there isn’t much time to check the numbers.
Still, milestones are a wonderful excuse to take a moment away from the next Test Drive we’re investigating, our ongoing debate for whether to use “perle” or “pearl” for the cotton embroidery threads we’re lusting over, or that laughing way too hard for comfort that we do when Megan’s Unravelled column is submitted, and thank you all. Yes, you.
See, when Melissa and I began brainstorming about a community for like-minded sewing addicts, it was just a loose thread of a dream. Our dream was to shine a light on our q-niverse in a way that informs, entertains, inspires or delights us all. That was four years ago and since then, with the love and talents of our closest friends (Bev, Joan, Megan, Melissa P., Rose, Scott, Tracy and Vicki) and the support of our incredible cheerleaders (too numerous to name) and Q-bies, we’ve been able to create something far beyond what that thread once was. And not surprisingly, this GenQ community made up of many people and interests looks a lot like a quilt.
As we continue to grow, we don’t ever want to forget what brings us together for our regular posts and bi-monthly issues. It’s you. So, we’re asking if you’ll lend us your ideas and thoughts here and answer these questions in the comments below:
What do you enjoy the most about Generation Q (in any format) and what can we do better for you?
We do carefully read and ingest your ideas and suggestions and we want to make sure we’re hitting the mark for you, because if you’re not enjoying us, what’s the point?
Now we never ask you to work without dangling some kind of bribe in exchange for your brain power. This time we’re going to offer a one-year subscription to GenQ magazine in print, something we never do. Comment below and we’ll randomly select somebody to receive us six times a year by mail, just for taking the time. The drawing will be Sept. 1 and will be announced here and on our Facebook page. If you happen to already have a subscription in progress, we’ll give you the choice of getting a refund for your subscription price or having a second subscription of GenQ gifted to a Q-bie of your own.
And, if you’ve been thinking about finally subscribing to us, don’t wait until Sept. 1! We just got Issue 6-September/October 2013 in with the incredible Valori Wells on the cover and we’d love to get her into your hands, figuratively speaking. If you happen to be picked for the drawing, we’ll simply refund your money in full through PayPal, so there’s nothing for you to lose.
Thank you again for everything you do for us, Q-bies. It just means the world to each of us here.
Many quilted hugs,
Melissa, Jake and the GenQ Team
COMMENT #1
Thank you for the heads-up! It’s all fixed now.
COMMENT #2
There are so many things I like, I can’t pick just one. Here is a list of some of them, in no particular order.
The small size allows me to put in my purse easily.
You don’t take yourself too seriously and have fun with the whole quilting process.
I like that you test drive different products and give us honest reviews.
I like the patterns.
You guys rock!
Leah
COMMENT #3
What a great prize! I love your magazine!!!
COMMENT #4
The local high school has a magazine drive every year, and so desperately wanted your mag to be there, but alas, it wasn’t. I just forked over $$$ for 10 mag subscriptions, very few of which I actually read, just to support my family’s kids’ fund-raising efforts.
But, I have Gen Q mag on my Amazon Wish List, and on my Christmas list, too. Someone in my family will figure it out, maybe… 🙂
COMMENT #5
Two things…I like the artists you feature and the test drives of products.
COMMENT #6
I read your posts on facebook and would love to win a subscription to the magazine. I think your innovative and would love to get my hands on the next issue.
COMMENT #7
Not currently a subscriber, but I do enjoy all your Facebook posts and the links you post … maybe this will push me over the edge!!
Congrats on your progress and keep up the great work!
COMMENT #8
I love your magazine just the way it is! It is fun and refreshing….doesn’t take itself too seriously and always inspires! Don’t change a thing! I love you just the way you are!
COMMENT #9
I love the beautiful patterns, and the great columns, too. I’d love to see more about hand quilting.
COMMENT #10
I like how you have fun when discussing quilting. You have a sense of humor! I like the ideas you have on the new products.
COMMENT #11
Thanks for hosting such a great giveaway. Congrats on the exciting milestones!
COMMENT #12
I “liked” you and “shared” on facebook to help you reach your goal so I am only familiar with posts and links that you put up. I would love to know more and see the magazine in person. Thanks. Still waiting to hear what you didn’t have time to explain when you requested likes to reach your goal.
COMMENT #13
I love the fresh attitude in Generation Q! Would love to see this in my mailbox 6 times a year!
COMMENT #14
Jake, Melissa, et al. Kudos. Four milestones, including the two-year anniversary. Love it and hoping for many more.
COMMENT #15
Being new to GenerationQ, I haven’t done a lot of evaluation, but so far, I love seeing the results of the challenges you’ve issued!
COMMENT #16
I love your magazine because it’s fun!
COMMENT #17
Love the new Q !!
COMMENT #18
I love your magazine because it is fun. It’s a great size and great content.
COMMENT #19
I love the size of it – fits nicely on my bookcase. Keep up the good work!
COMMENT #20
I love this website and the Facebook page. I know I would love, love, love the magazine!
COMMENT #21
I would love to get a subscription so that I can participate in the Gen Q community. The magazine is new to me but has been recommended by friends in my MQG. As such, no specific recommendations now, but I’d be happy to share in the future!
COMMENT #22
I have enjoyed all of the issues so far.
COMMENT #23
I love that you do all the ‘ferreting out’ & tell us about the new books & patterns & cool stuff there is out there in this big Q-niverse. And that you let us know about the products that work, and the ones that don’t-so-well. On the spot now, I can’t think of anything more I’d want you to do – but I’ll let you know later if I do think of something!
Keep up the great work!
COMMENT #24
I’m relatively new to machine quilting and I love the fresh, modern ideas in your magazine. Very inspiring. Thanks for the giveaway! I’d love to win a subscription.
COMMENT #25
I like your focus on up & coming designers, not necessarily 20 somethings but people who may be relatively new to the larger quilt world, also those quilters who have found a niche in social media like Maddie Kertay of Bad Ass Quilter Society. Thanks!
COMMENT #26
I love Generation Q Magazine. Thanks for all the inspiration!!!
COMMENT #27
Just finished the Q top FQ bundle you sent me for being a Kickstarter donor. Love it! Keep up the great work and best wishes for your future success!
COMMENT #28
I love the more modern focus of Generation Q, and what could you do better for me?…. It would be wonderful if I could find you at a newsstand / craft store in my area. No success yet, and I’m in the Dallas area. (Please?…. lol) (Crossing my fingers for a subscription!!) 🙂
COMMENT #29
What’s not to like? I love the size- big enough to see the pictures and small enough to stick in a tote or larger purse. I love the variety of articles from reviews to lists to eye candy to interviews. I’m not sure how to make it better. I’d love to have (in an obvious place) the date that the next issue will be on the newsstand for those of us who must hunt it down. Thanks for asking our opinion.
COMMENT #30
I think what I like most about GenerationQ on their blog/website is that you write your articles as if we’re old friends and having a chat about quilting. No, flash and fair, no I’m the star and your the subscriber attitude, you make me feel like we equals in the quilt world where some of the magazines let you know that they are the experts. Hope that made sense. But I like reading the site and I check it everyday for new articles. Thanks.
COMMENT #31
I like that you don’t think you have to be traditional to be a quilter, and that every quilt I see in your magazine is one I’d hang on the wall OR wrap up in on a cold morning. I like the product testing with real people, and.I love the humor.
COMMENT #32
I remember well purchasing the first issue of Generation Q magazine. I was on vacation in Dunedin, Florida, and stumbled onto Rainbow’s End Quilt Shop–what a find!–and the owner suggested that I buy her last issue of Gen Q. She said it was really a great magazine, and she wasn’t wrong! I laughed until my sides hurt as I read Megan’s “Unraveled,” drooled over Amy Butler’s house, oohed and ahhed over the contemporary quilt designs, and cried as I read “Second-chance Stash.” Gen Q is my idea of a GREAT quilt magazine! I don’t have a subscription yet ($10 is easier to come up with right now than $50!), but it’s on my Christmas wish list. Love the magazine; love the website. Keep on writing and stitching!!!
COMMENT #33
My favorite thing is you design contest. I love coming up with solutions, even when I don’t enter the contest. And seeing the unexpected designs other people submit is wonderful!
COMMENT #34
I’m excited by fun new ideas from fun new quilters like you. There’s something I’ve been pondering (in fact thinking about writing up an article on the subject). That is – what is a Definition of Modern Quilting. I had the odd experience of submitting a quilt to a show as a “modern quilt,” and they said, “It’s not a Modern Quilt, but a Contemporary Quilt. So whats the diff? Or is it just the local quilt police? I’m excited with the whites and grays and pale brights like aqua and hot pink, but can’t I still use the bright strong colors I love, too?
COMMENT #35
In my opinion, this is the best quilting magazine around. I love it!
COMMENT #36
I really enjoy your magazine!!! Congrats on 24 months….and many more years to come!!
COMMENT #
I appreciate your reviews and enjoy the interviews with modern quilters!
COMMENT #37
I love the small size and the honest product reviews. The stories and articles are also great. It’s ALL good.
COMMENT #38
I just found your print issue at the local grocery store, but I didn’t have the money to get it. thanks for such a great giveaway! Loved all the embroidery sites I saw when I glanced through the issue.
Vicki
vickise at gmail dot com
COMMENT #39
Found out about you from Bad Ass Quilter. Having fun on your site.
COMMENT #40
I really like the reviews, but read the magazine (when I can find it) cover to cover as it is interesting from front to back (unlike some other quilting mags out there …)
COMMENT #41
I like the size of your magazine. Great for carrying in my purse. Also like the lightness of the articles. Especially Megan’s writing.
COMMENT #42
Congratulations!! Some incredible milestones there. 🙂
COMMENT #43
Thanks for the chance to win! I really like your magazine. There is nothing in it that I DON’T like. You have interesting articles, and I always learn something! I love reading about modern quilting. I always love what you write about, and who you feature. It’s an awesome mag. I’m sorry I can’t be more critical.
COMMENT #44
I would love love love to have a subscription to Generation Q magazine!!
COMMENT #45
I keep borrowing a copy of your magazine from a friend. My own would be great. What I love about your magazine is that it’s so wide-ranging – a bit of everything and lots of intelligent articles. And laughter.
COMMENT #46
I have been following you since you started your ezine and look forward to seeing new updates. You always have fun fresh ideas and links to things I wouldn’t have found otherwise. I know you are extremely busy with your print magazine now but would love to see the site updated more than once a week or so. I also love your magazine and a subscription would be awesome as I can’t find it locally. Great job!
COMMENT #47
I really enjoy your magazine. Love the fun fabrics and patterns you feature and the articles are interesting to quilters of all ages. I’m in the senior category now but am really drawn to the modern movement. Fortunately, there’s plenty of room in the Q-niverse for all styles, modern and traditional, and a blend of both. Would love to win a subscription.
COMMENT #48
It gets my creative juices flowing each time I read it. Always something to inspire me. Keep it up!
COMMENT #49
Just read through my first issue of Gen Q. (Sorry, a little late on the uptake). I love this magazine! Really great articles. The artist profiles, equipment reviews, even the letters are great. I absolutely love the floss test drive! It inspires me to get out all the pearl cotton from my old stitching days and use it on a quilt. I’m sending a copy to my sister-in-law in AZ (who has yet to see it). She’s new to quilting and needs to see another point of view on quilting before she is inundated with all those other magazines. This is the perfect new source for her.
I love the fact that you are not afraid to delve into other areas of handcraft (did I just see a basket of yarn in this issue?! Awesome!) but eventually bring it back to the quilt focus. Please continue to touch on all avenues of the textile arts. How about talking about surface design or natural dyeing. How about talking about the manufacture of the cotton cloth itself. i know that different manufacturers use a variety of ground cloth to make their fabric.
Please remember, some of your readers are multi-task fiber artists. We quilt, stitch, knit. Some of us even make our own thread and fabric! It would be nice to see more cross-over fiber art articles.
Sorry to be so long-winded. Just really like what you are doing. Keep up the great work. I can’t wait for the next issue!
COMMENT #50
I enjoy the modern vibe as well as the personalities that come through in the articles. A great magazine over all.
COMMENT #51
I love Unraveled . We could all use a little more humor in our lives! I love how easy you have made everything and that it is all available online. What you could do better… I honestly cannot think of anything.
COMMENT #52
I only have one of your magazines. Mainly accessibility (there is only one shop in Missouri that carries it) and since I am always without crafty cash because I spent too much on fabric, I don’t buy it. I did love the articles in it, the size, and the quilty/fabric eye candy. I would love to see a digital issue. At least that would save on shipping charges.
COMMENT #53
Subscriptions- now I won’t miss an issue! Love the humor!
COMMENT #54
Absolutely Wonderful Magazine!
COMMENT #55
I love that crazy humor writer who does the Unraveled column (and other things with no byline, but you can totally tell which ones), but maybe there should be more of that crazy humor writer, like maybe a serialized novel about a crazy quilting humor writer and her devoted Facebook fans.
Would love to win!!!!
COMMENT #56
My original reason for subscribing was Megan and her wonderful sense of humor. And, although she’s no longer on your production staff, she is still a contributor. I’ve found lots to make me continue to subscribe, but she’s the reason I subscribed in the first place.
COMMENT #57
I like the articles I read on line. Keeps me up to date and I don’t have magazines sitting around.
COMMENT #58
This is the first time I have been on-site looking around. Fabulous! Today, I’ll use ‘coming back for more’ as the incentive I need to get my work done in order to “play”. Thank you!
COMMENT #59
As a new subscriber (having only rec’d one issue so far) I am optimistic that I will love your magazine. The frustrating part for me is that you have lots of pictures of the next issue on facebook and references to that issue and I haven’t rec’d mine yet. I know it takes a bit longer to come to Canada but I would love to receive my magazine.
COMMENT #
Hi Jane: I wish I had some small bit of control over the postal service! Your issue went out over a week ago. Should be there any day now. Sorry for the frustration!-Jake
COMMENT #60
I love the article about paper piecing – It was easy to understand so I am going to try paper piecing again. Thanks.
COMMENT #61
I like the style and fabric choices of the projects, and I love the small size of your mag. It’s perfect for throwing into my purse to take along, well, pretty much anywhere! I also think your Facebook is the best out of all the quilting/sewing mags I follow.
COMMENT #62
I look forward to reading your magazine. I just got my first copyin our swag bags at the Pacific Northwest Modern Quilt Guild Meetup
COMMENT #63
I have not seen a copy of your new magazine, and I just found your Facebook page through a friend. I must say from what has been posted it looks wonderful. Wish I could find a copy around here. I will be looking!
COMMENT #64
What an amazing giveaway! I just received my first copy and am totally hooked! I’ll definitely be subscribing & following on FB! 🙂 Keep up the great work!!
COMMENT #65
I came over from a Pendleton post on facebook. This magazine/ezine sounds very interesting. Can’t wait to get my hands on an issue. I especially like Valorie Wells as she comes from my neck of the woods!
COMMENT #66
i love having your mag in print. something to savor over and touch, just like a good piece of fabric. packed full of inspiration and learning. thanks for something new!
COMMENT #67
I’d love it if you were in more shops, which I’m sure you’re working on! I’ve only seen one magazine in person, and that was my kickstarter.
COMMENT #68
Hmmm … I love the size–that in and of itself makes it very unique. I also like the content 🙂 I really like product reviews and info on FMQ, which is something I’ve never done but would like to. I would LOVE to win a subscription.
COMMENT #69
It would be wonderful to receive a subscription to your magazine. “Gen Q” isn’t in any of the quilt shops within a two hour radius of me! 🙁
COMMENT #70
Congratulations and Happy Anniversary! Its great to watch you grow and see your dream a reality.