Those oh so funny remarks about quilting...
 

Hi everybody,

Do you know those "funny" or really funny remarks about quilting? Like, when you give a handmade quilt and tell that it's handmade: "Oh, financial times will get better".
Or, in my country, where quilting is far less well-known as in the US: quilting, aren't those that Scottish skirts?

Did you have those remarks you couldn't stop laughing or thinking about? They are sometimes too funny not to remember!

Have fun quilting!
Anymart/QuiltingSplinter

You can add the looks some will give as well :D..Sometimes I think homemade items are a thing of the past..Maybe we can add labels and hang a price sticker on them and than give it to them? :D..Diana

A woman once told me "you could snag your toenail on those stitches" I had showed her a quilt I had lap quilted, I was proud but she shot me down quick. I still hand quilt and Yep you could still snag your toenail...lol Family and friends do not complain.

My dear late husband was very proud of my quilting, but after watching me hand quilting a project for awhile he finally couldn't stand it and asked, "Don't you have a sewing machine that will do that?" I've been asked that question several times since by people with even less understanding!

The quotes that get me are "oh, you quilt? you must have lots of free time, I am so busy that I could never find the time to be so crafty." and "How creative, I saw a quilt just like that one on sale in Home Goods." (this was a compliment?)

I forgot the one from my mil (now deceased, and I hesitate to speak evil of those who are no longer with us), she was a phenominal seamstress and at times snippy, who critiqued my first grandbaby handquilted quilt that I made (at the baby shower), to my daughter when she opened the gift,she said "those stitches are so uneven, give me that "thing" and I will do it right!!!" It was my best effort at the time, my daughter thanked her, and went on opening the gifts. Everyone else at the shower was impressed with my efforts.

I've gotten the "oh I don't need another afghan, I have enough" (referring to a quilt) but then when they see the results being handed to a different family member, "oh I didn't think it was going to be that nice"!

my dear departed FIL (he WAS a sweetie) always called our quilts "blankets".
One time in my last house, which was big, I had laid out a wool top on the floor of the dining area, which did not have table/chairs in it. A contractor came in and walked across it, thinking it was a rug!! no harm done fortunately.

You know, I must live in a bubble--a very nice bubble--because I have never had a negative comment--even for my first efforts. I do believe my DD thought I was nuts--until she saw the first baby quilt I made and claimed it for her first born, who was born 5 years later! Thanks for the morning smiles!

How about the people who say they can buy a quilt like you are making for much cheaper at Wal-Mart.

This makes your gift list so much easier. It separates the wheat from the chaf and shortens the list of people you have to quilt for. Makes life easier, don't you think?

"The housewifes that are bored and don't have anything else to do, quilt!"

That was the one that stuck most in my memory. Yeah! We are all bored, don't have lifes, family members to take care off, no jobs, no bills to pay, no cleaning, cooking or anything else to do. We just sit and quilt!

On top of it, we are all rich, because we have no problems buying all that fabric or any other stupid gadget we need for quilting.


Awwww, the life of a quilter, it's a good one!

Love this point of view! It's one I've subscribed to without even realizing it, LOL!

Jan in VA
Never argue with a pig. You'll just get dirty, and the pig likes it!

A few years ago I demonstrated hand quilting at a fair. A lady stopped at my side and asked: "What kind of crime did you commit that you have to do it here?"

I get the you must have alot of time comment--which is weird from the people that KNOW I work a 50 hour week. I just quip back that no it's just I dont watch TV and the room gets very quiet.

My response to the one that stated this would be, I do not see how because I do not sell my quilts to WalMart so how can they be the same?

I have found these people are jealous that they do not have the drive, talent, or patience to make beautiful art but yet wish they could.

coworker looking at a baby quilt.... "oh, that's so pretty, you could sell those. you could get $25-$30 bucks for those!"
my response..... "the fabric cost over $50 bucks."
her jaw dropped for a moment, then.... "oh, i guess you can't sell them then."

I was having trouble sewing a difficult spot once and made the mistake of asking my husband. He said, "Don't you have to sew faster to make it work?" Like the stitching speed matters at all to the stitch, and like I wanted to sew something *wrong* really fast...

And for embroidery -- I love redwork. I did something recently for my niece, and my sister said, "It looks a little plain -- can't you fill it in with color?" I just looked at her. And I laughed on the inside!

I hear this when I talk about scrapbooking too. Yep, loads and loads of free time here... uh nope... But I do make time for myself.

Cheers, K

I love this topic and the remarks. I don't have anything to contribute on quilting but I have been a crafter/stitcher for years. People seem to think I am some kind of throwback and have lots of time. I just like making things.

I like the comment about not watching TV.

I love the attitude that hand made things are made because you can't afford the "real" thing. If they only knew!!!
Sue

Maybe that lady should trim her toenails. LOL

My DH's reply to those that ask what I do with all my fabric.."She buys it and then cuts all that stuff up and sews it back together and she calls it a quilt" and then the chatter would begin about quilts. It was always funny to hear people's
comments. One gentleman said why doesn't she buy the material like that...and another, what is she wasting her time on
now.

I had someone email me about making a quilt. First thing I asked was "what do you have in mind?" She didn't know what she wanted. "just a regular quilt for a twin-sized bed. Quilts are too expensive". I said, "you'd need at least $80 worth of fabrics plus the batting is around $15 and up. Just depends on what you want. I don't charge much for my work but that gives you an idea on why they are so expensive."

Here's the funny part: no reply at all. Not a "wow, thank you anyway", or a "Oh I don't mind paying you a decent rate for your time and talent" or anything. Does *no reply* count as a funny remark?!

I bought one of those cheap Wal-Mart quilts at a yard sale for $5.00 it had been washed twice and was falling apart.
I hung it in my shop to show people who think my prices are to high. They can quickly see the difference when side by side with one of my quilts.

[QUOTE=willferg;4765507]I was having trouble sewing a difficult spot once and made the mistake of asking my husband. He said, "Don't you have to sew faster to make it work?" QUOTE]

He thought you needed a running start LOL

I have one of those "hand-quilted" $39.99 quilts I'll send you too. Those quilts are everywhere here. Not the Walmart quilts, but the ones sold at flea-markets and tourist-shops. I once asked the owner of one of them how they can sell them so cheap. He told me that a woman owns a town and let's people live in the town "for free". There is a fabric factory (he didn't tell me how the tops were made, but I imagine a sewing factory) and they get a oxen-pulled cart full of quilt tops. They have these needles that are 9-inches long and load them up and knock a cart full of quilts out in a week. That's how they pay their rent.
Then tourists come to the Smoky mountains and see these cheap, crappy quilts and think that's how "homemade" quilts are supposed to be! And they buy a $40 hand-crafted souvenir to take back home and then they and their friends think that hand crafts shouldn't be more than $40!

three years ago when our office was closed by the company i was lucky to find that two of my co-workers also quilt. we started getting together and invited some others who were at loose ends now that they were "retired". some did not want to quilt but the best response was, "that's for old people". hmmmmmmmmmmmmm, didn't feel THAT old, and she was only a couple of years younger than me.

and, i do watch tv, i just do it while i am quilting. or stitching.

hahahhaa...hi splinter!!
thought someone stole your topic now I see it's you!!!!
great to see your here to, as well as on the dutch quiltingforum!

I don't know any sayings but these are really funny!

My favorite comment was made by a woman after I told her I did machine piecing and quilting ... she said she did "real" quilting because she hand quilted. My response was a smile and a friendly "that's nice." My family and friends love my unreal machine piecing and quilting!

I guess, after 30 years of hearing these sorts of (literal meaning of the word...) ignorant things said about "real" quilting versus (what?? IMAGINARY?!) ____ quilting, I no longer am particularly "nice" about my comeback. I look directly at the transgressor and ask if they hand piece....yes?, then do thay use all cotton fabrics?....yes?, then do they card their own batts? They look at me funny and I say, "Does your tomato taste better because you dig your row with a stick than mine done with a tiller?" And walk away.

I am so done with this thing of women putting other's skills/work/craft down, ya know?

Question:"Why would you make it yourself when you can buy one at Wal Mart?"
Answer: "Why would an artist paint their own creative ideas when they can buy pictures at Wal Mart?"

I once had an art teacher [now pretty famous] who told us when someone said something like that to us. It is as good as I can do at the time. and it is. Everything is easy if you know how, right? Barny

Ms. Jan in VA You said it Best-----I will try to remember this one.

Lana
the Quilting Dreamer
Lansing, MI

Those are the same people that I like to look in the eye and say, "Yes, I'm sure that's possible. You can also buy cheap framed prints to hang on your walls at Walmart but luckily there are still some people recognize and prefer the quality of oil paintings."

I have been quilting for a long time, and the one that always gets me is ...." you don't look like the type!" .... when I inquire what "type" the response is always along the line .... "Well... that something my grand mother did ".

excellent point and one i had not thought to appreciate!

well, yes, but 'funny-strange,' not 'funny-haha.' Email has brought us closer to no manners at all...after all, you don't have to be considerate to someone you will never meet, never see and who may be a half a world away. The good thing is, that when some is polite, via email...I am so delighted and never let it go unnoticed. At least, as quilters, we all understand the value of our time, our creativity, and our hard work, and therefore, others,' as well.