Why do we do this?
 

Why do we do what we do? Why do we spend so much more money and time making something for someone, rather than going to the nearest retailer and plopping down $20 on a trinket instead?

I personally have two reasons:

1. My mother told me some horror stories of shopping the day after Thanksgiving, one of which involved a hurried shopper pushing a wheelchair-bound customer into a wall to get them out of their way, all in the name of obtaining the best sale items. I decided then and there that if a gift wasn't handmade by me, it wasn't getting given. There have been times when people got a bag of homemade chocolate chip cookies from me, but they were made with love. One Christmas morning, the cookies were even warm...and who doesn't like warm fresh chocolate chip cookies? I guarantee they won't end up in the Goodwill bin...

2. The second reason is that when I make something for someone, I put a lot of myself into it. I have a couple of quilt tops made and stored, things that I made to try a new pattern and now what do I do with it, that kind of stuff. But I don't have finished quilts "in stock" for a random person (does anyone else have Justin Case in their closet?). I like to personalize the item, and while I am making it, I think of things that will appeal to the recipient and incorporate them into the quilt. For example, I recently made a quilt for a Volkswagen Club, the members of which are mostly classic Beetle owners. I quilted a likeness of the VW logo in the center (not identical tho - no copyright issues), along with a script of Ferdinand Porsche, the man who engineered the Beetle. Also included was 1945 (the year it was first marketed), "flower power", the words "rear mounted" and "air cooled" which pertain to the Beetle's rear mounted engine - many fun facts were FMQ'd as the quilting into the quilt. It was interesting and fun to do, and I know the ultimate recipient (the quilt will be raffled off this weekend) will love it. (I titled the quilt "One Day in Stuttgart" because that's where the Beetle was engineered, by the way - a little fun fact for next time you want to impress your friends with useless trivia.) That's one reason I do things like this.

I guess the most important reason though, is that when you do a job for financial reimbursement (and there's nothing wrong with that, we've all enjoyed paying gigs!), the money flows through your hands too quickly, but when you give someone something that contains your blood, sweat, tears, and (most importantly) your love, the look on their face when they first see it will be something you can revisit for years...long after that money is gone.

It must be that time of the month or something, I'm normally not this mushy!

So....why do YOU do what you do?

I only Quilt and Knit because it gives me pleasure and I find it rewarding and relaxing. It doesn't mean that I have stopped buying knitted things or quilts!! I still do both.:o

same for me

I have no job. I'm too lazy to clean. I hate yard work. Day time television is awful. I can only kill an hour a day at the gym.

Seriously, I sew because it is fun. I make a quilt and throw it on the pile. If someone wants one, OK. If not, the pile isn't hurting anything.

Why do I give hand made gifts???????? That's the way I grew up. It makes me happy. Keeps me busy during the year. And MOST people appreciate it.

Then there is my BIL who was almost beheaded the Christmas he remarked that "such and such" was almost as good as store bought. (Most of us do hand made items!)

LOL, I had to check your name because I started to think I might have posted this last night in my sleep! Except I do watch TV most of the day. Love the house and food shows.

I make items for myself. I enjoy shopping for the supplies and creating something. I won't give a quilt away that I spent months making. I save those for my beds or to display in my quilt racks. I give away the fast block quilts and baby quilts. The fast quilts I have no emotional ties to and couldn't care less if they are used or tossed aside. I haven't given up cleaning or having pretty flower beds yet but I have given up day time tv.:)

It does keep me sane at times. Besides when I am finished I feel so accomplished.

But this past weekend this fellow I met for the first time was happy to find out I was a quilter and he asked me why quilts are no light weight now. My belief was because women that could not afford batting used what they could, one thing being old wool blankets. Especially when men came home from the service they brought these very scratchy wool blankets home. They were very warm but very scratchy, so women covered them and they became quilts. My mother did it with my father's blanket. I could be very wrong, but he was fairly sure that's what his mother did. They were also fairly inexpensive at the surplus store and often found at the second hand shops. So he wants one now because they pitched all the ones his mother had after she died. I told him to go buy the wool blanket and I would be able to do the rest.

Was I wrong asking him to buy the wool blanket first? i felt this was the best way to find out if he was really serious. There is a surplus store near him that he can go to to get the blankets. I just had a feeling in my gut that if I went to buy them they would be the wrong size or not heavy enough or something. This way if he really wants one, he will be able to see before its made how heavy it will be.

^ this says it all.

Good point----------you'll know if he's serious. His buying the blanket will also give you an idea of what size the quilt will be. He'll start with what HE wants.

Its about colors and great textiles! Its about that satisfaction I get when I see perfectly sewn points, or a block that when its pressed just after the final seam..just brings a smile to my face. Its about the anticipation of creating and having control over the process.

I have given quilts to family,friends and people I don't know, most have several. I love making quilts, usually takes two weeks at most. I have no one at the moment that needs a quilt so I am piling them up until someone comes along. I have lots and lots of fabric. I bought it to make quilts and that is what I'm going to do. I work full time or I could make them faster and get the pile much higher much faster.

I guess way back when, it started because i really had no money to buy gifts at Birthdays or Christmas for my large, extended family....but i could make them something pretty and useful and uniquely theirs. I still want that - but there's a lot of therapy involved as well. I have a very stressful job - and sitting at my machine - creating - it just relaxes me and makes me feel good. I said it in another post a while ago -- i'll never write the great American novel, paint like DaVinci, compose a symphony, etc, etc - but maybe someone i love - or someone i don't even know - will feel warm and comfy using one of my quilts after i am long gone.

i enjoy the creativity there is in making my own pattern. i also enjoy collecting beautiful fabrics that i hope to use in my quilts.

Because I can. :)

I love to sew, knit and bake. I am, however, very careful about who I give homemade gifts to and who gets the store-bought. I think I know who will appreciate my crusty fresh-from-the-oven bread or decorated Christmas cookies. My cute hand-knitted socks are prized by some. Quilts are special gifts, if they end up on eBay to finance her new smart phone purchase, I know cash would have been a better present.

A couple of years ago during the holidays, a young anchorwoman on a local tv station made a very snarky remark about making a list of stupid unwanted Christmas gifts which included afghans and other handmade items. Later AT&T ran ads showing a father complaining about the presents he received from his children. It made me stop and think. Gift-giving was more enjoyable for me in the past.

I give a quilt to someone because I hope they will enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it.

I quilt because I enjoy it.

I quilt and create to please myself.....once in awhile I will do something for someone else. Sometimes I keep whatever if quilt or create and sometimes I don't. Just what makes me happy.

delma

That pretty much covers it for me. I sew for me. If somebody else loves what I create, great. If not that's fine too since I did it for me anyway. I wanted to play with the colors, patterns, fabric, etc.

I frequently make quilts just because I wanted to combine specific fabrics with a specific pattern with no recipient in mind at all.

In spite of my fabric addiction it's still cheaper than therapy. Well, maybe... LOL Actually it IS my therapy. I work in human services with a very vulnerable at-risk population and after a day like I've had yesterday and today, it relaxes me and helps me feel a sense of accomplishment even if we weren't so successful with the clients. For instance, yesterday we had a series of crises and drama at work and I left wondering what I could have done differently/better. I came home and sequestered myself in my sewing/bedroom, put some music on and spent 3 hours finishing the piecing together of a quilt top for my brother. I felt like "yes, I can accomplish SOMETHING. I WILL have this done in time for his birthday." And besides, quilting is just plain fun!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]365932[/ATTACH]Why do I spend all the time and money instead of just buying a gift? This is why....when I gave this grandaughter her quilt, she was so happy..the next morning she called me to tell me that the quilt made her feel like she was covered in love all night long....THAT is reason enough for me!!

I think we quilt because we are creative. Not everyone does this! I paint too, because I have to. That's part of what we are. I could buy my grandchildren a quilt, but that isn't creative of me. I just love it. I have been going thru a bag of scraps this afternoon that someone gave my sister and feeling of every piece.Grin

I like having something to show for my time. I like the planning and creative outlet from quilting. I love giving something I made from the heart. I hate the holiday commercialism.

i quilt to relax and just make for me , i have made a few things for a few people. but usually just to sew and quilt. not to much into tv any more.. the only thing i watch is pawn stars and storage wars with the yepppp guy but there reruns.:)

Except for the gym part, your reasons are just like mine. Plus my husband told me to get a hobby...now he's sorry!

I resemble your post...LOL!....you just described me to a "T".

My pile of quilts and fabric are really useful as furniture dust protectors!

Your words seem to have rung true for many of us, me included. I have more fun making a quilt for the pile than for someone I know. No pressure, no expectations, no time constraints. Just fun, doing exactly what I want to do.

I quilt because I love it. I used to do other crafts (painting, knitting, crocheting, flower arranging, ...). I do what is fun and relaxing because it is fun and relaxing. It puts me in a good place.

I had to stop watching the food shows because they developed my already over active appetite. Stopped watching home shows because it made me feel so guilty about my deteriorating housekeeping. So I tune in to things like Little House on the Prairie, Bonanza, or old shows such as that. I only listen to them. My eyes are on my projects.

Horrors of all horrors happened to me today. My good friend who is an awesome housekeeper followed me to my sewing room. I was going to get something to show her my progress. I could have melted into the carpet.:eek: But she keeps returning, so I guess I'm alright.:D

It keeps me out of the bar and off the streets. Any my friends are impressed that I could do that.

It's an enjoyable activity for me. Quite frankly, I am never thinking about gifting when I make any quilt as the average cost of making my quilts is around $300, which in my opinion is too expensive to gift. I regard them as one would regard a painting.

I started making my gifts when I was a child. I can still remember my Grandmother and my Aunts being so proud of the aprons I made them when I was 9 years old. I also remember going to my Grandmothers for a sleepover and on the bed were the pillowcases I made her. And my grandsons were so thrilled to take their quilts to college with them. I believe gifts should come from the heart; not the mall. Anyone can shop, it takes a special person, or artist, to make a gift with her (or his) own hands. I think mine stems from the fact that my parents couldn't afford nice gifts for us. My dad made me the most wonderful curio shelf for my bedroom, and I always got a flannel nightie from my mom. And now that the Gkids are growing up, and DD and DDILs don't need any more table runners, I am making quilts for charities and giving them in the name of my family members. All but one appreciated the thought.

I love your attitude! Keep it up!

I enjoy quilting & sewing. I do it for enjoyment & relaxing. I make quilts for people that appreciate them & also donate some.

Reading all the posts took away all my guilt. I, too, don't like housework, gardening, or cooking. To know that I'm not alone makes me feel better. I call my quilting my "therapy" and it fulfills my need to create something. I can't paint, and quilts are like giant paintings. My next project (for next summer) is making a barn quilt or two. I have a couple of places on my house to put a couple of small ones and I do have a barn. Perfect, and planning is half the fun!!
Sue

I started quilting to get rid of fabric left over from making lots of clothes over the years. Ha, Ha! The pile has been accumulating astronomically. At first I was making only charity quilts. I have eight children, 3 step children and 21 grandchildren. I didn't even think about making quilts for all of them. But one year I made 7 full size quilts. That's when I realized, "I can do this!" My "pile of quilts" is getting bigger, and soon I will have a quilt party and everyone can pick out the one they want. (My pile of fabric just gets bigger, also. LOL)

I like giving handmade gifts too, but thru the years you find that person who really does not appreciate the gift, so they are the cookies kind of people, everyone appreciates food LOL. I used to do cross stitch and needlepoint. I buy them at thrift stores and yard sales becauser I know the work people put into them. Some day I want to make a quilt using cross stitch pieces I have bought to honor the ladies, and maybe gentlemen, who made these pieces that ended up for sale way below price that the time and materials took to make the piece. I probably have enough pieces to make a couple quilts by now.

Too funny and hits very close to home, except I like gardening......AND I live in the middle of an IL soybean field, : )

I "make and bake and do" for several reasons. At least I thought so. After considering it, I realized I do it because it makes me feel good to give and receive love. It seems the more of "me" I give away, the more of "them" that comes back to me. I also like things and kindnesses that remind of those people and their love. I figure others feel the same way I do and that keeps me at it too.

My dear, dear friend is very ill. After a valiant fight she is up and moving around again. We went out to eat and a gentleman at the restaurant saw the two of us negotiating the parking lot and then the curb and he left his table to open the door for us. I will remember him in my prayers forever. One simple, thoughtful kindness that was so deeply felt by both my friend and me.

Guess my vote is on the "make and bake and do" column.

P