Thread: 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.

Originally Posted by nygal

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.

same for me

Originally Posted by nygal

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.

I do it because it is a way of showing love to my family and close friends, and sometimes for raffles or blanket drives, etc. But nygal's statement stopped me cold. Rewarding, yes, relaxing, NO. I am obsessed when I am quilting. Driven!

But also, I like the idea that when I'm gone, the people in my family will have a memory of me that is positive. Each quilt has been made especially for each person and none have been made with a pattern (except what I, or the recipient made). Right now a dragon is on my quilt wall for an "almost" grandson. We went out together to buy the fabric (ALL the ladies in each LQS we ventured into fell in love with the college aged lad... I had to interrupt to ask a question! That adds to my memories and his!). I like the idea leaving a legacy of quilts throughout the family.

Also, I have worked with several grandchildren, male and female, on quilt making. More memories..... And, yes, I do love the creative process, like making a design or picture that will fit the person for whom it is intended. I love trying out new techniques. My technical sewing isn't that good, but it is organic and I guess that shows.

Originally Posted by Lisa_wanna_b_quilter

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.

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.

Originally Posted by GrannieAnnie

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 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. But she keeps returning, so I guess I'm alright.

Originally Posted by Lisa_wanna_b_quilter

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.

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.