Originally Posted by catrancher
Originally Posted by Candace
Although I can appreciate hand quilting, I don't care for the "look" of it and really prefer the artistry of good machine quilting. I decorated modern and don't care for antiques, country decor etc. I think it's important that if you hand quilters want to keep your art going, that you don't put down machine quilters and make comments like "it makes me sick" etc. It's definitely a put-off IMHO when people make disparaging comments about other people's art forms and preferences. Like I mentioned, I don't care for hand quilting, but I'd never make snarky comments about it.
My sentiments exactly. There is a lot of quilt snobbery out there, and I don't mean just about hand vs. machine sewing. It is obvious in some of the letters to the editors of quilt magazines. I love quilts--all quilts--and I really don't care whether they're done by machine or by hand. What matters is the care and artistry, not the method. I work with a long arm quilter whose work is superb, original, and beautiful. I would stack her quilts up against any hand quilter, any day. Machine quilting can be done artistically. Hand quilting is not necessarily art. It's all in the eye of the beholder.
I think you make a good point, it is all in the eye of the beholder.
As a new person to this forum I was sad to see some people take a voicing of opinion as an attack on certain styles of quilting. I think saying "I" dilike X is not the same as saying X is bad. It is just the voicing of an artistic preference, and the beauty of this forum, to me, is that as a daily stalker I look at most of the pic's posted and for even the most wildly different quilts there has always been someone who loves the quilt pictured.
That is awesome, and I really enjoy the experience of reading comments on quilts I love. Just as much I enjoy reading the comments on quilts that just aren't my style, I am learning to appreciate things in quilts that I wouldn't have if someone hadn't commented on how clever it was for the quilter to do this or that. I take a second look and begin to understand the attraction.
I personally feel that hand quilting will become even more rare, as culturally it is outside of the norm (dittoing all said by pp's about time, quick satisfaction, and quilting for utility vs. heirloom) and requires more time. But I think that rarity will just make each hand quilted piece more appreciated and beloved.