Originally Posted by WMUTeach
That is how I learned. When I returned to quiliting in the 2000's it was amazing how those gagets helped with accuracy. You don't need them all but a few of them do make quiliting easier. Quilting should always be fun. When it becomes work and not a joy then, why are we doing it? If a plastic template and a few gagets make it fun, go for it.
Can you imagine quiliting with scraps of discarded or worn out clothing? You only had a scissors, needle and thread and were perhaps riding in a wagon or sitting by a fire to complete a blanket to keep your family warm. We are privledged and should be thankful for our blessings. None-the-less we honor the craft, the creativity and the skills of quilters from around the world and across time with our efforts.
Actually, yes...I can imagine quilting with scraps from discarded clothing. (of course, that is where the imagining ends!!!) In the "spirit of our Grandmothers" I sometimes challenge myself to use only discarded clothing, only what I have on hand, paper templates and scissors, can only hand quilt it or tie it, and have to finish it before the winter sets in just to see what it felt like to have to finish something so a child could be warm.....maybe a little nutty, but I really like doing stuff like that, as it helps me to understand, just a little, what our great-great Grandmothers must have felt like. Of course, I can't fully know how it was or felt for them, as at any time I can put a project like that down, and go back to my "modern" way of making quilts.