Klue
I am one of those older ladies. I beg to differ with you. Stereotyping the older generation as resisting change is a little insulting. Sure there are some who are set in their ways, as are the prejudices of the younger against them, but at my local fair, the judge was NOT old.
Those who won a prize were some of this and some of that. Sheesh I know some of the older generation who love New York Beauty quilts and have made a few of them, using the newer batiks. I know some who are eager to try something new and bored with traditional quilts. Those who prefer traditional quilts, do so because that is their taste. So what? They are not an enemy and the wisdom and experience they bring to quilting is priceless if you take the time to listen. Don't forget also, the elderly , many of whom are women who quilt, are on a fixed income. It may be the very least, since women of their age did not go out and get a job, but stayed at home to raise the children because that was the custom of the day in which they lived. That means they may not have hundreds of dollars to spend on having every quilt they make quilted by a person who will do it for them. They may not have the bucks to spend on ten dollar a yard fabric to make a quilt, then add the hundred or more to have it quilted by machine. They prefer the camaradie and the social contacts of hand quilting with others. Old age can get very lonely, especially if one loses their spouse along the way and ones children are far far away.
So, your comment is especially insulting, as far as I am concerned.