Originally Posted by
TinkerQuilts
Next thing we'll be called "quiltist" and "embroiderist" and "craftist" ???
That's silly. None of those words have the heteronym issue that sewer has. And there isn't another word that works well to describe people who sew- I'm not just a quilter, I'm not a seamstress, I'm not a tailor, I'm a sewer, but I prefer not to be read as a disgusting tunnel of human waste.
There are plenty of descriptive words for people who do activities that end in -ist.
Flautist, biologist, anarchist, balloonist, chemist, portraitist, and many many more!
The language evolves.