Originally Posted by
joe'smom
It was the observation that the goalposts had been moved that prompted my post. I think this was an apt observation. I don't like the idea that all quilts are now being measured against what is possible/practical only with a long arm, and that quilters without long arms might be trying to 'keep up' with what is happening in the long arm quilting world. I want a traditional, pre-long arm quilting aesthetic to survive, and (to strain the football analogy a bit), I want the old distance field goals to still count in the score.
With the advent of computers, and now longarms sold to home quilters, the hobby of quilting
has changed a lot. One can argue that piecing stays the same, that prints of fabrics are designed in colors and patterns from time to time in the same way, or that hand crank or foot operated sewing machines were used in the same way as modern machines (that is, with great skill to produce amazing quilting)-- but! one
cannot say there were always computers and longarms, or that the quilting hobby hasn't changed because of them.
For me, joe'smom has a valid point. I agree with her apt observation, and I understand what she is saying.
When I walk into the LQS, with it's plethora of quilting tools and paraphernalia, there isn't any way my grandmother's quilting hobby fits there. Her way of quilting-- scissors, cardboard template, thimble, needle-- seem to be so underappreciated in the modern quilting hobby. I know there are plenty who carry their English Paper piecing projects around with them, and those who work wonderful Sashiko stitches, but by-and-large in the
majority of Quiltland, if a person thinks they appreciate my grandmother's hobby, then why don't they aspire to it? The truth is, they don't. A rotary cutter and mat are wonderful tools, and using a scissors to cut pieces is outmoded for a reason! It seems there is a sense in which in this day and age quilters don't want to go back to a simple way, to a pre-longarm way. For example, look here, why else would there be a lively discussion about "how important is your quilting design," which seems to be basically asking about desires of the use vs lack of machine quilting design?