Qubbies: Article from 1985
10-06-2011, 08:02 AM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Southern Wisconsin
Posts: 832
I found this in a quilt magazine from 1985 and it still holds true today. Thought you might enjoy......
A Quilter's Husband (known as a Qusband for short-or a Qubby when his wife wants something) is an animal well-known for his rather unique nocturnal habits. Though his actions may seem unusual, rest assured he is generally harmless.Not all spouses of quilters become Qusbands. There are those timid souls who divorce themselves completely from the activity. While she visits
quilt shows, he watches football games or goes to the shooting range. These men are known in Qusband vernacular as either chicken or genius depending on the disposition of the particular Qusband doing the calling.
Becoming a Qusband is generally not a voluntary action. In fact most Qubbys start unwittingly with the simple act of support.
Perhaps it is buying a quilt frame or giving opinions on fabric, but before he knows it he has become a full-fledged, card-carrying Quilter's Husband.
My personal initiation began when I ordered an entry form for a quilt contest my wife had talked about. She was ecstatic when
the rules arrived, but as the deadline drew closer, her excitement began to fade. Two days before D-day I fell victim to, "You got me into this, now you're going to help me."
That night I went in search of bias tape; my membership card arrived the next day.
The responsibilities and duties of a quilter's husband are almost as limitless as the unfinished projects in his wife's sewing room.
Actual duties of a Qusband depend on the personality of his quilting spouse, though one activity common to all is "gofering."
Gofering most often takes place late at night and increases in frequency inversely proportional to the number of days left before a quilt must be completed. It involves having the Qusband go for some obscure item that the quilter needs.
The most frequent items that a Qusband goes for are thread and binding, both of which should be "must carry" items for all
24-hour drugstores and convenience stores. Still, it is the sworn duty of a Quilter's Husband to brave the night on the off-chance that Phil's Liquor and Party Supplies will have an odd spool of chocolate brown thread lying around.
Opinions are another area of Qubby expertise. Color combinations, straightness of lines, quality of workmanship,
and chances of winning are all areas in which a Qusband will be expected to voice an opinion. Naturally, a true Qusband relies on his survival instincts to know when to tell the truth, when to stretch the truth, and when to lie through his teeth. I have found that the way I can best help my wife is by always telling
the truth. She invariably will do the exact opposite of what I suggest but it does give her a consistent barometer
against which to gauge her opinion. It has become her golden rule that whenever we agree on any quilt combinations,
there must be something wrong with it. So far this commandment has proved to yield quite a number of ribbons for her quilts.
You might ask why, in the face of these obvious hardships, I continue to be a quilter's husband? Because it is so rewarding. I eventually uncover that elusive spool of seafoamgreen thread; it is often at the very bottom of a forgotten drawer and is so old t hat it is on a wooden spool, but miraculously it matches.
When I present it to my wife, she couldn't be happier if I presented her with a flawless diamond. The gratification I receive on occasions like that far outweighs any troubles I
have to bear. The most important incentive to being a
quilter's husband is that when the quilt is done and it wins a prize in competition, I find satisfaction in knowing that I helped make it possible. I see my position in the quiltmaking
process like a midwife's. Without me, the quilt still would be born, but maybe I helped to make the process go a tittle smoother. It is still my wife's quilt, but in some small way I
am a part of it, and it makes the winning so much sweeter. +
A Quilter's Husband (known as a Qusband for short-or a Qubby when his wife wants something) is an animal well-known for his rather unique nocturnal habits. Though his actions may seem unusual, rest assured he is generally harmless.Not all spouses of quilters become Qusbands. There are those timid souls who divorce themselves completely from the activity. While she visits
quilt shows, he watches football games or goes to the shooting range. These men are known in Qusband vernacular as either chicken or genius depending on the disposition of the particular Qusband doing the calling.
Becoming a Qusband is generally not a voluntary action. In fact most Qubbys start unwittingly with the simple act of support.
Perhaps it is buying a quilt frame or giving opinions on fabric, but before he knows it he has become a full-fledged, card-carrying Quilter's Husband.
My personal initiation began when I ordered an entry form for a quilt contest my wife had talked about. She was ecstatic when
the rules arrived, but as the deadline drew closer, her excitement began to fade. Two days before D-day I fell victim to, "You got me into this, now you're going to help me."
That night I went in search of bias tape; my membership card arrived the next day.
The responsibilities and duties of a quilter's husband are almost as limitless as the unfinished projects in his wife's sewing room.
Actual duties of a Qusband depend on the personality of his quilting spouse, though one activity common to all is "gofering."
Gofering most often takes place late at night and increases in frequency inversely proportional to the number of days left before a quilt must be completed. It involves having the Qusband go for some obscure item that the quilter needs.
The most frequent items that a Qusband goes for are thread and binding, both of which should be "must carry" items for all
24-hour drugstores and convenience stores. Still, it is the sworn duty of a Quilter's Husband to brave the night on the off-chance that Phil's Liquor and Party Supplies will have an odd spool of chocolate brown thread lying around.
Opinions are another area of Qubby expertise. Color combinations, straightness of lines, quality of workmanship,
and chances of winning are all areas in which a Qusband will be expected to voice an opinion. Naturally, a true Qusband relies on his survival instincts to know when to tell the truth, when to stretch the truth, and when to lie through his teeth. I have found that the way I can best help my wife is by always telling
the truth. She invariably will do the exact opposite of what I suggest but it does give her a consistent barometer
against which to gauge her opinion. It has become her golden rule that whenever we agree on any quilt combinations,
there must be something wrong with it. So far this commandment has proved to yield quite a number of ribbons for her quilts.
You might ask why, in the face of these obvious hardships, I continue to be a quilter's husband? Because it is so rewarding. I eventually uncover that elusive spool of seafoamgreen thread; it is often at the very bottom of a forgotten drawer and is so old t hat it is on a wooden spool, but miraculously it matches.
When I present it to my wife, she couldn't be happier if I presented her with a flawless diamond. The gratification I receive on occasions like that far outweighs any troubles I
have to bear. The most important incentive to being a
quilter's husband is that when the quilt is done and it wins a prize in competition, I find satisfaction in knowing that I helped make it possible. I see my position in the quiltmaking
process like a midwife's. Without me, the quilt still would be born, but maybe I helped to make the process go a tittle smoother. It is still my wife's quilt, but in some small way I
am a part of it, and it makes the winning so much sweeter. +
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Barb M
General Chit-Chat (non-quilting talk)
28
05-01-2009 10:43 AM
