SillySusan

Or tell him to plant the cotton, pick it, card and spin it, etc. Then you would think about it!

GingerK

I love some of the replies posted here--especially the hunting with bow and arrow, altho I know people who do that. I have an SIL who is the opposite. She understands the time and effort it takes to make a quilt and considers them 'too good to use', 'heirlooms to be kept for future generations'. I keep telling her I'd rather they were loved and used until they are tattered and worn. Then they are heirlooms.

PamelaOry

Pfft. I’d put all the quilts away during his visit and let him figure it out.

Quilt30

Ask him if he uses a microwave for cooking.

there is a wonderful wholecloth quilt in the Smithsonian quilted entirely by machine. Dated somewhere in the mid 1850’s which happens to be when the sewing machine was invented. Tell him the true definition of a quilt recognized as such for 1000 of years is three layers attached together. Never has it been specified how they are attached. One could staple them together and it would be a quilt. On the other hand just smile and say “ thank you” and tell him you had intended giving him a quilt but since it is machine quilted and he said machine quilting is not a quilt, that now you don’t have a quilt to give him.

JustAbitCrazy

You guys are all very kind. If he had me that irked, I'd be making an excuse to prevent him from coming, until the day I could deal with his rudeness.
Austinite is right---he is not quilt worthy, obviously, since he doesn't appreciate or remotely understand what you do. Never ​create something for him.

sewbizgirl

It’s usually very old men who say things like that... men who’s only knowledge of quilting is a childhood memory of their grandmas lowering down a frame from the ceiling and hand quilting on it.

He sounds like an irritating know-it-all, so good luck with his visit.

SusieQOH

I agree. He sounds like a know-it-all and I ignore people like that. Let him think what he wants.

KalamaQuilts

(((MiniDoe))) I understand what it is like to be a fragile bubble...If you like him educate him, if not, smile him to death as one of my clients used to say. People don't remember what they said that hurt us so much.

Jordan

It is very annoying when people down grade us that take our time to make quilts with love in every stitch but I just ignore those people and keep on quilting cause I love it. Guess your BIL won't be getting a quilt made by you!!!!

JJBlaine

When I first started learning about quilting, I had to learn from books, as I didn't know anyone who quilted, and there were no quilt shops around back then. I remember reading that "real" quilts were quilted by hand.

I was so excited when an older neighbor mentioned to me that there was a quilting class at the local senior center, and that I should go. She assured me I would be welcome, even though I was only in my early twenties at the time.

I turned out to be less of a class, and more of a weekly gathering, where a group of about a dozen ladies, the youngest of which was in her 70s, came together and worked on their individual projects, offer support and encouragement. Very much like we do here on this board, now that I think of it.

During the first "class", I remember being surprised that the ladies in the class either tied their quilts or quilted them by machine. I asked one of the ladies about it. She said to me, quite loudly , "We're Old! We don't have time to do it by hand!" Another lady piped in, "Anyone who doesn't think my quilts are real, isn't getting one of my imaginary quilts!." All of the other ladies started laughing and cheering in agreement.

I am so grateful I took that "class." Not only did I learn a lot from those wonderful and talented ladies, I never had any qualms about machine quilting!