Teri D

This sort of thing is going on in just about any "hobby". I'm an amateur astronomer and we get into discussions about whether it is "cheating" to use those "new fangled" telescopes that automatically orient themselves with built-in GPS systems and then automatically move to a celestial object you select and then track it for you while you "observe" by watching a computer screen! I still like to operate my scopes manually and look through an eyepiece (sometimes while perched on a ladder since one of my scopes is taller than I am!) because I enjoy hunting for stuff -- which takes time and a knowledge of the location of celestial objects in the sky built up over many years of practice. Yes, at times I catch myself thinking that the other folks are "cheating" but then I realize that the whole point is to enjoy the beauty of the creation -- so the method you use is irrelevant. Quilting, like astronomy, reminds me a bit of the biblical passage that goes something like: "in My house there are many mansions".....

leggz48

WOW!.....aren't we fortunate for all the technology available to us at this point in time? And no matter the method, the manner, the technique, we are all ARTISANS! You did the right thing in walking away from the debate, but my curiousity would have made me stay to see, and here the debaters 'duke it out'. Hope you enjoyed the balance of your day!

SouthPStitches

People are entitled to their opinions but that doesn't mean anyone has to stand there and listen to their self rightous, biased ideas. Quilting should be enjoyment. If there are things you don't do because you aren't fond of the process, not particularly good at, don't have the equipment or expertise, or are physically unable to do.....no one has the right to call you less of a quilter (or person). Glad you picked up your "toys" and went home.

Toni C

hahaha my DH wanted to know why would I waste my time in warming the walls ;-)

bearisgray

This topic seems to come up frequently.

Sometimes it's fun to stick around and wait for the fireworks! Especially if one has little or no emotional investment in the exchange.

About all one can do is state one's opinion - the others may or may not listen. And if they do happen to listen - they may or may not (probably not) change their opinion/idea.

Grace MooreLinker

I feel any one that puts fabric together to fashion a quilt can be called a quilter.
This makes me smile, one of my daughters father in law made s similar statement to her about her house keeping, forgetting the fact his own house was a disaster with 5 women in it that didn't clean..throwing stones in a glass house !!!

Friday1961

Precisely! Aren't you glad you went home?

And why does anyone let anyone else define who or what he/she is? We know whether we are quilters or not without anyone else telling us different simply because he or she has a different definition of what being a quilter is. Silliness, indeed. Some people have too much time on their hands.

BKrenning

Ditto to all of the above! I tried to do my first 2 quilts entirely by hand with scissors and templates but I quickly realized I wasn't going to live long enough to finish those 2 (King size GFG & twin size Dove in the Window) much less make one for every grandbaby and great-niece/nephew.

AshleyR

From the other end of the spectrum... I don't make my own tops. By the very definition, I am a "quilter", but I dont' think I'm any more or any less involved than the person making the top.

Like so many others, I started out hand-quilting. When I started machine-quilting, I gave Christmas wall-hangings that I "whipped up", and the first thing some of the people did was look to see if it was by hand or not. Now, nothing negative was said, but I could tell there was disappointment by family members that it wasn't hand stitched. OTOH, people who didn't know I used to hand quilt gave me the appropriate "oohs and ahhs" that I wanted to hear!!

True story (kind of unrelated): I was at a fabric shop when someone came in to pick up some quilts they had left there to have quilted. I don't know how much they cost, but it was an all over pattern, and it just didn't look great at all (seeing the quilts on this board has spoiled me!) and I happened to notice that at least one of those quilts was a cheater top!!

pastorpatti04

Silliness, what a waste of valuable time.