Of all the things possible with fabric, why did you choose quilts?
 

Hi Everyone.

Just curious.

I am / have been in a sewing pause for quite some time now and I can't figure out why, other than I have no one to sew for. It seems like I was more excited to sew when the kids were little and wanted shorts and tops and dolls and crafty things, but now they're all adults and really need nothing fabric related.

I've also sewn just about everything thing there is, from cloth dolls to wedding party gowns, and I have made quilts
as well, although they aren't my favorite for some odd reason, so I can't figure this out.

So I'm wondering why you all are so excited to sew the next quilt, and I guess if you have ever been where I am, how did you handle it? Or maybe after 40+ years of sewing it's time for a new hobby?

I just like quilting, some of it is I think the Zen quality of just feeding pieces through the machine, one after another. And I do like wrapping up in one of my quilts after it is finished. By all means, if a new hobby calls, go for it. I have had several "stages" in my live. These include crewel embroidery, cross stitch, macramae, tapestry, crochet, knitting, machine embroidery, piecing, and quilting. Also like a bit of gardening, bird watching, in my younger years there was horseback riding, hiking, and canoeing.

I have no Grandkids and never will (I am fine with that) I have made quilts for everyone I have deemed Quilt Worthy yet I still quilt because I enjoy the creative process. Many finished quilts have found Quilt Worthy homes over the years and I know they are appreciated. I continue in the hopes that perhaps that one day they will give warmth and comfort to my fellow man, be they known or unknown. I have told my daughter that when I am gone she is to take herself a little road trip for a week or 2, take my quilts with her and give them to people who look like they could use a hug.

I have times when I don’t feel like quilting or sewing and that is ok. I don’t think that means I no longer enjoy it, I think it means that I can go do others things and it will be ready and waiting when I do come back. I say give it some time, perhaps you can offer to teach someone what you know and be mentor or find a Charity to quilt for. It is ok to no longer have an interest in a hobby after, don’t feel bad.

Like you I have sewn just about everything. I just love sewing and have done so all my life. As kids have grown and no longer need toys or cute outfits I still have the desire to work with fabric. Quilts give me the reward of creating something. Some are beautiful (in my eye ). Some turn out just plain ugly. There are plenty of places to donate to. Recipients will find what appeals to them and hopefully find warmth and love wrapped in one of my quilts. That warms my heart

I like making quits better than clothing because:

One can make a quilt whatever size one wants and one can usually find someone that will want/use it.

I like making quilts better than "crafty" things like stuffed Christmas trees because:

I think quilts are comparatively useful.

But - I have done not much of anything for the past couple of years sewing wise.

I didn't start out making quilts but when I knew I would be out of commission for 12 weeks due to foot surgeries I just by accident found out about embroidery machines back in 2000 so I bought one. Then afterwards I started going to an embroidery class at JoAnn's and met some wonderful gals, a mother and daughter duo. From then on, the mother enjoyed making quilts more so than embroidery so one day she decided to go up and check out Viking's MegaQuilter 9" on an Inspira frame. I went with her and decided to jump in on the band wagon but changed out to a Grace Pro frame instead. That was the start of my quilting history. From there on I moved up to larger machines, added robotis and now finally my last machine is the Innova with IQ robotics. I still do embroidery and even have a wedding ring quilt (blocks only) up on the design wall waiting to be put together.

I also make clothes and still have a good supply of dress fabrics though I have to admit I haven't made any clothes in some time since moving up to Iowa from Florida after I retired. I just enjoy making a quilt to give to some one as it says how much that person means to me when they receive it.

That road trip idea is wonderful! So many people would love your lovingly made quilts and the warmth they give them both physically and emotionally. Thank you for an idea to strive to do!

I made a few clothes for my boys when they were little and did crafty things but nothing has satisfied me the way quilting has.
In fact, last summer I made a romper for my baby granddaughter and it turned out awful! I'm just not into it I guess. On the other hand, I've made her toys and quilts which gave me a lot of joy. I just do what brings me that joy and it happens to be quilting. While I'm working on a project I already have one or more in my head!

I like quilting because you can break all the rules regarding prints and color! Stripes next to polka dots nexts to florals for the win.

Also, like others have said, unlike clothing or home decor, a finished quilt is always the right size.

I've sewn since I was a kid and wound up teaching all levels of sewing on the college level. Used to wake up in the middle of the night so I'd have time to sew. Now that I'm retired, I no longer need the clothes I did, and discovered quilting at a wearable art fashion show. I was hooked! That has morphed into making art quilts, rarely clothes. I still love fabric. It's magical. I've also discovered alcohol ink painting and love that, too. Thanks to the generous teachers on YouTube I've learned that you can do it even without an art background.

My needs and desires have changed with retirement, but fabric still makes my heart beat faster. Meetings at a quilt guilt could get your enthusiasm back.

I like quilting because it constantly fascinates and surprises me to watch the pieces of fabric unfold into something beautiful that I actually created with my own hands.

I began making quilts over 35 years ago because after much frustration sewing clothes I realized I wasn't very good at making them fit. Quilts looked easier because they're flat. I've since learned that even with quilts there are skills necessary to MAKE them lie flat! But it's been a learning curve for me, and an enjoyable one. Today I quilt for my family and for charity. It's a wonderful way to explore all my ideas about color and design, and I'm excited to try new techniques that I've learned. There is always one more tool, one more method to learn, or one more style to master.

It sounds to me that even with your reasons for quilting, the root is that you love how the process of quilting makes you feel. And how wonderful it is to create something and feel so accomplished you want to just keep doing it.

I think it's that feeling that I no longer have, that I long to have, and that I am missing, with sewing at least. Maybe it is time for a change.

Thank you so much!

People change. Needs change. It is okay to leave "something" behind that is no longer useful/necessary to/for you.

I pretty much do anything with fabric. I make clothing, purses, drapes and curtains, pillow, wearable art and quilts. I've even made my husband fender covers for his car so he won't scar the paint when he's working on it. I prefer quilting and wearable art, but do most anything.

cause it's fun and relatively easy - and you don't have to worry about it not quite fitting or looking good on you when you are done.

I really loved cooking for a while, but switched to quilting because I'm never tempted to eat my mistakes.

In my culture, there is a custom not to wear new clothes for a year after the death of a parent (amongst several other signs of mourning). Having been an avid garment sewer for decades, I decided upon the death of my dad in 2017, that I would neither purchase nor sew clothes for myself for the whole year.

As the acute stages of grief started to wear off, I found myself longing to be creative at the sewing machine, and the quilting bug started to take hold.

I don’t think I’ll quilt forever. After all, there are only so many ‘blankets’ one needs. And considering the time and money invested in their creation, there just aren’t that many people I would deem quilt-worthy!

I’ll only do it as long as I enjoy it. And then I won’t.

It’s been a while since I’ve made a quilt. I have made totes, pillows, placemats, table runners, etc. I don’t know when the next quilt will be made. Am I still a quilter?

There are a few patterns on the wish list if that counts.

I love to make quilts because I don't have to worry about whether its going to fit a person's shape as you do when making clothing.

I like to sew a lot of different things. Simple tote bags, purses, wallets, clothing, curtains, pillowcases, stuffed animals. you name it. I've been sewing for over 50 years. I also make a lot of quilts. Right now I'm making clothing for my neighbors grandchild with special needs. I donate a lot to charity, there is always a need. My next project will be stuffed animals for holiday gifts. I'll be making quilts too, there is always a place to donate them to.

I started out back in 1980 something sewing county dolls for a local craft store. They sold very well, and I know for sure some have reached the shores of Germany, and Scotland, while others remained here in many of our states. My children were very little then, and it was a way to make extra money for their needs. I've made clothing for the boys when they were little and dresses for my daughter too. When they were in grade school, I worked nights in a factory. My second husband passed away in 2008 and the kids were grown by then and I needed something to do after being laid off from my factory job in 2008 (wasn't everyone?), and so I started sewing again. One thing led to another, and there were baby quilts being made, and then bed sized quilts for my friends and family. A few years back I found Project Linus and it seemed like the perfect thing to do. I've tried to quit quilting several times because of the expense, but I keep going back to it. It keeps me busy and out of trouble... most days!

I like the math part of designing quilts. I haven't bought patterns much because I have so many ideas! I like figuring out how to create things. I enjoy making stuff to decorate the house. The Pantry Pads I made were mini quilts, and they're festive and functional. I fell in love with kaleidoscope quilts. The ending block was always a surprise. My first quilts were appliqued blocks that used my original stained glass patterns. The two hobbies are somewhat related. My workroom is set up for both activities, and I share my time between the projects started in both areas. Of course, I also live near the coast, so quilting is not my only hobby.

Why do I quilt? Well, I love the process of blending fabrics, colors and above all the geometry of it. I not a math whiz and never have been but I enjoy the puzzle of taking a pattern on a piece of paper and turning it into something warm, snugly and beautiful. I have sewn since I was about 7 starting with a McCall's pattern for a Shirley Temple Doll. My mom figured that if I could read, I could sew and I did! I have done alterations, dressed my children, made adult garments, and generally tried most needle crafts all with good success. I seldom make garments, only repairs now and again to extend its life. I can walk by cross stitch, home decor items or knitting/crochet and not even blink.,But quilting, just caught my heart and my passion to create. A quilt or quilt pattern will draw me in and I start planning what I could do with it. Quilting has caught my heart and my passion to create. To me it is a joy and the "work" results in pleasure.

I haven't sewn nearly as long as you but I've had months of inactivity in sewing and have been instantly re-inspired, just as much, if not more, than before. For me, the "feeling" of enjoyment is there when I'm planning to create something special for someone else. It's the giving part that drives my satisfaction in quilting.

I love picking out the colors and seeing them pieced together into a particular block pattern. Quilting is good therapy for me. I enjoy making quilts for my grandchildren. Recently made a pineapple block quilt with 1930s reproduction fabric for my daughter and she loved it. Quilts are great memories to pass on and heirlooms too. I have done embroidery, cross stitch (not any more, too hard on my eyes), crewel, knitting and crocheting. I have made clothes too and done other crafts with fabric. I have incorporated some embroidery into a quilt and still putter around with crocheting. Quilting is the hardest of all with the most work but the most fun and satisfying to me.

This question is very timely as I have been reassessing my interest in quilting. I started quilting about 40 years ago. I liked quilting because when I sewed two pieces of fabric together, they stayed sewn until I got back to it -- which may be the next day, next month or next year. I got rid of all my other hobbies, mostly embroidery and needlepoint, because it was hard to remember where I left off, but with quilting it was easy to pick it back up. Because of my lack of free time, by the time I made everyone in my family a quilt, they had begun to wear out and I had to start over again. So I felt that I was doing something useful with my time. Then I retired. Now I am all caught up on replacement quilts and I am struggling to find homes for the ones I have made from my stash. But I don't know what I would do to replace quilting.

But I really enjoy making purses, tote bags and small wallets. I may change my hobby to bag making, but at the end of day how many bags can you make? Maybe then my family will need more quilts.

I think people who like to quilt are satisfying their need to create, whatever that may be. I'm just finishing a T-shirt quilt and feel it may be my last. It was a challenge and if it were not for a grandchild I don't think I would have tackled it. I now do mostly small quilt projects as have all the quilts I want - either to gift or for myself. Some people have a passion for cooking, painting, embroidery, crewel, puzzles, reading, flowers, or whatever else they enjoy. Just do what you want, especially as you get older.

I don't "only" quilt. I sew clothes a good bit too. I love having 3 grandchildren to sew for now, and they are proud of their "BonBon Made" clothes. I was a garment seamstress decades before I found quilting. I also love to make bags and have made them for gifts for family and for myself. I'm a knitter and crocheter, and like hand embroidery too... for towels and quilt blocks. I found quilting when a friend was going in for chemo treatment and I wanted to encourage her. Her quilt had scriptures about healing all over it. She said she took it with her every time she went in for treatment and it gave her comfort. After just that one quilt, I saw the possibility of ministering to people's needs with quilts. I was hooked on making them.

There are always charitable outlets for our sewing, whether it be quilts, clothes for poor children in foreign countries, toys for the fire dept. to give out when they encounter children in trauma situations. So many things to sew and so little time!

BUT, Nancy, if the passion has left you, you should find something else you enjoy doing with your time. You certainly don't have to sew. No judgement here!

I started sewing my clothes back in 10th grade. 9 kids in our family, and dad was also helping to support his mom, and my mom's dad. There wasn't any money left for school clothes. Skirts, dresses and jackets were pretty easy for me to do. Over the years I did kids clothes, sports clothes, curtains, pillows, and all kinds of mending. Crafting of all sorts, and then quilting came later with utility quilts for the kids beds. The last few years I discovered I love the challenge of making something that is way out of my wheelhouse. I see something, fall in love with it, and think "I can do that!" Often the process is long and throw in the towel kind of tough, but I keep going. When I finish, I can't believe that I made that! I find the process stimulating, and so satisfying. I think quilting affects us all differently. We each feel the passion differently.

I love fabric. The color. The way it feels in my hands. The way it drapes. I love fabric. My mother, aunt, and grandmother got me started sewing on an ancient black Singer. Had my first sewing class in 8th grade and have been sewing ever since. Clothes for myself, my kids, my animals. Back in the 90s I sorta ran out of people to sew for, so I started making dolls and animals. Then one night by accident I picked up a doll magazine that was featuring porcelain dolls--big ones--and I was smitten. For a long while I made those 30-40" lavish, ravishing ladies. They sold well until HSN crashed and burned the market with their cheap imported crap from China. Suddenly no one was interested in dolls, so I floundered around for quite a while. I had always made quilts--but for family, not for sale. So now I'm back making quilts. Haven't sold anything yet, but that's okay. It just feels so good being creative again and having a firm direction and goals. Quilting makes me feel useful...and the results are gorgeous and unique and all my own.

Rusty :D

I have been sewing for almost 60 years. I love the creativity of starting with a flat piece of fabric and turning it into something useful. It gives me a sense of satisfaction and also pride, that little ole me could make that. Although I've made many things over the years my passion before quilting was making baby heirloom garments. I loved when the moms would send a photo back of their children in a gown I made. I was hand embroidering them or smocking.
Then I got my first embroidery machine. My niece did bus tours and I have traveled with her all over the east and southern coasts, from Maine to Florida to Louisiana. Then in Canada. We would fly the group to Maine and then get a bus to take up into Canada. She would play games on the bus and every trip I made 85-90 gifts for the prizes. Most were embroidery, but not all.
At one point my niece's cousin asked me to join her quilting group. I visited but thought I just didn't have time to make a quilt. The group also made QOV quilts. When they presented my husband with a quilt, I was so proud. I brought my machine to the next meeting in 2019 and the rest is history. I have always loved giving and this fulfilled the receivers need and mine, because we also make for children charities.
I love sewing. It is therapy for me. It soothes my soul, whereas other people that don't sew much, says it makes them nervous or they struggle to get something made. I know it's not for everybody. I have had thought recently to stop and clean out my space, but I know I would wither away, if my machines were taken away from me. I hope you find the passion and fulfillment that I have had so many years, for sewing and quilting again. We all go through slumps. If it is not something you enjoy anymore, then finds something that replaces the joy you once had with this hobby. Just don't sit and wither.

Most of the women in my life sewed so I grew up with it. I sewed most of my own school clothes in the ‘60s and beyond. I sewed a sport coat for my husband & dresses and tailored blazers for myself to wear to work. I loved working with wool. I sewed a blazer & skirt from tweed looking corduroy & remember getting so many compliments on it. My tailored blazers always had shoulder pads & full lining. Our daughter never had a dress from the store. Time went on and I don’t remember the last time I made garments. My godmother made a baby quilt for each of the kids and my Grandma made them bed size quilts so no need for me to do that.

Life got busy and I never made quilts until I retired at 56 then I started to help our church ladies make mission quilts. They were pretty bad, using donated clothes and worn out sheets. It was my first quilting experience.
We moved and found a new church with an amazing quilting department. Now I make tops by the dozens for local giving. My favorite is the children’s quilts that go to Social Services and the ones that go to human traffic victims.

I’ve always had a love of fabric & the feel of it in my hands.