Beginner, Novice or Expert
 

Just curious, when does one move from a beginner to novice and then onto an expert/advanced quilter?

I've been quilting for nearly ten years and I have always tried to push my comfort zone. I feel like I'm pretty good at it all, but I still kind of think of myself as a novice. To me an expert/advanced quilter is one who makes those stunning art quilts one sees at the International Quilt Fest.

I would be interested at what you all think. :)

There should be another category for those that make the beautiful quilts shown at the International Quilt Fest. They should be considered professionals. Some are teachers, write patterns and actually quilt for the public. This is their job and livelihood. They are a level above the rest of us and most of us will never, ever attain that.

I consider an advanced quilter someone who can do paper piecing and wonderful hand turned applique. An expert to me is one who understands almost all things quilting and can read any quilting pattern and make a quilt with it and teach those methods to others.

I consider myself to be an advanced novice. I can do paper piecing, hate handwork so will never be able to do truly beautiful applique but can do the applique as raw edge. I tend to rewrite the pattern instructions so I have a difficult time actually following a pattern. For instance, if a pattern calls for 2 HST's that end up with a flying goose in the center, then I do a flying goose instead. This always takes me longer than if I would just do what the pattern said. My friends say I am too picky. I cannot say that I disagree with them. "smile"

That's a hard one. I'm really good at some things (hand quilting) and not so good at others (FMQ)- still practicing a lot of FMQ because it's so different from what I'm used to.
I can't design a pattern to save my life and doubt if I ever will. It's such a great skill to have.
So I guess I'm different "titles" for different categories :)

It's just semantics, but to me novice & beginner mean the same thing, so I use the term 'intermediate'. However, what I'm really striving for is a 'No Unquilted Top' quilter! I agree with Barb. Those international quilt show winners are in their own category!

I think labels are all subjective. I guess if I had to describe my skill level to someone, I would say "competent". I can sew curves, match seams, and deconstruct quilts (figure out how they're made) fairly easily.

I consider myself an intermediate quilter. I'm beyond a beginner but nowhere near an expert. I also dislike handwork but I'm pretty good at machine applique, just don't care much for it. I just made the Tri Me quilt made with 7" bias triangles and didn't lose a single point so I'm happy with where I'm at.

Cari

Intermediate and advanced novice are good terms indeed. I guess I fall into that category. I can paper piece and FMQ fairly well for "home-use" but I'm too nervous to enter anything into a show. I'm not one for much handwork either. If I can do it by machine I will!

I have been putting myself through this same mental assessment. Seems soon as I feel like I've crossed the hump and feel like a honest to goodness quilter something goes array and my self assessment hits the bricks.
I face the reality that I will never be a artistic type quilter, my patterns will always be simple, I have little interest in applique, little patience for hand quilting. I do push myself on each project to work on, improve some aspect of my abilities and I do have quilting goals. I grade myself as a low average. When I gift quilts I throw in the disclaimer "I do NOT make heirlooms, my quilts are made for loving and using".
I also find I may go months between quilts which probably slows my quilting progress.

Isn't beginner and novice the same thing? I see beginner, intermediate, advanced, and professional as the main categories. The way to progress is to do what you are doing: Learn the skill necessary to do a good job and then push the envelope and tackle more advanced projects. You can be advanced in one area and beginner in another.

I think you can be expert or advanced in some aspects of quilting, but not in others. It seems to me that there is so much to quilt making that it would be hard for anyone (even those folks who win at the big shows) to be expert in all aspects of this wonderful art form.

I consider myself to be: a. pretty good at de-constructing a quilt and figuring out how to make it, b. terrible at following someone else's directions-- the most recent example being my convergence quilt mangle LOL-- so I generally design my own rather than use other people's patterns c. I can get the job done with most piecing, but it takes me a lot longer and more tries to get perfect alignment than it would for someone who has precision piecing skills, d. I'm okay at paper piecing on easy patterns, (think Peggy Martin's quick strip paper piecing) e. very adventuresome when it comes to improvisational piecing and quilting,--these are my strong points. f. very adventuresome when it comes to experimenting with materials and free motion quilting- another strong point. g. absolutely not interested in hand quilting (I don't like doing any hand work, though I do hand sew the binding to the back if a quilt is meant for a show). So, how does any of this stack up in terms of Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced or Expert? I haven't a clue, but I do actively pursue new skills and challenges which keeps me happy :cool::sew::sew::sew::sew::sew::sew::sew:

Rob