Fun at local quilt show.
 

I was next to a group of six younger ladies, I'd say late 20's. As we were walking down the rows one said why does everyone still make such old fashioned quilts. She was looking a beautiful Baltimore Album type quilt. The others agreed. One said it has too much fabric. LOL. The scrappy quilts got frowns from them too but said it must have taken a long time to make them. Then the modern pattern quilts got them all happy. I would say without asking, no one in their families made quilts.
But they did come to the show so that's a start.

I was gonna say, why were they there in the first place? Lol. But you're right, it's a start!

I admire the modern quilts made by the artsy people wishing I could let this old mind expand in that way but it's the scrappy and the traditional quilts that pull me in to look at the details. It will be interesting to see what direction quilting takes in the next 30, 40 or 50 years.

I bet if someone did a quilt of emojis, they would love that.:D

It is probably just the new generation that doesn't understand the satisfaction that us quilters get from sewing "old fashion" quilts. Maybe you are right-just going to the quilt show is a start and will give them a jump start on quilting.

Well, there's always going to be generation gaps and personal sense of what looks pretty... :) I guess at just over 50 I am in the 'transition' generation where both modern and traditional are equally beautiful to me. Not every one of either, of course! With any luck they got some sense of quilting history, and were able to admire it from the standpoint of the set of skills it takes to do traditional style quilts.

How fun. I always think it's great to see young people interested in quilts (or antiques in antique malls!). A number of years ago I was worried quilting might fade into the distance because it was pretty much older people doing it.

It is a true shame most girls don't even know how to hem a dress much less make a quilt. Many of our schools hardly teach home economics or music any more. How are they to value anything the governing officials don't care about.
It seems to me that our country is on the brink of a big change. Hopefully they will come to enjoy quilting for the artful expression sake of it.

I didn't say in the first post but they were there to buy a quilt. Don't know why. One young lady said they wanted a real quilt not one sold in a store. another LOL. They thought all the quilts would be for sale at a quilt show. I suggested they go to the vendors that had quilts in the booths made to sell.

While I love to look at/admire the talent/work/skills of the maker of more difficult to make quilts, I only love to make easy quilts.

Yes, I have an attention span problem.:thumbup:

ha, ha. they wanted to see how the other half lived? oh well, they made it. Quilts stick to you!!

Hey, I give them credit for knowing the difference between the quilts we make and the Chinese imports you can buy for $50. Maybe they have prior experience with the one eighth inch seams shredding and the quilts falling apart in the first wash. A quilter I know has been approached to "fix" one of those disasters, lol. She said, "No can do. There're no seam allowances. You get what you pay for, sorry."

I've only been quilting for a few months... Sewed my whole life thanks to a seamstress grandma and my mother who could rival my grandmother's skills. The quilt that inspired me was in a live auction at a fundraising event in the town next to us. And yes I bought it for far less than I think it's really worth but it is loved in my house :-) You can never beat hand made quality.[ATTACH=CONFIG]601353[/ATTACH]

while they were perhaps less informed than most of us, I think it's great that they were there looking at quilts! While I admire the precision that goes into traditional quilts like a Baltimore Album (and would whole heartedly welcome the gift of one!) I too prefer many of the modern quilts. I think part of that is due to my love of quilting--and the way modern quilts typically have so much "negative space" to quilt away in.

When I first started quilting, I was ‘all about’ the modern quilts. Now that I’ve been quilting for several years, I’ve come to appreciate and love more traditional quilting.

For years I wanted to learn how to make a quilt but I just didn't like the "old fashioned " style especially because my home decor was totally modern. Then once I started just like sewbizgirl said I began to love traditional as well as the modern. Here I am 20 plus years and I make whatever design draws me to it.

Love the beautiful house quilt! I can appreciate the amount of work that goes into a Baltimore Album, but I have too short of an attention span to make one myself. Currently working on a Hunters Star and after 36 blocks it's starting to wear on me.

Kind of like you can buy just about anything you want but some things are like homemade bread versus store bought bread. Which do you prefer?

And, I remember standing behind ladies at a quilt show in Lancaster, PA in the early '90's who said that machine quilted quilts shouldn't be allowed in the show! Ladies, we have come a long way, haven't we? I, for one, love them all! I always aspire to new things. I hope you are, also.

Our daughter lives in Paducah and we go to the big Quilt Show every year. My husband said the first year that he thought the average age of the quilters was about 70. Fast forward to last year and he said that there were much younger ladies there - they had orange or blue or green or fuschia colored hair with tattoos and lots of piercings. Don't know what kinds of quilts they were interested in though - probably the modern ones.

Outstanding, beautiful quilt. Wow!

When I started quilting in the 80's they were mostly traditional but I've evolved since then. I love a lot of the modern designs and have started FMQ. I love it all.

Eventually our modern quilts are going to be in the antique category. Would be interesting to hear comments about them

My wife is part of the in between generation - likes some of the modern and also likes many traditional quilts.

We've seen many beautiful examples of both in quilt shows and shops in various states over the years.

How can we encourage these young people to get involved? The youth are the future of quilting.

I found out that the daughter of a young family in the neighbour was taking sewing lessons. I was very surprised and hoping to encourage her to continue I passed on thread and fabric to her.

I"m finding the the new generation doesn't do much with their hands. They don't make or create much at all. I find that really sad. My husband was part of the truck group and I was surprised and impressed that there was a group of younger guys that actually worked on their own vehicles and not just for repairs but for perforrnance mods. It used to be the norm that people knew how to make things and do things with their hands, but it doesn't seem to be any more.

Cyndi W-I love that quilt!

What a unique and wonderful quilt. Beautiful and thanks for sharing.

I have a blended family of seven; my 4 children (3 daughters and 1 son) and my husbands 3 children (one daughter and 2 sons). All are married. Out of that mix, one daughter in law has shown some interest in quilting.

They all have an appreciation of arts and crafts and love what I create, however, they do not sew, mend, or hem or have much to do with a needle and thread be it hand or machine, except the previously mentioned daughter. All are extremely busy folks and time is precious to them. In this instant gratification society of my family members, somehow the quilting or creative bug got lost.

But I have two granddaughters that love it and are constantly in my sewing studio, so I guess all is not lost!