I think there will always be hand-quilters in the same way people will always hand embroider, even though there are now machines for that too. I recently took an online hand quilting class. Here is the link to my finished piece. I enjoyed doing it and would do it again on the right quilt.

http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...g-t164427.html

I think machine quilting and hand quilting are different, and I don't see one as being in competition with the other. I like the look of machine quilting for some quilts, but think hand quilting is preferable for others, and vice versa. Just as food processors will never make knives obsolete, quilting machines will never replace hand quilting. Each has its place.

Granted, there aren't that many hand quilted quilts being entered in shows, but there are some quilters who do enter and win. Look at the quilts of Linda Roy - she's won multiple times at Paducah and Houston. Her hand quilting is beautiful.

You don't need to do lots of microstippling to win. The quilting needs to be well designed and appropriate to the top, but those are the same criteria that machine quilting should be judged by - more doesn't mean better. I would gladly compete against longarm quilters in local shows.

Janet

I also am a hand quilter !! it is therapy for Me :)
I can just lose myself, and be thrill I have made something with my Hands, to be proud of :)
Happy hand quilter in Texas :)

What a GHASTLY thought, dreadful over machined quilts only,a total nightmare, NEVER with me. UGH!

My sister and I both took shorthand in school and I used mine for years and still do once in a while. But it was funny this subject came up because just Thursday, she and I were discussing Christmas lists and who had who's name (with lots of nosy kids around!) She asked me, "How's your shorthand?" I answered, "No idea, let's see." She wrote out her list in shorthand and I was able to read it perfectly. And the kids just stood there with mouth's open! Like the old aunts knew some kind of secret code! Very cool!
I'm working on my very first quilt and intend to do it by hand. I don't know yet if I will enjoy it or will be good at it, but I plan to give it a shot!

I still perfer to hand quilt. Love my machines, but I will never be a long armer. However, I do appreciate those who do LA.

I hand quilt, though have only met one or two others who do in my area. I love the relaxation of it and though arthritis now annoys me I still do it. I feel a real sense of accomplishment as the stitches grow. I cannot get the hang of quilting with rocking the needle with my right hand, so am a stab stitcher. The way the light plays across the quilting lines and gives them character is beautiful and machine quilting does not do that the same way.

knitting didn't fade away with machine knitting. It only made hand done items more special and valuable. It is tempting to rush to make tops, I have a whole pile of imagined ones, but hand made is an act of love poured into the finished piece.

I do appreciate many of the machine quilted things I see here and I have sent several to Charisma who is a real artist.
Mim

My humble opinion is no. There are still those who prefer hand piecing, quilting. I keep one going all the time. I love it. my Mother is 81 and it helps her to survive a limited income.

I find hand quilting most relaxing, I have a friend who tells me she would not waste her time "Quilting" she always has to make some not so nice comment on what I do, this same person brags about her machine embroidery, after she proudly showed us her latest effort of an embroidered dragon my better half said"Isn't that where you just thread the machine with the right color press a few numbers and walk away".
Machine quilting has stunning results and some of the quilts on this site are amazing too but I think hand quilting gives a quilt soul but is very time consuming so lets do both and enjoy, that is what quilting is about..

I always wanted to learn to hand quilt; I love the look! I tried several times to teach myself and gave up. It felt so awkward; I guess I just wasn't ready. Recently, I set out on a mission to learn. I found videos on Youtube and read countless blogs, articles, etc. Finally, it all clicked! I bought a preprinted whole cloth for practice and finished it. Now I'm hand quilting a small quilt. I'm so happy I took the time, gave myself a break and went with it. In time, my stitches will become more even and if they are a little wonky here and there, well, that's the beauty of hand work!

I love to hand quilt, too. I don't like the frame set up in my family room year around, so I usually only work by hand in the winter. I am getting ready to choose a simple pattern to peice and then quilt again this winter. Fun, fun, fun!!

love to hand quilt. so relaxing, I can watch Tv, listen to radio,even visit with a friend. I do mostly kings and queens, few baby quilts, for new grand babies. I only bind the front side of binding by machine for wearability , and hand sew the other side. love to bind,its like crossing the finish line. cmaras

That is SPECTACULAR! My hand quilting will never be that beautiful!

Most of us don't bother to go down to the cow shed to milk any more either. I think to each his own. If you enjoy hand sewing or have a necessity for it, that is OK. If you like using the modern technology, that is OK too. It is the over-all effect that I go for and so I use a combination of hand and machine so that I get the best out of both worlds.There will always be those who keep the old crafts alive and those that adapt them.

I hand quilt and love the look of it.
I am not perfect,
do not try to hide my knots,
do not try for perfect stitches,
just enjoy what I am doing.

Like mine to look primitive.

J J

Pics I hope
 

Trying to post pictures again.

These have been posted before,
but thought I would send again.
#1 is churn dash
#2 is SunBonnet Sue
#3 is Transportation
#4 is Hearts & Houses
#5 is for a freiend who gradtuated the Citadel in 196757
#6 is for my sister Stars & moons

J J

I enjoy hand quilting but if no one in the younger generation learns it, it could end up like shorthand (which I still use at meetings to take notes). Another lost art is tatting. My DGM was going to teach me but when by the time I was old enough to learn, Parkinson's had taken it's hold on her.

I'm a longarm quilter, but I don't think hand quilting will ever die. I would do it if I had time. And my niece does hand quilting also. She's on this board: Kim Bohannon.

Without reading all the previous posts, I will just jump in with my 2 cents worth. I do not think that handdn quilting will ever die out until everyone can afford a long arm machine. That will probably never happen and so in cases like mine, when I can not afford to send out a quilt for a LA quilter to do, I will either do it myself on my little sewing machine or hand quilt it with my lap frame a little at a time. Just my opinion. :-)

I worry about hand quilting becomming a lost art. I belong to a quilting group and all of the members are elderly (except me of course!) and we can't seem to get anyone younger interested in learning.

I AGREE. LAs are very expensive and so is sending a quilt out to be done by someone who owns a LA (who is trying to pay for it). Things seem to be in cycles and the art of hand quilting will have a huge comeback one day!

I love to hand quilt, for me it is such a relaxing thing to do in the evenings. I hand quilted for several ladies in KY before moving back to Illinois. I loved all the different patterns and styles of their quilts. I had one dear lady who was in her 80's that still hand pieced every quilt she made and it was such a joy to quilt her quilts. I would like to do this again. But for Children's quilts, I think machine quilting is the way to go because of the usuage they get and it makes them more sturdy for "dragging around and such".
No, I do not think hand quilting will go by the wayside, because I think us diehards will keep it going.
Pat

I have 4 cousins who all hand quilt (ages 12-40) and they are not interested in doing it by domestic machine and certainly NOT by LA. I love the look and feel of hand quilting.

I still do it by hand. I'm not good with machines.

handquilting is not dead!!!!!!When I first started quilting, I handquilted the tops I pieced, but at the time working full time limited my quilting time to about an hour an evening, which was my "clearing of the mind" time........but then found I was piecing faster than I could possibly hand quilt all those tops, so tried using dm to machine quilt....too hard, sent out to a LA, looked into purchasing one and did, took early retirement from academia, and set up "shop". It is true, LA can take up much of your personal quilting time and become a full time business and then it is not doing what you love anymore-at least with me. I limit my "working" time to 4 hrs, 4 days a week, and that gives me time to "play"....I still have many of my own tops to quilt...and was thinking last week of maybe taking one and putting on my handquilting frame and spend the winter nights handquilting. This thread has certainly reinforced that thought...so that will be my personal Winter Project.......actually love the rhythm(sp) of handquilting.......thanks for the push.........

Hand quilting like many other crafts requiring a lot of time is on the downhill. It will never become a lost art but does require love of handwork. Unfortunately this is the age of the disposables and who wants to spend sever months on a lovely quilt only to give it to someone who will throw it in the washer after they use it for a picnic.

We have a handquilting group at a Senior Center and have never wanted for
a quilt. The money charged goes to the Center. Think it is here to stay.

they look so much better hand quilted and I intend to hand one in 2012. I really like machine quilted but hand quilting is here to stay.

I am very new to quilting. And sewing. I made a baby quilt a couple yrs ago, that was my first ever sewn project, and I am making a lap quilt at the moment. I sew the blocks together with machine, but sew in the ditch by hand. My problem with hand sewing is I cannot get a good small stitch, and it is by no means straight. :/

I think hand quilting in the ditch is hard to do. If you can quilt 1/4 inch outside the seam, you might find it easier. Small stitches and straightness will come with practice - the important part is that you enjoy what you are doing.

Janet

I still love hand quilting, but my wrists will not let me do very much. In our guild there are several who do nothing but hand quilting,so I think it will always be around.

I have been hand quilting for years. I may not complete many projects in any given year, but I'm not in a rush. My family is surprised when they receive a new quilt or wall hanging.

Right now I'm working on a holiday quilt, but am thinking it will be great for next year! There are so many fun things to see and do during the holidays, I will get back to quilting when I can devote the time and do a good job.

I still hand quilt but not as much as I used to. I find it relaxing but the 'time' factor dictates that I also machine quilt so I can get through my stash.

Hi: I am new to quilting. My first quilt was a log cabin and I made it all by hand. I have started to machine piece, design my own patterns, but hand quilt. I live in a small flat and enjoy hand quilting. I have made some wall hanging and trying to make a 20- 12 x 12 block quilt- maybe it might take me about six months to finish, but I will do others things. lbmyway

I hand quilt or hand tie all my quilts....

No, I don't believe it is a dying art. I do think that time is very short for most people however. I am a hand quilter with a LA simply because I can't hand quilt my quilts fast enough to keep up with all the grand kids that are being born now. I am on my second round of quilts for everyone in the family. After this last round, I do not intend to make any more until grand kids start graduating. Between now and then I am going to hand quilt all the quilts that I make for myself. These quilts will be the ones that get handed down and I can only hope that my kids have will have matured enough to realize the work that was/is being put into them. I want to showcase my best work for the future.

I would suggest offering classes to teach piecing, hand quilting their masterpieces will follow. I taught my youngest to sew this past summer and she is now going to take the leap to applique by hand. My oldest wanted to make a wall quilt for her home last winter but didn't quite want it bad enough and purchased something else "that will work". But they both question me on a regular basis. I think if we all lived close to each other they would both be well on their way to becoming quilters. I have people all the time tell me they'd love to learn to quilt and I offer but I don't think they think I'm serious. For some reason people feel that they have to have money to take classes to learn and that just isn't so. I think most of us would be happy to pass on what we know.