hand quilting vs machine quilting
 

My husband and I have been having an extended discussion! I'm making a very, very large mariners compass...at his request. He wants me to add borders, more details, etc. to make this into a queen sized quilt. Then he wants me to hand quilt the whole thing and I'm just having a hissy fit about it. I am trying to convince him that most people machine quilt or hire a LAQ to do the huge quilts. He has made me a gorgeous cherry quilting frame...and I do appreciate it, but I don't feel like spending months hand quilting a quilt while leaning over this frame. His mother was an excellent quilter and did everything by hand.....many, many years ago. He thinks this is the way it still should be done. I feel I should say...pick up a needle and you do the quilting then! Can you tell I'm upset? I've done a lot of handquilting on lap and baby quilts, but the thought of doing a queen sized quilt just overwhelms me. I really believe hand quilting is a lovely art, but I don't feel like it's the only way to end up with a beautiful quilt. SO....I told him I would take a survey and see what the rest of you think.
How many of you still hand quilt, or do you do some by hand, some by machine, and some by LAQ? I think he needs to see some answers in print to realize I"m not the only woman that feels this way. He's such a wonderful husband, but on this subject....we totally see things differently. HELP! What is your opinion?

If your husband absolutely insists that it be hand quilted, tell him you're worried that you wouldn't be able to do it justice, and send it out to be hand quilted. There ARE quilters out there who will hand-quilt for a fee.

This is not the age of husband's duties and wifely duties. Husbands have been emancipated also. They cook, clean, take care of children, etc. They also quilt. Ask any number of the men on this board. If he feels so strongly about hand quilting, show him how to "stab" quilt and let him enjoy his new hobby. It will be a his and hers quilt. You pieced, he quilted. If he's not that emancipated in 2012,, then shame on him.

So true! And he's not this way about anything else. He cooks, bakes, cleans, etc as much as I do. I think it's an emotional issue to keep the tradition going...his mom has Alzheimers and can't do this anymore. We have 20 quilts she's made, but they're getting older and worn out. I know he'll eventually see my opinion in a good light...I just wanted to know how others feel about hand quilting/machine. Is one really better than the other? I don't think so.

Hand him a needle and thread , and a practice sandwich!
If you do not want to hand quilt it , and I really don't blame you, let him know that it would tarnish what started as a labor of love into drudgery., but add once his skills are up to the task , you would not mind doing it together.
At the end of a bed size quilt , I give myself a gift....I send it to a PRO!

I agree with Lori S. If you are dreading hand quilting it, you might not ever get it done. You know, those jobs we hate that get pushed back. I machine quilt. I have done 1 hand quilted project. I did like it afterwards, but it takes way to long for me and I am not that good at it.
My vote: machine quilt (if this is what YOU want)

I do a lot of hand quilting but I wouldn't want to hand quilt a queen size mariners compass. There are too many seams in that to hand quilt thru. Besides it would take forever, don't know about you but I don't have endless hours to spend on hand quilting every day. I would like to be able to enjoy my quilt while I'm still able. Just think, the money you save in chiropractic bills can be used to pay the LAQ.

I machine quilt all the ones I make....

At the quilt shows aren't machine and hand quilted in different catagories, one is not considered better than the other, just different.

If I had to hand quilt I wouldn't be quilting

Wow - what an honor that he has made this quilt frame w/ you in mind. Does he ask for much? Even if this takes forever to quilt by hand, is that so bad? You are so lucky to have a husband that takes an interest in your hobby - so many men don't.

I am a hand quilter, and don't machine quilt. And the 2 are not the same. To him there may be something kismit like that his mother hand quilted and his wife quilts and can hand quilt.

Wouldn't it be an honor to finish this quilt that the 2 of you created in a way that was important to him?

LAQ for me!

tell him that when he cooks on a wood stove you will hand quilt.

I do all hand quilting and I do it for others as well, in all sizes. For a intricate masterpiece like a Mariner's Compass, I would recommend hand quilting. It sounds like it is going to be an heirloom.

You make some very good points. I think I'm liking the idea of offering to teach him to hand quilt and make it into a joint project....but the LAQ is still sort of calling my name. At 63, I think I'm getting a little lazy about some things. I spent so many years teaching and now I'm enjoying things that I just couldn't fit in before...quilting, reading, canasta, sailing. I tend to like to spend my time doing things I enjoy rather than something I feel pressured into doing. But doing the quilting together may be a good compromise. Now, I hope he doesn't try to get me into his woodworking activities.

I used to hand quilt up to a baby quilt-we got a long arm and will never hand quilt again.I needed 2 carpal tunnel operations-hand quilting was part of the reason.We have machines now-use them.I agree tell him to do it

I hand quilt, but faced with how you feel, I would start showing him pictures of beautifully machine-quilted quilts. Unless you really enjoy hand quilting, it would be a waste of your time. Machine quilt it, and do something you enjoy with your time. You've earned it.

Janet

I WILL hand quilt...and I'm pretty good at it...but I am also EXPENSIVE at it! I would charge at least $1,000 for a queen sized quilt...and I wouldn't recommend that you have me do it unless it's a very, very meaningful quilt to you.

Otherwise? That's exactly why I have a longarm!!

I only hand quilt, men do quilt so if he wants this hand quilted teach him how and he may like it and do it together. I also do hand quilting for others.

me too!!!!

I hand quilted a queen size quilt that my SIL pieced for me--It's beautiful. That said, it took me over a year to quilt it and I will never hand quilt another one. I don't have a LA, do all my quilting on my Janome 6600. I also want that almost instant gratification of getting the quilt completed quickly.

Some of hand quilt, some of us machine quilt, others send them out to be hand or machine quilted. Each to their own and there really isn't any clear answer as to which is better. It is a matter of preference. I can always tell if it is machine quilted. I do prefer hand quilted.....but that is my preference. For some reason, machine quilted just seems "assembly line" to me, but then again that is just my take on it and I don't mean that to be derrogatory in any manner toward anyone.

Handquilting is someting you have to really want to do because it is so time consuming. I have hand quilted 2 queen sized quilts. I like to handquilt at least one quilt a year over the Winter. However, I also enjoy machine quilting just as much or better because it is so much faster.

NO ! No Way would I hand quilt a queen size quilt. I would either quilt it on my sewing machine or send it out. There are women who hand quilt a queen for about $300 or more. Let your husband either start quilting, send it out for someone else to hand quilt it or you do it your way. I'm not too good about having my DH decide my work load.

I used to hand quilt, but my wrists & thumbs won't let me anymore. I think that machine quilting can be as beautiful as hand. So my vote is for machine quilting, unless, as others have mentioned, you make it a joint effort with your dh.

Has your DH seen any quilts that were machine quilted by professionals? Does he realize how beautiful they can be? Does he realize that they are just as much heirloom-worthy as hand quilted items? Perhaps you could take him to one of the big quilt shows. I fully appreciate hand quilting, but if it's not what you want to do then you should be able to convince him to either learn to hand quilt or let you send the quilt out to the LAQ.

I use to hand quilt and the last one took me 2 yrs to finish, fingers got mighty sore. I bought a sewing machine with a bigger throat and learned how to machine quilt and have not looked back. At 66 yrs old I just want to make quilts and use up some of my fabrics.
I tell my Husband of 50yrs. if he wants to do something he can do it, I don't let him pick out things for me to do. Just the way I am.

There is a larger issue here and one which probably can't be solved with getting the opinions of other quilters. There is an emotional issue going on. Is he wanting it hand quilted or for YOU to hand quilt it. It appears he definitely wants it hand quilted because emotionally he believes that is the ony authentic way to do it.
The suggestion to find someone else to hand quilt it is a good one if he would agree to that. On the other hand he built a frame for you.....am glad I am not in this position. I'm not sure what I would do.

This is often a very emotionally charged topic. I've seen people equally passionate about both techniques.

I prefer hand quilting myself, because I love the process and it is very calming to me. However, I have been steadily improving my free-motion machine skills on my old Bernina Record 830 over the last couple of years, and am awed by machine work at each show I attend.

Here's a suggestion:
Since you do have that wonderful quilt frame, why not teach your hubby to hand quilt and then BOTH of you sit down at the frame a couple of times a week TOGETHER? It's a good compromise, and a way to get some quality bonding time in as well.

They did a lot of things different years ago.. Maybe his mother had more time back then.
I would not be hand quilting a quilt that huge...

I hand quilt and love it.
Most of my quilts are Queens.
4 in 2010 for my Grands,
2 in 2011 for my son and a neighbor, &
1 so far this year, but started in 2011
just to see what one for the tops I sold
earlier on the board looked like...

J J

[QUOTE=Tartan;4930850]I do enjoy hand quilting but I am slow at it. A queen size would take me about a year. If he doesn't mind seeing it sitting there on the frame, I would do a block a week. It is the same as the saying, "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time." I love having several projects going at one time so I would quilt a block and then move on to other things the rest of the week. I guess I have a short attention span and I get bored if I work at something too long. That being said, do what feels "right" for you. Quilting is supposed to be our joy not drudgery.[/QUOTE/]

Took the words right out of my mouth!

I hand quilt some and others I have machine quilted. Mariners Compass I would have machine quilted due to the number of seams in it. The size of the quilt doesn't bother me since I have hand quilted a king size.

I think I'd have to tell him to grab his needle and thread and use the beautiful frame he'd made me.

OR

Let me send it out to be machine quilted.

Is the quilting frame a frame that he uses to apply pressure? It doesn't sound as if it came with no strings attached. Just as we can't go home again, we can't go back in time, and we can't be our husband's mother. Would he be happy trying to be exactly like your father in some way?

I think you have received some sound advice. Having lost my grandmother, two aunts and my mother to Alzheimer's I understand the desire to hang on to what is rapidly slipping away. Look for opportune moments to gently question his reason for the frame gift and hand quilting request. Ask brief questions and listen for what he is not saying as well as what he says. Just don't sit him down for a big discussion on the topic. Just keep pondering the possibilities of how each method will look and ask his thoughts and listen, listen listen. You will make the right choice for both of you if you reach it together.