I am confused, but...
 

I met a woman that told me that she was a piecer but her mother was a quilter. What is the difference? I piece quilts and quilt them as well, so I guess I am confused as to what I really am. I suppose it doesn't matter but I am confused and she said it kind of funny like maybe they were a little above the rest of us, so I shut up and let her talk. Any ideas as to what she meant??

Ive heard that a piecer only does tops, while a quilter does the top, the sandwich, the quilting and the binding. I do it all, so i call myself a quilter of warm hugs but whatever part of the process you do, you're still a quilter in definition.

what? some people think they know everything. Believe me, they do not. maybe her Mother only hand did hers. joining, basting, and quilting. Good for her if that is right. Still, I'm a quilter and don't do that.

I wonder if her mom is a long arm quilter?? Just a thought

Read the post "How to Define Myself"!

I do wish we had a different name for the sewing-all-three-layers-together aspect of quilting. It would make it easier when looking for things online, or explaining the process to non-quilters. I imagine this lady makes tops but does not quilt them, while her mother does quilt them. (But that doesn't mean she also makes tops. Such confusing terminology.) I suspect (but don't actually know) that early quilt-makers called making the tops piecing, or applique, and only used the term quilting to refer to sewing the layers together. But since the final result is a quilt, over time we've used the term 'quilting' to refer to anything related to producing a quilt. Just a guess.

If she only does piecing of tops, she is a quilter, but she is certainly not above you, regardless! If anything, someone who makes a quilt in its entirety (like you do) has a larger skill set. Maybe she just meant that she and her mom are a quilting team? Or that her mom can do it all, but she herself only pieces? It's hard for me to imagine why she'd have a superior tone unless she was trying to exalt her mom as the better quilter of the two? ? Who knows?

That's the way I read it: Mom is the more accomplished of the two, and daughter was stating that.

As a side note.....I had a friend in our quilt club that only pieced tops......for the 10 years I knew her.....and for longer before I met her. . If she was giving one for her grandkids for a gift, she paid a long arm quilter. She didnt do that much because that was expensive. Then, believe it or not, her husband retired, they bought a long arm, and HE began to quilt. Each club meeting she brought in a couple, then a couple more, (she had over 150 quilt tops). He became a master quilter from that practice and they became so happy that they had something in common. He really made her tops look spectacular......So is she a piecer and him a quilter? who cares....they make a great, happy team!

Some people prefer to call themselves 'piecers' because they have no interest in quilting a quilt, so it's a more accurate description of the part of quiltmaking they enjoy. I don't think it's a big deal. It says something about how the person views herself, not about how she views others.