sewing thoughts???
 

So I am making a flannel throw for an elderly friend. Flannel fabrics. HST. I showed it to my very "non-sewing-in-any-form" sister who said: "I know you like to sew. You always have. But I don't understand why you don't just go buy a throw for $10 and call it good." Help me answer this. She is right. I could just Go Buy a throw and call it a party. So why do it! Why do I LOVE to Sew? And I do!! Always have. My husband doesn't get it. My daughter is starting to. My friends are on the fence. As are most 😄Quilting is relatively new to me (2 years) but my Bernina has been my friend for a long time... Am I alone in my feelings? Help......

You accomplish making something that no one else has made. It is unique and different. Just like your elderly friend, she has you for a friend that will take the time, care, and love to create something that no one else has made for her. She won't see it anywhere else.....it is special and made just for her. Every project is a work of love and determination to finish it for someone special. Just tell them all that you want to make something that no one else has made for any of them. Quilting is your therapy!!!!

Because you want to.






U

Think of something your sister does, that she could easily pay someone else to do, or get ready-made. Does she cook? Why doesn't she just order a pizza and call it good? Why not take the family to a restaurant for Thanksgiving and call it good?

It's okay to do these things once in awhile, but if that's what we ALWAYS do, we lose the enjoyment of the task, and the satisfaction that comes from creating.

It is an art form like creating a painting or a sculpture, only in the medium of fabrics. Quilting is very much a creative outlet for all of us.

maybe they are secretly jealous. I just realized that my mom was very jealous of everything I ever made. sad but true.
you like it coz you can do it. coz it's fun and keeps you busy. what do people do that don't have haobbies???

Sewing makes me happy. Buying a blanket wouldn't give me the same feeling of happiness and satisfaction.

All good answers! I've come to understand that those who are not crafty, creative, whatever you want to call it, just don't "get it". Everyone on this Board could go out and buy a quilt or a throw. The difference in making one and buying one is the joy of creating something and passing it on to someone who will appreciate it even more because it is handmade.

I agree with the creative spirit answer. The objective is not to make a "blanket." It's to exercise our artistic soul, challenge ourselves to a higher perfection, to mastering the difficult, or just to revel in the joy of color, fabric and pattern. Many people have a passion that makes them feel more alive, more purpose to life, happy, whatever the adjective they want to use. I think it's awesome that we have so many different passions and pursuits. Makes the world a more interesting place!

Number one ... Where can you find a throw for ten dollars that is worth anything?? And two, when something makes you happy you should not have to explain it to anyone. Right? Artistic choice and made with love means a lot more than a k mart throw. It's not like you are hanging out at a sports bar or anything.

Good answers! For me, my husband of 55 years died after a long illness. Sewing quilt tops gave me something worthwhile and satisfying to do. Plus I have been blessed to be able to share the quilt tops with family members. I made more than 20 but I lost count.

Why do you even have to answer? Do what makes you happy, please yourself, quilting and other crafts and hobbies are good for you (and the recipients). Besides you are saving the planet and your sanity:)

A year from now, that $10 throw will mean absolutely nothing to anyone.

For the same reason my daughter sits at her spinning wheel and spins her own yarn! Because we love doing it. Because I love passing down the craft and heritage of quilting to the next generation. Because I love that it gives me an outlet for my creativity. Because I love the way the sound of my sewing machine and the feel of the fabric soothe my soul. Because I love the satisfaction of finishing a project and knowing I've done my very best on it. With all the love we put into the gift of a quilt I feel I am giving something of myself to that person. You can't buy that in a store at any price!

It's my therapy, it makes me happy, what other reason do I need :)

Creating something beautiful is a joy in itself. The fact that it's also useful is a bonus.

I make quilts and sewn items because there is nothing comparable to a homemade item. My family loves them and always wants more. It rates right up there with home canned veggies from my garden....everybody likes and wants them, but nobody "has time" to hoe the garden or clean the veggies. I will always be a quilter...it is my hobby/obsession/therapy. Almost everyone has their thing that gives them pleasure, mine just happens to be making pretty quilts.

It is why some people climb mountains or ride the rapids. It is an enjoyable hobby and your sister will never understand. It is a hobby and it is something that you create out of fabric. I also have a Bernina 1530 which I adore. People who do not participate in hobbies will never understand.

LOL!! Too funny.

ditto ditto ditto....

Personally, I have to do it... something in me just always wants to be working on something. I also like to give the quilts as gifts. I think when I give someone a quilt that I made myself it shows how much I care and really wanted to give them a special gift. I also have this thought in my head of the quilts that I have made for my great nieces and nephew.. of them someday being grown up and saying "My great aunt made this quilt for me.." I may be gone but part of me will still be with them.

This is me, 100%. It's not always quilting, but it's always *something*. I have a lot of various hobbies and art projects I like to work on them, but quilting is one of my favorite simply because once I'm done with my art, I can have something in my hands that is so much more useful than most of the other things I create.

For me, giving quilts to charity is an excuse to make more quilts. It's less that I'm making quilts FOR charity; it's more that I'm making the quilts for ME, but once they're made I don't need to keep them and the charity happens to benefit from that. (And I do feel good about donating, but if I didn't enjoy making the quilts in the first place I wouldn't be making them just to be donating them; I'd donate cash or something else.) Quilts I make for family and friends are a little more special because I try to really tailor the quilt to the individual, but even so...I wouldn't do it if I didn't enjoy it.

I have a $29 dollar quilt bought before I started quilting.
Yes you can buy cheap quilts and they are not as well made as you would make.
It is not the cost it is the creativity of making your own quilts.
I enjoy making quilts and I know it costs a lot more than store bought.

Get new friends :D:D Sorry, couldn't resist!

I sew and quilt because I like to do it. I sent a quilt to a great niece for her new baby. She wrote back that she could see the love in every stitch. Others, I have not ever received a thank you. It is the same for my sister who loves to knit. Why do it when you can buy it. It is just what we do.

Some people will never get it and I would not waste my time or money making a quilt for them. If your sister doesn't get at this point in time....she never will.

My thoughts exactly!

I guess I am lucky that even my friends and family who aren't crafty understand that those of us who are receive joy and satisfaction from the things we create.

I can understand why people don't "get it". My SIL gardens and loves it. My idea of yard work is to drag out the lawn chair. But I can sit and admire the plants and flowers and appreciate the hard work she puts into her yard. Yes, she could hire someone to mow and weedeat and mulch and whatever, but she gets joy and satisfaction from having her hands in the dirt.

Anyone can "go buy a quilt" not everyone can make one. When we give a gift we have made, we are giving part of ourselves with it, and every stitch is made with love.

I agree with what QuiltHaven stated. True anyone can go out and buy the item but then you'd be just like everyone else. I like to feel I've put a little of myself into what I give as a gift. The recipent may not feel that but when the day is done, you know you've done good. Plus, the Almighty God knows what your heart is thinking and that's important.

I totally agree with this. When I make a quilt for someone specific, I spend a lot of time thinking about that person while I work on the quilt. Even when I make a charity quilt, I am thinking good thoughts for the person who will receive it. I think my blankets come with a lot of good will, and I don't know that you can say that about a $10 throw from Kmart.

All I can say is THANK GOD for sewing, without it I'd be in an insane asylum for real!!!!!!

I wonder if anyone ever says to a fisherman or hunter how much cheaper it would be to just buy the fish or meat at the market? I doubt it. All are done for the pleasure of doing it and sharing with others. Why is that hard to understand?

Hobby chefs make an elaborate meal for their guests while others throw in a Stouffer's lasagne or order pizza.
Readers will read the book over watching the movie.
Why do I make quilts? Because I can, because I want to, and because the people who get my quilts are usually quite happy about it. 'Nough said. I generally don't justify myself.

You are not alone. I love to sew. I am one with my machine. It is not all about the finished product. It is about the journey getting there.

It is called a hobby. Nuff said.
sandy

I love all the replies. So true, so true. It is our passion. People who don't have a passion for something,be it sewing, painting, cooking, whatever, are missing a giant piece of the puzzle of life. I feel sad for people who just sit around and complain of being bored. For the past 6 months I have been dealing with the big C, and quilting has been my lifeline to achieving some form of sanity. I took a quilt in to show the people in the radiation unit what I do to keep sane. Everyone came out of the woodwork, including the art therapist, and my radiology doc. They said how wonderful it was that I had something to keep me going. Quilting is an art form and an expression of our love.

My daughter is a millionaire, but she wants me to make a quilt for her guest room in her 1790 farmhouse. It thrills me beyond belief that she wants a quilt made with my loving hands. What better expression of love can there be for anyone, than something made with fabric and thread. It doesn't even have to be an elaborate work of art, it is a work of love.

Because I can! Sewing is a hobby, a pastime, an opportunity to slow down a bit and think your own thoughts and relax and enjoy. It is giving of your time and creativity to your family and friends. it is time for YOU to just BE. We don't always have to be rushing and doing for others in high gear. It is like golf, or any other hobby, and you get a result that can be shared with others. You don't need a REASON to quilt. My husband collects and repairs old pocket watches. He has over 200 of them in cases that are runable but he looks at his phone to see what time it is! It's a hobby, it's a pastime. Something he can do when he just wants to sit and be quiet. So is quilting, or embroidery, or knitting. I don't think we need to justify it to anyone at any time for any reason.

You love to sew like someone else loves to cook or knit or garden or fish or hunt or ride a bicycle or run or .....