Making a fast, easy quilt or one of great difficulty, enjoy the doing and if you expand you knowledge, ability and creativity in the process, you have not only made a quilt, you have made yourself a better person.

Be happy in what you do, whatever it is.
peace

I think making a quilt to meet a deadline like a birthday, Christmas, or other gift takes all the joy out of it. It does for me. I make a quilt for someone and give it whenever, it's never expected. I enjoy crossstitching and hand embroidery and I get my comfort of slow and relaxed doing that. Even when making an easy quilt I take the time to prepare my fabric, do accurate cutting, and slow machine piecing. It may be easy but it's not that fast. I know the younger quilters do not and will not start with making a long drawn out quilt. I think that comes with experience and wanting to enjoy the process. I do know I have only so many years left and there are a lot of quilt patterns I want to make. It's a balancing of wants.

I agree with this thought about being in the process. We live in a get it done world and lose being present in the doing which for me would cause me to lose the will to quilt.
peace

Although I didn't subscribe to the webinar (and won't subscribe to any of them), I do recognize what Mark's talking about. I tend to compartmentalize things, including my quilting. I make many quick quilts for friends and family, but I really enjoy making more meaningful quilts.

When my mother passed away way too young, I had just become interested in making a Sylvia's Bridal Sampler. It took the better part of a year to make all the blocks, and I spent and needed every bit of that time to deal with my mom's death. I was completely absorbed in the making of the blocks (some easy, some hard) and I often say that quilt, which I named Sylvia & Louise (my mom), is held together with thread and tears. I'll treasure it always for the peace it brought me in a very difficult time.

There have been other quilts like that I've made where I'm totally absorbed with what I'm doing and really thinking about each step and pouring myself into it.

I think the point is that there is room for all of us to be both methodical stitchers and quick quilters, or somewhere in the middle. It's whatever is appropriate to that moment in our lives and what is satisfying to each of us. Both can produce lovely quilts!

I will continue my magazine subscriptions, not because I've ever made a single quilt in them, but because of the creativity they spark in me. I always end up with one or two seeds of ideas which somewhere down the road can end up in a quilt.

Follow your bliss!

bravo...... Lynda,

Well said......

I sadly lost my mother when she was very young too, so I sympathise with you so much.....but that said, all your other comments were so true...... Sometimes we need a "quickie" and at others we want to take our time and savour the process.

Hugs

Caroline

That was an interesting article to read -- I think the "slow" movement should probably pertain to all of life -- we need to slow down and smell the roses instead of being so goal oriented all the time. Life does become more meaningful when we enjoy the whole process.

Same here. Maybe a color combination, a layout, quilting design. I make notes in the margins about what catches my eye. And it's fun to get something in the mail besides junk.

Let's face it, FAST means more fabric, pattern and notions sales. The bottom line controls the market.

In the last 10 years we've seen as many patterns for bags, table runners, bed runners, totes and kitchen accessories as there are for quilts.

I couldn't agree more!! Mr. Lipinski is one of quilting's greatest opportunists. :hunf:

The Slow Stitch concept has been around since at least 2010, under that very name in fact, and now it's being promoted as "an illuminating revolution within the stitching and fiber art industry, launched by international quilting personality Mark Lipinski." BUNK!

It's merely the same old Process vs Product work focus that has been around since man started making tools with his own two hands. Some of us are Process workers, some are Product workers, and a very large number of us move back and forth between the two as the individual case dictates.

Whether your joy comes from the action (process) or the result (product), what matters is that you made something that didn't exist before you used your head, heart, and hands to create it. Be very proud of that. Creativity rocks!! :)

Industry is built on hobbies/crafts........

I like doing a traditional quilt for the challenge and the attempt at human perfection it requires, but there are times I just want to sew....and not really "think"...... So a quick & easy project is welcomed..........both give satisfaction.....but there certainly seems to be more " here's another quick & easy" ..........but that's the world we live in......