I disagree, but I do understand your point of view. I treasure the quilt top my Great Great Aunt sold me (back in the early 70s) and my Great Aunt Maude had it quilted by her quilting group located in a very rural part of Kansas. It is NOT pieced that well but I consider it a heirloom quilt since NOW it is over 100 years old. It will be donated to the local museum in the small town where my Grandparent Jevons and their siblings were born and raised. I have NEVER used it because I respected that is was very old. I treasure it whenever I bring it out for airing. I believe that it is a Bethlehem Star.

*raises my hand* I would probably consider it an heirloom! DH & I have a little display set up in our "family" room featuring old hand tools that have come to us from both of our grandfathers, I am extremely fond of them even though to most people it probably looks like a bunch of rusty old junk. :) Monetary value - probably zero. Sentimental value - priceless!

I think of a "new heirloom" as one that showcases expertise and intricacy for their own sakes--a display object. I think of my quilts as "utility"--made to be used. I have family heirloom quilts, but I consider them heirlooms due to age and the memories associated with the makers.

I stand corrected! :)

we have a lqs that teaches an "heirloom quilt" class. the blocks are each made with embroidery and lace and fancy sttiching, generally done in whites or creams. so, to me, a new quilt like this would be what we are talking about. made for looking at and displaying but not for everyday use.
personally i make all my quilts to be used, just as many here have said. if they become true heirlooms after that, so be it. if they get used up and tossed out, so be it. once passed to the owner my work is done and i hope they love it like i do, but if not, then just do not tell me.

To me heirloom is a word like teal. Is it blue or green? For each person it can mean one thing and for others something else. I take the heir part of the word to guide me in that it is generation to generation or within the family not something I make for myself. The person that owns the quilt needs to decide what they want to call it and what happens to it.

I think "heirloom" means a memory, something that you want to remember... a piece of the past to hold onto.... a thing of value not necessarily in dollars. I made some memory quilts from my nephew's clothes after we lost him in an accident... they are already being called "heirloom" quilts. Not because of how good of a job that I did (because I know I didn't - I actually would like to do them over again) but because of the memory they carry. I agree with Sewnoma

When quilters say they are making an heirloom quilt, I think all they really mean is that they are spending extra time and care on it, more than they usually do when making a quilt. Time spent, quality, pattern, color, amount of use, none of that has anything at all to do with whether or not the quilt will be an heirloom. It's not under the control of the quilter.

Quilts become heirlooms, they are not made as heirlooms. The idea that there is some special way to make a quilt that will somehow set it on the path to "heirloomnicity" is not realistic. It's no more possible than setting out to build an antique table. Only time and provenance make heirlooms, not the human hand.

I agree - well said

To me, an heirloom quilt is made with lace and fancy stitches, like French embroidery. It is usually white or cream and is not meant to be used to keep you warm, only for show. What comes to mind is a quilt made out of someone's wedding dress to be passed down to future generations. An example is a quilt made to commemorate a special occasion, and not meant to be used. IMHO heirloom is a technique not a type of quilt.
Sue