Is quilting really supposed to be "Quick and Easy"?
#31
Super Member
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Southern Minnesota
Posts: 4,362
I'm not a fast quilt maker but enjoy the process so much. "quick and easy" brings a picture in my mind of a quilt made of up of very large pieces rather than the small pieces of fabric. Each style has it's place, I guess!
#32
Junior Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Washington
Posts: 196
I think of quick and easy as simple piecing, ie, strips, squares and rectangles. Can be done by a new quilter without too much fuss. No paper piecing, applique, Y seams. Simple and can be done in a day or two instead of years. There is a need for these patterns as new quilters can be overwhelmed and want to give up if they can't finish a quilt in a short time. These quilts can be award winning by the fabrics chosen.
#35
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 2,826
I look at quilting as a craft. It's much like cabinet making or garment sewing. It's making a product to be used and enjoyed. In the case of quilts, they are used to keep people warm, cheer up a distraught child, warm a dialysis patient, celebrate the birth of a child, commemorate a wedding or just to remind someone they are loved.
Although most societies revere art in it's many incarnations, it is not very useful. It hangs on the wall or sits on a pedestal, period. At it's best, it shows the artist's love of life and shares the beauty the artists sees. Sometimes it's just a useless lump of steel that sits in a city park that most passers-by wonder what it's supposed to be.
I suppose my point of view is reflected in my choice of patterns. I don't intentionally make wall hangings. I love quick and easy. Endlessly sewing small bits of fabric together might be the most boring task I can imagine. I don't think I could ever get all the seams to match on one of Bonnie Hunter's quilts. I love Eleanor Burn's "quilt in a day" patterns. Success is matching seams, a non wavy border or the delight people show when a special quilt is made just for them.
I enjoy my craft and the act of giving. For me, that's what it's all about. If I choose "quick and easy" over "slow and deliberate", that doesn't change anything. I'm still a quilt maker and I deserve that moniker.
bkay
Last edited by bkay; 07-16-2018 at 06:42 AM. Reason: second thought
#36
I am in the slow and steady crowd, but may still use easier and quicker techniques like the 4 at once flying geese, 8 HSTs etc. but the whole process is not speedy. I, too, enjoy the process, the end result and the giving.
#37
Super Member
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Ballwin, MO
Posts: 4,214
I wouldn't say quilting is supposed to be quick and easy, but I guess some people prefer a fast pace . I once read about a competition to see who could make a quilt the fastest. Definitely not my cup of tea, but the quilting world is large enough to accommodate just about any type of personality. I do think a simple quilt can have as much appeal as a complicated one.
#38
Super Member
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: California, USA
Posts: 1,318
In my opinion, 'quick and easy' is one of the biggest lies going for the quilting world. From start to finish it is never quick. By the time you pick out the material, cut it, sew it together and then quilt it, quite a bit of time has passed by.
Easy, maybe. Depending on your sewing skill, some quilts are easy to put together.
However, as Einstein said about time and relativity: “Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. That's relativity.”
If you enjoy quilting, then the time will pass quickly, so there you have it...
Easy, maybe. Depending on your sewing skill, some quilts are easy to put together.
However, as Einstein said about time and relativity: “Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. That's relativity.”
If you enjoy quilting, then the time will pass quickly, so there you have it...
#39
I like quick and easy. But, as I gain experience, 'easy' gets a little more challenging. I used to be afraid of triangles, now they are becoming one of my favorites. I get bored easily, and there are so many beautiful fabrics and pattern's, I can't wait to move on to the next one.
#40
Super Member
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Live Oak, Texas
Posts: 6,133
I use the patterns I like best for the fabric I have and some are quick and easy but I love the ones that take time and a lot of thought best. It is always feels so good when I have a hard one and it comes out right and beautiful.
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