Why do you sew or quilt?
#33
Super Member
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Rapid City, SD
Posts: 4,961
I'm with the rest of you -- started with embroidery, made my own clothes, made my kids clothes, did counted cross stitch, ceramics, photography, and started quilting. It is the hobby that has lasted the longest. I guess it lets me be creative while still being practical. I'm teaching all my grandkids to sew now. When I sit by my machine my life becomes stress free!
#34
Junior Member
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 209
I flunked home ec, got a c- in art class, and barely passed choir. I wasn't good at anything creative. No one in my family, aunts, uncles, even grandmother never ever did any crafty thing. It was rumored that my grandmother had a sewing machine, but if she did, I never saw it and I lived with her a lot until I was 9. Only my mom had some kind of talent. She was musical and could play accordion, piano and was a whiz on the organ. Unfortunately, neither my sister nor I inherited her talent. My college roommate taught me how to knit, I learned to crochet from a book, tried other crafts, but they always looked as if a 2 year old could have done better. Then one day I saw a Victorian crazy quilt on a decorating magazine cover. I was hooked, bought a book, fabric, a ruler, and scissors and proceeded to make the most awful quilt I've ever seen, but goodness, I was so proud of it. It graced our bed for many years (my sister still has hers--I don't blame her for not putting it on her bed, or if she did it was to keep warm and/or under the bedspread.)
Still hooked.
Still hooked.
#35
Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Illinois
Posts: 203
I have had a lifelong urge to create things...even as a child I was constantly fiddling with little creations from scraps and household items. I think my mother originally taught me the basics to just keep me out of her hair for a weekend, but the idea stuck and lingered through the rest of my schooling. I like playing with patterns and colors and angles; making quilts works both sides of my brain. Somewhere I have a folder of quilts I designed and drew out and colored through the years...projects just waiting to be made.
Now that I have the funds and time to pick up a hobby that requires regular supplies, I went back to the quilts. I can remember walking around and playing under quilts on the frame...and my great aunt quilted. When her health forced her to downsize, my family inherited several garbage bags of hand-quilted heirlooms; when a quilt would wear out, her family would make a new top, just a tad larger, and quilt it onto the old one, since most of them were made before people in rural areas had reliable heat and electricity. Some of the under-layers are beautiful, even if mostly shreds.
In short, I grew up appreciating the love and beauty of a homemade quilt, and want to make my own. I only wish I had been able to take classes in school; teaching myself from books only goes so far!
Now that I have the funds and time to pick up a hobby that requires regular supplies, I went back to the quilts. I can remember walking around and playing under quilts on the frame...and my great aunt quilted. When her health forced her to downsize, my family inherited several garbage bags of hand-quilted heirlooms; when a quilt would wear out, her family would make a new top, just a tad larger, and quilt it onto the old one, since most of them were made before people in rural areas had reliable heat and electricity. Some of the under-layers are beautiful, even if mostly shreds.
In short, I grew up appreciating the love and beauty of a homemade quilt, and want to make my own. I only wish I had been able to take classes in school; teaching myself from books only goes so far!
Last edited by origamigoldfish; 06-27-2014 at 06:18 PM. Reason: spelling
#38
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Central Iowa
Posts: 2,335
I also started to sew to save money making clothes for myself and my children. That is not the case anymore they would not wear anything I would sew for them like clothes. I sew entirely for my enjoyment and a need to express myself.
#39
For me it is a creative outlet. I've gone through phases of crochet, needlepoint, cross stitch, quilting, scrapbooking, and back to quilting. I enjoy making things and find quilting to be fun, relaxing, and a way to feel like I'm accomplishing something.
#40
I liked to can my food for the same reason, you could look at it when done and feel accomplished through the year instead of cleaning and have to clean again the next day. I started sewing to save money, then because I just liked to sew, now I quilt for me and myself and I to enjoy it and get through the stresses of the day, etc.
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