Well, I suppose I am giving you a good chuckle then RST because yes, from your posts I would percieve you as someone who is direct or forward to some extent...and possibly someone who boasts a little bit of ego. ;) Not because you don't care what people think but more from the tone of what you write. But it's always possible I am misinterpreting your words. Much is lost in conversation over the internet.
From the sound of it I don't think Cherri from Cherry House Quilts is threatened in anyway by your question. She sounded happy to explain her methods to you even though you don't prefer them. Personally, I think it would have been more appropriate and respectful to approach one of these designers directly rather than post about them on a board like this, and not rude at all. It would have been easy to write a little email simply stating, "I love this pattern, but I'm curious why it calls for cutting individual pieces when it would lend itself so well to strip piecing? Thank you!" Coming here is like an indirect jab at them, under the guise that you are looking for discussion. Kind of comes off like you're trying to make a fool of someone. Maybe that's not how you intended it, but I think that's how it comes off to many of us reading.
Although I'm sure you don't care what we think. ;) Good for her coming here to address you directly and publicly put to rest any questions about her choice of methods.
I haven't been quilting for 40 years as you have, but to be quite honest I don't know how much stock that really holds at the end of the day. I know women who've sewn their entire lives but never progressed their skillset any. Which is fine, because we all are quilting for different purposes. Some of us are really motivated to learn new techniques and fast cutting methods while others are perfectly content and even enjoy more sewing in the ways that their Grandmothers did. Like spinning yarn for example...wouldn't it be much faster to buy it prespun? LOL* But it's the process many of us enjoy, and if you don't, that's ok. There are lots of big name quilt designers out there that are geared towards people like you specifically, who are concerned with efficiency and speed.
I do agree with you that the internet has really allowed quilters and designers to be much more accessible than they once were, and I think that's wonderful. Since I began blogging I have been able to connect with Mary Ann Fons and Liz Porter, Eleanor Burns, Bonnie Hunter, Joanna Figueroa of Fig Tree Quilts, Karen McTavish, Gail Garber, and many others on a person to person basis. Alex Veronelli, owner of Aurifil thread even recently added me on Facebook! Lol* With what other hobby can you connect with big names in this way? It's amazing. But you don't have to have a blog to get people to become fanatics of your methods either. I know many many ladies who learned a specific technique from their friend or their family member and refuse to attempt any other way. But you know what? That's ok too. Sometimes it's how you approach these types of people that puts them on the defensive. You say the woman at one of your quilt guilds was "rabid" about pressing her seams open. Maybe she was a bit offended at the way she was approached? To be quite blunt if you'd come at me with the attitude you have carried here, a sort of, "well why the heck would you do that when this is so much better" attitude, I wouldn't have listened to you either.
I think a valuable quality of a good teacher is to be able to accept that not everyone is going to want to expand their skills, not everyone is going to be open to new techniques. You just have to kind of meet people where they are, sometimes you can push them out of their comfort zone, but some people you just cannot. There are lots of ladies on this board alone who have no interest in learning paper peicing, though they might be incredible at it if they tried. That doesn't make them any less of a quilter.
I am not saying that I oppose discussion either, I am ALL for learning. I'd like to think I already know quite a lot about quilting, but I came here to learn more because there isn't one of us here who knows everything there is to know about quilting. There is always more to be learned... and I can't get enough of it!!! But, I am however incredibly turned off by a bit of a "my way is the right way" sort of attitude. Being the veteran that you say you are of the boards I'm sure you have experienced what I'm talking about, because that attitude has a tendency to spread like wildfire in these semi-anonymous settings. I'm sure you'll disagree that you sound that way...but to me, you do a little bit, and that's not me trying to be nasty, just trying to be honest.
I think what's interesting is that quilting attracts a variety of different people. I have noticed that there is this one specific set who are very linear in thinking, technical and who really get their enjoyment out of efficient construction of their quilts. Then there is another huge set who get immense satisfaction out of the creativity of quilting and are less concerned with how long it takes to make something, but the emotion involved in making it. Yet another set who simply enjoy doing something that connects them with their heritage. There is room for all of us. ;)