When I hear these put downs of this young man, I can't help but think somebody feels their sacred domain (quilting) is being threatened. So what if he doesn't know everything yet? At least he got an ancient machine out of the closet and figured out how to work it! That's quite an accomplishment for someone who's never touched a sewing machine before.
And he's right... quilting isn't much more than sewing a straight line! You can make tons of great quilts with just sewing straight lines. The majority of the "art" of quilting is in design and fabric selection, not so much sewing prowess....
And for the lady who said:
I sometimes see quilts that are terribly pieced, quilted and put together and then the person says "I only put this together in my spare time." "I don't really quilt." They are right, they don't, go do something else. Get on with your other business.
This comment is really mean. Do all quilts have to pass some high standard? If someone sews poorly and they are happy with their creation, why not be happy for them? They still have a warm cuddly blanket. And how do you get "good" if you don't start somewhere and keep trying?
I'm just surprised at some of these comments!
My Dad did basically the same thing as the young man in the OP. He had bought my mother a sewing machine when they got married, but she just didn't take to sewing. It sat folded up in it's cabinet. Dad wanted to recover the couch and got the machine out, followed the book step by step, and figured out how to sew on that machine. He made some nice slipcovers and had a real sense of accomplishment.
When I was 11 I opened up that same dusty machine and started playing with it. I followed the same booklet to learn how to thread it up and operate it, and the rest is history!! I'm glad there were no sour old women around to disparage my efforts or I may have given up.
Last edited by sewbizgirl; 10-02-2013 at 01:52 PM.