adamae

Often I hear people say that X brand sewing machine is the best. Well, my response is that owners of other fine machines believe that not to be true, that what they have is the best. One that sews a pretty stitch is my favorite, be it vintage, antique, or new. I have all three, maybe more. I've never heard anyone say they could tell which machine I used when I sewed a quilt!

SandySews

You are right. I haven't always had Bernina machines. When raising my children I took care of their needs first and simply used an old Kenmore machine that I worked and paid for while I was a senior in high school. When I first heard of Bernina, I certainly couldn't afford one. It was many years later that I finally was able to purchase one. Yes, I now have 3 of them plus a serger, each bought a few years apart. There are a lot of tools out there to quilt with and I've used my JoAnn's coupons and bought things one at a time. We should all remember and be sensitive to others and their ability to buy. Machines are like cars....some like Ford, some Chevy, some Honda, and the list goes on.....so while I wouldn't want to buy anything other than a Bernina, there are those who would only want a Janome or Brother or some other brand. Let's just all respect the other person's right to choose what they can afford and be supportive of those who are getting into quilting and can't just go out and buy every tool and loads of fabrics. I try to make every purchase count by looking at the tool and deciding whether or not I would really make use of it. I personally would love to see more people get into quilting..

berryberry

I have a quilt my great-grandmother made for my mom during the depression that has paper battling and the quilt is made of pieces of my grandmother's and great-aunt's dresses. She cut it with scissors and hand stitched. When I was growing up my mom would tell me stories about my grandmother and great aunts as we reviewed the pieces of the quilt. It's the I spy quilt I grew up with.

To someone else, that quilt is an old quilt. To me, it's a treasured piece of art.

My mother used a featherweight. I just knew it as the singer I hit my toes on. Wish I had that bad boy now!

charsuewilson

You don't need any fancy tools or machines for quilting. My grandmother started me quilting with fabric scraps left over from making clothes, and a cardboard template made from a cereal box. I sewed by hand, and pieced that first quilt on both sides. I initially tied the quilt, but later hand quilted it. I made clothes on my mother's old Singer Sewing machine that she had bought shortly after she started working. I bought a Singer Touch and Sew when I was in college and working. I was surprised how much I had paid for it when I looked up the cost. It was $350 in the early 70's. That was a lot of money to spend at that time, even though I was working. The machine had fancy stitches on cams, and I used some of them. I still have it and it still works 40 years later. It has a decent throat space, and I've machine quilted king sized quilts in it. I recently discovered spray basting, and that works better than pin basting.

No one should be trying to make you feel bad because you don't have or can't afford the most recent or most expensive toys. A large number of people in our local group have Singer Featherweights that they take to quilt bees, or small, inexpensive lightweight machines. Some come and just hand-sew or hand-quilt. Everyone has been helpful, lots of compliments, very little negative comments.

Dragonomine

I agree completely!

nunnyJo

beautifully said and not everyone will see themselves in this.

Anita in DE

Thank You! Been thinking this for years! I no longer belong to a guild, mainly because I always do my own thing. Name brands mean nothing if you don't have the basics down first, and then do your best work with what you do have. My Mom didn't have a "Bernina" and she made everything! Even made her own smocking patterns with newspaper and pencil! I know, I wore the dresses and so did my dolls!

Just because you have "the best" doesn't make you "the best"!

It's supposed to be fun, and rewarding and open you to new ideas, not a competition of who can spend the most!

reginalovesfabric

yes I agree, well said I don't own a Bernina and don't intend to buy one. I sew on a featherweight that is 50+ years old and quilt on a singer/gambill that was bought used. It is on a 14' frame and takes us half the den. I also like Brother machines and before I retire (hopefully next summer) I'm going to buy a FANCY Brother embroidery machine

Normabeth

Micha
I belong a guild with many talented people. I am a fairly new quilter and see good progress with each quilt I make. One women in the guild does quilting for a living, she also does my long arm quilting and is always telling me how nice my quilt is. For one of my quilts, she told me her son wanted to know where she got the material, as he really like the quilt, best complement I every got. She is always giving me tips and showing me how to do things, the best tip is the use of spray starch. Everyone should have a mentor like her.
NormaBeth

Grandma of 6

This is a fantastic post. I am very fortunate to have the best of everything out there. I have every tool anyone could use. I have more fabric then I'll ever need. HOWEVER, my quilts are sent out to a LAQ because I'm not comfortable doing my own. I don't even have the desire to learn. I haven't even taken the embroidery machine out of the box because I really don't desire to use it. Most of those tools are not ever used. My quilts are very basic.
Trust me, I'm not as good of a quilter even with all thoses tools as most people are who have just the basics. Be proud of yourself regardless of what you use to get the end results. I'm jealous of many of you who are willing to try new things.