carolaug

After reading some of these really insulting comments I am doing the same...not that it is easy..

justflyingin

My goal this year is to finish 1 a week. I have plenty of tops ready to finish, but just did one for a boy yesterday (twin sized). I normally do only twin or larger as I don't need to do the smaller ones. Most of mine are charity and are pretty simple. They aren't too fancy, but, also think I sew faster than some people. Plus, I don't watch much tv, in fact no tv, but some dvds, which means that I get no ads. Plus, when I really want to produce, I stay off the computer as much as possible. I'm behind my count for this year..but hope in the next two weeks to finish up maybe 5. (sandwich and quilt). Thankfully I have an 8 foot table to work on in my dining room.

justflyingin

I do. Why wouldn't I? If I wanted to do things by hand, I'd go back to doing counted cross stitch as I really liked that.

mhollifiel

Feeling GuiltyER here. I have begun to feel bad when people ask me about being a "quilter" when, in fact, I guess you would call me a "piecer" instead. I am not able to do much handwork due to arthritis in my right hand. But I have a large stash and, like many here, I do copious amounts of pieced tops for Project Linus each year. I value the work of longarmers so much for without them, I could not be a "quilter". Our guild passes the donated tops along to other guild volunteers who complete the various stages in the process. I hate winter and this work gets me through that season especially. I love to piece and watch my husband fish on the dock or go out and come back in his little boat to get something to eat and check on my progress. Our little house is kept tidy; we clean but not fanatically. Life is good!

I have not felt threatened by this healthy exchange and I so admire the beautiful quilts others make. My quilts (quilt tops LAQ'ed?) are meant to be drug around, cuddled in and easily washed. Years ago a friend of my sister loaned her a precious smocked WHITE romper (heirloom quality) for my little nephew wear. My sister protested that she couldn't risk using it and messing it up. The friend called my DS up short and said that she certainly hoped it came back to her with stains and showed some use so that, if it made it down to future generations, they would know that it had been used and loved. I was so impressed with her attitude that, since, I have crafted my sewing skill output toward usefulness NOW. I make sure what I make is well engineered and nice. Then that it's as pretty as I can make it. I do mostly straight stitching patterns with only a few HSTs and no QSTs though I am not above doing them if I can do them efficiently and well in a pattern I would like to use. That said, there have been beautifully handcrafted linens passed along from my forebears to my kids that I treasured but never used. Sadly, they will probably eventually dry rot before ever being used even once.

mhollifiel

Feeling GuiltyER here. I have begun to feel bad when people ask me about being a "quilter" when, in fact, I guess you would call me a "piecer" instead. I am not able to do much handwork due to arthritis in my right hand. But I have a large stash and, like many here, I do copious amounts of pieced tops for Project Linus each year. I value the work of longarmers so much for without them, I could not be a "quilter". Our guild passes the donated tops along to other guild volunteers who complete the various stages in the process. I hate winter and this work gets me through that season especially. I love to piece and watch my husband fish on the dock or go out and come back in his little boat to get something to eat and check on my progress. Our little house is kept tidy; we clean but not fanatically. Life is good!

I have not felt threatened by this healthy exchange and I so admire the beautiful quilts others make. My quilts (quilt tops LAQ'ed?) are meant to be drug around, cuddled in and easily washed. Years ago a friend of my sister loaned her a precious smocked WHITE romper (heirloom quality) for my little nephew wear. My sister protested that she couldn't risk using it and messing it up. The friend called my DS up short and said that she certainly hoped it came back to her with stains and showed some use so that, if it made it down to future generations, they would know that it had been used and loved. I was so impressed with her attitude that, since, I have crafted my sewing skill output toward usefulness NOW. I make sure what I make is well engineered and nice. Then that it's as pretty as I can make it. I do mostly straight stitching patterns with only a few HSTs and no QSTs though I am not above doing them if I can do them efficiently and well in a pattern I would like to use. That said, there have been beautifully handcrafted linens passed along from my forebears to my kids that I treasured but never used. Sadly, they will probably eventually dry rot before ever being used even once.

I guess you might say that others make "Sunday" quilts but mine are just everyday quilts and that is just fine by me! I can enjoy and appreciate both kinds.

momto5

Some may; however, I DO NOT. Please avail yourself of my response #101 to clarify. Thank you!

jmoore

In response to post #101, I totally agree... it is not a race. We can only set our own pace and do as much that pleases us. I own 2 retail stores which takes up more than 40 hours a week plus travel to NYC, Atlanta, etc... but the time I get at my sewing machine (just as my need for running 12 miles a week) is very satisfying and something that makes me feel good.

I wish I had more time for these activities, but I appreciate them because they are the things that make me happy.

Annaquilts

Maybe the quilts are an easy pattern and they own a long arm?

loves_2_quilt

I have made several in a year when I had self imposed deadlines, but no way 50 in a year. I often wonder how they do this especially since I work 40 plus hours and husband and I help with two of the grands and travel monthly, 400 miles each way, to care for his 94-year-old dad. I make the tops, all sizes, and quilt them on my Bernina.
D

fireworkslover

I have a friend who makes about 20 quilts in a year but she sends them all off to a long armer for quilting. If I just pieced easy pattern tops, I can see how she can get that much done. However, I fmq all the quilts I make, so I'm lucky if I can get 6-8 quilts done. I'm making Art quilts, not bed quilts, but mine are usually original patterns, so they all seem to take longer.