cpcarolyn

So who says that machine quilted quilts are not heirloom quilts? I think they are.
I machine quilt my quilts and my family & friends think they are heirloom quilts.
There is room for everyone in the quilting world.

Pam B

NO! 25 years ago, I took a quilting class... The lady who taught it insisted everything be done by hand...tracing around templates and then adding a qtr inch by tracing again, cutting out with scissors, stitching pieces together by hand. To top it off, she was highly critical of those of us in the class...our stitches were crooked or too large. You get the picture, I am sure. I never finished...I had 3 children under the age of 8, worked full time and had a husband who travelled a lot with his job. I did not find quilting relaxing or enjoyable! Fortunately, several years ago, I happened into a LQS where machine piecing and quilting is the norm. I now enjoy quilting very much! I admire those who do it entirely by hand but I refuse to accept the thought that my quilts are second rate!

w1613s

Morning!

I have sewn for over 50 years. You name it, I have sewn it and sometimes I have sewn it for groups of 100 or more. More than once I sewed in a bus; once at 3 am.

Now that you know that, please know that if my sewing machines don't sew whatever it is, I don't sew it -except that 3 am thing. That was something else altogether. But the bottom line here is do whatever makes you happy and you will use that joy to bless the ones around you. Thanks be we are not finally judged on our hand sewing or our hand quilting. My sewing machines and I would be in big trouble.

Spread that joy around. And enjoy seeing what comes of it.

Pat

Morag

In response, I have hand pieced and hand quilted. I have machine pieced and machine quilted. I have hand quilted "cheater" tops too
My guild members appreciate and encourage differences in all our quilting adventures. I love and learn from all of them and will continue to be a part of the group

mighty

Both methods are wonderful!!! Sorry they are so non accepting of others!

JLe

They are almost as bad as the "art" quilters. My advice is to laugh at them. To quote a famous quilter' "You're making blankets, sweetie.. get over it"

grandjan

Awhile back, I met a woman who appraises quilts and asked her pretty much that very question; had always been curious. She said that appraisers, when assessing value, look for the quality of the work, regardless of whether it is machine quilted or hand quilted. I know that hand quilters (and people who know nothing of quilting as well) often seem to perceive that there is somehow less skill involved in machine quilting a quilt. I hand quilted for years, then began quilting smaller quilts on my sewing machine and, ultimately, acquired a Gammill which I now use for almost everything I do. I will bear witness to the fact that there is certainly a different skill set involved in machine quilting--different, but in no way inferior. In point of fact, I found machine quilting far more difficult to master to the extent that I was proud to show my work. There are people in this world, unfortunately, who seem to think that they can make themselves superior by belittling others. Truly, they aren't worth worrying about.

Lori S

I have a appreciation for the skill and dedication to beautifully hand quilted quilts, but by no means does that dismiss the skill and dedication to beautifully machine quilted quilts. Just as I admire/marvel at wood furniture that is all cut by hand ( no power tools) , and admire beautifully made wood furniture made by a skilled craftsman/artist using power tools. Each method of construction be it textiles or wood, has its own unique criteria for admiration.

QuiltNama

It makes me feel sad that for some people and groups there is only one way to do things. I run a guild that meets monthly and we have covered all types of quilting in our meetings. Several of our members do hand quilting, many LA quilters and many who use their home machines. I do LA quilting, nothing would ever get done if hand sewing was all I did. Jenny Beyer does only hand, but there are as many out there that do only machine sewing and quilting. There must be something right and good about it as many of us do only machine quilting. My grandmother once told me "It's funny how, as soon as someone figured out how to do it by machine, because it was so much faster and easier, there were always a few that decided it was their job to judge how wrong it is. If hand sewing was so great, why do we machine sew all of our clothes, at one time they were all hand sewn." It's so nice to have options for all the things we do, sewing, quilting, embroidery,etc. I don't let anyone judge what I do. They are the ones missing out on so much fun.

roserips

Something to think about.... all of the big quilt shows are sponsored by companies a lot of these companies make sewing/quilting machines. They are not individuals that labor over one work of art but sell to the masses to create many works. These individuals are holding back the progression of time and if we really want to be appreciated for our time and talents we need to keep abreast of the changes in our industry. Yes industry there is big money being spent on quilting from fabric to thread and the machines to create with. Those that want to hand piece and hand quilt are wonderful (yes I do it also hand piece and hand quilt) But if we want to be taken seriously and find ways to make money doing what we love then we need to move forward. Big money for quilt shows did not come about because we all continued to do the same thing (by hand) it is with innovative thinking and improved machines that we are being taken more seriously. Example Nancy Zieman isn't still creating garments now is she!