P-BurgKay

I will always hand quilt, myself, I don't like the machine quilting, it is beautiful, don't get me wrong, I just prefer hand quilting, that is how I learned 50 years ago.

rhueluna

You do the same thing as me. I made a whole quilt top on a trip from Oregon to Florida. I finished it when I got home. Its never seen a sewing machine. Isn't it fun to have a remembrance from the long trips? This is a picture of it when I finished it after returning home. Hand quilted of course.

marveenc

Like you I love to hand quilt. It is my form of meditation and I get some of my best ideas and memories when doing so.

I can also understand the time contraints of working women, moms
with small children, etc. Machine quilting is beautiful in its own way and it's better to machine quilt than not to quilt at all.

Being retired, I don't have those constraints and have found more attributes to hand quilting: a way to lose myself in thought when in pain; a way to calm down after getting bad news; a way to revisit funny or fond memories of the person for whom the quilt has been made, or to say a prayer for the new baby who's life is just beginning.

Don't despair.....As long as there are retired women -- there will be hand quilters!

Marveen
in sunny Tucson

Wings

Rhuelina - one word - WOW!!!! That is amazing. You are AMAZING!! Incredible craftsmanship!

smitty

We have a very large Guild with many talented people. most of them have their quilts machine quilted by a longarmer.
But the biggest round of applause, wahoos, etc comes when Lucy shows another of her hand-quilted quilts. she just did
a white whole-cloth that knocks your socks off !Love it, admire it, takes me years to do it. there will always be artisans who love the hand work. and we will always sit with
mouths hanging open as they unveil their work.

rhueluna

Very well put. And I couldn't agree more. We will be there to hold up our hand quilters legacy.

grandma Janice

some have said if they had to hand quilt, they wouldn't be a quilter. Well, If I had to do it by machine, I wouldn't be a quilter. I am so techniqually challanged, that the long arms really intimidate me. I wouldn't even try. but you give me a needle, a thimble a hoop and that little rubber thingy and I am in my element. As long as there are people like me it won't die out, but the younger generation have been raised on instant gratification so in years to come there will only be a handful who just hand quilt for the pure enjoyment of it.

P-BurgKay

Oh, so true, I still have the old fashion frame, that takes up half of my large living room, that I put my quilts in to start. I baste every block separate, I usually quilt the border while it is in the large frame, then take it out of the frame, and finish the quilt in my easy chair. I mostly quilt in the evenings, as I still work away from the home 3 days a week. I am really please that so many still enjoy hand quilting.

shirleysonshine

I have headaches from my neck getting inflamed, as well as busitis in my right shoulder. Since I dislike migraine headaches I must choose to machine quilt. For very special friends I do some hand quilting on small items like tree skirt, or runner, placemat, etc. small project, but not often.

eleu16

I don't know if it will dying out or not . For me, I like to handquilt and I keep it simple . When I see a machinequilted piece I think wow...but on the other side I think it is an overload. Isn't that weird ? Do I have a split personality ??? :roll: