Sheila_H

I'm with everyone else on the shorthand and dictation, however I took the beginner's hand quilt class at LQS and aside from sticking my fingers alot I swore I'd stay with machine quilting. I'd like to be able to do both but don't know who to learn from. I find the needle is too small to work with and I can't get the talent down to make those continuous stitches, or how to tie off properly. We'll see how things go down the road.

sharkee

I took a hand quilting class at my LQS in late 2009 when I was taking all my new learning to quilt classes and hand quilted the quilt that is in my avatar, then I hand quilted a 106x106 log cabin for a friend as a wedding gift that I gave her in June of this year and right now I have a 70x93 quilt on my frame that I am hand quilting. I have tried machine quilting without much success (everyone tells me just to keep practicing, that it will get better) but I find hand quilting a lot more relaxing.

quiltsRfun

I do a little hand quilting. But I use shorthand at work every day. People are amazed when they see me taking notes in shorthand.

Dix

I love to hand quilt and try to keep one always going. I do have most of them long armed, because I will not live long enough to do all of them by hand. There are 20 in our little church quilt group and several of us still hand quilt. I try to do special baby ones and wedding ones by hand.

lynnegreen

I have hand quilted since my first quilt in the mid 80's, but, I have such a backlog of UFO's that I have started doing very simple machine quilting. Sometimes I mix the two. The projects I am making for Christmas are all going to be machine quilted, except for one which I am hand quilting. I think I will always have a hand quilting project going to just keep the art alive for myself

117becca

Another hand quilter here...Can't imagine doing it any other way. It serves as my therapy after coming home from work. I'd love to start a business finishing off vintage quilts for families. I am also disappointed when i go to quilt shows and I can't find hand quilting thread or needles. Templates are another thing that are hard to find. Thankfully, there is a store about an hour away from my house. At least it's a beautiful drive up there.

QandE2010

I hand quilted all my children's baby quilts. Then I got bad arthritis in my thumbs and just couldn't do it anymore. (It had nothing to do with age, but I think it had something to do with playing Super Mario with the grandkids.) So now I machine quilt. I agree that it is an art. I have a neighbor that hand quilts beautifully.

maryb119

I love to hand quilt. Not all my projects are done b hand but I always have one on the frame to enjoy in the evenings while watching TV. I usually always hand quilt a "time period" piece like a quilt using the 30's or Civil War fabrics. It looks more realistic and in time with what was done then.

dublb

I'm a hand quilter too. I love to hand quilt, but I have way too many projects to hand quilt 'em all.(Doing 9 different projects now.) I've done SID & other straight stitching but now I'm trying to learn to FMQ. I only make lap quilts & baby quilts so my DSM can handle it. 3 generations of hand quilters in my family. I don't think that my Great GM quilted, but my DM & DGM do. I will say that my DD doesn't want to hand quilt. She does want to learn to machine piece & machine SID. However, she doesn't live here so I can't teach her.
I hope that hand quilting never gos out of style.

Samara in OH

I took shorthand in school also, never used it. Love to hand quilt, hate to machine quilt. Probably cause I'm not any good at it. I just do simple lines or SID, the last two quilts I tied. I have a Irish Chain waiting to be hand quilted, I started tying a Christmas present but I would rather be doing my Irish Chain.