Are machine quilted quilts really second class?
04-22-2013, 11:23 AM
#151
Super Member
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Grew up in WV but retired in Between, GA
Posts: 1,046
Too bad that some have to believe their way is the only way. I have made 3 totally hand pieced and quilted quilts but it took me a long time to complete. I have been quilting about 3 years and other than that I have only been able to hand quilt one more. The last 3 tops I made are machine pieced but will be hand quilted. I just enjoy the process of the hand quilting and do it at night while watching TV. Although I sure love lots of patterns, I really do not need to make tons of quilts. I just want to do for my 3 girls and their children and myself. So I figure hand quilting works out OK for me. I never quilted until I retired as I did not have time for it unless it was done on the machine. So both ways work well and should be done however pleases the maker. If you do not enjoy and love the process, then it is really a work of labor instead of love.
04-22-2013, 11:38 AM
#152
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Ohio
Posts: 674
04-22-2013, 01:36 PM
#154
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: S. W. Indiana
Posts: 7,484
I hear ya, I don't join these groups for the same reasons. I am a cross stitcher and needlepointer and went to quilting to give my hands a rest from the hand sewing, why on earth would I want to hand quilt my quilts. If I wanted to keep using a needle I'd have kept cross stitching instead. I send my quilts out to be quilted and they put the binding on for me and I just hand sew it to the back. That's about as much hand sewing I will do on a quilt.
04-22-2013, 03:47 PM
#155
Member
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 3
I agree with you. For years I hand quilted some quilts but for grandchildren I machine quilted. I love to hand quilt. but my hands are now weak,and my stitches bigger. But I would not hand quilt for children,machine quilting is stronger and can take all the washing. the same for my charity quilts I machine quilt them.
sewin for sanity
sewin for sanity
04-22-2013, 04:52 PM
#156
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Beautiful Jensen Beach, FL
Posts: 460
I am a machine quilter. Don't have time to sit and do it all by hand. I love my quilts and can't see anyone saying machine quilting is second rate. Sounds like Snobbishness to me. Some people just HAVE to demean or diminish things. Just don;t pay any attention to that type of person and steer clear in the future, at least, that is what I do.
04-22-2013, 07:57 PM
#158
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Florida
Posts: 3,832
From my experience: it was my first time to a new quilt guild. I was standing in line for show-and-tell because I was proud of my finished quilt.
The lady in front of me had her turn. She showed a beautiful hand quilted quilt. Then presented a 15 minute tiraid on anyone who would degrade a quilt by machine quilting. And even worse to let someone else quilt it. Finally she sat down. The room was silent.
Slowly I stepped up (and I really didn't want to insult her). (Pause) I said, "Well, following that (pause), this is my machine quilted quilt that _____ _____ LAQ for me and I'm very proud of it." The room exhaled and chuckled.
We were able to finish show-and-tell.
She had embarrashed everyone in that room by her holier-than-thou attitude and insults.
By the way, she never did it again.
She put a stumbling block in your path. Walk around it..... [Recognize someone (if not a person, then God himself) will judge her by the same measure she judged you. Just as Pharoh named the last judgemt on Israel as the death of the first born, so he chose the judgement upon himself]..... And keep going.
Enjoy what you do and don't appologize. She was rude. Don't let other people's opinions define who you are.
The lady in front of me had her turn. She showed a beautiful hand quilted quilt. Then presented a 15 minute tiraid on anyone who would degrade a quilt by machine quilting. And even worse to let someone else quilt it. Finally she sat down. The room was silent.
Slowly I stepped up (and I really didn't want to insult her). (Pause) I said, "Well, following that (pause), this is my machine quilted quilt that _____ _____ LAQ for me and I'm very proud of it." The room exhaled and chuckled.
We were able to finish show-and-tell.
She had embarrashed everyone in that room by her holier-than-thou attitude and insults.
By the way, she never did it again.
She put a stumbling block in your path. Walk around it..... [Recognize someone (if not a person, then God himself) will judge her by the same measure she judged you. Just as Pharoh named the last judgemt on Israel as the death of the first born, so he chose the judgement upon himself]..... And keep going.
Enjoy what you do and don't appologize. She was rude. Don't let other people's opinions define who you are.
04-22-2013, 08:01 PM
#159
Junior Member
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 161
To those who believe only handmade quilts are first class:
Do you card your own batts, too?
Do you only dye your own fabrics?
Do you only hand piece?
At what date do you believe quilts became second rate in their making? 1890? 1910? 1930? 1950? 1970?
Well, I'm here to tell you that I have seen a quilt in a major museum in a major city which was dated 1870 and it was -- OMG <gasp> MACHINE QUILTED!!! Yes! For real!! And everyone around me who saw this quilt was much more fascinated by the fact that there were sewing machines available then, than by the fact that it had, indeed, been machine quilted. It was a lovely red/green/gold/white applique quilt, full sized, typical of the mid-century period, and the quilting was an echo type like that often seen on Hawaiian quilts.
It was fascinating. Amazing. Incredibly informative. And made me realize that women of that era who had sewing machines were NOT stupid; they were "put upon" with the amount of labor they had on a day to day basis, but they were NOT stupid. They used the best tools available to them for daily tasks as well as their creative tasks....just like we do today, by the way!
The women you ran into are so misinformed as to be sadly laughable. Bless their poor little hearts!
Jan in VA</gasp>
Do you card your own batts, too?
Do you only dye your own fabrics?
Do you only hand piece?
At what date do you believe quilts became second rate in their making? 1890? 1910? 1930? 1950? 1970?
Well, I'm here to tell you that I have seen a quilt in a major museum in a major city which was dated 1870 and it was -- OMG <gasp> MACHINE QUILTED!!! Yes! For real!! And everyone around me who saw this quilt was much more fascinated by the fact that there were sewing machines available then, than by the fact that it had, indeed, been machine quilted. It was a lovely red/green/gold/white applique quilt, full sized, typical of the mid-century period, and the quilting was an echo type like that often seen on Hawaiian quilts.
It was fascinating. Amazing. Incredibly informative. And made me realize that women of that era who had sewing machines were NOT stupid; they were "put upon" with the amount of labor they had on a day to day basis, but they were NOT stupid. They used the best tools available to them for daily tasks as well as their creative tasks....just like we do today, by the way!
The women you ran into are so misinformed as to be sadly laughable. Bless their poor little hearts!
Jan in VA</gasp>
04-23-2013, 04:30 PM
#160
Super Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Colorado Springs
Posts: 7,583
I learned to hand quilt from my Mom and Grandmother. However, when I got older, so did my Mother. She saw some of the quilts I quilted on the machine. She liked them just as much. My grandmother used a Vertical Feed sewing machine from the time she had her first child. Just because I know how to hand quilt, it made me appreciate the atristry and tremendous amount of time it takes to hand quilt. I did not inherit my grandmother's patience. I want to see my quilts done in enough time the babies can actually use them before they are out of the cribs. Not knocking hand quilting, just like the speed of getting my quilts done so I can move on to the next project.
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