I have seen the quilts at Cracker Barrel too - I have never believed them to be handquilted - no way at that price - they are pretty to look at but would not hold up being used, I'm sure... if something is too cheap to be real - it's too cheap... I have seen hundreds of handquilted quilts on this board worth far more than the ones at Cracker Barrel. And more beautiful.

We go to Branson every once in awhile and I usually go in a couple of quilt shops. They have cheap quilts from China. I hate to admit it but some are really pretty at a good price. Don't hit me too hard! OUCH! :oops:

I saw some beautiful quilts at Cracker Barrel in November. If I was not a quilter, I would have bought one. They were much nicer than the ones you see at retail stores with the ugly stitching. But, hey, I make quilts. Why would I buy?

Fact is if it is pretty it is pretty. And if you spend a year or more on a quilt and DH or the dogs or whomever doesn't appreciate it and take care of it why wouldn't you buy a pretty inexpensive commercial quilt to be "used" hard? I have a quilt on my bed made of polyester and made by the Amish ladies here in my county. I didn't pay much for it and it is pretty but my quilts are out of reach of the kid and the dogs and the DH. Until I am animal less and maybe DH less my quilts will stay away.

Not to sound completely naive, but I am a beginner quilter and learning a lot just by reading these boards. But can I ask, what is the difference between a running stitch and a hand quilted stitch?

I imagine a running stitch to be down one side and up the other in equal increments, is that right? I was at an Amish store the other day and saw these tiny little stitches that made the quilt have texture, but couldn't really see the thread, is this the hand quilted method?

-Charity

So do I !! I love the Old Timer's Breakfast or Uncle Hershel Breakfast -- anytime of the day.

I haven't seen the "handcrafted" quilts at the CB that I visit. They have absolutely beautiful machine quilted quilts starting at 99.00

Hand quilted in China is not my idea of "hand crafted". I am dissapointed in Cracker Barrel.

I got one of these for a Christmas gift last year...one washing and the seams are coming apart...not worth the $$ even if they are pretty!

I have seen the quilts at Cracker Barrell. They are pretty quilts although I did not study the quilting. I read an article several years ago that was investigating child labor in foreign countries. These children starting at 5 or 6 were paid 50 cents a week to quilt. The children worked 8 to 10 hours a day. It was very sad. There was also a big scandel into one of the Amish groups who sent their quilts overseas to be quilted. These were the advertised "Amish quilts" that were $200-$300 in price. That information might still be floating on the web. I have bought inexpensive quilts before I started quilting and when they are washed a few times, the threads start coming apart and I ended up throwing them away. I do have a friend who bought one of these quilts and requilted it and it came out pretty good. I guess the old addage "you pay for what you get" is for real.