Is quilting becoming to modernized?
01-15-2011, 05:51 AM
#61
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Dewittville, NY
Posts: 603
Originally Posted by Izaquilter
I know I'm reallllly gonna ruffle some feathers here with this reply but I do think modernazation (is that a word) is taking alot out of quilting. Not so much the tools & the sewing machines because that is all I have ever known but the long arms. Sure I'd love to have one but will not allow myself to go to that extent. If you go to quilt shows now, almost 90% of the quilts are all done by long arms & it really really takes the creativity out of quilting. A really good piecer can put a top together & then send it off to a really good machine quilter but let me tell you, I have been going to quilt shows since 1992 & there is NO comparason to the quilts now & the quilts back in 1992. More of them were done by one persons creativity. Now it's who pays the most to their favorite long arm quilter. I know several long arm quilters & have only had 2 quilts done by them. It's just not the same as if you had done it all yourself. I feel like I'm cheating. I now see how my aunt felt going to the quilt shows. She hated it when machine pieced quilts were first allowed! So the old is the best for me!
01-15-2011, 05:51 AM
#62
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Dewittville, NY
Posts: 603
Originally Posted by Izaquilter
I know I'm reallllly gonna ruffle some feathers here with this reply but I do think modernazation (is that a word) is taking alot out of quilting. Not so much the tools & the sewing machines because that is all I have ever known but the long arms. Sure I'd love to have one but will not allow myself to go to that extent. If you go to quilt shows now, almost 90% of the quilts are all done by long arms & it really really takes the creativity out of quilting. A really good piecer can put a top together & then send it off to a really good machine quilter but let me tell you, I have been going to quilt shows since 1992 & there is NO comparason to the quilts now & the quilts back in 1992. More of them were done by one persons creativity. Now it's who pays the most to their favorite long arm quilter. I know several long arm quilters & have only had 2 quilts done by them. It's just not the same as if you had done it all yourself. I feel like I'm cheating. I now see how my aunt felt going to the quilt shows. She hated it when machine pieced quilts were first allowed! So the old is the best for me!
01-15-2011, 06:08 AM
#65
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Antlers Oklahoma
Posts: 1,658
I learned to quilt the Old fashioned way. I still enjoy it every once in a while. I would like to teach a class in it just to pass the knowledge along to the younger generation and not let the way it was done to die out. I do use the newer methods ,Elna machine,rotary cutters,strip piecing or acrylic templates because I am 78 and there are so many more quilts that I want to make. LOL
01-15-2011, 06:19 AM
#66
Super Member
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Pleasant Hill MO
Posts: 1,669
I think it is a matter of choice, some quilters work and just don't have the time to go back to grandma's way..... Grandma used to have to cook on a wood stove, go to the outhouse, no air conditioning,no refrigeration, she had to sew by the light of a kerosene lamp, and had to make her quilts from old discarded clothes. I love the old traditional quilts but I also like all of the modern conveniences even all of the gadgets... Just my opinion... everyone has one
01-15-2011, 06:19 AM
#67
Super Member
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Pleasant Hill MO
Posts: 1,669
I think it is a matter of choice, some quilters work and just don't have the time to go back to grandma's way..... Grandma used to have to cook on a wood stove, go to the outhouse, no air conditioning,no refrigeration, she had to sew by the light of a kerosene lamp, and had to make her quilts from old discarded clothes. I love the old traditional quilts but I also like all of the modern conveniences even all of the gadgets... Just my opinion... everyone has one
01-15-2011, 06:22 AM
#68
Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Central Indiana
Posts: 234
Originally Posted by MomtoBostonTerriers
I have one foot firmly planted on both sides of this argument. I appreciate the older quilts and think they are beautiful. I'd rather have a 50 year old quilt than a modern one.
However, if I had to quilt the way my grandmother and auntie did, I'd never quilt. I don't have the patience or time to hand piece and quilt for the hours it would take to make one quilt. Now that arthritis has set in, I don't have the physical ability to do the hand work, either. So, those old quilts have given me a standard to appreciate, and the new quilts I turnout out show that I love to continue this wonderful craft.
However, if I had to quilt the way my grandmother and auntie did, I'd never quilt. I don't have the patience or time to hand piece and quilt for the hours it would take to make one quilt. Now that arthritis has set in, I don't have the physical ability to do the hand work, either. So, those old quilts have given me a standard to appreciate, and the new quilts I turnout out show that I love to continue this wonderful craft.
I am concerned though being a quilt teacher that there is too much emphasis put on 'how many quilts can I get done this year' versus the quality and creative design of the quilt. While I love some of the new modern quilts made with just strips and squares are we (especially new quilters) losing something by not learning to piece curves, get good points, work with different angles, etc.
The same goes with hand quilting. I would hate to see it become a dieing art due to machine quilting. Don't get me wrong there is some beautiful machine quilting out there, but there is also some that is prettty bad and in my opinion has greatly taken away from an otherwise very pretty quilt. JMHO
01-15-2011, 06:27 AM
#69
Super Member
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: NYS Finger Lakes Region
Posts: 1,178
I went through a period where I just HAD TO HAVE the latest gadget. I finally said DUHHH---they need to sell, I need to sew. Lots have made the life of the quilter easier, but many of the old ways bring me such pleasure that I don't NEED, but may now sometimes WANT. When that feeling hits, I weigh everything carefully, then make my decision.
01-15-2011, 06:32 AM
#70
Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Low Country, SC
Posts: 22
In my case I don't think I would ever have starting quilting without all the modern help. I only do QAYG or machine quilting.
I don't have the patience or the talent to hand quilt.
Doing QAYG has made me use my brain more! It took me 4 days to figure out how to do a log cabin QAYG without seeing joiner strips! That's my next undertaking.
I don't have the patience or the talent to hand quilt.
Doing QAYG has made me use my brain more! It took me 4 days to figure out how to do a log cabin QAYG without seeing joiner strips! That's my next undertaking.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
madamekelly
General Chit-Chat (non-quilting talk)
94
03-16-2011 07:09 PM
