Who is a QUILTER?

[Margo C.]

How about this: would she have a quilt if she did not make the top? No. Could she tie the top to a back with batting in between and call it a quilt? Yes. So, even if she does not sew the top, bat and back together--I think I would call her a quilter.

[Julia L.]

My first few quilts were tied not quilted and I still considered them to be quilts and myself to be a quilter.Frankly,I don't really enjoy the quilting as much as I do the piecing.If I could afford it and knew someone I trusted with my quilts I'd probably send all but the small wall hangings out to be quilted!

[Hannelore N.]

I've seen some tied quilts I really lusted after. They were made with very high loft batting and ohhh sooooo soft and squashy..... definitely 'quilts'!

[Hannelore N.]

When I first seriously got into quilting, and I have come across this other places as well, I learned the definition of quilts to be:
A fabric sandwich with three layers. She equated the front and backing part to be the bread and the piece in between to be the meat or filling.
There was no room for further discussion as to size, method of holding these layers together, whether the fabrics were pieced, printed or whole cloth as in sheets. They are just variations of the sandwich. So perhaps just like a sandwich artist does not make the components he uses so a quilter doesn't have to make or be part of the total process.

No matter what you end up with as your opinion this has been an interesting discussion. Just thought of the feather beds I slept on at my grandmothers as a child. She was a quilter after all, her quilting just was not as refined as mine.

[Deborah W.]

When I first seriously got into quilting, and I have come across this other places as well, I learned the definition of quilts to be:
A fabric sandwich with three layers. She equated the front and backing part to be the bread and the piece in between to be the meat or filling.
There was no room for further discussion as to size, method of holding these layers together, whether the fabrics were pieced, printed or whole cloth as in sheets. They are just variations of the sandwich. So perhaps just like a sandwich artist does not make the components he uses so a quilter doesn't have to make or be part of the total process.

No matter what you end up with as your opinion this has been an interesting discussion. Just thought of the feather beds I slept on at my grandmothers as a child. She was a quilter after all, her quilting just was not as refined as mine.

Beautifully stated Agnes.

[Deborah W.]

Actually your first question was insulting. Don't be so literal.

Quilting is a process. Anyone who works along that process is a QUILTER. That would include people who only work on tops, bottoms and bindings. It also includes people doing art quilts; using less than traditional materials, etc, etc.

I do many art quilts - because they do not lay on a bed does that make me less of a quilter?

[Deborah W.]

Actually your first question was insulting. Don't be so literal.

Why Not be literal?

What is insulting about asking how others interprete the term quilter? Different people mean different things using the same words.

Take for instance the term 'TAPESTRY' - a much abused word in embroidery circles because actually a tapestry is a woven technique whereby the design is created by weaving different coloured wools (or silks) around the warp threads, but invariably if a stitcher tells you that they are doing some 'tapestry' what they really should be saying is that they are embroidering some woven canvas fabric with wools - commonly known as canvas work or petit/gros point.

To throw further confusion into the usage of the word 'tapestry' there is an Anglo-Saxon piece of embroidery from 1080'sAD in France called the 'Bayeux Tapestry', yet as I said, it is technically an embroidery.

There is nothing wrong with trying to be accurate in your usage of the language, OR trying to discover how it is currently being used.

[Hannelore N.]

Literal questions are often thought-provoking, and very difficult to answer.

And now - very tongue-in-cheek.... : In the spirit of new-found confidence that anything goes, even if the terms get a little mixed..... I am now standing up and proclaim (lovely English with very strong German accent): "I'm a maker of blankets and wall decorations!"

By the way: I highly recommend you all visit and look at the "Bayeux Tapestry" if you are anywhere near it. It's an amazing piece of needlework!

[Eileen K.]

Then, what is a quilt? The definition has changed over the years, even since I've been quilting (approx 17 yrs). When I started, it wasn't a quilt unless it was hand quilted. Thanks to Caryl Bryer Fallert, that changed.

QUILTER
Century Dictionary (2 definitions)–noun
1.One who quilts; one who makes quilting.
2.An attachment to sewing-machines for executing quilting upon fabrics.

QUILT
WordNet (3 definitions)
–noun
1.Bedding made of two layers of cloth filled with stuffing and stitched together.
–verb
2.Create by stitching together.
3.Stitch or sew together.

QUILTMAKER
Wiktionary (1 definition)
–noun
1.A maker of quilts.

These are some of the literal definitions. I think your friend qualifies.

[Diane F.]

Literal questions are often thought-provoking, and very difficult to answer.

And now - very tongue-in-cheek.... : In the spirit of new-found confidence that anything goes, even if the terms get a little mixed..... I am now standing up and proclaim (lovely English with very strong German accent): "I'm a maker of blankets and wall decorations!"

By the way: I highly recommend you all visit and look at the "Bayeux Tapestry" if you are anywhere near it. It's an amazing piece of needlework!

Love it! I am a maker of blankets and wall decorations too!

[Diane F.]

I like this discussion. It raises a lot of points.
So my take on this is that I like the term "Quiltmaker" as it applies to the whole of the process. You could say "Quilter" just refers to the quilting of the quilt. As in "I am looking for a good quilter to quilt my quilt".
Of course I myself have always thought of everyone who makes a quilt as a quilter whether they quilted it or not.
But hey I say call it what you want. We are all in the business of making quilts and having a great time doing it.

[Julia L.]

I just have to say that I didn't find the question that started all this talk insulting at all.I thought it was legitimate and has generated quite an interesting discussion.

[Julia L.]

That's funny - I had an emotional reaction to the term "blanket" - I don't like it. I don't think it describes what we, as quilters, do at all, and I don't allow my quilts to be called "blankets". Everyone is wired differently... :wink:
I think that unless you are entering competitions, actual definitions don't mean much. I think for most people, "intent" matters more than an actual defintion. If you piece fabric together and you "intend" it to be a quilt at some point (whether you do the actual quilting or not), then you are a quilter. For instance, if you piece fabric squares together, intending to then cut the fabric into a jacket shape and make a jacket - you are a clothes maker. But if you piece fabric squares together, intending to quilt them or have them quilted, THEN cut them into a jacket shape and make a jacket - you are a quilter AND a jacket maker.
Also, I know I *felt* like a quilter even when I was *just* piecing tops. So feelings play a part, too. At the time, I didn't enjoy the actual quilting part, but I still considered myself a quilter. I think that's fine. Again, everyone is wired differently. Some people don't like piecing - those "quilters" need the beautifully pieced tops to quilt from the "quilters" who only enjoy piecing. At the quilt shows, aren't there categories for quilts that are pieced by one person and quilted by another? The piecer isn't considered any less the quilter than the person who stitches the layers together - they both get the award, right? -Tina

[Margo C.]

At the quilt shows, aren't there categories for quilts that are pieced by one person and quilted by another? The piecer isn't considered any less the quilter than the person who stitches the layers together - they both get the award, right? -Tina

I wish that were always so, Tina, but there are still shows that only recognize the person who enters the quilt as the quilter. If the actual quilting is done by someone else it is often times not even mentioned, and there is usually only one ribbon awarded....and it goes to the person who entered the quilt. I have friends who are in the business of quilting who sometimes learn that their work earned big ribbons and big money prizes, but they only heard about it from someone who happened to see it at the show and recognize the quilt. That doesn't seem fair to me. You would think that if a quilt won an award, the person who entered it would be courteous enough to share the good news with the quilter!

That is beginning to change, and personally, I think that anyone who contributes to the quilt should be recognized. For instance, on all of my quilt labels, I state who the pattern designer was (Sue Garman?) the source of the pattern (TQS?) and that I personally did the piecing, applique and quilting myself. I think that information should be available on every quilt in every show!

OK...I'm off my soapbox now! :wink:

[Margo C.]

I totally agree with you, Margo. I've only been to one quilt show - and I've never entered one - so I don't know the ins and outs of how quilts get entered, but I've seen in quilt mags when they list show winners and it seems there's always a category for collaborative quilting and they list the piecer AND the quilter and I just assumed everyone was as courteous as they should be. Goes to show how naive I am on such things. ops: I can see where there are gray areas when it comes to listing designers - "inspired by" "in the style of" "part of this design (altered) by this designer, part of that design (altered) by that designer, etc". But if it's a straight-up pattern (Bouquets for a New Day, for example) it definitely should be listed. And even those gray areas should be listed as much as possible IMHO.
Perhaps, for those in the business of quilting, it should actually be stated in your work order that you have to be listed whenever entered into a show and notified of any awards won - those awards would help business! I don't know the legalities of cash awards :wink: , but they'd at least get great advertising of their work. And maybe could start charging more :wink: :wink:
-Tina