Why don't more men quilt?

[wendy w.]

There's been quite a few male quilters on here since I've been looking - Ricky, Rob Appell, Tom Russell, Frank. Not so many forum members but perhaps that's just a mars and venus thing and more women like to gossip.

My son has made a small quilt and both boys appreciate my quilts, wish I could say the same for the old man :lol:

[Lois B.]

Frank, I really liked reading what you had to say. It takes us all a long, long time to deal with the "shoulds" & "oughts" that got programed into our brains by our parents and peers. We all so much want to belong that it takes courage to try the unexpected. But on the whole as a society we are getting better. The internet will continue to play an amazing role in helping all of us try - in the privacy of our own homes, our own computers - to learn about things no one ever expected us to be interested. One thing is for sure in my mind. Every year there are more male quilters than there were the year before. I believe more and more of us granny TQSers are incline to teach our grandsons even as we are inclined to teach our granddaughters to quilt. There will be more men quilting and that will be a good thing.

[Rita C.]

My son takes much more interest in my quilts than my daughters. He notices the colours, patterns and overall effect and always comments on what I am doing. I think that he will eventually get involved.

While at one of the classes during IQFOI I noticed that one of the women had a man sitting next to her quietly stitching away. It turned out that he went with his wife to a class on English paper piecing and got hooked. He had made about 8 flowers from hexagons and all through the class we were doing he stitched away without saying a word. He was doing a beautiful job too.

My DH is very interested in what I do and has a lot to say about my colour, design and quilting choices. Mind you, I don't always listen. His grandfather sewed tapestries all the way through his naval career. We are fortunate to still have two of his pieces.

And my uncle was a tailor so he sewed all his life. This is perhaps the more acceptable face of men sewing!

If you ask me the 1950s has a lot to answer for. They seemed to define the roles for men and women in a much more rigid way than before the war. Macho man was born - and he could never do women's work :!: And society still hasn't caught up.

When my son was in primary school I had the privilege of teaching his class to knit. We made Teddy Bears, with bow ties. I loved teaching one particular boy because he was so hopeless at it. But with patience and perseverance we got there in the end. We met him recently and he told me that he still has his Teddy and wouldn't part with it for the world! That feels good. Some of the other boys took to it like a duck to water, including my son. And every time I take out knitting needles you can be guaranteed within an hour he is asking me can he do some too. Maybe the roles are slowly shifting in a different direction.

Yes it would be great to hear from more male quilters here on the forum and in the blogs. Or is it impossible to get a word in edgeways with all us gabbing old grannies :lol:

[Betty J.]

...
And my uncle was a tailor so he sewed all his life. This is perhaps the more acceptable face of men sewing!
.....
Yes it would be great to hear from more male quilters here on the forum and in the blogs. Or is it impossible to get a word in edgeways with all us gabbing old grannies :lol:

Genuine tailoring has almost become a lost art. I know how to tailor thanks to my mother and some very good out of print books my dear late husband found for me. I made his suits, jackets, and even tuxedos (he was a singer and needed them).

There are some historic reports that nomadic men invented knitting because they knitted long strips for their black tents which they sewed together to form the tents. The knitted fabric allowed air through and stopped the sand. It makes sense, but not sure of the truth of this reporting.

And finally, well said about how the men out there may not be able to get in a word edgeways amidst us gabbing old grannies. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Norma H.]

Frank, it was nice to hear your view on this topic.
As to getting the word between all these grannies I think this is the perfect place. In fact we can all talk at the same time, the forum sorts it all out and we can read the posts one by one .
I'd love more men to comment here

[Betty J.]

Norma, Me too!

[Betty J.]

I think all the guys out there are too busy quilting to be here gabbing 'o)

[Frank F.]

LOL that was a cute reply!

[ANNE E.]

Have any of you seen "The Tent Makers of Cairo"? I saw them at The Festival of Quilts 2011 they were the most beautiful quilts and all made by men.
I think Bonnie Mccaffrey has some videos on her website or you can Google them.
Anne

[wendy w.]

Yes I thought of them. I have a piece of their work which I value a lot.

[Rita C.]

I wish I had seen them. Here's a little video Pam Holland made that is in the 'World Videos' section here on TQS.

learn/articles/

I just watched it again and I wish she had got more of them stitching. I wonder what kind of needle it is that he is using, it's very long and sturdy looking.

[Marion D.]

I remember reading an article a long time ago about a den mother who taught cub scouts how to piece some blocks. They loved it! But she closed the article with the observation that they would not have gotten excited about sewing Barbie clothes.

[Hannelore N.]

I am the proud owner of a small quilt by Tristan Blakeman (http://tristanrobinblakeman.com/ArtQuilts.html), another very interesting male quilt artist.

[Rita C.]

I just found this video on Youtube and thought that you all might enjoy it. Two tent makers from Cairo show how they do what they do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39zkCcQqWp0

[Renata L.]

Thank you, Rita, for the youtube video of Tareq and Hossan tentmakers--not only was it great to see them at their craft but also to get a better feeling of the cultural aspects of how this is passed on through generations. Totally enjoyed it!