Quilt Shows - Encouraging or Discouraging

[Judy M.]

It's important to remember that the first machine quilted quilts appeared back in the 1800s, just as soon as sewing machines became available for home use. Not a lot of them survived, since they were the ones that got used, washed, and worn out. Our great-grandmothers were busy women, and if they could keep their families warm with quilts made more quickly than their "special" hand-quilted ones, they did it. I have several machines from the 1800s that came with quilting guides and feet. So machine quilting isn't a new development. I used to love to hand quilt, so relaxing, but now that I have severe arthritis in my hands (and elsewhere, darn it) it's just too painful to be relaxing, so I'm learning to do lovely machine quilting. Take a close look at some of the machine quilting at the big shows. It's not done with patterns, but free-motion, and shows the artistry possible in this medium.

Pat in Rockport, TX

[Judy M.]

I tell people who say they are discouraged by what they've seen at a show, that if they spent as much time quilting as the top quilters, they too would be able to produce work like they do. Most of these quilters literally spend every waking hour quilting, whether it be planning, designing, sewing or quilting. The people who do the most fabulous free machine quilting have been practising for YEARS, every day, hours a day. If you're prepared to put in the time, you will get the reward. For me, I'm happy to produce very ordinary traditional quilts, and admire and be inspired by the works of art I see at shows.

[Frances L.]

The other thing to remember is that someone may be working on a quilt for years. They may work on it for a little while then put it away for months then take it back out again. I'm working on a quilt that I hope to enter in Houston that I've been working on for 3 or 4 years and it isn't finished yet. Maybe for next year or the year after.
Frances