Unfortunately, my neighbor girl is getting some of this prejudice ingrained
in her, too. Her grandmother is teaching her to quilt, and she only
hand-pieces and hand-quilts. She does produce beautiful quilts, and the girl
is eager to learn. But you should hear the way she says "my grandmother only
does things by hand..."! (Like what? I use my feet??)

I have taught 2 of my children (so far) how to hand-piece, just like I am
teaching them to sew on buttons and do other sewing and mending.

DS did machine quilting on his piece, and DD#1 sewed on buttons to "quilt"
hers. DD#1 is going to machine piece her next quilt, and it will be machine
quilted. She knows both methods, and chose the one she wanted to do. IMNHO,
it is better for her to chose how she will do it so that it gets done,
instead of adhering to some notion that it is "better" done by hand, and it
ending up a UFO, and never quilting again!

I know how to hand piece, and for some patterns, I can see the benefit do
piecing that way. I prefer machine piecing. I know how to quilt both ways,
and am a beginner both ways. If the project calls for HQ, that's what I do.
I have won awards for my quilts at our State Fair, so even though my quilts
are perhaps in the everyday mediocre category Tara suggests, they are still
beautiful and worthy.

--
Wendy
http://griffinsflight.com/Quilting/quilt1.htm
de-fang email address to reply


wrote in message
.net...
said...
snip
I'm not a new quilter, or poster. If someone on the group has a problem
with
me buying Walmart fabric for my quilts they are more than welcome to buy
me
fabric from the LQS instead. If they dont like my machine choice they
may
send me a featherweight. Same goes for how I quilt it.
There are people who think nothing but hand piecing and hand quilting
counts
as a real quilt. Then there are those of us, me included, that says it
doesnt matter how it gets there, "finished is good". *quoted without
permission* . :-)
snip
Diana

Let me share a little story with all of you. I was at a party a few
weeks ago. We were all discussing various hobbies and when my turn came
I commented that I quilt. (Please keep in mind my friends are in the 25-
35 age range as you read this.) So one girl asked me if I hand pieced
and hand quilted. I said no, I machine piece, and machine and hand quilt.
She then says ",Well those aren't REAL quilts."

"The Look" that I gave this girl was enough to shut her up for one second
(only). I then asked her, sweet as pie, had she ever made a quilt. (of
course a "no."
Then of course the conversation turned to her grandmother who handworked
everything.

My host and good friend who is a knitter (Much Later) said that she
expected me to fight with this person. My response to my friend was
joking ",Why don't you raise, card, and spin all of your own yarn? Well
you aren't a REAL knitter then!" We both laughed.

And now I quote my DH. Early sewing was a necessity. If you were lucky
enough to own a machine- it made sewing those necessities faster so that
you could produce more of what your family needed.

My take- we are all spoiled by all the machines in our life that give us
more time to do the things we enjoy. We should enjoy our hobbies however
we prefer to do them and not judge others on their methods. We should
judge others on the joy they feel from the hobby and the joy they share
with us and the recipients of their quilts.

Julie
Richmond, VA