You'll never believe this

On Mon, 13 Sep 2004 16:52:09 -0500, Susan Laity Price
wrote:

I just reread my statement from earlier in the day. It does sound a
little pious. I am not talking about the beginner or the occational
reproduction of a quilt you have seen. I am talking about always
duplicating someone else's design. Never stepping out on your own.

The comparison by others of buying pre-made blocks vs. having a
longarm quilter finish a quilt is fair on the surface but there is the
factor of size when quilting a large quilt. The physical requirements
to quilt a queen size piece on my home machine is more than I can deal
with.

Susan

I see, to you it is less artistic for someone else to make a quilt
from an old pattern, and even worse if they buy pre-made blocks, but
it's not less artistic to have someone else do all the quilting for
you. There isn't any difference between the two. Either way there is
someone else doing some of the creativity and work involved in making
the quilts.

Looking down on a quilter or a quilt just because a different method
of producing the quilt was used isn't fair. You don't know the other
person's limitations. You wouldn't want other people to be judging
you by standards that are impossible for you to ever reach simply
because you have your particular limitations. There are people who
would say that a traditional quilt is only traditional if it is
totally pieced and quilted by hand. Those people would look down at
your quilts, but it wouldn't be fair would it?

Personally, I feel that the worth of a quilt is purely a matter of how
much it is enjoyed during it's lifetime, not how it was made. If the
making of it was enjoyable to it's maker then it started earning it's
worth earlier than one that was a chore to make. The worth of the
quilt maker is the sum of the enjoyment of all of the quilts the maker
produces.

Debra in VA

Ohhh .... I really really like this statement Debra!! I am proud
you are in Virginia too. This is such a kind and well expressed
statement. You really hit the nail on the head here. Or maybe you
really hit the eye of the needle! Is it okay if I copy and
quote it, with acknowledgment to you of course?? Thank you!
Hugs, PAT in VA/USA

Debra wrote:
....cut...
Personally, I feel that the worth of a quilt is purely a matter of how
much it is enjoyed during it's lifetime, not how it was made. If the
making of it was enjoyable to it's maker then it started earning it's
worth earlier than one that was a chore to make. The worth of the
quilt maker is the sum of the enjoyment of all of the quilts the maker
produces.

Debra in VA

Thanks for the compliment, Pat. Sure, you can quote me anytime you
wish. (Blush) I'm rather surprised that I wrote it that well
myself.

Debra in VA

On Mon, 13 Sep 2004 23:50:04 -0400, Pat in Virginia
wrote:

Ohhh .... I really really like this statement Debra!! I am proud
you are in Virginia too. This is such a kind and well expressed
statement. You really hit the nail on the head here. Or maybe you
really hit the eye of the needle! Is it okay if I copy and
quote it, with acknowledgment to you of course?? Thank you!
Hugs, PAT in VA/USA

Debra wrote:
...cut...
Personally, I feel that the worth of a quilt is purely a matter of how
much it is enjoyed during it's lifetime, not how it was made. If the
making of it was enjoyable to it's maker then it started earning it's
worth earlier than one that was a chore to make. The worth of the
quilt maker is the sum of the enjoyment of all of the quilts the maker
produces.

Debra in VA

I did read any condescention in Susan's posts. It just doesnt seem like her
style.
But you make a valid observation Debra that there can be worth in any quilt.
It doesnt depend on whether one starts with yardage or pre-printed panels or
premade blocks. The heart and soul that is worked into a quilt comes from
the quilter and what they choose to do with the blocks.
Lets pretend someone gave us one of those quilts made from preprinted
blocks. First one comes from your 7 year old grandchild beginning quilter
who put sashing between the blocks and Mom help him/her hand quilt it. You'd
likely think it was the finest, most treasurable quilt in the world. You
would remark over every little wonky stitch and seam. It would have a beauty
no other quilt could have, in your eyes.
The second one comes from your next door neighbor. He/she embroiders.
They set the blocks with solid blocks in between and on each is a
embroidered design that compliments the colors in the blocks. Again, oooh..
nice gift, great artistry. They invested time and thought to make a lovely
quilt.
Third quilt comes from an established quilter, been at it for years and
has won ribbons for their piecework. This quilt is simply premade blocks,
again, set with solid blocks, and is quilted and bound. I wont presume to
speak how anyone else would feel, but Id wonder if they really liked me! lol
! Not a whole lot of thought or creation went into this quilt. On the other
hand, if I had lost everything in a fire and this was a very fast way to
make sure I had a warm quilt, and something hand crafted, Id feel like it
was a wonderful quilt indeed. In that instance it has plenty of heart.
So, to toss these pre-made blocks out the door as lacking creativity means
that we havent looked at creative ways to use them. They are raw building
materials. Someone could make art from them.
Diana

--
Heart and soul can make up for technical lacking in any form of art, but let
the heart be lacking and all the perfection means nothing.

"Debra" wrote in message Personally, I feel
that the worth of a quilt is purely a matter of how
much it is enjoyed during it's lifetime, not how it was made. If the
making of it was enjoyable to it's maker then it started earning it's
worth earlier than one that was a chore to make. The worth of the
quilt maker is the sum of the enjoyment of all of the quilts the maker
produces.

Debra in VA

Sorry.. the first line should read.. did *not* read any...

--

"Diana Curtis" wrote in message
...
I did read any condescention in Susan's posts. It just doesnt seem like
her
style.

"Susan Laity Price" wrote in message
...
There
are the art quilters who make things only to be hung on the wall. They
don't factor in that the finished piece will ever be laundered. They
just nip and tuck and put the thing together without the aid of any
math

Eek! Does that mean if I *do* use math, I can't qualify as an art quilter?
And what if I make a bed quilt that isn't traditional? What if I forget, and
launder one of my art quilts?

Help!!!

--
Kathy A. (Woodland, CA)
Queen of Fabric Tramps
http://www.kayneyquilting.com ,
remove the obvious to reply

You're a very nice lady, Diana. Thank you for that.

Cindy

"Diana Curtis" wrote in message
...
I did read any condescention in Susan's posts. It just doesnt seem like
her
style.
But you make a valid observation Debra that there can be worth in any
quilt.
It doesnt depend on whether one starts with yardage or pre-printed panels
or
premade blocks. The heart and soul that is worked into a quilt comes from
the quilter and what they choose to do with the blocks.
Lets pretend someone gave us one of those quilts made from preprinted
blocks. First one comes from your 7 year old grandchild beginning quilter
who put sashing between the blocks and Mom help him/her hand quilt it.
You'd
likely think it was the finest, most treasurable quilt in the world. You
would remark over every little wonky stitch and seam. It would have a
beauty
no other quilt could have, in your eyes.
The second one comes from your next door neighbor. He/she
embroiders.
They set the blocks with solid blocks in between and on each is a
embroidered design that compliments the colors in the blocks. Again,
oooh..
nice gift, great artistry. They invested time and thought to make a lovely
quilt.
Third quilt comes from an established quilter, been at it for years and
has won ribbons for their piecework. This quilt is simply premade blocks,
again, set with solid blocks, and is quilted and bound. I wont presume to
speak how anyone else would feel, but Id wonder if they really liked me!
lol
! Not a whole lot of thought or creation went into this quilt. On the
other
hand, if I had lost everything in a fire and this was a very fast way to
make sure I had a warm quilt, and something hand crafted, Id feel like it
was a wonderful quilt indeed. In that instance it has plenty of heart.
So, to toss these pre-made blocks out the door as lacking creativity
means
that we havent looked at creative ways to use them. They are raw building
materials. Someone could make art from them.
Diana

--
Heart and soul can make up for technical lacking in any form of art, but
let
the heart be lacking and all the perfection means nothing.

"Debra" wrote in message Personally, I feel
that the worth of a quilt is purely a matter of how
much it is enjoyed during it's lifetime, not how it was made. If the
making of it was enjoyable to it's maker then it started earning it's
worth earlier than one that was a chore to make. The worth of the
quilt maker is the sum of the enjoyment of all of the quilts the maker
produces.

Debra in VA

You must learn to adapt and fit in the handy, tight little niches we
quilters must fit into. No deviations are allowed. What would this world
come to if you color outside the lines?
Diana ;-)

--
Heart and soul can make up for technical lacking in any form of art, but let
the heart be lacking and all the perfection means nothing.

"Kathy Applebaum" wrote in message
om...

"Susan Laity Price" wrote in message
...
There
are the art quilters who make things only to be hung on the wall. They
don't factor in that the finished piece will ever be laundered. They
just nip and tuck and put the thing together without the aid of any
math

Eek! Does that mean if I *do* use math, I can't qualify as an art quilter?
And what if I make a bed quilt that isn't traditional? What if I forget,
and
launder one of my art quilts?

Help!!!

--
Kathy A. (Woodland, CA)
Queen of Fabric Tramps
http://www.kayneyquilting.com ,
remove the obvious to reply

"Diana Curtis" wrote in message
...
You must learn to adapt and fit in the handy, tight little niches we
quilters must fit into. No deviations are allowed. What would this world
come to if you color outside the lines?
Diana ;-)

Gulp, there's no hope for me, then. I never mastered coloring in the lines,
as hard as I tried. Guess I better give up quilting. ;-)


--
Kathy A. (Woodland, CA)
Queen of Fabric Tramps
http://www.kayneyquilting.com ,
remove the obvious to reply

I'm *SO* sorry that I even mentioned this. I did *not* mean to really
open up a can of worms.

Now, in response to the other assorted comments:

I think anybody who makes a quilt, be it an art quilt, a pre-printed
panel, a pieced-takes-10-years-to-finish quilt, a repro, whatever...can
be called a quilter. That is *MY* opinion, and my opinion only. I have
yet to do a quilt from a kit, however, I do happen to have about 8 kits
awaiting my attention - stained glass banners. I guess it just caught
me off guard to see pre-pieced blocks after the 3 years or thereabouts
that I have been trying to get points to match up and blocks to be
square. It also offended me to have pre-printed panles beat out a
pieced quilt I entered in the NY State fair....this year, I entered 3
pre-printed panel quilts and took 2nd place....the key here is to adapt
to the situation.

If you have a very short time to make something, are you going to have
the time to buy, cut, piece, etc? Or would you like to have the ease of
stitching blocks together? If you are new to something, do you prefer
flying by the seat of your pants or following nicely laid out directions
that you can find in a kit?

It's all a matter of personal preference. Trust me, with the changes
made in mom and dads quilt, I'm about ready to scrap it and look for
something already cut for me.

Larisa, sliding back into clothing sewing for a little while