Thursday, November 10, 2011

The Face of Quilting


I recently read a blog post on Cat Patches about The Face of Quilting. It appears that there is a misconception about quilters in general. It's an old ladies hobby. Doesn't that bring to mind old polyester quilts hanging on the line in the mountains?? Jennifer at Sewhooked challenged us to share our take on Quilting in 2011.

When I was in High School I learned to sew in my Home Ec class. No one in my family sewed. I started out making garments and a few little crafts. But after my son was born 26 years ago, I took a quilting class at a local craft store. Now in those days we used scissors and templates to make our blocks. At the end of the several weeks, working on Sampler blocks, our teacher took out a gizmo that looked like a pizza cutter. She told us it was the newest cutting tool. Of course we all thought what could be better then scissors! Boy was I wrong.

About that same time, my sister in love took a class at a LQS using the then new Eleanor Burns Quilt in a Day method. And of course she taught me the fun and quick way to put a quilt together. This is the first quilt I made using Eleanor Burns method.

I never did put together the Sampler blocks I made in my first class :-(

I am a simple quilter. And after teaching my children for 24 years, I am now back to the craft that I love. The things that I enjoy the most is quilting, reading, photography, collecting vintage glassware and teacups. I am one of the Faces of Quilting.


How about you??

16 comments:

Jennifer Ofenstein said...

Absolutely wonderful post! The quilt my mother made for my husband and I when we married was the same pattern by Eleanor Burns. I was extremely lucky to get to meet her last year and for Christmas I was able to give my mom an autographed book. It was a very special full-circle gift!

Heather said...

I really like your post. The Faces of Quilting, well, there must be as many different ones as there are quilters. My mom and I both quilt, but we are very different in what we make and our approach and even in how we us identical fabrics (we buy double and share with each other).

Barb said...

Enjoyed your post...and well...I guess a person would call me old, I get older with each passing day but I was not old when I started quilting.

deb said...

Yay, so nice to see your smiling face!

Denise :) said...

And a beautiful face it is, too!! Great post, fellow quilter! :)

Mary on Lake Pulaski said...

This is so sweet...you have a way with writing. Thanks for sharing.

A Colorful World said...

We are all very different I think...there are the approaches that are very traditional, and those that are very artistically inpired. There are those who like to do everything on the machine, those who like to do everything by hand, and those who do some of both. The first time I went to a sew-in at the new quilt guild I had just joined in Texas, I brought my quilting frame and a feedsack quilt I was hand quilting, to work on--I was asked what that wooden thing was that I was setting up! Most people were busy at their sewing machines that day. It made me feel like a dinosaur! But, hey, I also work a LOT at my machine, and whn I think back on that day, I wonder why they didn't KNOW what that wooden thing was. It is part of the history of the activity they love so much! We should all know where we came from, even if we don't want to be part of the past anymore.

(By the way, polyester????I mean, I know that has been done, but I would have said feedsack. :-) )

The Quilt Ladies said...

I'm one of the faces too, but I like being an Old Lady? I feel that I've learned and earned the TITLE ! I wear it as a crown ! It's all about how you look at it.

NanaNor's said...

Hi there, Great post; I also love that many young gals are loving quilting too; they seem to do more art quilts than the traditional ones I love. My daughter quilts and loves applique. No one in my family sewed so I've had to take classes etc to learn; I'm still learning after 10 yrs of quilting.
Have a great afternnon and happy stitching.
Noreen

Michelle said...

When I first told my husband that I wanted to make a quilt 10 years ago. He said isn't that what little old ladies do? To which I replied DO I LOOK LIKE A LITTLE OLD LADY? End of discussion and I have been quilting ever scene. Thanks for sharing your story!

Lane said...

Great post!! You are a face of modern quiltmaking. Lane

Kathy ... aka Nana said...

We quilters all are so different ... and yet we have so much in common. Thanks for sharing another Face of Quilting.

Unknown said...

Great post and nice pic! I too am a face of quilting. I started out quilting from necessity of sorts. It was financially tight year and I wanted to give my hubby something nice... so I decided to make him a "blanket". Ha ha... the joke was on me, I got hooked and now I know they are called quilts. :) been quilting for 10 years.

Julie said...

Great post; it made me smile! Quilting, flinging fabric, or just perusing my collection of patterns and books is where I find my peace and sanity.

Anonymous said...

I very much enjoyed reading your blog today! I also have left over blocks from the first time I tried quilting. That involved scissors and templates too.
My first quilt was a yellow brick road lap size. My second quilt was a queen size log cabin using Eleanor Burns Quilt in a Day. I gifted it to my in-laws and they use it on their bed to this day.

ritainalaska said...

i relly enjoyed your faces of quilters post! i am older, nudging elderly, started quilting 5 or 6 years ago, making 14 quilts for my kids and their progeny, then had to take another break for a couple of years and now back at it again. but, 50 some years ago a neighbor lady and her sister took me to their quilters meet where all these little old ladies were gathered around a huge quilt on a frame hanging from the ceiling, quilting a gorgeous quilt. they sat me down and taught me the ins and outs of hand quilting that night and the next time, they presented me with all that was needed to make a sun bonnet sue baby quilt for the baby i was expecting in a couple of months. i did a lot of sewing but that was the only quilt i made until i made the 14. now i'm happy quilter.