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

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.

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

Quilter321 wrote:
I think it depends on your local area as to weather there are hand quilting vs machine quilting... The weekly guild I belong to usually has hand sewn items being worked on.... it is rare to see a machine.

A lot of time hand quilts are made for family members as gift so they might not get put into a show.

I have also noticed when a (good) machine quilter moves into an area ... the number of machine quilted quilts viewed goes up.

IF you can not travel to a quilt show pull up web shots and put QUILTS in the search engine....

You will see :
quilters proud of their quilts....
pictures from quilt shows ....



http://webshots.com/

I have posted over 4000 pictures from local quilt shows and quilt related activities on my web shots pages.... Don't you love digital cameras?


http://community.webshots.com/user/elainequilty

Okay, now we are getting to something which is near to where I am now. I enter shows...local, regional, national. Why? because I get to do a happy dance IF I get an acceptance letter. If I don't get an acceptance letter? (shrug) Win some, lose some.
More average Josephines (and Joes) enter shows than you think.
They made a quilt they thought was special . They put it in their local guild show or county fair, and hot-doggies they received a ribbon.
Thus starts the slippery slope.
They were not working professionals in the business, they don't have a long-arm machine, and most have family and work vying for their time.
They just decided to send in the application, pay the fee (nominally about $20.00) and see what would happen.
There are soooo many catagories in a quilt show.
Small, large, bed, wall, art, machine, hand.....they want you to enter. The people running the shows are polite, kind and happy to help you with any questions you have about entering.
Even the declination letters are super polite and kind. (how would I know???)
Best category at Houston last year (IMHO) was hand quilting. My husband and I just stood there in front of the hand quilts :shock: . We went back to that section a couple times (which says something because there is so much to see at that show).
Anyway what I am trying to get across is...
Go to shows and be inspired, awed, overwhelmed, but never discouraged.
You can do this.
But if you don't want to, that is okay too.
The quilt tent be big.....Heaven knows we have enough fabric for it.

bump

Quilter 321, I used to be a hand quilting snob until I tried machine quilting for the first time--it takes alot of skill and practice. I still love hand quilting the most, but I do appreciate machine quilting more than I did.

Eileen,

I'm going to that show on the 29th, too! On the Empire Guild bus... If you want to meet me and bring your sock yarn, needles, and pattern, I'll show you how to get started. I love knitting socks. Or just for lunch or whatever, too!

Eileen, thanks for the info. Sorry I will miss the show but at least my old friends and I will go shopping in Amish country. I haven't been back home in 3 years and there are new shops to explore. Have a great time. I was hoping to meet to meet members of my new "family". In fact, I did the other day at our guild meeting. One of the girls had show and tell and she showed Jan. and Feb. BOMs and I knew instantly what they were. So we talked a while and I told her all about the site as she doesn't get on very often. Judy in AZ

Judy,
The Lancaster show is March 27-30, and I'm going on the 29th. Sorry you won't be able to see it.
eileenkny

I love the beautiful quilting that people do on longarms or other machines, but I would be really sad if no one ever hand-quilted anymore. Fortunately, there are lots of hand-quilters still out there (e.g., Alex for one).

Quilter321 wrote:

There is a place for everything and every type of quilting.

Long arm quilting /domestic machine quilting or hand quilting can look fantastic if its well done and awful if its badly done!

I am a hand quilter and hand piecer - because I love the peace and quiet ( and also because I am hopeless with a sewing machine)

I don't make contemporary/art/picture quilts because I love traditional quilts ( and probably because I don't have the artistic skill to make them!)

But when I go to a show I still stand and look in wonder at these quilts. There is always something about any quilt that I can look at and appreciate. It might be the use of colour, a certain fabric, a motif, the way a border has been put on. The skill of the quilter to fit the right motif in the right place

No hand quilting is not the same as Long arm quilting


But they both have their place - thank goodness!

I have been to quite a few quilt shows - just local ones, not national level. However, I was disappointed to find only one hand quilted quilt at the last show I attended (of over 200 quilts). Almost all the the quilts were obviously long armed quilted. Not that they weren't beautiful quilts, but long armed quilting is just not the same. Kind of like hand knitting versus knitting machine. Am I a hand quilt snob?