When we talk about modern quilt market, one cannot ignore the fact that it all branched off from hand quilting techniques. Some people might disagree to the fact that hand quilting is a dying art, but if we take a look at the majority here, most of them think that quilts are not regarded with that much respect anymore.
The most that you can squeeze out of quilts is a rare vanity item that’s hanging lopsidedly on your wall or a collection of modern quilts that are nothing more than a source of warmth during winters. The modern generation doesn’t know much about quilts. They simply care about tweeting, Facebook status messages and social networking; tis the parents and grandparents who’re concerned about maintaining this culture throughout as many generation as possible.
So here are a couple of important questions that people seemed to be asking each other, in the online forums:
• Are we dedicated to hand quilting, the way our ancestors were?
• Do we have the same level of ability, expertise, patience and concentration that was once needed for hand quilting?
• Are the popular quilting practices still being followed in every other household?
Quite frankly, the answers are, No, No, and umm….. NO. Most of us don’t know about the definition of quilting, other than the fact that it involves duvet filling, machines churning out huge amounts of feather and some sewing at the front line employee level. Back in the 12 th century, the early American settlers looked at quilting as a source of earning livelihood.
Later on when the heritage quilting guilds were formed, their main purpose was to maintain the culture, while collecting enough funds to support the local communities. Most of the proceedings from selling those hand quilted quilts went to charities, schools or local libraries.
However, on the bright side, the modern quilting industry has come up with techniques and possibilities that were once beyond the imagination levels of our ancestors. For instance, photo quilts are something where you can simply scan the images of your choice, scan them and then print them on a fabric paper. To further add up to the enhancement factor, you can follow the image line art trail with your needles and a couple of colorful threads. The end results aren’t that shabby.
Coming back to the subject of whether hand quilting is a dying art, or not, take a look at what people had to say on the internet:
• One fine lady said that back when she was in the middle of attending a Quilt Show in Manitoba, there wasn’t even one hand quilted piece out there. It was as if the name of the show was just titular in nature, because everything seemed so “manufactured”. Most of the attendants belonged to the 20’s or late 20’s, so they didn’t know anything about hand quilting that much.
Hand quilting used to take off with an idea, or a need, which your old gran would come up with. She would then wear the thickest pair of spectacles, pull a chair in the sun room and then get to it. In the next couple of months, old gran would keep her head bent down, her gaze fixated on the imaginary trails, until the quilt was complete.
Now we look at quilting on the internet, and we see a couple of YouTube videos that companies cram out for their popularity campaigns. What we don’t realize is that there’s a lot more to hand quilting besides Facebook links, Likes, Tweets and iPads as a reward to winners of some nomad company contest. We’re at the verge of entering a new generation of quilting, where original quilts are replaced by quilt magazines.
Our kids are raised in a systematic manner; their activities have to be planned ahead of each weekend. This is to make sure that we do things in a robot like manner, or in a way that’s considered to be a long lost hobby. Back to the subject of handmade quilts, we have lost the original gurus but it is the way that life is supposed to be.
Life has a way of expanding, moving on and forcing its occupants to move along. Those who don’t want to move on, they’re forgotten easily. Take that as an adaptation towards technological advancements. Yeah, it feels good to get connected with your past and the way hand quilting was once treated in the families, but this isn’t the same stuff anymore.
The modern patterns of quilts are mostly squares, block, rectangles or geometric shapes. Do you know the reason behind it? Obviously, when a machine is programmed to follow a pattern, it becomes a lot easier for it to simply follow defined shapes, rather than random designs. Squares and block seem like the easiest way of doling out quilts at lightning speed.
Some people think that hand quilting is an unwanted, or an equally un needed art. They’re the ones who mostly don’t appreciate the brevity of even stitches. But then again, the incredulous look that a true admirer of quilting comes up with, at the mere sight of seeing handmade quilts, it is quite rare. Hence the folks who’re still maintaining this age old culture; they realize that they’re only doing it for their own enjoyment.
Plus, it doesn’t hurt to follow this culture within one’s family. No one has to know if you’re making quilts on your own, or you’re buying a pair off of Amazon, eBay or Walmart. By the way, if you’re interested in reading more about quilts, stick around and this website will tout out quite a load of informative articles for you. Other than that, you can check online forums, profiles, blogs and journals to stay in contact with people of similar taste.
Rest assured, whether its hand quilting or machine based techniques, you’ll be walking off with innovative ideas. You can later on share those ideas and expand your learning curve.