Re: Sewing
[quote author=Maythe link=topic=177.msg4660#msg4660 date=1287469168]
Lovely stuff Thalassa. So what exactly defines a quilt?
I thought it was patchwork with squishy stuff in the middle all sewn together. but then I'm probably not a purist :P
[/quote]
thanks!!
*technically* quilting makes the quilt. As in, the stitching that binds the backing, batting and front piece.
So, quilting snobs wouldn't consider a tie quilt to really be quilted...because there is no continuous stitching. Some quilters wouldn't consider using fusible interfacing to be quilting. Heck, some hand quilters look down on machine quilters. (I have a friend that quilts seriously, and she has stories)
lol, I agree...I see it a lot in Civil War reenacting. Particularly in the realm of hand stitching vs machine. The argument is generally that sewing machines were not widely used, and if they were it was more likely in a professional setting or by a wealthy individual.
IMO, BS. I own a mint condition 1847 Elias Howe treadle sewing machine that has been passed on thru my average middle class farmer family since its purchase by my great-great-great-great-aunt (plus or minus a great) who saved for over a year so that she could "spend less time pricking herself with a needle" (lol). When they moved from Tennessee to Illinois, it was such a *big deal* that the machine got packed in the extra blankets and everyone else was cold at night!! This thing has had such good care taken of it, that it still has the original directions, the original spare parts and is still operational...and one of these days I will figure out learn how to drive the darn thing (its like going from an automatic to a stick shift)!
But seriously, most people lack the sewing skill to emulate the skill of these women (and men)...the idea of a hand sewn outfit might be historically accurate, but the skill level of most people today is not. Children learned how to sew at my childrens age (ZOMG! Giving Collin a needle!!! Bad idea.). Their skill was better than mine by the age of 5 or 6. If you look at quilts from the 1800s, particularly those made for fundraising during the war (usually done by some of the best quilters in an area), often the stitches are SO good, they are closer together, smaller, and more evenly spaced than even a machine of today can do.
[quote author=Maythe link=topic=177.msg4660#msg4660 date=1287469168]
Lovely stuff Thalassa. So what exactly defines a quilt?
I thought it was patchwork with squishy stuff in the middle all sewn together. but then I'm probably not a purist :P
[/quote]
thanks!!
*technically* quilting makes the quilt. As in, the stitching that binds the backing, batting and front piece.
So, quilting snobs wouldn't consider a tie quilt to really be quilted...because there is no continuous stitching. Some quilters wouldn't consider using fusible interfacing to be quilting. Heck, some hand quilters look down on machine quilters. (I have a friend that quilts seriously, and she has stories)
Why are there always 'purists' in any group? I get wanting to do something 'to the max' as it were, fully authentically, but to then want to define everyone outside of the group who isn't as hardcore as you? Maybe it's a basic human instinct...
IMO, BS. I own a mint condition 1847 Elias Howe treadle sewing machine that has been passed on thru my average middle class farmer family since its purchase by my great-great-great-great-aunt (plus or minus a great) who saved for over a year so that she could "spend less time pricking herself with a needle" (lol). When they moved from Tennessee to Illinois, it was such a *big deal* that the machine got packed in the extra blankets and everyone else was cold at night!! This thing has had such good care taken of it, that it still has the original directions, the original spare parts and is still operational...and one of these days I will figure out learn how to drive the darn thing (its like going from an automatic to a stick shift)!
But seriously, most people lack the sewing skill to emulate the skill of these women (and men)...the idea of a hand sewn outfit might be historically accurate, but the skill level of most people today is not. Children learned how to sew at my childrens age (ZOMG! Giving Collin a needle!!! Bad idea.). Their skill was better than mine by the age of 5 or 6. If you look at quilts from the 1800s, particularly those made for fundraising during the war (usually done by some of the best quilters in an area), often the stitches are SO good, they are closer together, smaller, and more evenly spaced than even a machine of today can do.
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