Jump to content

For those who quilt for others.


Recommended Posts

I visited with a longarming friend this weekend and we were comparing notes on the business.

 

Do you feel a sense of ownership of the tops you quilt for others? Whether you have a business or not?

 

Many's the time when a customer picks up her quilt and I say "I wanted to keep this one". I know it's her quilt. I know the fact that she paid me to quilt it means I have no claim on it--I can't even expect credit on the label, but let's not get into that!

 

When I see one of "my" quilts hanging in a show or our local Arts Walk I feel like it's my baby.

I remember them, look for the special design I used just for that quilt, and can usually find the whoopsies--awkward quilting-design execution (by me) or bad piecing (by them).

It's like they're my kids! I'm proud of them, but know some of their secrets and most of their faults!

 

I guess when I stop feeling this way it'll be time to hang up my quilting templates!   :P

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have only quilted a few quilts for others...but i know that when i look at my own quilts, i am proud of how i have grown. as you said, they have little secrets and faults...and i can still find them. 

 

i have not been as fortunate as you, linda, to have quilted so many gorgeous quilts. i can understand the ownership thing as you describe, especially if you see a quilt you did hanging in a big show, i can only imagine the grin from ear to ear. :D   

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I too have not quilted the beauties I have seen you post but.....I do have a sense of ownership in the quilt once it is finished.  Sometimes I have as much time in a quilt as the owner!.  I think quilting is an art and when we place our art on the canvas of the quilt it takes on part of our personality.  Therefore in many ways although we don't legally own the piece, it represents a bit of who we are.  We are supposed to love the quilts we help make as they are little pieces of ourselves.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"My babies" aren't as beautiful as yours Linda but I'm working hard to improve every day. You bet any quilt my hands get on, I have a little ownership. Just like all "MY KIDS" when I taught school and had youth group at church. My  babies always!!!! Proud of all of them! Fabric and non fabric! :lol:  Maybe I went a little overboard but they all brought something wonderful into my life and I hope I did theirs as well!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

DItto what Vicki wrote.  We do leave something of ourselves in any quilt we touch, whether for pay or not.  I love learning the stories behind quilts and often think about what I've learned about/from my customers when I work on their pieces.  Those meditations become part of the quilt - at least in my eyes.

 

Lynn

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I didn't think I felt that way about my customer quilts until someone gave credit for the quilting to someone else.  Boy did I realize how much of me I put out there.  

I have done enough since 1993 that I don't recognize some from the beginning but those that I have done in the last few years are just as much mine as they are the customer's.   Even though I got paid and have no rights there are some I would love to own. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To me, the most interesting part of quilting is the actual quilting, not constructing the top.  I haven't done much quilting for others yet, but the quilting is always what I look at.  I'm grateful that someone made a top for me to quilt.  I know that isn't what many people concentrate on, but I don't care.  That is what I see - whether I quilt it, or whether I admire the wonderful, creative quilting done by others - you, for example, Linda.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love the fact that for a while  I feel all the csuomer quilts are mine. They trust me with a piece of themselves.  I give them back a little bit of me.

 I could never piece all the tops that I have quilted.  But I enjoy seeing all the different fabrics and designs and for a while "they are Mine".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I guess because I don't do custom quilting for my customers, I don't remember a lot of quilts I quilted.  If one should show up in a show, I'm as likely to be surprised to see that I quilted it as I am to recognize it.  I do about 2 commission quilts a month, and I've done that for four years now. The custom work I do is for me (not many), my wife, and for friends.  Even some of these I forget - maybe it's just my age. don't have the memory I used to.

 

When I do see a quilt I quilted in a show. It's fun to look at it, review the design I did, see how well it was stitched, see if my skills have improved since I did it, and think how I'd quilt it today.  I guess some of my commission quilts are technically custom, but that's only because I decided the quilt needed to be quilted with respect for the piecing.

 

I did recently become "possessive" of a quilt one of my customers pieced.  My grandaughter saw it on my frame and fell in love with it.  I ended up trading three quilting jobs for the quilt, and gave it to my grandaughter for Christmas.  Jim

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hmm...ownership, yes in the way that I contributed to make it a quilt. A top isn't a quilt until it is quilted! :)  Wanting to keep the quilt...only a few of the customer quilts. But now I just quilt for myself.

 

Jim, your granddaughter must have loved that quilt! She is lucky to have you!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For me, it's a privilege to quilt for others and to see "my quilt" hanging in a show is a treat.

There is this trademark/style in every custom quilt that only I can execute, thus the feeling of ownership & the trust from the piecer is a compliment I think.

The love we have for the art of quilting and the appreciation of great craftsmanship is what in MHO drives me to continue Longarming, though we get compensated for our contribution into the finished artwork, our stamp is priceless. We give our best & finish what they started, what a collaboration.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yep, I absolutely do. All I do is custom & I don't do many for others but they are ALL MY babies! LOL  I feel the same with anyone's hair I do also. It's always MY work, their hair/quilt but MY artwork. It's a team effort when you work on someone else's things. As with both hair & quilting, a thorough consultation is critical to ensure that you're both on the same page & have a happy end result. Fun question, Linda :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I didn't think I felt that way about my customer quilts until someone gave credit for the quilting to someone else.  Boy did I realize how much of me I put out there.

 

This happened to me, too, Joyce. It was the 1st quilt show our guild had put on after I had started quilting for others and I was walking up and down the aisles tallying ones in the show that I had quilted (and don't tell me none of you have ever done this ^_^ ) . When I came to this one I quilted, I looked for my name on the entry form and there was someone else's name as the quilter! I felt crushed. I did question the owner and she had had so many different quilters quilt her quilts that she couldn't remember who did what.  I didn't feel so bad after that, and afterall it was just a pantograph as I wasn't quilting very many customs back then.

 

When you put so much of your time (sometimes blood, sweat, and tears, but not literally on the quilt) into quilting a quilt, it does feel like it's one of your own. I've had a few customers refer to their quilts as my quilts and that makes me feel good, too. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Linda,

You have described the very reason I want to quilt for others.  If I only do my quilts, then I will participate in the making of a few quilts.  If I quilt for others, I can be a part of so many, many beautiful quilts.  I love, love, love looking at, talking about and thinking about quilts that others have made.  If I can be paid for that, then so much the better. 

Carol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Linda,

You have described the very reason I want to quilt for others.  If I only do my quilts, then I will participate in the making of a few quilts.  If I quilt for others, I can be a part of so many, many beautiful quilts.  I love, love, love looking at, talking about and thinking about quilts that others have made.  If I can be paid for that, then so much the better. 

Carol

 

Exactly, Carol! So many of you understand perfectly what I'm getting at. 

I love the variety of quilts I'm honored to stitch--from the overall design on a utility quilt to a massive custom job. All different, all beautiful in their own way, and all "mine" to some extent! :wub:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...