Friday, April 9, 2010

Quilting

Quilting is one of those words that has several meaning. It can mean the entire industry, as in "Quilting is a twenty-billion dollar industry," or it can mean the act of sewing three layers together, the quilt top, the backing and the batting. That's what I'm talking about today.

When I first started quilting, over twenty years ago, I had two choices. Hand quilt or get someone else to do it for you. My very first quilt, made in 1983, was quilted by the ladies in the local church. They charged me $100 and five or six women put it on a frame in the church basement and quilted it. The eldest in the group, whose stitches had been deemed too large, threaded needles.

After that, I hand quilted several of my quilts. It was extremely time consuming, but satisfying. A quilt might take six months or a year to hand quilt. Soon I was making quilts faster than I could quilt them. I quilted some on my home sewing machine but grew frustrated with my lack of skill.

Technology to the rescue.

Yesterday I spent quilting two quilts on Joanie's HQ16. That's a monster of a sewing machine that takes up the width of her garage. I've used it several times now and am getting pretty comfortable. I finished two quilts in 5 hours and was able to troubleshoot when I had problems. My quilting is pretty rudimentary, mostly swirls and a few flowers, but I'm getting better.

Speed isn't always the answer, nor is technology. But trying new technology can lead us to some interesting places.

Any technology floating your boat lately? Loving your new flat screen? Can you give me any reason to buy an Ipad?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

My Blackberry with talking GPS makes me pretty happy. Took me the long way through San Francisco, but I never did get lost!

Camille Minichino said...

I'm a technophile. If it has a battery, I love it. Posting this from my Droid while waiting for a mtg.

Monica Ferris said...

I love technology but I don't understand it, and am therefore afraid of it. On the other hand, I love my GPS!

Betty Hechtman said...

I know there is a lot more I could do with my BlackBerry, but I love being able to check emails wherever and the camera function comes in handy all the time.

Dru said...

That I can get Facebook and now Twitter on my blackberry and also checking my emails.

Terri Thayer said...

Hmmm...I may have to get a smart phone. Thanks, everyone!