The old Welsh quilts that I most admire are those made in the country areas of South Wales in the 19th century, usually in the counties of Carmarthenshire, Ceridigion (which used to be known then as Cardiganshire) and my home territory Pembrokeshire. The ones that survive were usually professionally quilted and have probably lasted because one normally tends to respect something one has paid good money for!
Professional quilters didn't hang about trying to decide what to mark, they didn't have the time, so they usually stuck to their favourite format and quilting motifs and probably didn't change the way they worked much. Even so, no two quilts would have been the same because they only marked out the major areas of the pattern. All the subsidiary patterning would have been made up as they worked.
When studying old quilts what has struck me most is that they were not in the least timid but were usually bold in their approach. They made sweeping statments with their marking and didn't worry about getting everything even and exact. They just went for it and that is what I most admire and try to emulate.
Why aim for perfect quilting? We should try to do the best we can and not to be sloppy, but quilting is a creative process to be enjoyed. It makes the patchwork come alive so it shouldn't be thought of as the long boring slog at the end of the exciting bit!
Sadly, all this does take time and we live in a world of instant gratification, when doing something quickly and moving on is what everyone seems to want to do. Books and magazines encourage this simply because they have to fill their pages with something, so a quick project is ideal. However, when studying masterpiece quilts I can't think of one that has been done quickly?
Now I can hear you say - I'm not interested in making a masterpiece, I just love making different things! Well up to a point I agree with you, but I think everyone owes it to themselves and the craft to make at least one really good piece in their lifetime and this need not interfere with quick projects - they can be picked up and put down as time allows.
Professional quilters didn't hang about trying to decide what to mark, they didn't have the time, so they usually stuck to their favourite format and quilting motifs and probably didn't change the way they worked much. Even so, no two quilts would have been the same because they only marked out the major areas of the pattern. All the subsidiary patterning would have been made up as they worked.
When studying old quilts what has struck me most is that they were not in the least timid but were usually bold in their approach. They made sweeping statments with their marking and didn't worry about getting everything even and exact. They just went for it and that is what I most admire and try to emulate.
Why aim for perfect quilting? We should try to do the best we can and not to be sloppy, but quilting is a creative process to be enjoyed. It makes the patchwork come alive so it shouldn't be thought of as the long boring slog at the end of the exciting bit!
Sadly, all this does take time and we live in a world of instant gratification, when doing something quickly and moving on is what everyone seems to want to do. Books and magazines encourage this simply because they have to fill their pages with something, so a quick project is ideal. However, when studying masterpiece quilts I can't think of one that has been done quickly?
Now I can hear you say - I'm not interested in making a masterpiece, I just love making different things! Well up to a point I agree with you, but I think everyone owes it to themselves and the craft to make at least one really good piece in their lifetime and this need not interfere with quick projects - they can be picked up and put down as time allows.
