OK I AM GOING TO THROW OUT SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU AND I WOULD APPRECIATE ANY FEEDBACK.
My friend Cindy and I were discussing the Paducah show as we were returning home.
The topic of conversation was the Long Arm machines.
Especially the ones with the stitch regulator.
It seems all the top winners are either using the LA
or are having the tops quilted by someone else.
I have a problem with this. #1 is it fair to have your quilt, quilted by someone else and only have to acknowledge that someone (no name) worked on the quilt?
#2 Is it fair for those of us who have home machines without stitch regulators to have to compete with the LA? I know there is a separate catagory for LA but that only applies to those quilters who enter that catagory, and the rest just have them or do them on the LA and enter into the regular catagories.
There seems to be an inequity somewhere.
Also I am seeing quilts like the two quilters from France who always win top prizes. These quilts are done and acknowledged that two people work on them. Shouldn't that fall into the group catagory?
The winners were exceptional this year. The Best of show was almost mind boggling. Someone said it took her 4 years to complete and she invested $6,ooo.00 in crystals applied to the back.
So, anyway, let me know what you think on these topics and perhaps if enough people are thinking along the same lines we can get the shows to make some changes.
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5 comments:
I agree. Is there a seperate catagory for "painted quilts"? I think they should have their own catagory, or be placed in with the whole cloth quilts. Are they? Your Free at Last is wonderful!!!
Aren't the 2 or more person quilts put in group? If not they should be. As far as the LA, they should be segregated, & I had thought they were, I thought there were several catagories on the entry form rules in the magazine. I do think they try hard to make things fair. I'm not sure stitch regulators are an advantage. I have tryed machines with them & hated them.
I am a former LA quilter (I sold my machine when I closed my shop in 2001), and I hope to have another one day. It takes similar skills to use a LA machine, but it is a tool just like a DM (domestic machine). You still need skill and talent to do a good job. The only thing IMHO that makes it easier is the fact that you aren't wrestling the quilt through the machine. That said, I have issues with stitch regulators and will never use one myself (see skill and talent comment above). Unfortunately, not every quilter can afford the space or investment required to own a LA - but is it fair to say just because they have this "tool" they should be in a separate category? Who's to say that the quilter who owns the latest and greatest, most expensive sewing machine (like a Bernina Aurora) can make a better quilt that the one who stitches on a hand-me-down Kenmore?
On the subject of credit, the quilter should ALWAYS be credited if it is not the person sewing the top (as with the designer of the pattern if applicable) and I agree, two-person quilts should be in the group category - but I think most shows consider them eligible for the major prizes, as are all quilts in the other categories.
Just my two cents, thanks for the topic!
I think 2-person quilts should be in group too. And I think that many forms are starting to ask if stitch regulators or longarms are used. While I think it does take practice and skill, I think that the ease of both machines vs. someone working on a 2-stitch, 10-year old Singer like me, does give a measure of an advantage.
You want an opinion - I'm your woman! Never been without one in my life! OK, I think that 2 person quilts constitute a group, and I also think that a quilt top that has been quilted by someone else (whether on a LA or not) constitutes a 2 person quilt and is, therefore, a group quilt. Quilting is HALF the quilt, why on earth does it "not count" that someone other than the top-maker quilted it?? As to whether it's fair for LA quilters to compete with regular machines - both require talent and skill and each has advantages over the other, not sure that it really matters which machine you are using. Just so long as YOU DID THE WORK!! (Or entered it as a group/team effort!)
Phew, I'm tired now.
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