MrsWD's New, Mean, Mo-chine

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by Baz

Someone please school me on why someone would pay thousands for a quilt?

It’s an art form. It evolved from people salvaging scraps of material to make a useful product. You can imagine 100 years ago the women at the quilting bee beginning to compete to see who can make their quilt the most artistic. Now it’s become pure art. People pay for quilts by known artists just like they pay for paintings by known painters.

[Embraer]

Super cool....my mom has a long arm about the same size. it has replaced the table in my parents' dining room. My dad (retired IBM exec) is now a trained Bernina repairman (as well as a couple of other companies)...just for fun. My old bedroom, the dining room, and two other rooms in their house are dedicated sewing/quilting rooms.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by Embraer

My old bedroom, the dining room, and two other rooms in their house are dedicated sewing/quilting rooms.

Tell me about it. My man cave/mini gym is now home to the quilting robot.

There are a lot of facebook videos of it working if you do a search on "innova auto pilot in action."

[john70t]

After recently spending a few hours sewing (or rather struggling to) old torn work clothes, I have a better appreciation for the fine craft of precision fabric creation and what goes into it. I still have some hand and machine quilted blankets that have not been destroyed by the animals. Personally I wouldn't pay thousands for a blanket but do respect the craft. That looks like a mighty machine and hope it crates some masterpieces.

[Scott Douglas]

One more from me this morning.
This is a quilt that was handed down to me.

As the note says, it's pretty old.
Cora was my grandmother.






The P-car T-shirt quilt is actually more of a blanket as the backing is fleece.

[GH85Carrera]

This is a quilt in our guest bedroom / sewing room. The quilts are all scraps of cloth my mother in law kept from the dresses she and my wife made for my wife when she was growing up.

Each square is a memory of a dress and event in her life. My MIL put the top part together but took it to local quilt shop to have the padding and the back put together. She made the quilt for our master bedroom bed. The quilt on the bed in the spare bedroom is one my great grandmother made for her grandaughter, my mom back in the 1940s.

I gave one quilt I inherited from my parents to one of my cousins with lots of kids and grandkids. That quilt was made by my great great grandmother for her grandmother. It was finished in the mid 1800s and has a letter she wrote about the quilt. It is a family treasure and my cousin will have kids to pass it on to, both the letter and the quilt.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

It’s an art form. It evolved from people salvaging scraps of material to make a useful product. You can imagine 100 years ago the women at the quilting bee beginning to compete to see who can make their quilt the most artistic. Now it’s become pure art. People pay for quilts by known artists just like they pay for paintings by known painters.

I didn't know that. I have a friend whose wife left the real estate business to do quilting. She got into it big time going to all the shows. Even cross country. I think she might be doing quite well with this if it's as you say.

She certainly didn't hesitate to dive in and she's a known hustler (in the good sense).

[Scott Douglas]

To say there is huge money in quilting is an understatement IMO.
These are pictures from The Road to California quilt show which is, in non-Covid times, held in January out in Ontario CA at the convention center. They FILL all the convention center halls and then some. The quilts truly are works of art. I think Best of Show was awarded $10k for winning.













I go for the photographic challenges it presents, and the old restored Singer Featherweight machines.

[wdfifteen]

With all this talk of quilts and sewing machines I thought I would post this picture of my shop to reinforce my man-card bona fides. I wouldn't want anyone to be getting the wrong ideas.

[stevej37]

Where did you hide the sewing machine?

Nice garage!

[RWebb]

where are the woven leather 911 seats she made for you?

[porsche930dude]

Thats wild! Iv got one my great grandmother made I love it its all old 50s or 60s? fabrics I use it every day which is probably dumb? I dont know if it has much value do you? I always wanted to make one of my own I like sewing Iv made alot of minibike seats mostly.

[DonDavis]

My Mom was one of 7 children. Big family in East Tennessee, she and many other relatives were always quilting when I was a kid.
There was a quilting rack suspended in our living room many, many times while growing up.
Later, Mom consistently had one hanging in her living room for the last 15 years of her life.

She would just lower it for a project, then after completion she'd just raise and leave it in place for the next time.
My sister and Aunt are currently making one for me. She said it's a surprise, and I have no idea what it'll be.
Mom made one for me years ago out of old denim. That one turned out really heavy and it pretty much stays in storage. Not much need for it in my area of Az.



^^^ This is just wow!

[Evans, Marv]

I have about ten, old, handmade quilts handed down to me on a high shelf in a closet. They were made by my grandma, who died in 1982 (born in 1887). I have no idea how old they are. Most are very simple patterns and were used on a daily basis back in the day. I used the most elaborate one as a bed cover in the '50s to maybe '62 or so. Those old quilts are fairly thin. As a kid around ten years old, my bedroom was a converted porch without insulation, boarded up on the outside wall with translucent, plastic sheeting where wall openings were. When the weather would get down to freezing or below, my mother would pile those blankets up, & they'd be so heavy I could hardly move. In addition, she'd heat up the burner covers on the gas stove, wrap them in news paper, & put them in my bedding to prewarm it up before I got in. I have no idea of any value for those blankets. I think most had been used since sometime in the '30s to '40s and passed along.

[Sarc]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

With all this talk of quilts and sewing machines I thought I would post this picture of my shop to reinforce my man-card bona fides. I wouldn't want anyone to be getting the wrong ideas.

Came here for the quilting machine, and can't get past that 356. Beautiful.

[dad911]

I see a future in custom quilted car covers, lightweight rear seat deletes, fender covers.........

[wdfifteen]

We are getting closer to having it up and running. It hadn't been used in a year, and when we turned the computer on and connected the wi-fi it auto-updated and the robotic software wasn't compatible with the up-to-date computer OS. That should be straightened out by COB today. I can't wait to see this thing run.

[Scott Douglas]

Neither can we!

[Scott Douglas]

We have an ample supply of quilts, in case it gets cold, you know, like it did in Texas.

[Seahawk]

Great "thread" (yuk-yuk).

We have a large auto cutter at our composite manufacturing place. Same basic machine as Mrs. WD's just ten times bigger for cutting composite cloth.

Takes some time to learn but well worth it.

My oldest sister makes a very lucrative living selling yarn and thread from her fancy goats for quilters and others.

Enjoy!