To be a BadAss Quilter is to be confident enough to embrace your own style without the need to mock the style of others. To at least aspire to fearlessness in your craft as well as authentic, compassionate and ethical treatment of each other. To be generally opposed to dumb-ass behavior that separates, denigrates or makes light of another’s work, style or life. In short, we are opposed to being a jerk about most things and about quilting most of all.
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” Well *I* am a real quilter” – and it was not said in a playful manner, it was being used by one quilter to put another quilter she did not even know ” in her place”. It was haughty, rude and encapsulated all the parts I detest about the darker side of the quilting world. It was the antithesis of being a BadAss Quilter and it made me sad.
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So Let’s Get This Straight – You ARE a Quilter!
You are a real quilter if you work with new fabric (quilt shop quality or not) recycled fabrics, denim, vintage bed sheets or Capri sun bags ! If you put two layers together with batting in the middle and keep them that way with stitches.. then you ARE a quilter.
You are a quilter if you quilt with, a vintage treadle, or a machine with enough processor power to run NASA on an off day. You are also a quilter if you quilt with a hand needle big enough to stand in for a marshmallow roasting stick or one so tiny that you need a magnifier and a wand magnet to find it if it gets dropped.
Hell, you are quilter even if you don’t happen to quilt your own quilt tops or if what you do is only the quilting and prefer to let others do the piecing. It is the goal in this case, not the stroll. So let’s not get so caught up in the verbiage…and as a note to those who want to refer in disdain to those who don’t quilt their own work as ‘ TOPPERS”… this is also the name for those in sexual dynamic play who hold the whip… so be careful <G>.
You are a quilter if your quilts are feats of technical perfection that would make angels weep or full of charming, wonky character only a mother would love.
You are a quilter if your heart beats only for Civil War prints or if you think that there are never enough shades of grey and that most quilt stores don’t carry near enough solids.
You are a quilter if you are a man or a woman, gay, straight, bi, or transgender. Your parts and who you share them with have nothing to do with being a quilter only your passion for the craft.
If you say you are a quilter then you are one- simple and end of sentence.
The only real question is, are you a BadAss Quilter?
Stitch fearlessly my dears – until next time.
Maddie
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I am a BadAss Quilter!!!!
I am not a bad ass quilter. I am still learning, but maybe some day I will be bad ass. But I something with every quilt I make.
Maddie,
Thanks so much for the encouragement. I am new to quilting, having just finished my 3rd quilt. I haven’t braved the actual “quilting” yet because I want to focus on improving my piecing skills before tackling that challenge. Someone recently told me I was “just a topper” and I allowed their comment to make me feel ashamed and diminished. Thanks to your insight, I will have reason to smile if I am ever told that again….and I will resist the urge to use my imaginary whip on the small-minded commenters.
I didn’t realize that there were so many “layers” to the quilting world. We humans can be so mean to one another. If anyone enjoys fabric, not matter to quality, kind, or color, enjoys sewing together something beautiful (perfect or not), the company of others while sewing, the love that is put into a handmade item, then they are a bad-ass quilter! The Amish have a saying that says: every item they make must have a flaw in it. None are perfect. The flaw reminds us of our flawed human nature.
Ok, bad ass quilters, lets get out there and quilt our butts off!
Amen! Well said. I’m tired of the snobs and judges!
Excellent! Apparently, I’m a Badass quilter. LOL. I think one of the things those of us who have been quilting forever need to remember is that at some point, we were inexperienced, too. I’m always happy to help new quilters IF and ONLY if they ask me to. I will never criticize another’s work. Quilting feeds my soul and I love talking to someone else whose soul is also fed by quilting…even if it’s a brand new art for him or her.
I often quilt by check as my friend Anne would say.
BadAss all the way! Rock on Maddie! Well said 😀
I have been fortunate not to have met any of the snobs in person, but only online. They are quite ridiculous either way. Here’s an example of how ridiculous they can be: on a Facebook group dedicated to making blocks based on/inspired by the fabrics used and quilts made by women during the Great Depression, the fabric snobs showed their fangs at some poor new quilter who asked where to buy fabric. I went on a rant in an attempt to explain that it was absolutely hilarious that they were telling people they had to pay $13/yard for fabrics to make a quilt inspired by women who made their quilts out of any fabric they could find, including used clothing. It’s absolutely nuts.
It is funny I found this sight. I have a friend who had a stoke. For some reason she found quilting. When she reads some snobby blog she often questions the quality of her work. I think to myself those snobs can never know how this outlet has enhanced the quality of her life. She does not buy quality fabric (financial reasons). When she finishes a project I can feel the joy and sense accomplishment. She has come so very far and I am sure A real quilter would consider her work trash by their standards. I assure her the only person she has to please it herself. I am happy she has the fire to try. Comprehension and memory has been a problem with learning. I have been a fun quilter for many years. I do not take blood pressure meds I do not seem to need therapy (so I think) I work everyday and give back what I can. I will not ALLOW a real quilter belittle me or my friend. I do not need nor want their approval.
I recently saw a post from a proud mother in law to be of a quilt she is giving as a wedding gift surprise. My first reaction (which I kept to myself) was if my mother in law gave that to me, I’d file for divorce ASAP. My second reaction was that a lot of time, money and love went into the quilt and maybe the groom is like the quilt–only something/someone a mother would love–My taste is not everyones–Live and let live–
PS–it was still frighteningly butt ugly!!
Thank you for clearing that up! I comb thrift stores, yard sales, chain fabric stores and an unnamed big box store for inspiration, fabric and all kinds of other sewing and quilting stuff. I was scared to death to quilt or piece or anything because I wouldn’t do it right. My friend Linda velcroed my assets to a sewing stool and wouldn’t let me up until I was done. It was a baby quilt, small and lovely and I gave it to a grand-baby. I have not looked back. I will do what I can and enjoy what I’m doing or it goes into the “Quilt Time-Out Corner” until we both calm down enough to go at it again. Thanks Maddie you rock kiddo, from one of those slightly silver-haired granny types. 🙂
A friend sent me this link and came at a time when I needed an attitude adjustment when it comes to my quilting. I think some of it comes from being part of a quilt club with very experienced quilters that sometimes see to look cross-eyed at some of my finished items. I have come to the conclusion that if I’m having fun at my quilting and my own style comes through, I am happy and they can kiss my rotary cuter.
Oooops… I have a FB group called The REAL quilters of Australia (and sewers) … so called because we “Keep it Real” …. we encourage and are positive about everyones efforts… we keep it real with our honesty about being imperfect or frustrated… we GET real by being as off topic as any member needs to be…coz life isn’t JUST about quilting…. we are REAL people… with REAL lives and REALISTIC expectations and aspirations… we make real quilts… some of them ARE work of art for display… but the vast majority are to be snuggled under for comfort and thrown in the washing machine for cleaning….. we are kind to each other and to ourselves about what we do…. and our only rule? Play nicely …and everyone sticks to it ….
Fortunately my first quilt shop/guild experience (in the dark ages before the internet) was a model of how it should be done. I took my first quilt in looking for help. The lovely lady in the shop explained what I needed to do. I could tell by the look on her face, quickly masked, that my quilt needed help. Yet she gently showed me how to make things better and when I asked if I should rip it out and start over she said “finish it up and move on, dearie. You will treasure it.” She understood that finishing my first quilt was far more important than giving up because it wasn’t perfect. She told me to learn something from each quilt. She was wise enough to know that encouraging me could make me a life-long quilter. It is a lesson I have carried with me ever since, and one I share whenever I get the chance.
I’ve run in to the quilt police and fabric snobs on occasion since then. I am always learning and looking for ways to do things differently. So, I try to learn if they have something to teach me. But mostly, I hear that wonderful voice saying “finish it up and move on, dearie”. Truth be told, I still have and still treasure that first quilt. And I feel sorry for the small minded folks who can’t see the beauty in experimenting and trying and growing.
Love the post… Shared to Facebook.
Thank YOU for this! I was terrified of quilting, and have heard too much hullaballoo about the “rules” of quilting engagement for an entire lifetime—until I finally realized that it’s not okay for anyone, quilter or otherwise, to put me down for what I don’t know. My friend, who is very much a BAQ, took me step-by-step through my first hands-on quilting primer recently, never laughing at my incessant questions, giving me all the tips she knew plus the freedom to choose methods that work for me, and the freedom to have fun without worrying about perfectly matched seams, and for the first time I actually finished something and ENJOYED the process. I vow to be a BAQ as well!
Spot on Maddie!
I so agree with all the comments. I have left FB quilting groups because of the snobs. What bothers me is the attitudes over fabric. I buy mine at JoAnns, and when I post a pic of the quilts, I get asked about the fabric, and then told, “Oh, well, use what you can afford”. It is like a put down because I don’t spend a fortune on designer fabric. And I don’t need my quilts judged, I make them from a love of fabric and creating, I don’t need more snobs looking for any mistakes, just to pin a ribbon on my wall. No thanks. I keep more to myself now, and I am very proud of my work, and that is what is important to me.
I have a friend (yes, she is still a friend) that used to do longarm quilting on her mother’s machine for me- for free, no less! I have stopped giving her tops to do because the last quilt I gave her was my daughter’s wedding quilt- and she ‘laughingly’ told me that her mother kept pointing out less than perfect points and saying “Quilt Police! Quilt Police!” Who needs that shit? Sometimes free comes with too high a cost. On the plus side- it encouraged me to do more FMQ with my trusty 30 yr old Bernina- would never take any prizes but I’m happy with every stitch!
A fucking men
Where have you been all my life!!! You expressed this so well and I just discovered you. All in good time, of course. I only discovered quilting less than 3 years ago and am totally hooked. It has freed me to become the artist I was always meant to be.
Bravo Maddie! I officially request membership in the Badass Quilters Society. Am leaning on my third quilt right now (and the second baby quilt- thank the Goddess for baby quilts) saying I really need to get this quilted and get on the the next one, but now that I am a Badass Quilter candidate, I may just leave it til tomorrow! Because it’s OK to do that!!!
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Right on Maddie! 🙂
My overall experience with the folks I’ve met in the quilting community has been wonderful and the vast majority are very loving and incredibly supportive. Unhappy people are everywhere and do everything, so of course the quilting community is not immune. I feel compassion for people that feel the need to put down others to make themselves feel better.
I feel it’s important to put it out there like you have. Maybe some might look in the mirror and take notice of their judgmental tendencies.
The reason I feel what you are doing is so important is that you are inclusive of ALL quilters.
Love, -s
It’s sad but true that the people who most need this message are 1. Unlikely to read it, and 2) not self-aware enough to get that it’s intended for them.
On another our, my occasionally stodgy guild had it’s first transgendered person @ a potluck last Fall & nobody was anything other than gracious, ya!
Right on sista! I can’t believe the comments people will make sometimes. Thanks for putting “them” in their place. We are not all at the same level in anything in this world. So why would you want to kill the spirit of those that are trying to learn quilting or sewing. It’s a craft, it’s a hobby and everyone does it for different reasons!