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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Maddie,
I was teaching a beginner machine quilting class the other day and ranted on and on about this. You were so succinct and on the button with your comments. Rude does not belong in the quilting community. The “quilt police” are quickly becoming a thing of the past. I’m happy to say, “Ye who have never made a mistake, cast the first stitch bitch!” If you have nothing happy to say, say nothing at all.
Let’s have fun and make the quilting community the best bunch of people in the universe.
Happy Stitchin’!
I aspire to be fearless in my quilting and life in general and I hope to goodness that that makes me Badass in all ways! Thanks for the boost.
Amen! I am finally Bad Ass!
I may choose not to swear but I love your message and I’m right there with you. I have always been a bit confused at all the judgemental attitudes in the quilting world. We all love to make quilts do why can’t we appreciate other peoples work even if their style is different. There wouldn’t be a need for all te different guilds if we accepted newer styles and fostered innovation. Having said that, I find many quilters who just are lovely people, no matter what your style. Quilt on.
Maddie. In the beginning, I did not like your use of ASS in your business name. It is a word that is crude and shows ill manners and lack of vocabulary development. But, I see the defiance in its use after reading your posts, and agree that I will now consider myself a BadAss Quilter because I am one. I am the artist in my work, and I am the only person I need to please, and I am empowered to say ‘so there’ to anyone who might pooh-pooh my efforts at my idea of art. So glad you wrote your post. Forgive my prejudice at your choice of name and keep being a BadAss Quilter. Quiddity(n.): the essence, nature, or distinctive peculiarity of a thing which makes it different from any other. I am QuiddityRox!! Roxanna Owen from PA.
Thank you Quiddity, we are glad to have you here!
I agree with you Maddie. I guess I am just “tough” about some things. Soon after I started quilting, a “friend” told me that since I used a machine and didn’t “hand cut” (use scissors) I wasn’t making real quilts. I asked her bluntly did she grow the cotton? weave the cloth? dye it? When she said “no.” I said
“Then you aren’t a “real” quilter either, are you?”
I think I put her in her place. I have laughed about it, but others may be hurt by such “rules” as some people like (attempt) to enforce.
I guess I am a BAQ. (((grin)))
(I was also told that my first quilt wasn’t a quilt because I tied it. But that is another story.)
You my love have been and always will be a QUILTER! 🙂
Thanks! I have had similar issues as Melissa K. I love the list. I would add- you can be a quilter and not be +55 years old. I have been in a quilt shop that basically ignored me because I wasn’t “the type”. I thought it was because they were busy every time I went in but then my mom and I compared notes and she was always greeted and helped- even when busy. I was -30 years old and she was +55 with silver hair.
Maureen, I am sorry for the way you were treated and yours is a story I have heard way too often.. We will keep banging the drum until everyone hears it!! 🙂
I quilt to challenge myself to do things I would normally not tackle. For instance. I have a strip-pieced triangle cut, pieced octagon “block” quilt that I have been working on for about three years. I bought four jelly rolls (two of each green and brown) and could not think of what to ‘build’ with them. So, WTF! Let’s make a quilt I have not made let alone attempted. I will not promise pictures as I am not sure I will ever finish it! LOL
I live in an area of “serious” quilters. I am a machine quilter. Strike one. I think improv piecing is the cat’s meow. Strike two. My handquilting stitches are long and noticeable. Strike three.The local guild is so full of self-important women I would never dream of joining. What we need in this part of Pennsylvania is a “Bad Ass Quilt Guild”!
Rock on all of you BadAss Quilters…I have made my way to be one…and say that I am a true artist/quilter with the help and confidence of Maddie & Nichole Webb…I now am feeling confident to enter my art quilts into some shows.
Thank you for saying this. I was discussing this issue this weekend with a fellow quilter and relating my experiences trying to learn hand quilting. Sadly, I have encountered a bit of elitism in this process (and to be honest/in their defense, I don’t think it was intentional, just a result of hand quilters feeling forgotten). At the end of the day, we all quilt in the ways we love but the end result is a quilt made with love and time.
Even though I created the name “Remembering Quilts” I never considered myself a quilter, my love is creating photo collages and adding them to material…. a quilt… LOL… I had no idea how to make a quilt 2 1/2 years ago, so I figured out how to sew a simple one via u-tube. I went to a local quilt club and felt out of place because I did not know the “talk” and everything I made was to comfort someone else with their photos. Wow, I can now say I’m a Quilter 🙂
Well said, that’s one of the things I love the most
about the guild I’m in from San Antonio, they are welcoming
and friendly and just want to share their enthusiasm for the art.
Maddie, this was perfect timing. I was speaking of my work to someone recently, and mentioned that I am moving toward making art quilts. Her response was, “Why don’t you want to make real quilts anymore?” Since this person also gave off disapproving vibes about my bright purple hair, I ignored her comment. Wasn’t in the mood to teach, and she wasn’t in the frame of mine to learn. 😉
This is a message that needs to be spread! Be a quilter, be a badass!
Thanks for writing this!
Do you “join” this group, or just become a Badass Quilter “because you said so!” ? lol I don’t have a real website and I don’t blog a0nymore, so I don’t know where I could put your lovely badge. I love what you stand for!
Jenny, Maybe we need a secret handshake??? …. if you say you are in.. you are in!! 🙂
This NEEDS to be made into posters, please. And plastered on the walls of every quilt group from modern to traditional to virtual. Thank you for this!
You have such a way with words Maddie…..so very well said!
And yeah, I consider myself BadAss Quilter too!
Well said! I’m finding that the relative anonymity of FB emboldens people to react an respond in a manner that they NEVER would in person.
Yeah! I AM a Badass Quilter and very proud if it!
Bravo Maddie I so agree…
Wonderfully said!
You are absolutely right! Another irk of mine is how people in guilds have their “clicks” and don’t even as much as speak to new members as if they aren’t “good enough”. I’ve been quilting on and off for 34 years and how people act in this beautiful craft just floors me sometimes!
There are quilters and quilt police. Which are you?
Wonderful! Have shared x
great blog post. totally agree
Leona
Well said. My mum and i both quilt and have both tried to get into quilting groups here and there to no avail. There is a real closed off thing going on with quilting which is a shame. Thanks for shaming the snobs xx
I am so lucky to have always been around quilters who embrace and celebrate everyone, regardless of how different their quilts might be. Until I started hearing all these horror stories I assumed that is the way it was with quilters eveywhere, at least that’s the way it should be. Although I don’t doubt these horrifying stories are true, I just can’t believe it, or don’t want to, if you know what I mean.
Exactly! I have been lucky enough to be surrounded by quilters of all types & styles, who are also accepting of all the other types & styles. I’m with you, Maddie. BadAss Quilters all the way!
I have made award winning miniature quilts and wall-hangings. My own mother doesn’t recognize these as “quilts” and is very vocal about her thoughts on this. Guess I just have to consider the source!!
Sometime people say rude and terrible things to others to make themselves feel more important. Unfortunately they are not the ones who remember the daggers they’ve thrown, but their targets are often wounded for life….or at least until they meet someone who can help undo the hurt. Your words may help salve many wounds. Well said, Maddie. Well said.
Well said! Now, sew straight and true.
Wow that was awesome! My mother owned a fabric store/quilt shop for years and that is why I got started quilting so young. But some of the women that worked for her treated me poorly because I was young and new to it and would say things like this. Then I discovered the quilters in social media and met those who accepted me and taught me more than any of those haughty biddys ever did by turning up their noses to me. I proudly say I am a badass quilter! And it’s because of people like you Maddie, who helped me love and accept me!
Thanks for the clarification, Maddie. I know what you mean and I agree with all of your points. Well put.
To quote Matthew McConaughey… Right on right on!
This is perfect and let’s all keep shouting it from wherever we quilt or sew or paint or draw or…
I am proud to stand beside you and perpetuate the badass.
Love ya!
Can you put that on a T-shirt? Or did you already?
We will be 🙂
I’d buy one!
Here, here, Maddie! What a confidence booster you are! I learn something about quilting every day and for so long though of myself as “less than” comparing myself to others. I am a quilter, and, thanks to you, a BadAss one at that!
Well said! While social media has opened up a world of new possibilities and ideas it also allows people to drop faceless and anonymous barbs into what may be a well-meaning post.
I like your definition of a quilter! I sew, I piece blocks, I think of someday finishing a quilt…and I kind of think of myself as a quilter. In my heart at least I am a quilter!
Thanks for saying that!
Perfect post! Will be following your blog via mine, too. (and of course fb)
Thank you. I’m going to print this out and put it on the wall in my sewing room. I stopped going to my local guild for a while due to all the negativity. I’ve jumped back in with a new attitude and this is a great reminder.
Yes. Exactly. It took me a long time to say, “I am a quilter.” I thought I had to do more, be more…something. But no, I am a quilter. Period.
Thank You!!!
What would our quilting ancestor have to say about all this defining and labeling????
Let’s just make quilts and be happy!
Thanks, Maddie, for continuing to be awesome.
Sometimes people can safely hide behind their perceived self-importance or just because they are using social media or some other internet service. It never ceases to amaze me how negative people can be. They can also be very giving. I hope we can all continue to bring out that giving nature to the benefit of everyone and set aside our negative thinking to the betterment of all quilting kind.
You go, girl! ☺ Very well said!
Life must be very hard for those who expect perfection from everyone…knowing that it will never happen! I much prefer spending my time and energy on more positive things. I mean, really, negative jerks must always be worn out from all that frustration. Quilt on!
How true! Thanks for the post!
Well said! This is a pet peeve of mine. Quilting is my way of expressing myself and I love to see others doing the same. If I’m complaining about someone else’s quilt, it is because I am so jealous, I can’t think straight ( or crooked, or meandering, or in the ditch or outlining or whatever).
I’m amazed at the free reign social media goves uptight rigid people. More then once I have posted a project only to have a complete stranger make a negative comment. I have begun to respond back instead of keeping quiet and stuffing my irritation. I had 2 responses to my comments. One was an apology because her negative comment (Ugh!) was not meant for my post.