The Pros and Cons of Quilting

As a young girl, my aunt would often ask my sisters, mom, and me to come down for a weekend to quilt. She was a pro, and with only sons, had no children that had interest in picking up her hobby. At the time, I felt like I barely had enough attention to cut out five or six squares. I often preferred to explore the fields around their home with one of my cousins than stay still at a sewing machine.

Since then, I feel bad that I did not treasure those lessons a little more. For the past four years, as I am often home with my kids, I have enjoyed cutting out pieces of material and putting them together. Here are a few of the pros and cons that I have thought about as I continue working on my new hobby.

Pros of Quilting 

1. You are the first ever to make the quilt you designed. No one has ever made a quilt with the same fabric, cutouts, and stitches that you will make. There are pre-cut-out quilt patterns you can buy (all you have to do is sew it together). But you still are making your own unique quilt story.
2. If you like to work on puzzles quilting, is like a great big puzzle! Colors, patterns, pieces I get excited thinking about it.
3. You learn a lot about patients. Are you OCD? If so quilting, may or may not before you. Hundreds of perfectly cut pieces that fit together if done right. Not only that but there are a lot of little steps thrown in everywhere.
4. You can put a lot of “you” into your work. No, this isn’t because you have a million needle pokes and blood! Haha, it is all about bringing your personality out. What colors and patterns represent you?
5. If you are bored, this is a hobby that can take up a lot of time. On a quilt I recently finished, I probably spent close to 200 hours to complete. It helped me look forward to something for a while which, is always fun!
6. You can still do a lot while quilting. I often listen to books on tape, take classes online, or watch a show. Do you like to keep your hands busy? If so quilting is for you!
7. You can make great friends over quilts. By saying you quilt, many women will relate with you. Make someone a  quilt ,and  you show them that you are willing to put a lot of time and love into a gift.
8. You are recycling. Sometimes I use old dresses, shirts, and pants to go along with my quilt. I hate thinking about throwing away a cute shirt because it has a rip in it. Instead, I cut it up into pieces for a quilt. Doing this saves money and recreates fun memories.

Cons of Quilting 

1. It can cost a lot of money! With some fabric costing $11 a yard, a queen-size blanket can cost a ton of money. Why does it cost more to make a blanket than buy one? I have no idea.
2. It can be super frustrating. One wrong cut and the whole blanket can be off. I am not a perfect quilter, so most of my quilts don’t line up 100%.
3. Unless you have a sewing room, set up and take down is a lot of work. With toddlers that get into everything, I have to pull out my quilting stuff at night and put it away before they wake up. A hot iron, scissors, needles, and a sewing machine are tickets to the emergency room.
4. Sometimes it is hard to find the fabric you imagined. I am a picky fabric shopper. I love bright colors, large print, and thirty other stipulations. It can be discouraging when you can’t find the design you dreamed about.
5. You only need so many blankets! I hope you have a lot of family members and friends. The pro to this is there are a lot of refugees and homeless families in need of blankets that you can donate your quilts too.
6. You need room to store everything quilting. With a sewing machine and tons of fabric, closets may get crowded. I remember my, Aunt saying my Uncle would be annoyed at all of the room her sewing stuff would take up. Watch out, husbands!
7. Quilting can be addicting! I often find myself thinking about what blanket I want to start next. It is a never-ending hobby!