“Cocoa” my first to be released applique pattern for KitKatKreations. Pattern made from clipart by JDS Clipart. Keep an eye out for this and many other Applique and Quilt patterns as soon as I get everything straightened out!

Hi everyone! I am a “Real” Quilter, how about you? Read on to find out more! I wrote this little article last year for a large machine embroidery website, and decided it would be good to post it here as well. I hope you will enjoy it, and in the end, if you had any doubts over whether you are a “real” quilter or not, that you will decide you ARE! I have changed a few things, nothing major in the bulk of the article, just a few personal details that are not recommended!

How to tell if you are a Real Quilter!

Something that I’ve heard at least a thousand times over the years is “I’m not a real quilter”. I heard it from customers at work, I’ve heard it on forums, in chat rooms and I’ve heard it in talking to folks on the phone. So what is it that makes a person a “Real Quilter”?

Many years ago, when I started quilting, I was working at a local craft store, and I loved hanging out in the Fabric Department of the store. It wasn’t my job, but I was there helping out every chance I got! I had not been quilting long, and most of my trial and errors occurred while working there. Usually in a quilt I was making for them for display! They either paid me hourly and the quilt was theirs, or they didn’t pay me and the quilt was mine after six months on display, either way, they provided all the fabric and supplies to make the quilts for display. What a deal! That is how I tested new techniques! Thinking back I know there were some expensive and lousy quilts hanging there!

One day, a well dressed lady came into the department and was going through the flat fold fabrics. She was choosing several nice ones, that looked to be for a quilt. Naturally, I jumped right in there, and said “these will look really nice in a quilt, is that what you are making?” I was always fast on the topic of quilting, it was and still is my favorite topic!

The lady looked down her nose at me, which must have been very difficult as it was at least a mile high in the air, and said “absolutely not, I wouldn’t use this GARBAGE in a quilt, I only buy my quilt fabrics from a Quilt Store”. She then told me that all this fabric was good for was making covers for her dog’s bed as they could then be “disposable” versus having to wash them. Must be nice I thought.

Well, that didn’t set me back long, just a second or two, and I came back with the fact that I use this “garbage” in my quilts all the time.

That’s when she told me that I was NOT a “Real Quilter” because I didn’t use quilt store fabrics.

I never hesitated, I answered that comment straight from my heart.

“I AM a Real Quilter because I quilt from the HEART”

I may not be able to afford quilt store fabrics, but that doesn’t make me less a quilter. I don’t make heirloom quilts for the Smithsonian to be displayed a hundred years after I die, I make quilts that I know people will curl up under, and use, and LOVE. I make quilts that can be dragged through the dirt and the mud, get tossed in a washer, and be ready for the next cuddle without fear that they are ruining a prize quilt. I make quilts to show the people I love, that I love them, and quilts to decorate my home. And I can make a lot more quilts for those I love by using this “garbage”. (Of course, there is garbage fabric, then there is fabric that costs less than quilt stores and is good fabric, those are the ones I use!)

Every time I hear someone say “I’m not a Real Quilter” I remember this lady and her comments, and wonder, what makes someone think they are not a real quilter? Is it because they don’t make heirloom type quilts? By that, what I mean are quilts that are so beautiful no one wants to use them, for fear they will get them dirty or ruin them in some way.

We ARE Real Quilters folks, every one of us who has ever made any type of quilt, you ARE a REAL quilter!

You do not have to hand piece or hand quilt, or hand applique to be considered “Real”. You can make a simple two pieces of fabric, flip and turned and tied quilt and that would make you a “Real” quilter! Why? Because you made it from the HEART!

You see, all it takes to be a Real Quilter is to be quilting from the heart! When you work on your quilts, it doesn’t matter how good you are, if your points match, if your hand stitching is a perfect 20 stitches to an inch, all that matters is that you do this from your heart! If you spend time thinking about the person you are making the quilt for, you are quilting from the heart. If you are making it for yourself, you are showing that you care about you as well. If you make it for your home, you are blessing those around you.

Even if all you do is potholders or placemats, you ARE a Real Quilter! You don’t need to sell quilts, you don’t need to be first place in a show, you don’t need to be a member of a quilt guild, or be in a magazine, or any number of things to be considered real! And most of all, you don’t need to use quilt store fabric to be considered a real quilter!

I never joined any quilt guilds because of this lady. I didn’t want to be associated with snobs like she was, and if that was the type of person who joined a guild, I wanted nothing to do with them. It was years later before I talked to another lady who suggested I join her quilt guild, and I told her, no thanks, and told her the story of the lady at the store. She was truly appalled, and asked, was she a member of ***, and I said yes, actually she was. That’s when I learned there was a difference in quilt guilds and they may not all be the same!

I never did join one, never went to a meeting, never felt the need to. Sure, I could have learned a lot through the years had I joined, but somehow, I like the way I learn! I learn by trying new things, after all, if it doesn’t work, what am I out? A yard or two of “garbage”? What I gain is priceless though. I gain knowledge, pride, courage to try something new, and most of all, it’s exciting!

I LOVE quilting; it’s my passion in life, no surprise there to those who know me! It’s relaxing, and just downright fun to chop up perfectly good fabric just to sew it back together! It’s my love of quilting that makes me want and need to pass it on, to teach others to quilt.

I’m not afraid to try new things, to jump in where I may not have the ability to go, but I do every chance I get. What’s the worst thing that can happen? I throw it away and no one is the wiser! Believe me, plenty of fabric has hit the trash because of an experiment that has gone wrong!

I’ll never be on a quilt show, or in a magazine, or be a “famous” quilter, and that is the way I like it. What I’m doing here is fulfilling my need to pass on my love of quilting. And that is why I do what I do, to pass on my love of quilting.

This is not to say you can’t make a Smithsonian quilt, there are reasons for those, and there is nothing wrong with making quilts that are so beautiful no one wants to use them. But how much nicer is it to see quilts that are being wrapped around someone you love, or hung proudly on the wall for all to see, versus knowing your quilt is sitting in the dark in a hope chest for “someday”. Who is enjoying that quilt now?

All those quilts you folks have that came from long lost relatives, which are in a closet somewhere, won’t you go pull them out now, and let the love that was quilted into those quilts wrap you up today? I’m sure that the person quilting them never expected them to pass through the generations sitting in the dark! Bring them out, and feel the love as you wrap yourself up in that quilt!

Now, are you a Real Quilter? Only you will know the answer to that. I hope that you decide that you ARE!

If you decide that you are a real quilter, please vote yes on was this guide helpful! I’d like to see how many of us REAL Quilters are out here!

quiltingsallykat (aka Sally)

copyright 2006

PS. Please see my About Me page for more information on my love of quilting! I will get it filled in as soon as possible!