Ask 10 quilters for their opinion...

And you get 11 opinions! Isn't that the way it goes? But, that is what is so fantastic about our hobby.

This story starts, like most of my quilting stories, with my mom. She always told me that I needed to use one pair of scissors for fabric, and one for paper. (In fact, I'll bet your mom told you that, too.) She had the same system for rotary cutters. What mom says was always Truth, so it didn't occur to me that anyone would think differently.

One day I take a class with Ms. Betty Bevill at Robin's Sewing Shoppe in Hoover. I was cutting my fabric with my rotary cutter, and I had to cut something with paper... so I reached in my bag to get another one. Ms. Betty asked me why I did that. "One for paper, one for fabric" of course. She asked me why they were separate. "If you use one on paper, it will dull the blade."

Then she told me, "If the blade gets dull, get another blade!"

That summarizes a change in the way I think about most things quilting. Sure, there are times when you can separate your paper and fabric blades... but looking beyond that, this was the first time that I had considered someone else's opinion in something that I knew to be 'True'. With rotary cutters specifically, I rarely use one so long that it becomes too dull to cut fabric. I don't normally hit pins... but I will end up hitting SOMETHING that causes a nick in the blade. Paper doesn't do that. So if I am changing blades long before they get dull, I wondered why I keep separate cutters in my Go Bag, my cutting table, my paper piecing bag, etc.

I now apply that same logic to many quilting ideas. Some people say if you use cotton thread you get lint in your machine, so you should use polyester thread. Others say that if you use polyester thread in your machine, you don't get the soft look of cotton. I say that both sides have good points, and I have to decide on a case-by-case basis.

We all have our own Quilting Opinions...

• Float vs Pin the quilt top

• Cotton vs Poly batting

• Free Motion vs Computerized quilting designs

• Bernina vs APQS vs HandiQuilter vs ___

• Modern vs Traditional

The thing I love about quilting is that we all have our own opinions.. but it is rare to see an actual argument over these. Did you notice? Drift into Two Chicks Quilting and loudly proclaim, "I only use cotton thread!" and a lively discussion will ensue. But, no one will get angry or throw you out. I wear my Bernina shirt in public to catch glances from people who don't expect to see that at work or karaoke or the grocery store... and they say, "Do you sew? I have a Janome..." Do you do that too? Does anyone get angry that you have a Brother when they have a Juki?

No, Quilters love to talk and champion our own ideas, but we also love to learn from others. In my 14 years now of doing this, I have seen and heard many ideas, but no one has gotten upset that my way is different than their way. That's why I think this is such a great hobby!