Yes, people do notice.

I had a quilt machined quilted for my daughter and the quilting was noticed before the quilt :-(

People do notice, although not many people really see it or understand what goes into it. Except for other quilters, of course. I realized a few years ago that I do it for me and I'm OK with that.

Kate

Yes they do notice, but not many understand how difficult it can be.

beverly

Those that do, understand. Those that don't haven't a clue. I do it for me and if it is appreciated I smile.

I appreciate my own quilting, so I don't really need others to appreciate it with me. I do it for myself, and my pride in my workmanship. People who know me well also really do appreciate my quilting.

But that said, when dealing with the completely clueless, I will say things like "I chose this block for x reasons to do with this recipient. Based on the look of the quilt top, I decided to quilt with x thread, using this sort of y pattern, to add movement(or contrast, or whatever) to the quilt. How do you think I did?"

It may not make them appreciate the effort - but they do LOOK at it in a totally different way.

This is my response, developed over years, to the people who look at my quilts and say "Wow, I bet you could get $50 for that on Ebay!"

Amen, Mary!

People tend to oooh n aaah over my stitching. Last nite one of my quilts went up for auction to help my friends church save their stained glass window. It brought in a whopping $25. What a balloon popper that was!
Bon
:)

While I do get complements and thank-yous from the family and friends on the quilts that I make, I've only had one instance where the stitching was actually noted. That was when my DH happened to come in when I was working on a quilt that he had requested, which I chose to hand-quilt. He said, "you mean all this stitching you've done by hand??" I said yes, and he just shook his head and walked out of the room with a look that probably meant that I must be nuts. I did get a sweet thank-you poem that my Uncle wrote after he received a quilt that I made for him, but it was in general praise of the design and colors I'd picked for it.

I used to agonize over the "quilting" part of making a quilt, which would cause me to procrastinate, thus ending up with a pile of un-quilted quilt tops.

But this past spring I went to a retreat and met a gal who had 3 colorful, cool looking and machine quilted quilts that she brought to sew the bindings on. She also machine quilted one while she was there. When looking closely, I noticed that they were not quilted as neatly as I would've done, but the were still great quilts. Not only that, but they would be finished quilts by the time she left! That was more than I could say for my pile of perfectly pieced tops.

I'd say that she finished as many quilts that weekend that I have in the past 2 years!

So since then, I've machine quilted and put bindings on 2 of my quilt tops and plant to keep at it and not get hung up on worrying about it whether or not my quilting will be perfect--I just try my best.

I guess my answer is--yes, some people will notice, but I'd rather have a little less than perfect quilt to show, than have to say "Well, I'm working on a beautiful quilt--but, it's just not finished yet" That, and I'm finding that each quilt I machine quilt looks a little better than the last.

I am of two minds about this. If I am giving a quilt to one who doesn't really notice or care or for a raffle/sale, I am apt to just machine quilt any old way to just get it done. Then I see quilts on display that have beautiful quilting that adds to the work and kick myself for not fully embracing the art form.

Bon - I feel your pain! I donated a quilt for a school silent auction earlier this spring. It was the quilt I've done the most intricate quilting on with snow flake designs. I was so excited about it and put a lot of time in on it. It sold for $36.00. It felt like a waste of my materials and time and was of minimal benefit to the school.
Karlene

I prefer a raffle to an auction, silent or otherwise, LOL. People will spend a dollar or two or 5 or 10, for a chance at a nice quilt, but if it's a charity silent auction at a school or a church, they are there to get something CHEAP.

I am going to give a quilt for a silent auction for Selah Ranch's annual fundraiser. I will have $150 in materials in the quilt. I will state the value at $500. Minimum bid will be $350. I will have a written blurb about the quilt, the fabrics, the batting, the block, the quilting, etc.

The audience at that auction are well off, and they are there to support the fundraiser. If no one bids the minimum, I get the quilt back. I won't sell it for less.

I'm afraid the general audience at church and school auctions are looking to get something cheap, no matter it's value. It certainly happened to me when I donated a quilt to my step-dad's church. I put in MY minimum bid of $200, know full well I might be buying my own quilt for that. It sold for $225. But again, I wasn't selling a beautiful quilt for $30 - which is what the beautiful handmade rocking chair went for.

Yep! Have had the same reaction that the others here have had. I find that those to do quilt really look at what was done to the entire piece. Others only see the top and the pattern/colors used.

I hand quilt gift items,(just because I feel I want to do my best for a gift) and simple machine quilt things for charity. I am now working on a small 'twister' pattern wreath that will be for a church fund raiser and I will just have it look nice with simple SID - knowing that it is possible that the person who wins it could really care less about the time and effort that I put into it. Sometimes that is frustrating, but that is how it goes at times.