Quilter vs Crafter: The Great Divide?

Earlier today I was working on some social media stuff for the marketing aspect of my parents' company and I wrote something to the effect of "As the seasons change, so do our crafting projects" instead of "quilting projects".  When I read it aloud (as I often do to make sure my thoughts weren't faster than my hands), my mom was very adamant, almost offended that I didn't use quilters.

 

"Is it because you don't consider yourself a quilters, but a crafter?" she asked me, adding that while many of our products could be used in other craft areas, they were created for quilters.

 

I don't consider myself a quilter. I do a variety of crafts, and its not even my primary one. I have always been into needlework, cross stitching more specifically, though embroidery and monochromatic projects like redwork are ones that I do when I have the time to concentrate. (Life with a toddler has put a damper on that.)

 

Last year I attended a "needleworks" group at the local library and thought that embroidery and cross stitching would be among the things I'd see, but it was almost exclusively yarn work - knitting and crocheting. But the group welcomed me as if it was exclusively cross stitching.

 

Mom told me that if quilters saw "crafters" on the blog post or whatever I was working on, then they would automatically move on, not looking any further. I thought that odd. I mean I have a hard enough time trying to get my parents to see that "quilters" are no longer blue-haired ladies who sit around  telling stories of their grandchildren and sharing recipes. Quilters and crafters in general are going back to a younger and younger generation. I think with the onset of Pinterest and such, it is no longer seen as an "old lady's activity" (except to my husband, but that is a different post.)

 

So what do you think? Are you a quilter? Do you think that as a quilter, the label of "crafter" is offensive? Are quilters a "one craft" hobbyist or artist? Hmm ... I just don't know what the right answer is ...