Graciegirl

Hello to all you lovely quilters. My screen name is graciegirl I'mlooking forward to meeting you all. I am bit "rusty" picking it back up again up again. I need some encouragement because I am not sure of myself because I am very critical of my work. I'm always thinking I'm not good enough in things I do. I hope will get more confidence with you ladies. Gracie girl

SusieQOH

Hi Graciegirl, this is a wonderful forum to get tips, ideas, and all kinds of good things. I think many of us are critical of ourselves- much more than anyone else. I know I am! This discussion has come up a lot.
As I get older I'm finding that I enjoy doing what I do a lot more than I used to. I'm not so hard on myself.
Glad you're here.

QuiltnNan

Welcome from western NY and happy quilting

Barb in Louisiana

Welcome from south Louisiana. I am a perfectionist too much of the time too. I’ve heard the bit about a galloping horse but I can’t do it. Look forward to seeing your projects. I keep reminding myself that finished is better than perfect.

zozee

Graciegirl, you are in good company here. Each of us has our own insecurities, mostly stemming from our upbringing, I daresay, or from being criticized excessively by someone at some point in our lives. Or we were were encouraged in certain areas, but not in others. Or we compare ourselves to others who have had a lot more practice at the skill we're developing.

The best encouragement I can give you if you want a standard for yourself is to shoot for excellence, not perfection .I don't think perfection is achievable in anything here in this life. But excellence is. That's my belief. I do think everyone can do their best, and that today's best --with practice--will be better a year from now. If I know I've done my best work, I can rest. If something is bugging me, I can change it. Do I obsess as much as some folks? No. Do I obsess more than others? Probably. But this really isn't about holding up someone else's standard to my own. It's not a competition (unless you enter shows, then it is, and so you're submitting to judgment and hopefully welcome constructive criticism of even your best work).

That is a long-winded way of saying we're all in this together. Do your best, strive for excellence, and let go of perfectionistic tendencies. They will slow you down and probably not bring joy. Excellent results DO bring me joy.

sewhappyinSF

Welcome back to quilting!
Zozee put it so well - we perfectionists (I'm one as well) need to just do our best and learn to accept the fact that our quilts don't need to be perfect.
Jump in and enjoy the process!

NJ Quilter

Welcome from NJ. A little story about encouragement.... I was at a dinner a couple of weeks ago seated with 8-9 other folks. At some point during the evening one of the ladies across the table was speaking with the woman seated next to her and I caught a snippet of the conversation that contained the word 'quilt'. I asked her if she quilted, yada yada. Conversation evolved to the fact that she had only been quilting for the last three years because she thought she 'couldn't sew'. Her older sister apparently was an extremely accomplished sewist from a young age. This lady had been told - either HS home ec class or a 4-h class when she was young that the project she was working on was nowhere near the perfection of her sister's. Thus, she didn't sew again for many decades.

She passed over her phone with photos of the many quilts she has done in the last three years and let me tell you, they are wonderful!

So, as zozee said, don't let anyone else's or your own critique of your work stop you or slow you down. Just join the party!

Watson

Welcome and you're sure to have a good time here.

A few things that I keep in mind when I am quilting so it doesn't drive me crazy are,
a) Enjoy the journey. Don't be in a rush for the perfect finish
b) It's only fabric...what's the worst that can happen?
c) Someone seeing the quilt doesn't know what you had planned it to look like, they are only pleased by what they see. So if things don't turn out exactly how you had planned, it really doesn't matter because the end result is still beautiful, although perhaps different than what you had envisioned.
d) Sometimes, things just don't turn out. No shame in learning from them and walking away, IMO.

Watson

MarionsQuilts

I have been quilting for over 15 years, and there are some days I feel like I just started! It all depends on what pattern you want to tackle! I would suggest starting small before making something really complicated and big. Look through some easy patterns, and then just wing it and have fun!

I have been on here for a couple of years and every time I come on here with a question or looking for help, I always get tons of advice, information, etc. It is fabulous. Seriously, you will never find a better quilting forum than this one! The number of members, their experience, their kindness and generousity is absolutely amazing.

Welcome aboard the train of learning and fun!

Lori B.

Welcome from Michigan!