Are quilters perfect?
06-30-2017, 05:09 AM
#51
Super Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Carroll, Iowa
Posts: 3,503
If so then I best quit while I'm ahead. I can't sew a straight line to save my life even using a foot with a flange. Can't cut a straight line either using a ruler. My hands shake from time to time and I never know when they'll jerk on me. I just do the bests I can and improve where I can. No one around here seems to notice my mistakes so why should I?
06-30-2017, 05:40 AM
#53
Super Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Portage, Michigan
Posts: 7,876
Goodness, NO! We may aim for perfection in some of our work but for many of us it is the creativity, the passion for color or learning a new skill with out hands or machine that makes quilting such a pleasure. Perfect? not me! I have grown past good enough and I aim for perfect, knowing that making a quilt is for my pleasure and someone's warmth and comfort. I want my quilts to live long and be a blessing to others. That does not need perfection. I do understand that other quilters need/want to pursue perfection and for them that is part of their personal drive. Find your own level of perfection and bask in the process of creativity.
06-30-2017, 05:45 AM
#54
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Grass Lake, MI and Bradenton, FL
Posts: 785
When I first started quilting I kept trying to be perfect and kept failing. I would use my seam ripper and try again and again to get it perfect and would still fail. I've only made one block that I consider perfect! I would get so frustrated. But then I started reading this board and others and looking at the pictures posted. I sometimes zoom in on pictures of quilts looking for imperfections and usually find that most of the quilts are NOT perfect but still beautiful! So now i still try for perfection but have a "3 times and you're out" rule. If a seam is not perfect I'll rip it out and try again. If it's still not right I'll rip out again. The third time sewing the seam is the last. If it's not perfect it stays and I move on. I enjoy piecing quilts much more now that I realize that a quilt does not have to be perfect to be beautiful!.
06-30-2017, 06:06 AM
#55
Power Poster
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: PA
Posts: 10,703
Ok I'm not trying to be snotty, I'm genuinely curious as to what made you ask this question. Did you have a conversation or an incident with the Quilt Police?
I am rather high on the perfectionist scale for my OWN work, I have high expectations of myself, but I will accept less than perfect if I feel I've done my best.
I would never tell someone else that their work was imperfect unless they asked for my honest opinion. And then I would be very specific and very kind about what I thought they could improve on.
I am rather high on the perfectionist scale for my OWN work, I have high expectations of myself, but I will accept less than perfect if I feel I've done my best.
I would never tell someone else that their work was imperfect unless they asked for my honest opinion. And then I would be very specific and very kind about what I thought they could improve on.
Do people who do crocheting, knitting, embroidery have this same feeling of being perfect. An observation of mine, quilters in general go from perfection to failure in one cut point on a triangle. There is a bigger picture to look at for me and that is the joy of doing, mistakes and all.
I am far from a master quilter except in my own mind.
06-30-2017, 06:14 AM
#56
Power Poster
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: PA
Posts: 10,703
this is good info. There is room in quilting for all types. I tend to be a perfectionist so I now do more difficult patterns and love doing them. I tend to oversize and trim to exact unfinished size. I love Deb Tucker tools and patterns, Sharon Schamber YouTube videos, Bonnie Hunter tutorials, Bloc Loc rulers to name a few things. there is also so much information and knowledge here on this site and on YouTube and different blogs and websites. It is a great hobby. Enjoy!
06-30-2017, 06:15 AM
#57
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Reno, Nevada
Posts: 794
Oh, Darlin' just keep at it. It's a learning process and a delightful journey, but we never arrive at the destination of "perfect," just better. My first quilt went in the dog's bed. That was over 40 years ago and over the years I racked up a couple ribbons and Best of Show at the State Fair. Now, I just quilt for an ever-expanding family and have opportunity from time to time to revisit quilts I forgot I even made. I don't remember ever making a quilt that didn't have a mistake somewhere. However, on the older ones I have forgotten what was wrong and can't find it myself now.
Simply enjoy the journey and make some memories.
Simply enjoy the journey and make some memories.
06-30-2017, 06:21 AM
#58
Power Poster
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: PA
Posts: 10,703
Not at all! No one is perfect! Anyone who claims to be has probably just found a creative way to hide their mistakes! LOL
If you want to feel more successful, be selective when picking a pattern. For example, if you have difficulty matching seams, start with a pattern that doesn't have a lot of matching seams, like Missouri Star's Double Slice Layer Cake quilt. Pick patterns with larger pieces, or squares/rectangles. Those would be easier than triangles. Build your confidence with the easier ones before tackling the harder ones.
If you want to feel more successful, be selective when picking a pattern. For example, if you have difficulty matching seams, start with a pattern that doesn't have a lot of matching seams, like Missouri Star's Double Slice Layer Cake quilt. Pick patterns with larger pieces, or squares/rectangles. Those would be easier than triangles. Build your confidence with the easier ones before tackling the harder ones.
Very nicely put. I also like Eleanor Burns' "Trip Around the World" pattern and suggest it when people are looking for an easy starter pattern with big impact. Not one interlocking seam. It looks great and feels good to do this one as a starter.
06-30-2017, 07:04 AM
#60
Super Member
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Sonoma County, CA
Posts: 4,299
Please, be my guest! 
lovstoquilt301 - I LOVE your sign, and have been contemplating making something similar (but even messier) for my quilting room. I've seen pre-made signs that are similar too, but they're not imperfect enough! LOL
My first quilt was absolutely abysmal. I didn't even KNOW about quarter-inch seams, and almost none of my seams lined up right, and I had all SORTS of newbie problems. But I finished it, and it's on my bed all summer long every year, and unless I look close I can barely notice all my many, many, MANY mistakes. It's a good reminder that even a "bad" quilt is better than a boring blanket.
In fact I often drag that quilt downstairs when I'm teaching a new friend how to quilt and she's getting overwhelmed by wanting perfection. I tell them it's my bed quilt and show it off and ask how she likes it, and when she's done with the compliments I bring it closer and start pointing out how many of my seams are over a quarter-inch away from where they should be(!!), and how wobbly my quilting is, and how I had to re-sew the binding in several places, and where my backing was too small and I had to cludge in a piece...
It really helps them relax and realize that my seriously messed-up quilt looked JUST FINE until I started pointing out problems, and so will theirs! (And I help guide them, so that their first quilts turn out a lot better than mine did!)
lovstoquilt301 - I LOVE your sign, and have been contemplating making something similar (but even messier) for my quilting room. I've seen pre-made signs that are similar too, but they're not imperfect enough! LOL
My first quilt was absolutely abysmal. I didn't even KNOW about quarter-inch seams, and almost none of my seams lined up right, and I had all SORTS of newbie problems. But I finished it, and it's on my bed all summer long every year, and unless I look close I can barely notice all my many, many, MANY mistakes. It's a good reminder that even a "bad" quilt is better than a boring blanket.
In fact I often drag that quilt downstairs when I'm teaching a new friend how to quilt and she's getting overwhelmed by wanting perfection. I tell them it's my bed quilt and show it off and ask how she likes it, and when she's done with the compliments I bring it closer and start pointing out how many of my seams are over a quarter-inch away from where they should be(!!), and how wobbly my quilting is, and how I had to re-sew the binding in several places, and where my backing was too small and I had to cludge in a piece...
It really helps them relax and realize that my seriously messed-up quilt looked JUST FINE until I started pointing out problems, and so will theirs! (And I help guide them, so that their first quilts turn out a lot better than mine did!)
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