quilting not for me
#11
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That is the beauty of quilting. Nobody can tell you, you can't do it that way. For me, I like the slow and steady route. I like seams to match up and points to be present. Does it always happen, no, but I strive for it to. I think when things do match up and I do follow a pattern it makes it easier and more enjoyable in the long run. Quilt making is a process that builds on itself and if you take care of the details along the way you won't have to stress how to make it come together in the end. My friend is fast and casual and I am fine with that. She is happy and I am happy.
#12
Super Member
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 2,414
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Are you kidding?! No quilt is perfect! I'll even bet that the fancy ones hanging in the best quilt shows have a few mistakes! Relax, enjoy the process of making them, and the warmth and love the bring.
#14
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Victorian Sweatshop
Posts: 863
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Some of our quilting ancestors were so good they probably could have made a perfect quilt. But that would be challenging the creator so they included deliberate mistakes. I personally never let perfect get in the way of good enough.
#15
Super Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Carroll, Iowa
Posts: 3,446
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I've been told there is no "perfect" quilt which I'm glad to hear about but I do try to be as perfect as possible. I know I can't stitch a straight line to save my life but I do the best I can and make it work. I quilt my own quilts and I have robotics but from time to time I don't make accurate moves or choices, still no problem but I do try to work around it and better my techniques with every quilt I make. Of course my quilts will never be in a quilt show and that doesn't matter to me as I make my quilts as gifts to others and I know they will be happy to receive it knowing all the work that went into it. They won't look for the flaws........which is good to know, they'll look at all the love I put into it to make it special just for them. That's what matters to me.
#17
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Florida
Posts: 5,946
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Heavens No! The Quilt Police will tell you that you do and the competitive people who quilt for Shows will tell you that you do. But the joy of creativity overwhelms the critics. Like Nike commercials, Just do it. Have fun. Watch a few Jenny Doan tutorials and you will see how to have fun with it.
Last edited by QuiltnNan; 04-11-2019 at 08:01 AM. Reason: shouting/all caps
#18
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Greater Peoria, IL -- just moved!
Posts: 6,141
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One of the ladies in my small group is an improvisational quilter. Her blocks are similar but do not exactly match. Depending on what she is doing, her seams don't necessarily match. She has a great eye for color, loves to have a sense of movement, and her quilts are always gorgeous.
I'm a bit more precise/perfectionist/OCD whatever you wish to call me. But I'm also dealing with progressive vision loss. My best quilts are probably behind me, but I have years of quilting ahead of me (I hope!). I'm trying different styles like string quilts where matching isn't so important. I use techniques now that I used to call "fabric wasteful" like making half square triangles by taking two squares, drawing a line down the middle and sewing on that line, cutting off the excess, instead of cutting triangles and piecing them together "properly". Because I can't read rulers well any more, I make a lot of templates and what I call "snubs" which is a template of what to cut off rather than what to keep.
But my biggest advice for new quilters is to work really hard at a consistent seam allowance. A basic 9-patch is probably not what drew you in, but it is a great thing to use to work on those matching seams and seam allowance. I really stress what I call "driving practice" to new quilters. Learn your machine, develop your hand/eye coordination, and learn that seam allowance! You don't get to drive the Indy 500 with a learner's permit. When I first started quilting I was self-taught, it was before rotary cutters, I came from a garment construction background and I used a 1/2" seam for years as 1/4" seemed so impossibly tiny.
Been quilting some 40 years now, and while some projects have gone together easily and well, I've never made a perfect quilt either. I believe I can/could... but LOL never had to add a mistake, those just happen naturally. But what I've learned is how to work around those issues and make a quilt of lasting beauty and comfort. For me the end goal is a usable quilt, not a wall hanging.
Realize that being close up with your project magnifies its flaws to you. Step back, let some time pass and it will all be just fine. It's that thing Sandy said early in the thread, if you can't notice the flaw from 6 feet away from a galloping horse, there is no flaw! And as one of my other small group members says friends don't look for flaws, they look for love and they see the love
I'm a bit more precise/perfectionist/OCD whatever you wish to call me. But I'm also dealing with progressive vision loss. My best quilts are probably behind me, but I have years of quilting ahead of me (I hope!). I'm trying different styles like string quilts where matching isn't so important. I use techniques now that I used to call "fabric wasteful" like making half square triangles by taking two squares, drawing a line down the middle and sewing on that line, cutting off the excess, instead of cutting triangles and piecing them together "properly". Because I can't read rulers well any more, I make a lot of templates and what I call "snubs" which is a template of what to cut off rather than what to keep.
But my biggest advice for new quilters is to work really hard at a consistent seam allowance. A basic 9-patch is probably not what drew you in, but it is a great thing to use to work on those matching seams and seam allowance. I really stress what I call "driving practice" to new quilters. Learn your machine, develop your hand/eye coordination, and learn that seam allowance! You don't get to drive the Indy 500 with a learner's permit. When I first started quilting I was self-taught, it was before rotary cutters, I came from a garment construction background and I used a 1/2" seam for years as 1/4" seemed so impossibly tiny.
Been quilting some 40 years now, and while some projects have gone together easily and well, I've never made a perfect quilt either. I believe I can/could... but LOL never had to add a mistake, those just happen naturally. But what I've learned is how to work around those issues and make a quilt of lasting beauty and comfort. For me the end goal is a usable quilt, not a wall hanging.
Realize that being close up with your project magnifies its flaws to you. Step back, let some time pass and it will all be just fine. It's that thing Sandy said early in the thread, if you can't notice the flaw from 6 feet away from a galloping horse, there is no flaw! And as one of my other small group members says friends don't look for flaws, they look for love and they see the love
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#20
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Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Southern USA
Posts: 16,278
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Some of the best workmanship in quilts I have seen have been made by Japanese quilters.
Last edited by Onebyone; 04-11-2019 at 06:17 AM.
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