when is it good enough for you?
12-31-2013, 08:52 AM
#21
Super Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: West Texas
Posts: 2,073
I find that my standards start out high, but somewhere along the way they start to slip until I reach the point where I just want it done. It is a good thing that I can do a decent binding, so at least that part is ok.
12-31-2013, 10:58 AM
#23
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Central Iowa
Posts: 2,347
I am not perfect quilter by any means but I do think we are all too hard on ourselves. I really don't believe there is a quilt that has no mistakes at all either in the pieceing or quilting. We are human
12-31-2013, 12:33 PM
#25
Super Member
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: La Quinta, CA
Posts: 3,918
I never take out seams unless it is a real mistake (like joining the wrong pieces). I'll most likely live with 99% of the mistakes I do.
I heard Leah Day say in one of her FMQ-videos:" The time you would be spending ripping is time you could have spent quilting."
I do the same with piecing.
I heard Leah Day say in one of her FMQ-videos:" The time you would be spending ripping is time you could have spent quilting."
I do the same with piecing.
Me too! I hope my kids will use the quilts I make. They tend to put them in the closet to "save" if I put too much time in them.
01-01-2014, 04:32 AM
#26
Super Member
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 2,061
If I am making a quilt for someone I try to envision what they would like and go from there. If I am making it for charity or for myself I get to decide what I want to do. If the colors please me and the pattern comes out as good or better than I thought it would, that's good enough!
01-01-2014, 04:36 AM
#27
Super Member
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Heart of Colorado's majestic mountains!
Posts: 6,026
Jinny Beyer's designs are unique to her. She has the edge on designing border fabrics in all sorts of widths. If you look at her fabric carefully you will see that she plans spacing between each stripe so that you can use the full stripes and not have to cut (and waste) some of them because you have to have seam allowances. She designs the content to maximize 'fussy cutting' techniques. However, as you have discovered you don't have to use the fabric her way. You achieve great results by ignoring some of these characteristics. If you are happy with the way you use the fabric design in your quilt you have achieved success. Another designer who has taken fabric design to new heights is Bethany Reynolds and her stack and whack method. Do what you like and love what you do. It is good to want to do the best you can but keep the joy.
01-01-2014, 05:17 AM
#28
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Florida
Posts: 3,832
A lot depends on the reason I am making the quilt. If it is for a gift, I am careful but don't sweat too much because usually the recipient won't notice the mistakes anyway. As long as it presents itself well and is put together well, a few minor boo-boos don't bother me. If I'm making something to sell, I'm pickier, but again, the end buyer probably won't even recognize most of what I call mistakes. Now if I'm trying to learn a new technique, then I'm really picky because the whole point is to master what I'm learning.
I tend to be the hardest on myself when I'm making a quilt for ME because I know will see all of my mistakes every time I look at it. I know what will bother me, so I fix it. And there's something about finally getting it right that just really makes me happy. But I do it for me, not for anyone else, including the quilt police! And sometimes I never do get it quite exactly right. Then I just move on, maybe come back another day and try again, or maybe not. I don't let it get my knickers in a twist.
I tend to be the hardest on myself when I'm making a quilt for ME because I know will see all of my mistakes every time I look at it. I know what will bother me, so I fix it. And there's something about finally getting it right that just really makes me happy. But I do it for me, not for anyone else, including the quilt police! And sometimes I never do get it quite exactly right. Then I just move on, maybe come back another day and try again, or maybe not. I don't let it get my knickers in a twist.
I also leave pet hair on the floor until company is coming. It's just not high on my priority list.
01-01-2014, 05:23 AM
#29
Power Poster
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Lowell, MA
Posts: 14,083
Unless a pieced block is glaring at me, close enough is good enough. After all, I'm looking at the block while it is being constructed, so I'm up close and personal, however, I seriously doubt that anyone receiving one of my quilts will notice. I am a perfectionist in a lot of areas in my life, but I have slowly learned to let some of that go and I still make beautiful quilts.
01-01-2014, 05:48 AM
#30
Super Member
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Timmins, Ont. Canada
Posts: 4,683
Funny that you posted this. I have just recently taken an entire quilt top apart because I didn't like the 1 shade of blue that i had picked.
I put all the pieces away & yesterday decided to give it another shot. I decided to use a soft ivory with a tiny pattern in it for the replacement & like it so much better. I just decided that I was not going to waste any more time & my limited talent on a piece that I didn't like. Maybe that' s being "anal" but I am so much happier with the quilt top, now. I ended up having to resize the blocks that didn't have the blue in them but it went much faster than I thought & nothing got distorted from all that extra "ripping" & handling. For me, it was well worth all the extra work.
I put all the pieces away & yesterday decided to give it another shot. I decided to use a soft ivory with a tiny pattern in it for the replacement & like it so much better. I just decided that I was not going to waste any more time & my limited talent on a piece that I didn't like. Maybe that' s being "anal" but I am so much happier with the quilt top, now. I ended up having to resize the blocks that didn't have the blue in them but it went much faster than I thought & nothing got distorted from all that extra "ripping" & handling. For me, it was well worth all the extra work.
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