I have made about 5 or 6 quilts now and have done a poor job of the quilting aspect of completion. I did a stitch in the ditch on my first quilt which was a memory quilt-pictorial-for my mother-in-laws 80th b/day.
The next was for my daughter's marriage. I did some hand quilting on it, but since it was queen size I was extremely overwhelmed. I did very little and would like to finish it to a greater degree at some point. The next quilt was for my groand-daughter. Again I did very little hand quilting and did some in the ditch again. The last few I did just enough to get by on. I feel like a total failure with what I love to do best. I want to hand quilt or to machine quilt to make it look good, but I am usually lost when it comes to what pattern to quilt on my quilt and how much is too much and not enough. Just overwhelmed. I put a lot of planning into my piecing and fabrics, it just seems like I can't get beyond this part, which is what I want to do most. :roll: :?:

hI, dON'T LET GET TO YOU YOUR THE BOSS ITS YOUR QUILT, wHEN I GET IN A DELIMIUM , I USUALLY QUILT CLAM SHELLS, OR BAPTIS FANS MAKES A PRETTY QUILT AND EASIER :) :-) :D :thumbup:

let's get one thing straight, right off the bat. write this down and stick it on your sewing machine and mirrors:

YOU ARE NOT A FAILURE!!!!!

no ifs, no buts, no how!

if you take great care with your piecing, i'll bet it "speaks" for itself and your quilts are beautiful just as they are. i'm a bit of a minimalist myself when it comes to the quilting phase. on the one hand, i love all the ornate motifs and also wish i had either the time and energy to hand quilt the complex stuff OR the skill to do it by machine in freemotion. well ... i don't have the time; i don't have the energy; and i sure as heck don't have the freemotion skills. yet. all that will come with time and practice.

in the meantime, i do exactly as you do, which is to say i do what my time, energy and skills allow. i do a lot of my quilting one block at a time, or in sections. that way, if i want to machine quilt something complex, i can follow the lines using a regular foot - usually an open toe - without having to wrassle huge wads of quilt as i twist and turn and loopedy loop.

if you have made it all the way through a quilt to the "somebody has it, uses it, and loves it" phase then
YOU ARE without question A SUCCESS!!!!!

listen to Esther, share54. she's got the right idea. :wink:

Just a thought, But when I get stuck with what to quilt, I do outline quilting. I outline the pattern. I've also heard it called shadow quilting. How about tyeing them or maybe one of them. But since you love the quilting process so much, I guess thats not an option.
Make it easy on yourself, but by no means don't call yourself a failure. Oh my gosh the thought, love, care, and work that goes in to createing your baby. Is one huge sucess.

Thanks for the encouragement. I am going to enjoy this chat with other quilters, it keeps me motivated to go on.

Share54, there are NO RULES!!! No quilt police, just lots of things you can do if you WANT to!! I promise you no one but you will ever know if it's the way it "should" be, cause what 'should be' is what you do with it.

I love the outline quilting, I love the diamond patterns, I'm just a simple old country woman, whatever works, is right! If you make it hard you won't enjoy it and if you don't enjoy it, you won't do it!

YOU ARE NOT A FAILURE!!

Hugs,
Sharon

Thanks Sharon. I guess I am putting too much pressure on myself before I have the ability to do what I want. I am a little on the over acheiver side. My goals get so lofty that I give up before ever starting.
I will do just as you recommended. Thanks again!
Shareon

I am like you, I have some great quilt tops but get so overwhelmed when it comes to the quilting part, either by hand or machine. I don't do free motion and really don't like a lot of quilting in my quilts, but would like to do more than stitch in the ditch. So I know what you are feeling. Sniff sniff.

Rita

Try smaller projects. I know I did alot of potholders when I started quilting. Now I'm even brave enough to use a contrasting color that shows. And remember we are always harder on ourselves, but keep it up you'll get the hang of it.

I agree with Patrice, YOU ARE NOT A FAILURE, take the advice of the ladies here and do simple quilting.
I have found we are our worst critics. What looks not so perfect to us looks absolutely beautiful to others. Have fun with your projects. They are made with love, for your loved ones.....they will love them....tlcquiltnult