I attempted to make a lap quilt for my Bible Study Teacher for Christmas. I am new to quilting and have tried to teach myself with lots of help from different Forums.Ok my dilema is that I made this quilt and tried to use the Sew in the Ditch stitch to quilt it. I didn't stay in the ditch hardly at all, also I thought I measured very carefully but some of the squares did not match. I do not have time to make another one. My husband says it looks fine and to go ahead and give it to her. I don't know what to do. I am attaching a picture Please tell me what you would do.
Sherry

Its a lovely quilt and you are the one noticing the stitch in the ditch mistakes a non quilter probably wont even see them and the gift was made from the heart so its perfect no matter how wonky a seam maybe. I vote you should.

It looks great to me, I would be happy to receive such a beautiful quilt.

You may be a new quilter but you've fallen into the old trap of being too critical of your own work. Your teacher will be thrilled that you thought enough of her to spend so much time making such a caring gift. Your choice of fabric and colour placement is great and the quilt looks wonderful. Trust me, no one but you will notice wonky stitching or care about squares not quite matching. Give your gift with pride!

Looks great to me. THey will love it no matter what. Go ahead give it and see.

It's a great quilt!1 Give it to her, I am sure it will be loved and cherished!

It looks great to me.......besides isn't it the thought that should count.

It looks great to me, but I think that is not what you want to hear. If it makes you feel any better, we have all made our first quilt and I can testify, mine was less than perfect. A lot less. If you fell you can not give it away you can still fix it with minimal effort. Does your machine have any decorative stitches? Even a zigzag would help right now. You can use the decorative stitches using black, white, or actually, any color will do, and go over all the ditches. That will cover up all the areas where you didn't stay in the ditch, and will cover most of the areas where you fell your corners don't match.

There is no perfect quilt because no one is perfect. There are some out there that are near perfect, but the maker can always point at you an area where she(or he) feels she made a mistake.

Maria

It's beautiful, don't be so hard on yourself - the day I finish a PERFECT quilt is the day I enter the Twilight Zone. She will love this gift.

Renee

Thank You everyone for the encouragment. I guess when you give something you made you want it to be perfect, but you all made a good point, it is the thought that counts. Thanks Again for the compliments A lot of very nice people on this forum.
Sherry

That is really nice. I too would give it to her. Looks beautiful.

You should, she'll love it.

I say you should. You did the best you could and made it from your heart.

It would be a shame for her to not have the quilt after all the work you put into it. DO NOT point out any flaws in the quilts you make to anyone you give them too. They will look at it and go Huh? and that will be where their eye goes to, knowing you think it is not suppose to be that way.

It's a beautifull quilt. If I were your I would proudly wrap it and give it to your teacher.

What a thoughtful gift. I agree with your husband that it looks fine. The person making the quilt is the one who notices the mistakes the most. Other people aren't interested in the mistakes...they just like what they see.
Think of it this way, if someone went to all of that trouble to make a gift for you, would you appreciate it or would you be critical because it wasn't "perfect".
(Besides, I haven't bought anything from the store that has been perfect....they make mistakes too.)

Definitely give it to her. It's beautiful. The imperfections make it a much more cherished item. After all, none of us are perfect.

And if she notices the imperfections, just tell her, "I meant to do that! It's supposed to look that way. Do you know how hard it is to sew lines that aren't straight?" LOL

By all means give it to your teacher, everyone loves gifts personally made by the giver. You probably will never do this to suit you. Just remember the more you do the better you will get.

Since we are all aware of the money & time that is involved in quilt making and we have all been in your shoes at one time or another we all can say give it to your friend and enjoy her responce. You made a lovely quilt and she will be thrilled...heck I know I would be! Love that quilt and you are a sweetie for doing such a sweet thing for your Bible study teacher.!!! :-D

Sherry, it looks fine. Better than fine. And I guarantee she
A. Won't even see the "flaws" you see so plainly
B. Will absolutely love it
C. All of the above.

Guess what the correct answer is!!! You did a great job. So wrap it up and prepare for a big hug.

And a very happy holiday season to you and yours.

Sure looks great to me!

I say give it to her explaining that it is the "first!" quilt you have ever made! Could that make anyone feel more special? Even non-sewers have an idea of how much work must go into these projects. I think she will cherish the thoughfulness and love much more than worrying about where the seams are.

I agree! Give it to her she will love it and you cant see the mistakes.

The best advice I received was from another "younger" quilter. She told me -

"It is the flaws that make your quilt handmade, precious and valuable. If people wanted 'perfect' they would buy one ready made."

I now look at my gift projects with a different eye comprehending that the recipient will treasure the time I spent and the love behind it. Makes a world of difference for me. I no longer need to be perfect, but strive for excellence at my ability level. Perfection is for those who want their quilts evaluated and judged in hopes to win a prize. I don't think I will ever be at that level and it doesn't bother me. I get so much joy out of creating and giving that my heart is full each time I wrap up a gift.

Have you noticed the quality of store bought clothes these days? Yet everyone buys them not even noticing the flaws.
Your quilt has to be better than storebought.
I have givin out my first quilts with many flaws and I see them still being used and appriciated.

Your quilt looks beautiful. Don't be too hard on yourself! Make sure you wash it and dry it--so it fluffs up and looks "quilty"...then present it with PRIDE. She will love the fact that you "made" it and that it's a beautiful quilt.
Then tell us all about her comments (so we can tell you, "we told you so" (lol)
:) :)

Look at it this way - she taught you to grow in one way and the gift of your first quilt will be a symbol of your own growth in another way.

I think it looks lovely hon. sometimes i don't stitch in the ditch but stitch long curvy lines. it's easier and gives a bit of interest. i use my walking/quilting foot. also known as even feed foot. helps the fabric layers move along evenly.
lovely quilt. just finish it and give it with love. i'm sure it will be appreciated greatly. great effort.

it's a beautiful quilt and as my brother tells me all the time "who's going to notice that Regina" and my answer is "ME"...anyone that doesn't sew will not know. just remember the love that went into this quilt and they will too. Merry Christmas

Regina

it looks great to me! hey thats the way you learn just keep on quilting with every quilt you learn something new

It looks Great. Give it to her She will love it.

It's a beautiful quilt! I agree with everyone else--no one else will notice. I'm also more critical of my own work, so I understand, but a non-quilter will think you're amazingly talented and appreciate your lovely gift. Go ahead and give it to her and please don't point out the flaws you see!
My grandmother taught me to quilt as a child, and I remember something special she told me when I was comparing my efforts to hers. She told me her grandmother told her, "Only God can make Perfect, so make sure you have at least one "flaw" in your quilt." Well, I never have any problem "making sure" there are flaws in my quilts..... they just show up! I think of her and her words every time I sit at my sewing machine.

I am with Elsa. We always notice it more because we are the ones who made them.

What a wonderful way to see this gift of love. I totally agree that it should be given, and to think you are parting with the very first work of art from your heart becasue you cared so much about this person. I also think of it like baking a cake. There have been times that my cake was lopsided, not the perfect shade of brown, and falling to pieces when taken out of the pan, but did I throw it in the trash??? No way!!! Most of the times these are the best tasting cakes in the world. It was the ingredients that made the difference and love is always stirred in.

Your quilt is beautiful. I would be thrilled to receive it as a gift. Handmade gifts are gifts from the heart, so I vote YES, give her the quilt. I know she will appreciate your lovely gift and remember your kindness whenever she wraps up in it.

I wish I had the pic still of the first quilt I ever made!! I was horrendous, but I was so proud looking back at it now. I used mickey fabric panel and the stripes on the panel were not printed correctly..all wonky..probably why I got it so cheap..and id a pieced Alabama block alternating. This was my first thing ever sewn in my life!! Needless to say..every seam did not match, the stripes were all crooked and I tied it instead ao quilting it. I had no help at all when I did this quilt!! I did give that quilt to a friend for her beby shower and she LOVED IT. She never sees all those mistakes and her darling girl still runs around with it today!! This was 6 years ago!! I am better now, but as my mom says...Cathy's quilting is consistently inconsistent!!" Perfect in my book!! LOL Give it to her!! Your quilt is beautiful and a lot of love went into it...that's all she is gonna see and feel when she wraps up to snuggle within its folds!!

What atrocious typing!! Forgive me...that's what happens when you use a dark keyboard in bad light!! LOL

I agree with everyone - it's a lovely quilt and a non-quilter won't notice any errors that bother you. It's handmade so you can't expect it to be perfect. It's the thought and love that go with it that matter. As someone else said - don't point out the faults and they'll go unnoticed for sure.

I would be proud to be the owner of this quilt!!! She is going to love it :D :D :D

The quilt looks fine to me. The Amish purposely put a mistake in their quilts. :thumbup: