stillclock

i am working on a quilt using jinny beyer fabrics.

i didn't take a whole long time staring at the paisley pattern seeing as i am making a couch throw for my aunt using one of the swoon block variations.

in the course of working with the fabric i have discovered that with patience and fussy cutting, i could have done all kinds of symmetrical flourishes and geometrical tricks with the prints.

but i didn't. and i don't especially regret it, because the person who is getting it will love it either way.

had i the time, patience and will this quilt could have been truly stellar. it's still lovely and pretty well made, though i've lost a couple of points.

i want to know how you decide it's good enough. does quilting perfection drive you? do you take out seams until everything is perfect or do you just prefer them done and move on?

quilting can always be more perfect, but done is in its own way an accomplishment.

what's your take on this balance?

aileen

Tartan

When I have pieced to the best of my abilities, I am satisfied. I have found that the more I fiddled trying to get " perfect" the less happy I am. Fabric only stay nice for a couple of tries ( in my opinion) and after that it stretches out of shape or the needle holes show.

justflyingin

Very good question. I made a scrappy quilt using two different blues as the fabric that tied it all together. Once I was finished, my DD pointed out that if I had "placed" the blues instead of just letting them be random, I would have had a second design.

So, I'm thinking to do it again, but this time, Placing the blues to make the secondary design.

In the meantime, I was quite happy with the quilt I made and my DS#1 and DDIL asked for the quilt. It was my Sunny Lanes in Blue.

I'm not a perfectionist. I think if I had a design wall large enough, then maybe I would 'play around' a bit more, but I don't, so I won't. (I use my dining room table or a ping pong table if something really needs to be laid out ahead of time.) I don't fret over it. I figure like you, if the person who receives it is happy with it, then why should I have high blood pressure over it. Life is too short and there are hundreds of quilts I'd like to make/try.

However, if I were going to market my designs, then, no doubt, I'd be out there trying to make every one a "wow" quilt.

mariatherese

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.

quiltingcandy

I was making an Irish Chain quilt - all by hand and could not get the right green. It took me three tries until I felt could about the fabric. It was a Double Irish Chain and it was 25 squares per block - I un-sewed 3 blocks twice. But it was worth it since the other two fabrics just weren't right. Have done the same thing with GFG - I have a lot of flowers that never made it into the quilt, but are waiting to be made into a quilt of their own.

DOTTYMO

Oh life is too short to fiddle and undo patterns. If you aren't satisfied finish it. And start another.
If you don't like it give it away .
Just enjoy don't stress.

Nilla

I rarely worry about an occasional imperfect point or seam unless it's really bad. I've been asked to make quilts for money several times, but I always turn that offer down. I quilt for fun so it's okay to make small mistakes. If I quilted for money, I would feel like it had to be perfect and then it wouldn't be fun.

I have a long arm and my skills are limited. I have to remind myself along the way that I do this for fun and it's okay if I make small mistakes. I have a quilt on my design wall right now that just isn't spectacular at all, but I made it to relieve stress. Sometimes you just need to sew 4 patches for days so you can think through a problem, so that's what I did. It will be a utilitarian quilt. I have to finish it and load it on the long arm before I do another top that's finished though because that top is truly lovely and it will be a gift for someone else so I want to practice on the not so beautiful one, then immediately load the pretty one while my skills are fresh.

Knitette

I'm a bit of a perfectionist and used to agonise over any mistakes, mismatches etc. It really slowed me down and took a lot of the joy out of quilting.

Now what I do is leave the mistake until I've finished what I'm doing. If it still bothers me, I sort it.

If I can live with it (probably because it's now paled into insignificance with all the other mistakes, lol) I leave it, finish the item and move on to the next.

Although I'm still a bit fussy, I'm much happier and relaxed now.

fabric lover

I'm not a perfectionist and I only fix mistakes that will keep 'jumping' at me every time I look at it. But sometimes I only notice a mistake after I've completed a top and then I think: 'I never saw it before, and I like the top , so no need to get the seemripper out'
Works for me LOL.

Pagzz

In piecing I will try and fix a mistake up to three times if it still is off then I will toss that piece out or live with the point not matching. I don't do perfect quilts, but I strive to do my best work.