Originally Posted by GiddyUpGo
Ok so I just started quilting quilt number two, actually my first attempt at any kind of actual quilting (first was just tied). I decided to stitch in the ditch, even though some very smart people advised me against it ... I just didn't trust my ability to do long, straight lines and the idea of not having to mark anything was appealing, plus I have that handy low-speed setting so I thought I could manage. Well I quickly got tired of going slow :-( and eventually paid the price for that. Some of my quilting actually looks pretty good ... I managed to stay in the ditch or very close to it. Other parts look ... Excuse me ... Craptacular. Like seriously wonky. Can I rip those parts out and do them over or would that really mess up my quilt top and end up looking even worse? When you take a couple of steps back you can't see the wonkiness but up close it looks really bad in places. How many of you as beginners can remember feeling similar horror when quilting for the first time??
Oh Yeah! Not that long ago either. Remember this....how often will you or the recipient be looking at the quilt from 18" away? If it is for a child, they don't care. Just know that every one of those wonky stitches is a little bit of love. I found a quilt in a drawer that I made 20 years ago before I ever considered myself a quilter. I made it for my first grandson to have at my house. It is the most pathetic attempt at quilting I ever saw. But you know what, it has been washed and loved so much that the flannel isn't even flannel any more. Obviously quality didn't matter to the Gkids.