In my beginner quilting class, I had a very strict teacher. She was kind and she was funny, but she was strict about the basics of quilting. She told us over and over again that we needed to learn to do things right. She always explained how important accuracy was if we wanted our projects to turn out correctly.
I grew very frustrated with the 1/4" perfectionism quickly too. Her being adamant about "how to press" and "when to press" and which "side you press" about drove me nuts. I have never been a perfectionist and knew I'd never change into one. I left at the end with mixed emotions about her.
Well, that was three years ago. I was in a quilt guild with her for awhile and liked her very much. After three years of making my share of mistakes and realizing that what she said was right, I would now have to admit that I am so glad she was a perfectionist because I now know how to find what I did wrong to fix my mistakes. I now know that if I take the time to be more careful, I am more likely to have an end product that is well-made and that I'm proud of. She was strict with us because she cared enough to want us to learn the "correct" way to quilt. I'm still probably not as "perfect" as I wish I could be, but I do remember what she taught me and am grateful that I know the best way to be happy with my quilting.
By the way, the final night of class, she brought many of her own quilts and wall-hangings to class to share with us. I had to fight laughing and pointing at some of the mistakes I saw in her quilts. Not all of her points were perfect either! That made me feel normal!!