Can't finish my quilts
I’ve been sitting here thinking about my inability to finish my quilts. My excuse used to be that I had a sewing machine that was very temperamental when it came to quilting, so tops would be put aside because I couldn’t face the battle. Now I have a new machine that quilts beautifully and I’ve quilted several of my projects – but then they’ve been put aside again rather than bound and finished. On Leah Day’s Quilt Along this week, the subject is finishing a quilt, using a little wholecloth quilt that we’ve just made – and I’m conscious of a real reluctance to do it, though the quilt has come out far better than I could ever have hoped, and I’m thrilled with it.
So why this reluctance to see the finished results of all my hard work on this and other quilts? I’m puzzled, though I think it may lie somewhere in the past – for over 40 years I firmly believed I was useless at anything creative. I was told as much by teachers and others, and was in the shadow of a very creatively talented sister. I was only rescued from that by a dear friend who, 8 years ago, patiently taught me to quilt, having a lot more confidence in me than I had in myself. You’d think that would make me eager to finish my work – every completed project proves the critics wrong and underlines my creative abilities. But there’s still this deep reluctance to get on and do it.
Can anyone else relate to this? Has anyone dealt with similar issues? Any thoughts?