Originally Posted by PatriceJ
To be fair, though, we need to remember and respect a quilter's right to say "I don't WANT to." quilting should be fun. it should be relaxing; an escape from the trials and tribulations in the rest of our lives.
for example, i CAN do traditional needleturn applique. however, i can't do it well without a great deal of struggle. it takes me an hour to stitch one teeny tiny flower or leaf to my personal standard and satisfaction. :shock: therefore, i will probably not ever make an applique block or quilt that way. if i do applique, it's almost certainly going to involve as many shortcuts as possible. i'm content to admire the glorious work of expert needleturners.
"i don't want to" is a perfectly good reason to not try something new or do something a second time. as long as a quilter is not selling herself short by assuming she "can't"; as long as she is not denying herself the chance to try making something she very much wants to make but is afraid to try, i say leave her alone.
BUT if i know a quilter considers herself "less" of a quilter because she hasn't done something yet, and fear is the only thing in her way ... well ... i'm going to try my best to drag her into the challenge. :wink:
I totally understand. I didn't mean to imply anything. I'm always willing to try something new and urging others to do the same. I LOVE Hawaiian Quilting, but would I do it? Nope. Have tried it and it was just too much for me. Then when this group of 6 ladies told me that they are working on a quilt that has taken them over 2 years to finish, well...nope, I want mine done BEFORE the turn of the century. lol
I just don't like it when people who haven't tried something, say they can't do it. How do you know if you don't try? There are tons of quilting patterns, etc that are nice, but some are not "my cup of tea" so to speak, so at the present time, I don't do them. Maybe in a few years I might change my mind. So, what challenge you want to drag me into. Beware, I bite sometimes. ;)
I'm like you when it comes to applique. I don't enjoy doing it, actually, it doesn't come out very well when I do it, so I try to avoid it at at all costs.