sewingpup

It done better than perfect? For me it actually depends on the quilt....Oh, and I always do my best although it never, ever is perfect. My quilting making has improved over the years. Most of my quilts are meant to be used....I have a longarm...before I had a longarm, I used my walking foot and did mainly straight line quilting in the ditch on my DSM. My piecing is the star of the show on those....my quilting was to simply hold the quilt together and make it useful without distracting from the piecing. When I got my longarm...I still make quilts that are intended to be used....not to show. and I have found that I can meander plus throw in some motifs like hearts, leaves, bubbles, waving lines fairly well. Again this get done mostly edge to edge meandering. I can't do fancy custom and feathers....I have tried...it is a no go for me....so on special quilts....like a Judy Niemeyer one I did...I sent it out for longarming...cost me $600 but it turned out beautifully. I gifted that one to my nephew for his wall. I have a few others that I sent out....but those were edge to edge for special occasions. One of those I would send out now...the other one, I probably would do myself. OH, and if I did not have my long arm.....I would definitely send out the bigger ones to get basted and maybe even to get quilted.

QuiltE

Lots of food for thought for you as to what to do, NZQuilter!
The important thing is to be sure to do what YOU want to do.
What is "right" for you, us not necessarily what is "right" for others!

Another thought, if you are not wanting to keep all the quilts once finished ... many guilds will receive quilt tops, which members will quilt and then pass along as a charitable donation.

Sometimes too, I see people selling quilt tops on Etsy and such.

Of course, if you are like me, once you have put your ♥ and soul into a quilt, you may want to keep it, whether for yourself or as a giveaway. So back to the beginning and do what is "right" for you!

Quiltwoman44

SPAM in here, but can't see how to let anyone know......

QuiltE

In the box with the poster's name, at the bottom, you will see a white triangle with an exclamation mark on it. Click on that, in order to report.

It's already been reported a couple of times (or more!), but the more reports, the more notice hopefully taken by the powers that be ... so go ahead and report it again!

JanieW

Totally agree. I never make a perfect quilt but I never do less than my best just to get one finished. I made one once when still a novice quilter that was a nightmare of a gazillion hsts. I could not get all the points pointy no matter how I tried for some of them. I finished it and called it “pointless”. It was far from perfect but at that stage in my quilting it was my best.

toverly

For me finished is better than perfect. I can give a finished quilt away but not a flimsy. I just meander and get it done.

QuiltE

Totally agree ... we can only do our best, according to our abilities at the time.
Too often, we compare our work with others who have been quilting for years longer, and abilities way beyond our realm.

I've often heard references made of quilters keeping that first nightmare'ish quilt as a treasure of sorts, to help them see from year to year how much they have progressed! Good idea!! ... and why sometimes finished is better than waiting til we can be perfect.

After all? can we ever be perfect? And if we don't make a start, we can never continue on and get better ... and better!

I have one such not so good one right now, almost finished. Yes, I have been piecing for years and also doing some of my own quilting. However, for this Halloween quilt, I gave myself permission to branch out and try some different FMQ things and not fuss so much that it does not compare to my much better FMQing efforts. Even with that permission, I still did some frog stitching, but still left the lots of the less than perfect! I've made a start with those new-to-me techniques, and every year when that Halloween quilt comes out, I can check and ask myself, have I improved any?

NZquilter

So much good advice! I like the idea of the quilting in sections by Marti Michelle, and also the basting and binge watching TV. I tried QAYG once and it was a bit of a flop, but I should try it again. Thanks, ladies! I agree, I always try my best on quilts and maybe am too much of a perfectionist, and that's why the tops just sit. I have all these ideas for fancy feather quilting and custom style designs. I think I'll make 2022 my finishing quit top year, but start now.

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Stitchnripper

I don’t think any quilt will be truly “perfect”. I do my best and they are all really nice. Perfect? No. I agree with Elmers Washable school glue for basting. I don’t dilute or brush on. I drizzle it thinly in a line about where a pin would go. Or practice meandering. It always works for me. No wrinkles and when dry does not gum up a needle. There is a difference between perfect, slapdash, sloppy, and doing a good job.

SusieQOH

NZ, I totally hear ya! I detest basting!! I wish I could find someone who could baste all my tops. I love every other part of quilting except that. Also my machine quilting isn't the best. I need to practice more. I keep saying that but then I make another top!!
I realize I much prefer piecing and also love to hand quilt but rarely do it these days. That's what I started doing quite a few years ago, before machine quilting became popular.
Sorry I don't have much advice but at least I feel your pain lol