Onebyone

When I first joined a guild, at the first show and tell I learned more then from any class or instructor since. One older quilter showed her perfect appliqued and hand quilted quilt, basic basket block style. It was very pretty and everyone said it was perfect and what a great job. Another quilter showed a quilt that got instant gasps and clapping. It was an explosion of color. The quilt was not perfect, the edges waved, the binding was crooked, some block points were cut off but it by far outshowed the perfectly made quilt. I knew then that my goal was not to make a perfect quilt but one that got the clapping. LOL

kristijoy

Quilt what you LOVE!!!! I really fell in love with quilting when I allowed myself to get out of the box of the 'traditional' or 'have-to-do-it-this-way' idea. You are the maker, the creator, the one expressing something. Let your voice shine!

ShirlinAZ

It's your quilt, do it your way. There are no quilt police. Done is far better than Perfect. It's OK to have UFOs; they'll get done when the inspiration (or the $) hits you.

bearisgray

It is okay to abandon a project you hate.

MargeD

I like Tartan's reply. Several years ago I was making a very "scrappy" quilt, with fabrics chosen by my family to correspond to their family "colors", which were: Yellow, Red, Navy Blue, Teal, Black, Orange, Purple, and Green. When I went to the quilt shop to find a border fabric, I chose a small charcoal grey print fabric, which was the consensus of the quilters in the shop at the time. When it came time to assemble the quilt, I took another look at the back of the fabric and decided that the more subtle charcoal grey made a much nicer border. You buy two sides to fabric, why not consider both sides when quilting?

ghostrider

Accuracy at each step makes everything that follows SO much easier.
It is well worth the extra few seconds it may take until it becomes habit.

Not all quilts are meant to be finished. If you truly hate it, don't punish yourself.
Some of your best lessons will come from your worst mistakes.

Never say "I can't", only "I haven't yet".
Try everything that appeals to you, especially those things that scare you most.
The rewards are amazing!

Guilt has NO place in quilting.
Don't point out your mistakes to others, they'll never see them.
Don't focus on your weaknesses, be proud of your strengths.

madamekelly

The first thing I learned here, was the "fast horse" rule. If we can ride by on a fast horse, and not see any mistakes, your quilt is perfect! Keeps me from obsessing over every little thing....lol!

Veinurse

Smart lady!

HouseDragon

My Mom always said "If it's worth doing, it's worth doing well".

"Well" not "perfect".

*LOL* I'm a slow quiltmaker because I'm a meticulous worker. But even with that, I'll fudge to get something to fit properly.

If your quilting stops being fun, ask yourself why. If it's the project you are working on, put it aside or give it away.

Remember that there's as many ways to do something as there are quilters. Try a new way: you may love it! Or not.

There are no quilt police! Or at least not any who can arrest you ..... but there are busybodies out there who take pride in pointing out to newbies what they are doing "wrong".

A mentor is a horse of another colour.

Speaking of colour: we all have our favorites and if you love the colours you've chosen to make your quilt, go for it!

Learn from your mistakes.

Keep notes: The new method you discovered on your own. The name and colour of the thread you used to quilt with. The adjustments you made to your machine to get a perfect decorative stitch along with the fabric (was it a batik?) and thread.

Maybe even keep a journal with photos of each quilt | project you complete with details on the fabrics, threads, pattern.

Last but not least, IMO a design wall is a necessity. Stepping back and having a huge booboo jump out at you can save hours of frogging.

canuckninepatch

I really like this suggestion. I have occasionally with a scrappy quilt used the back side to tone down a colour combination. But I must keep this more prominently in my mind. Thanks!