HappyQuilter

It's good to vent on this board - embrace all the positive suggestions you are receiving and go back to the basics until you are in a good place again with your quilting. I went to a small quilt show recently and after looking at some of the work I decided not to be so hard on myself because even though I saw many mistakes they were still beautiful quilts and I know they were made by women and men who enjoy sewing. We are not perfect and we shouldn't think our quilts will always be perfect either. Don't give up! Sending positive thoughts your way!

AngieS

Neena,

I too love the Turning 20! :) I hope it gets better for you Brenda. Hugs!!

clynns

I have learned that I like instant gratification. I want to see results, the sooner the better. I went through a period of 'discovery' myself. I found out that I bought 4 seam rippers. I keep on in the sewing machine, one on the bookcase (all quilt books), one by the longarm (and yes, I've had to rip out about 20 x 100 inches of quilting because when I change thread, I didn't check my bottom bobbin thread) which took me about 7 hours over 2 days, and I keep one in my purse. I don't worry about the quilt police, I only worry about what I can live with. I did a crazy quilt after a particularly bad time quilting. I went to my scrap bags, grabbed two hands full of fabric, ironed them and started with the first one that I pulled from a bag. I started adding them at all different directions. Wow, I'd finally found one thing that didn't matter if the seams matched or not. I didn't have to worry about star points, or bias edges. Then I pulled out my instruction book from my sewing machine and decorated all of the seams using designs from the book. I even bought some silk ribbon from JoAnns and made some fancy and some not so fancy knots.

It's all beautiful. You will learn more tomorrow than you know today. Change up what your doing for a little while. Give yourself time to step away, rest your brain and eyes and try something different. You've already got the fabric. Make a large fabric panel and then cut it out for a purse. What seems hard now, tomorrow the light may come on.

And keep reading this board. We will support you in whatever you decide. Cheryl

lonestardreams

I am a complete beginner having only started to learn quilting about 5 months ago. In addition, I work very slowly. Seeing me so excited, my husband built me a cutting table and bought me a new sewing machine. It is exciting but you know what? It also made me feel a little nudge of pressure to produce some quilts or anything, with the tools he so lovingly provided for me. I hate that there is that little nagging feeling somewhere buried in my mind. It can't be normal but there it is.
I love crafting in many different ways so what I try to do is just work on what feels right at the time. I don't always want to sew. I can't offer much advice but I do know that I had abandoned sewing for many years after sewing for many years. It turns out my love for the process didn't disappear, I was just too busy with what was my life.
I think, if you like quilting, you can leave it for a while and come back when it feels right. Sometimes backing away from something makes it easier to evaluate your feelings about it.
Like I stated, I'm a beginner at quilting. Holy cow, the mistakes! I'm not a beginner at frustration though. I wouldn't sell my tools right away but I would back away for a while. Have a smile filled day.

Doreen

O.K. you have vented! Get ahold of yourself. You maybe are trying to do too much! Take a deep breath! Sometimes we are inpatient. Everything takes time. I know that I would hurry up and do things and it would not come out right. Slow down! If you were to take a job outside the home, I know that then you would want to be quilting. Back away for a while, mayble a month and then go back. Do not start selling off your stash or machines!!!

bjgallent

Don't give up! You are too hard on yourself. My sister knits and everything she shows me, she is sure to point out what is wrong with it. The same with me in my sewing and quilting. You don't have to make quilts. Try purses, hot pads, pillow tops, etc. Hang in there.

Kayaker26

Make a purse, they are fun and fast. And even if you don't like the end result for you someone will love it. I have had the hardest time giving mine away because I love them all, and I am not even a purse kinda girl!

quiltmom04

Step away from it for awhile. If you're trying to make quilting part of your income, perhaps you have to give yourself more of a learning curve than 13 quilts. If it's not part of your income, just let it go for a while (the machines and fabric don't require food after all! ), and you'll eventually feel inspired to get back. There must have been some reason you started and invested in fabric and machines! But get back with something EASY, so you'll feel successful.

Mumzbear

The Wolf Song quilt was definitely hard! Don't ever give up! Just put it aside for a bit then get something simple and easy where you can feel pride not frustration. Yesterday was a bad day for me....I am making a quilt under a time pressure frame and everything went wrong. Just had to put it away and go out for a walk. We are all here to support. I am sure we all have dealt with quilt frustration. We can feel your frustration! Just think of all those little pieces of fabric you turned into a quilt! You can do it! Luv, Mumz

Roberta

Nooooo! Don't sell it all, it normal to feel this way. I've done numerous quilts and wall hangings and none of them were easy or finished out the way I would have liked. My major point is, I'm having fun doing this and I've given myself permission not to be perfect. If it was fun, it's perfect ;-)