Does anyone else suffer from this disease? I study the pattern, I study the fabric, I sleep on it, I look at the pattern again............and on it goes. By the time I actually decide and get the project started, I'm worn out :) Can anyone else relate?

ME :shock:

Absolutely!! Exhausting, isn't it?
I try to visualize the pattern in different color combos, different layouts...etc.
Same with fabric, I'll pick out several fabric combinations and take an hour or more (in the store!!) deciding. Lots of times I'm so confused and tired I'll put it all back and go home empty handed only to have to do it again the next time so i can finally begin the quilt.
My sewing friends dread going fabric shopping with me anymore..lol
I finally have to kick myself into just getting on with it.

and there lies madness ;-) Been there, done that.

I'm part of the Boomerang swap - 35 DIFFERENT F8s and they all want to be something special. I actually wore out the binding in my It's OK book. (Gonna get it spiral bound). So yes, it is a normal quilter's affliction.

My rule: I pull about 3 patterns into closer consideration and select one from those. When I pick one, it is FINAL and barring any unforeseen issues I stick with it.

How do you do that? (or should I say "where" do you do that?)

I try not to overthink quilting projects. Many times I will cut a fabric I like and then decide what goes with it after it's cut. I have so many patterns I want to make it doesn't matter which one I choose, I like them all.

:shock: :shock: :shock: You have just described me. I overthink every project, second guess myself, think about it some more, and on and on it goes.

I think this comes from lacking confidence, and expecting perfection. It is very frustrating and something I need to overcome.

Kinkos or any printing shop.

Kinko's, Staple's, just about any office supply store or print shop should be able to do this. Call around as prices can vary :D

Yes... by the time I study, contemplate, worry and obsess over it, I could have had it cut and pieced if I would just learn to cut to the chase LOL

i love your avatar, he looks so lost, Little lamb lost :)

You mean that isn't part of the quilting process?

I thought waking up in the middle of the night to check the pattern and make sure it is what I thought was a part of the process.

Are you trying to tell me that taking a month to choose the fabrics that go in the quilt isn't part of the process.

Is this Quilting 101? Or have I stumbled into the Quilting Zone?

Hasn't happened to me yet with my quilting but that's just the way most of my house work and errands get done, I wear myself out thinking about doing them and then I fall asleep. LOL! May in Jersey

Yes. I have been worried lately. I have all kinds of projects I want to start/work on, and I seem to be suffering from paralysis as well. I've hoping it's just March's influence on me and that I'll be more motivated soon.

FedEx office or one of those.

Oh yeah!! I have done that more than a few times. But then, there are other times when it is just so easy and everything comes together perfectly. I guess it all evens out just enough to keeps us motivated.

oh i am suffering terribly from it right now, i got the book Bargello with a twist, have been trying to find "just the right" combination of fabrics for about 5 months now, out of each combination, one is jsut not right lol

Okay I self diagnosed and decided I have a mini-case of the blues (for a perfectly good reason) and finally went ahead and placed that order with Nancy's Notions I've been wanting to do for a while (free shipping).
May the fun begin!

While I am sorry to read that there are others who are afflicted with this problem, it's reassuring to know I'm not the only one.

I have a collection of 1930's fabric that I love, but I can't figure out the best way to showcase them. I want to make a bedspread for us, but it has been three years since I got those fabrics and I cannot settle on what to do! Ack!

Janie,

I had a blue fabric with little flowers on it that was too purdy for words. Every time I thought I was going to use it, I pulled back. Then one day the PERFECT pattern jumped out at me and I ended up using THAT fabric. It was meant to be and at the end I had just scraps left. The quilt was wonderful. Don't give up - the solution is just around the corner. You'll see.

I find that when I just can't decide what fabric to use for what pattern then, it's probably not exactly what I want to do.

Like someone else said, when the perfect pattern meets the perfect fabric, it just comes together with a POW!! That's the one.

If I am agonizing about something then I just forget about that and do something else because I know that the solution is going to come along.

I know you're right,Martina, but I'm not getting any younger and it would be a shame to expire and still have those gorgeous fabrics languishing in my stash.
:-D

I must start pattern searching again. Glad I read this thread today. It's encouraging.

Suggestions welcome!

Oh my, that is so much a part of the process that I enjoy it doesn't seem to be a bad thing at all to keep adding and subtracting the fabrics! Of course, I often am working on something else while planning this next project so it is not a production stopper. In fact I have many (8 or more?) fabric groups presorted that have ideas attached to them, waiting for the right inspired moment to begin sewing with them.

I don't do this over just the pattern, but do it more over the fabric selection. By the time I decide the room looks like a tornado hit it and the next morning I am still undecided on fabrics. :cry:

Oh, I'm there with you. Sometimes I dream about it too.

After buying a fabric "I have to put into a quilt", I load it into EQ6 and start designing, by cutting time, most of the anxiety has lessened.

Vicki Reno, My friend and I always joke about our sewing room looks like a tornado went through it. Then we have to spend a couple of days organizing the room. It's one continuous cycle.
But, it keeps us busy and out of trouble ( to some degree!!).
Eiltcoq.

I am so glad to see that I am not alone with this affliction! I do the same thing, just worry it to death. I also thought I was alone in that I have so many UFO's. I guess that is pretty normal! It seams like while I am working on one thing that I am thinking about the next. And yes sometimes I feel like my brain is overloaded. I think I need a long long rest!
Phyllis

Yes! I also suffer from this disease except I call it creativity constipation because I have so many ideas and take in so much information, I'm waiting for them to come out at some point.

When you are not feeling it, it is best to sleep on it. I do it all the time, not just quilting.

I have taken up to three months to find the right fabrics - then I audition. After I start the quilt, somehow, I start looking again - back, binding - would this better?... It's an endless cycle! I wouldn't have it any other way!!!!!!

Thought I was the only one that was happening to!!! I'm going to be making a quilt for my grand daughter (she's 23) and I find myself waking up in the middle of the night wondering which collection of fabric to use!! I guess the decision has been made for me as I can't seem to locate the fabric from 2 of the 3 collections I was thinking of..I've searched online and at the LQS without any luck... Thank goodness most of my projects aren't this difficult.

I spend more time looking for the perfect pattern to go with the perfect fabric than it takes me to complete the project.! It's hopeless!!

That was well said ctquilter, I got a good laugh out of it.

This is why I'm a scrap quilter - I don't have to overanalyze fabric purchases or be afraid to actually start cutting. I also use Electric Quilt software (novice on that, but I get by) to try out the block combinations. Mostly I use graph paper to sketch out the pattern, to see how the blocks will actually go together - and no fancy colored pencils, just lights, darks and maybe a few mediums.

yes, I've been studying the braid quilt for a while now. Penny

Absolutely!! I over-analyze so many projects, trying to get the "perfect" combination, that when I get down to doing them, I am worn out too! I started doing the Downy Quilts for Kids partly because they come already matched and cut for you, no decisions necessary!

Make sure you let us know what pattern you decide on. I love the fabric but don't have any yet.

What is an "It's OK book?"

I, too, used to have this problem. I'd audition fabrics for quilts and question how it would look.

To make things easier, I purchased Electric Quilt which has been worth every cent as I can design a quilt, then make changes in the overall coloring until I'm happy with it. I don't have the actual fabrics to show, but similar fabrics or colors give you a much closer idea as to how the finished product will look.

Try something similar and most of your choices will be a lot easier.