What is the best advice you have received to help make your quilting experience more joyous?


Early on someone told me I didn't have to finish my current project before I could start another project. Whoopee! What freedom. I'm now have about 6 projects in various stages and at least 3 quilt tops waiting to be quilted. I am having lots and lots of fun!

The best advice is that no one will notice the little mistakes unless you point them out. I don't really believe it but it makes me feel better and "feeling" better makes the process more enjoyable.

Recall the adage that the it is not a mistake unless you can see it from 10 feet away from the back of a galloping horse.

A quilt is not meant to be perfect. Whew! That relieved alot of stress.lol

Best advice? Somebody once told me to use the fabric like it was paint and to toss the idea of following a pattern so I'd come up with something original. I did. It came out wildly colorful and slightly lopsided and I hung it on a wall long before quilted wallhangings became popular. The best advice I ever got was to let the creativity come out and play! :D

I think the best advice I ever got, was (Can't ) Never did nothing, and Fear is your greatest Enemy. It has helped me to pursue things that I never thought I could accomplish. And that was big for me, because I was shy as a kid and timid as an adult.

I was told to worry less about the "perfectness" and more about the love I was putting into the quilt. I've made baby quilts for years, but this past 2 years is the first I've done large quilts. Sometimes I forget to relax and enjoy it. That's when I take the break from the project and work on something else.

I love all of these responses. They are great.

Another one I quoted to my sister the other day is that there are no mistakes in quilting. Just happy experiences! :wink:

I also like Elenore Burns comment about "Hang it high and keep it moving!"

Thanks for all of your wise words of wisdom. They have given me a boost and I spent a lot more time in the sewing room today than I have for quilt (I meant quite but quilt will work too!) awhile! :lol:

I read an article early on that said "Not Every Quilt is A Keepsake/Heriloom!"
What freedom to just make quilts the kids can drag around, spill something on, etc. and that is OK. I make these totally by machine--they are quick and easy and a fun way to try a new pattern!

Just tell them it came out "EXACTLY" how you intended it to! Nobody knows if you intended to do it that way or not!

(Some of our fellow quilters here have the personality to pass that off -- no questions asked! Say, Patrice for example!) :lol:

I wish I could remember who told me to buy a rotary cutter and mat and a walking foot... Up to that point I was making string quilts, nine patches or anything else with squares and tying all of them.

Wow! That's a compliment. Right? LOL

I'm at least as bad as everybody else when it comes to seeing the mistakes in my work. It's a struggle to just let others enjoy what they're looking at without pointing them all out. That requires keeping my mouth shut. I sprained a jaw muscle once it's so hard for me to do. LOL

But ... oh yeah ... the popularity of shabby chic, country, and artsy-craftsy decorating styles are absolutely great hiding places for the mistakes. "No, dahling. Not full of mistakes and all out of wack. RUSTIC and folksy. Do you know nothing at all about art?"
:mrgreen:

Patrice
You hit the nail right on the head.

Patrice the best advice I got was to say when your sig other complained about sewing expences especially machine cost, memind him about the toys in the garage, better yet do not tell what you spend if you can get away with it. What they do not know will not hurt them. I paid as much for my last machine as my son spends on vacation, mine will last longer. LOL

The best advice I've ever gotten, was something I told myself.

Quit your job that you hate, and do something for yourself that you love.

Now I have a successful business doing what I want and I can work in my jammies!!!! Life is good.

Also the perfection thing as you all have said. I think everything has to be perfect, but have found others don't even notice those little imperfections.

The best advice I got was this:
There is no such thing as a perfect quilt. If you strive to make every aspect of it perfect you will be disappointed at one (or two) little spots. You may or may not be the only one to see them. Try to actually ENJOY the quilting process and remember it's not a race to get it done.

Actually from my son. He came in one day when I was struggling with the BOM. I was cursing and threw the pieces. He said to me " I thought this was your hobby and was fun. That looks like work" so I admire your BOMs but its not for me. I like traditional the best and I have a lot to learn still. Like some of you say I'm not making an heirloom........none of mine have labels either. I'm enjoying my hobby.

Ruth, tring is the important part, my 1 few attempts were beyond discription, but as you go you improve and learn. Keep it up, and something that helped me in the eairly stages was just studing the blocks and breaking them down in my head into sections, most of the basic tradtional blocks break sown into 1/4 sections. With rotary cutters came strip quilting and the "quick" methods. But to begain I feel that working with the old patterns and learning to see how the big blocks are really small sections put together really helped me. I can anilise a block quickly and decide if I want to do it or not, and am much less afraid of the more complex stuff.

My mother told me "never point out your mistakes. No one but you sees them anyway."

I also like the pony advice....Hang it on a fence and ride by on a galloping pony, if you can see it fix it, if you can't see it don't worry about it.

DD

This wasn't advice so much as an observation I made while walking through a quilt show and looking at the antique quilts. Our ancesters did not make perfect quilts. (Ah-ha!) They didn't have perfect quilting stitches either. Looking at the antique quilts I realized that I too could do that. Perfection, while a goal, is not the focus of the process.

Bottom line, if you're enjoying it do more. If not, toss it aside and find a pattern you do enjoy. I have several 'hot-pads-to-be' from blocks I could just tell were not going to be fun! You never know until you try!

Ruth, take a look at the patterns each month and pick and choose. You don't have to do them all. Really! :wink:

The best advice I ever received was to let myself be just as open to the quilts I see as I am to those around me....the art of discovery and understanding is sometimes subtlely presented....and needs plenty of practice.

Patrice,

I'm not saying you don't notice the mistakes (?), just that anyone would believe that if something wasn't what they thought it should look like, they'd believe that you intended to do that on purpose!

YES, that was a compliment!

:mrgreen:

The best thing I've ever heard about quilting is, "it's art, not science". My way of thinking is if you want science go back to school, otherwise, stay home and sew!
Another thing is "there are no quilt police", so why worry about mistakes? What freedom!

Shelly

I think it was the realization that I wanted to quilt and if I waited until I knew everything, then I never would start anything.

Most quilters are happy to help when one is stuck or confused. Like one this board all you have to do is ask :D

I am still new but am having a blast. I have given myself permission to try out different things and if they don't work out, I have still learned something. Maybe that I don't want to do that again :wink:

Remember this is supposed to be fun, not work, not perfect

Marybeth

I am finding that to relax and enjoy the art of making a quilt is not easy, but I'll get there.

Unfortunately I took my first quilting class at a shop where the "regulars" scrutinized every seam and corner of the displayed quilts. Believe me they never had anything nice to say. All I heard was, "Well, these seams don't match up!" and "Look how uneven the quilting stitches are!" It made me very self-critical and timid about stretching my skills.

I just ordered the book "That Dorky Homemade Look" that is for quilters. The excerpts on Amazon were hilarious. It looks like it makes fun of this exact subject and will teach me to laugh at my mistakes and worries.

Can't wait to read it!

quiltmaker101,
Your first quilt class experience is so sad. That was just so very wrong of those ladies! Grrrr!

Here is my recommendation for your 'cure' of this horrid experience. Next time you're at a quilt show or even on line. Get up close and personal with some antique quilts. Wow! Our grandmothers and our grandmothers, grandmothers were not always that precise in their quilt making. They were making working quilts and obviously had lots of practice and some are pretty awesome but there are also those that didn't always have the perfect stitch or the exactly matched points. Trust me. I've looked! After checking out other quilts really close I always walk away with the attitude, "I can do that!" and I usually do. Also, those less than precise seams and quilting didn't take away from the overall look of the quilt at all!

Stick with the art. Soon you too will relax and let your quilts be what they want to be! Quilts know best! :-)

and...... if anyone ever makes the perfect quilt, I certainly want to see it! Some people can give constructive criticism and some people can just criticize!

Some funny advice that an owner of a quilt shoppe gave me...haha was when your husband or significant other complains about the cost of the material and sewing items you buy tell them it is cheaper than marriage counseling.

Joyous? Are you crazy woman? Annoying, irritating, frustrating, bamboozling, boring, stuptifying. 'did I say irritaing?

Just wait Kathy. You see me posting it soon. Just hold yer breath waiting.

Don't quit yer job you hate. Jobs pay the bills. Your art is what you make of it. Don't compromise it for a paycheck.

I AM just kidding folks. I do love making things in fabric. And I am just almost perfect.

But I am not kidding about jobs. It's 8 hours of your life, 5 days a week. Screw it. Make the best of the rest of your life.

tim in san jose

A few quotes -

Don't be limited by past experience!

Try a square and see if you can stand to make a quilt out of it! If not, use
these 'singles' to make a wonderful quilt.

Sew what you LOVE - and experiment with what you don't!

Sewing is my sanity!

If nobody else knows you made a mistake, then why point it out?????

:P Lisa

Lisa....ALL great advice! But I have to admit, I for one, don't always follow it! LOL Especially the last one! I am forever pointing out my mistakes to the recipients of my quilty things..... my husband has tried many times to tell me to just keep quiet ....but I can't! LOL (But then he's never been able to shut me up for any reason! ) LOL

Several pieces of advice came instantly to mind, but I think my favorite is "Don't work tired, relax and enjoy yourself." Another one that really helped: "If it were perfect, you'd just piss God off."

Yes! Pretty much word for word. :) And thank maude it's not a race. It's not one I'd ever, ever win. I keep making tops........and then more tops...... :mrgreen: