We all get a little down and discouraged. Just last month I closed the door to my room and just recently opened it up. You need to walk away and then come back with a frest attitude. Attitude is everything. I was doing embroidery, I'm very ew to this, and I couldn't get te machine to work properly. It was operator problems. I came back to it 2 weeks later and voila, it worked. Don't give up!

I have decided that quilting just isn't for me, at least right now. I don't have tons of fabric because it's just not in my nature to stockpile stuff. I don't have any new machines although I have three. I like sewing and will putter with doll clothes, pj's and purses. Maybe you need other sewing projects to do that are more of an instant gratification. Just don't worry so much about it and it will come or you'll find other things that interest you. Take a break, as others have suggested. Let us know what you come up with.

I get discouraged as well, everybody does. I have my other love, cross stitching to go back to when I'm not in the mood for dealing with the fabric. I'll do that for awhile and then go back to quilting. Right now my basement is awfully cold and I don't feel like going down there and messing around, plus I just had shoulder surgery and would rather just sit in a chair and hand sew for a bit. You'll be fine, just breathe.

I few summers ago I lost the desire to quilt anymore. I don't know what caused it. I got to the point where I was seriously thinking of giving all of my fabric away. I just closed up my machines and didn't even want to go into my sewing room. This lasted for nearly 3 months. I took up crocheting again and that took me thru the summer. Luckily in the fall I felt the desire to quilt stirring up inside of me. Slowly I started to quilt again and havn't stopped since. I think maybe we burn out. Sometimes we just expect too much or ourselves. Give your quilting a rest for a while or work on something simple and see how it goes. Good luck.

I feel for you. Allow yourself a break and go back when it's the right time. Most of us have been there. Good luck.
Annie

Aw-w-w..Sorry you are feeling like that. Remember, quilting is a hobby and you can do it as much or as little as YOU want. I made a few quilts and clothes when my kids were young but lost interest as I didn't have a dedicated sewing area and life is busy with 4 kids. When I got laid off from my job due to school budget cuts I took that as a cue to find other interests and within a few months I rediscovered sewing. Also, kids were leaving home so I had some space to setup a permanent area. Now I can leave everything where I left off and come back to it undisturbed so it makes it easier for me. If I had to clean up and put away everything when I was done sewing, I wouldn't sew much! Sometimes I don't quilt but make small easy projects to learn a new technique or just to be able to mindlessly enjoy my sewing with little risk or messing up-no pressure!

What frustrates you the most RIGHT NOW and makes you feel discouraged? Maybe we can help! Most of us have been there for sure! We are our own worst critics and put too much pressure on ourselves because of it. A hobby should be fun MOST of the time but all hobbies have their bad points...and the GOOD points too. Talk about pressure...With quilting we are supposed to match the darn points!

Take some time away from it.

I find that if you exactly what it states to do it will make sense. If I get too far ahead of myself in the pattern I have alot of trouble understanding it.

Take a break and empty your mind of it. Sometimes when the pattern doesn't seem to make sense, I go through it almost backwards. The block looks like this when finished. I take out my graph paper and do it as if there was no pattern and I have to do it all myself. Then compare what I come up with to what the pattern says. Usually this helps me get into the thought process the designer used. Sometimes it is just a difference in how people think. After all, we all know that all computer user manuals are written backwards--to find out how do something, you need to know what they call it.

Maybe you can go check out You Tube for videos for help or someone on the Board. If you have a local LQS you could go to them for some help. Just don't quit. Hang in there!!!