discouraged
 

The sure cure for discouragement is to get around other quilters that are quilting or go to a class. You need a guild or a mini-group to get together with regularly. Works for me! I think discouragement is the devil's tool to keep us from accomplishing what we were meant to do! Don't let him do that to you!

I get discouraged frequently. I have found walking away and coming back later helps...A LOT!! I can reread a pattern a dozen times and it not make sense. Once I walk away and come back to reread it it makes sense.

Know you are not alone.

So thank each and every one of you for your entries. I've been just sick and disgusted since Christmas because I'm feeling so bad about not being "in the mood" to quilt. I'm new at this and don't really have much of a clue what I'm doing, even though I did take lessons last spring. I've completed 3 tops and have one pinned/basted to hand quilt, but haven't. I feel as though I've got so much money invested in my stash that I need to be in there producing !

Decided this a.m. in the wee hours, like 3 a.m. wee hour, that TODAY is the day I'll get in the "sewing room" rearrange stuff and start doing something ! It is going to be rainy here in West GA for the next few days which will keep me inside. I was going into Atlanta tomorrow for lunch and shopping but don't like to drive in the rain but have backed out and feeling a bit depressed.

I've tried knitting since Christmas to keep my hands busy and hopefully get over the quilting lull ! Misery loves company and I was a bit excited to see that I'm not the only one not quilting ! Thank each of you !

Please don't give up. I sometimes feel like you do so I put the larger projects away for awhile and do some easy scrapy blocks or something that comes out nice with out the pressure of a big quilt.

If it is the patterns that "discourage" you, and are having trouble reading them or figuring them out, take some time and go to the LQS where you shop and ask for help. Spend a day there just working on your project to get thru it. Also, since you have not been quilting a "long" time, then be sure not to be working on a more intermediate/experience rated pattern. I know when I was beginning quilting, my projects were not perfect nor were they complicated, but as time went on, I have gotten into more difficult patterns and still run into issue with those. Keep at it. You will be fine. Giving up is not an option to me either.

I have come and gone with quilting. I love it but in the past I did not have the time. I made quilts for other people and with that in mind, I never took a picture or kept one for myself. In the back of my mind it was...oh I will get to that when the kids are grown or I retire and have oodles of time. so over the last 35 years I have made some quilts for family member and let me tell you......I never belonged to a guild or had a group like this on the internet. So to be honest I think that my quilts were probably lucky to have made it finished. Because I made them for specific people, I never had any UFO's. So now I am retired and the kids are sort of all gone (some have moved back in due to the economy...they are refugees of the economy) I have the time to go to quilt classes and to join a group
of other quilters. Plus this group here. I have learned more about quilting that I had no idea about and that makes me wonder how on earth I ever quilted before. My last quilt was the wedding ring for my daughter which was 9 years ago. Then I had a friend who got me interested about 7 years ago and I started a cat quilt which I never finished. I lost interest because I got to a point that I don't know how to finish it. I didn't like any of the ideas I tried, so it is sitting waiting for me to get to it. So now that I am back into quilting......My enthusiasm is totally high. But I can also attest that I know that my interest will go through some down times where I won't want to quilt and I know that is fine. I have enough other crafts to play with. And that is the whole idea........Go play. Oh yeah that cat quilt.........I have an idea of how I want to finish it now. Don't despair......do something else and it will come back.

Why not re-start "quilting"? Go take some beginner classes again and then migrate to an Intermediate class, etc... another solution: If you can find a friend to sew with maybe once a week to start for awhile and then every 2 weeks than once a month might help. Two brains are better than one!!!

Good Luck!!

Its normal to get "discouraged" or in the "dumps" about quilting. But it will pass and soon you'll be right back at it. If the quilt you are working on isn't working out, put it away and maybe in 6 or 7 years, you'll want to get it out and finish it. I'm doing that now with my Dear Jane quilt that I started probably a good 7 years ago. I'm finding it fun to put the blocks together and make my "masterpiece". A lot of the advice in this thread is excellent for restarting your sewing urges. Go to a quilt show as well. That is always inspirational.

Some ideas: take a class at a LQS, have a "quilting bee" with friends, join a group that does charity quilting. At my LQS I hold a once-a-month session where people can bring in UFOs that they need time or help to finish. Ask around and see if your LQS offers this. If they don't, maybe they could start a group.

Agree with all the suggestions but my first thought was what Sue said, speak with your doctor. Can be something very simple. If my diet consists of too much sugar (maybe chocolate :-) ) or not well balanced, my mind and body doesn't function like it should. Stress can be a factor also, but sometimes it just gives me more determination to do something. Sometimes just getting out for a walk helps too. Whatever, don't give up!