When I get that way I step back and leave the project alone for however long it takes. I may do something else inbetween, baby quilt, table runners, christmas stockings to give away, embroider. Generally when I go back to the project it's because in my heart it's ok and I have a new prospective about it. Do something you enjoy, after all, what is it going to matter in 5 years whether you got that project finished or not. I have also found that if I "promise" something, that there ends up being mega pressure and I do not enjoy the project. It stops being a labor of love at that point....

Yes I am discouraged also. Because I sat and sewed for to long - 5 to 10 hrs at a time, I got a blood clot which 90 percent of the time starts in your legs. Now I am off the blood thinner and have to set a timer in my sewing room and get up and walk around every hour. I am going to the Gym 3 to 4 times a week but I still have to do this also when I go on a road trip, stop and walk around. The Doctor also told me to wear support stockings when I sew. I am not doing that part. I am real down about all this. I have been sewing for 57 years. Thanks for listening.

One thing to help with figuring out patterns is to start small and easy. Also it was really helpful to me to take quilting classes. You can ask questions and will learn a lot. Also go at your own pace. Some people sew many many quilts and some sew a few. Some love the complicated patterns and some love the quick ones. Also you can ask questions here and get help. I am still learning a lot too.

Perhaps its the kind of quilt patterns you are choosing. Are you trying to do something that takes precise cutting or intricate detail? Why not pick one the Board tutorials where you have good pictures and instruction PLUS the instructor at your fingertips! Don't give up! But don't feel like you have to do something you don't like because you spent money and then you wind up miserable and make mistakes.

Ditto everything everyone has said!!! I had been on a quilting hiatus for the past 5 or 6 years. And now - I am fully engaged, so excited! But I know that some day it will swing again the other way - but I am not going to let that bother me - there are so many good suggestions here of what to do when that happens. I also have difficulty deciphering patterns. I decided that this year is the year for me to bump up my skills a notch - and to take a paper piecing class. Also, I decided to quit having preconceived notions of what I would or wouldn't do (those colors don't match my house - so they are off limits though they are so pretty; or - that pattern seems a little more country and while I like it - it doesn't fit my decorating scheme). I decided I wanted to open up all avenues to explore! You will find your way back...

OH OH OH, instead of the Goodwill pile, won't you consider using those unwanted UFOs as PIFs here on the board? Or you could even sell them to us for a low price just to get them out of your sight. So many of us struggle financially and would love to take an unloved project and give it a new home.

OH YES. When my seams aren't straight or no matter how hard I try its just not neat enough. I have thought about stopping altogether. But like you I have a loft full of fabric and a lovely sewing machine (well a few actually). What i do is stop. I might put it all away for a day or two.

I think about why I sew and what I enjoy about it. Sometimes its just working in fabric and making things for others, sometimes its to challenge myself that I can do this.

all I can say is ask someone to show you or help you. If you can post some pictures and ask for advice on QB. I have found this site so helpful. If we don't challenge ourselves with something hard we will never improve and advance our skills. And remember this is a hobby if you are not enjoying what you are doing stop that project. do something else and you might come back to the original one - you might not - it does not matter. Just enjoy what you are doing and do what you enjoy. Please don't give up

About feeling discouraged, I certainly understand how you feel. With fibromyalgia there comes a brainnumbing thing called fibrofog, which causes us to do things that seem perfectly right at the time but are in fact not. For example the other day I was doing the math to add borders to tshirt blocks so they all come out the same size. Now I know how to do this, have done it many times. But this time, for about half the blocks, I added the half inch seam allowance before I divided by 2 instead of after. So of course, all the blocks where I did that came out half an inch too small. Sometimes I only did it on one set of sides. LOL... when all were cut, sewn, pressed and on the design wall, DH says to me, why aren't they all the same size. Of course they are!! OMG, no they aren't!! Why aren't they? So as I sat and frogged all the ones that were too small, I tried to figure out what went wrong. Went over and over the formula, the steps, etc. No, I had it right, so frustrated, so discouraged. Then somewhere in there it occurred to me what I must have done.

I loveeee those beautiful paperpieced stars and quilts with the sunbursts and all that, but I know I won't ever be making one because I would get lost in the fog and never be able to follow a pattern that complex. I have made peace with that, and am happy and content to stick with simpler patterns and designs. I get my challenge in trying to design a few patterns of my own now and then. And in trying to do basic math correctly. LOLOL
Hugggs and smiles for you, always know you are not alone in your frustration and that many of us are out here who understand what you are dealing with. You are welcome to send me a PM any time you feel the need to vent!!

So far I have not gotten out of the mood to sew. I always look forward to finishing a quilt so I can start another. With all the fabrc I have and all my oldest Daughter has, she sure hopes I never get out of the mood to sew.

Walk away for a few days and let it be, don't walk away forever. I know how you feel, I have been there. Probably everyone who is on this board has been there. Maybe you need to just work on something else to get a new perspective on whatever is giving you so much trouble.
When I have one pattern that is giving me fits, I put it away and go back to it later when I feel up to giving it another try. I'm about ready to do that again with one I can't seem to get right. I just don't like the way it is coming together.

Good luck it will get better. Try and remember why you started quilting in the first place and how amazing it felt to finish that first quilt you ever did.