Do you ever quilt when you're not feeling it?
 

I was having tension issues (for days) and after trying many things I think I have it figured out enough to try FMQ on my actual project rather than just practice pieces. But after many many practices I feel exhausted and am just not feeling it. I was just going to meander inside an appliqued silhouette that I put on a jelly roll race quilt but now I think my FMQ looks pretty choppy, not smooth like I know I can do. I was probably so focused on the tension problem as well as being pretty frustrated that I know I was not enjoying the practicing. I decided to get away from it and see what's going on here for awhile and in the process I wondered how many of you get to this point and do you push through or do you take opportunity to give yourself the break you need before pressing on?

I have to leave it alone when I feel like that or I get frustrated & mad & make too many mistakes.

If I try to do anything with the sewing machine when the mood is somewhere else, it will invariably end up in disaster. It is best to give it a rest and find a good book, or do some internet window shopping!

I rarely FMQ for more than an hour a day. I just find that is my limit, after that I'm not enjoying it.

In order for me to do a decent job of FMQing,I need to be calm,relaxed,uninterrupted. It helps to have a dose of an adult beverage,and play appropriate music. If it isn't working out,I set it aside and cut scraps into squares for a while.

I think for any part of making a quilt, if I'm not into it, it's asking for mistakes, so I tend to do whatever I'm in the mood for at the time. I've read many posts about having different projects going at one time, so that you can work on what you feel like doing at that time.

That's why I have more than one quilt on the go. I just change my quilt and do another skill. Works every time and. I don't get oops in the work.

By the time I get to the FMQ part, I usually start a new quilt so I have my hand applique work to take with me to work on while I'm out. So when I get too frustrated with one, I can always switch to the other. The only time I would really push through would be if I had a deadline for a client. Quilts for family or friends are usually a little late because I refuse to keep working on a quilt to the point I hate it if I'm going to have to see it over & over again every holiday. ;)

Any time I get frustrated with any part of my quilting, I find that the best thing to do is to speak softly, put it down gently, and leave the room:)

Yes, push through only if a deadline. Otherwise, I'm not motivated to make the choice to do something I don't "have" to do. Right now, I'm FMQ'ing some tops that have been languishing for almost a year. I'm learning fmq is not something I enjoy that much..usually after 15 mins or so, i notice i'm tensed up and overly critical of my work...then i remember, "better done than perfect". to me best is "fun and done perfectly". lol

At least that's what I should do. LOL

I take a break when things aren't going right. Usually this helps clear the head of frustration and I solve the problem when I return.

if I'm not in the mood for anything, no matter what it is, I just don't do it. Never works and others have stated, it just doesn't work and too many mistakes. A waste of time really.

yes you have to be more relaxed to get flowing not choppy so walk away for a while

Yeah, I have definitely gotten to this point at times. Like the others suggested, I either walk away, or work on a different project. FMQ is one thing I can't do when I'm fatigued or annoyed (that and cutting, because without fail I'll measure incorrectly). So, I work on something else, or just get everything setup and ready for the next day and stop for the night. If it's too early to give up for the night, I'll clean up my sewing area and organize fabric. A lot of times having a clean sewing space and having the project ready to go for my next sewing session will reinvigorate me and I'll be able to tackle it.

If I'm having problems with patterns, machines, tensions, etc., then I just come back to it another day. I've decided that sometimes things just don't want to be made. LOL

I find if I am not in the mood or irritated about anything I need to stop. I need to be relaxed or it shows in my quilting. I don't notice it in piecing but, if I get tired I do something else. I have made wrong size cuts if I get too tired.
I usually work for hours on the weekends before I get tired.

I will make countless mistakes when I'm not in the mood to sew. I find if I don't feel like sewing or things aren't going right its best if I work on organizing and straightening my sewing room. Sometimes it nice to just pet my fabric and dream up new projects.

It is NOT worth pressing yourself to do anything like FMQ when tired or not in the mood otherwise you may end up with terrible quilting.

Can't tell you how often I get distracted while FMQ....plus thinking "I can do that" when I can't!!! Yesterday I realized that my meandering on my son's quilt looked more like a drunken sailor did it, I'm now "picking" ALL of it out again. Probably another two or three days of "picking" and then will calmly start again.

I have to be in the mood so that is why I always have several quilts or projects in the making. If I'm not interested in one then I might be for the next one. If I'm not in the mood for any type of sewing, cutting, piecing or quilting then I just "close shop" for awhile. Usually a little rest away from it then I'm ready to go again. No matter how much you love something you still need a break away from it now & then.

If the tension is the machine tension that needs to be seen to first....

If it is the other kind do Elvis singing "make the world go away, take it off of my shoulders"
and then "shake it out" with Taylor Swift

That is why I have so many projects going. Hand quilting, hand applique, a couple different scrappy quilts, a row robin with my quilt guild, sewing for a friends bazaar table, a Dear Jane, I have a wide selection to choose from and now a grand daughter that is falling in love with quilting. Oh and a sewing 4-H group so I am never at a lose for what to do and when I really don't feel like what I have I start a new project!

I am having that problem now with starting one I have to get done. I was really excited about it at first then I bought fabric and pattern for one I would love to start on but this one has to be done first. I sure hope when I start it I don't mess it up trying to rush through it.

Yes and the results aint pretty. Now I walk away for awhile or day. I get to stressed if I have to meet a deadline.

When I'm having a major problem, such as yours, and sometimes just a minor problem, I find it best to just walk away for some period of time, then usually when I get back to it, I find I can get my MoJo back.

depends on the project... and timing. I am one of the unlucky ones who have to work ha ha ha. So I have to squeeze in my quilting when I have time. The last week in June I was off work due to plant shutdown so I got to do alot of sewing :) The end of the week I was kinda of losing interest and getting tired of struggling with quilting my quilt on my home machine..I did want to give up. But I knew that if I didn't finish it that week who knows when it would be finished. So I pushed through and got it done.. and I am glad that I did.

But as others have said, its nice to have a few projects in process to be able to switch back and forth when you need a break

Yes, and every time I pay for it.

Whenever I feel like that, I make a pot holder, or a small runner, gets me back in the swing of things right away

I always have multiple projects going in various stages. And there are always one or two that have to sit and "mellow" for awhile before I can deal with them again. Lol! Otherwise they would forever be in timeout.

Eventually I get back to them and they get done - or else they take a new direction. Either way the frustration level is over and done with and I end up with something functional instead of a mess.