My LQS owner tells us to ask this question -- Can you live with it (meaning any tiny error)? If yes, don't worry about it and move on. If no, then stop and fix it. Once the quilt is finished, knowing there are errors, stand back about 6 ft and see if those errors stand out. If not, don't worry about it...There isn't a "yes" answer because you won't be able to see those minor mistakes. Hope this helps ease your mind. Example - look at my avatar pic....there are LOTS of errors but my son loves his quilt.

I love this quote!!!

I do the same thing. I just made a quilt from a pattern that I made and while I was sewing the blocks it was looking good but now that the quilt is all together I see all kinds of mistakes on it, at that time I sometimes wish I hadn't made it.

Look in the mirror to you total perfection? Not likely but
God don't say "wish I had never made this one."
Laugh and life goes on.

thank God for us quilters--perfect or not.

I think we all notice our mistakes but others don't know what to look for. It's good to strive for perfection but I refuse to drive myself crazy dwelling on it but I sure do strive to do better with the next project. I put the quilt away for awhile and when I pull it out to show someone, I see it with different eyes even though I do know the mistakes are there, it's a beautiful quilt or garment and my workmanship is normally pretty good. Everyone has mistakes or goofs in their quilts as it's a human impossibility to actually achieve perfection all of the time. Now if it's a really glaring goof, that's a whole other matter and hopefully it can be caught and fixed before it's too late. I do strive to improve with each quilt, garment, new project and on occasion will do a project that I refer to as a learning tool where I experiment away - guess those turn into utility type quilts but they too get completed and are used and loved. When I need something to be as perfect as possible, I do strive for it and get close enough - no experimenting on these. For me quilting, is relaxing and a pleasure to do and this is one of thing I do for me that also directly benefits those who receive my quilts and the love that goes into them. I refuse to stress out over imperfections and in fact do show my mistakes to the grandchildren as I want them to learn that it's ok to make mistakes as long as you learn from them and improve along the way and with quilting they see the beautiful result mistakes and all but they also see that as the quilt progressed, my workmanship improves and that's the lesson I want to teach them.

Candace,
I too used to be a perfectionist and about drove myself crazy over it and then one day my doctor told me I had to get some perspective on life and learn how to relax. Striving for perfection is ok and desired but it's also ok to relax, learn and improve along the way. Others see the beauty in our quilts, admire them and wish they could quilt like that as well so strive for perfection but when it doesn't happen, learn from it, improve but relax and enjoy the process and life as you go. I saw my Mother drive herself crazy striving for perfection and never learning to accept what is. Life isn't perfection but our quilts can be beautiful without being perfect. Our quilts can be loved and treasured by others without being perfect. My family tell me they feel the love that goes into every stitch in my quilts and I believe them as they all tell me this - I'm a hand quilter. Relax, enjoy the process and those you give your quilts to will feel the love that goes into them and that's a great gift from you to them.

The quilt in your avatar is gorgeous. I can't imagine trying to quilt it on a machine but then I'm a hand quilter and only just now trying to learn how to do simple hand quilting. Oh yes, that stitch in the ditch is a royal challenge but your quilt is gorgeous and I'm sure it will be when finished. Enjoy the process.

Exactly and I agree with you. Most of my quilts have stories behind them and memories built into them which makes them treasures. Each of my quilts until the last few years were also tied to each other by common fabrics that were use in each of the quilts and fabrics use to make garments as the children were growing up. Each quilt completed taught me many new skills and techniques along the way and oh yes, each quilt has imperfections in them. Being a self taught quilter has not been an easy process but the quilt in my avatar was begun the first year of our marriage, totally torn apart and redesigned and completed just before our 38th anniversary and everyone who knows me can see the difference between my early quilts and this completed one and since then all of my quilts. I'm a quilt as you go hand quilter. It's also takes time to learn things when it takes forever to complete a quilt. An average for me to do a queen quilt was 1 - 4 years while working full time. Since retiring I'm more prolific but haven't done any queen quilts but working on quilts for 7 grandchildren. Each came home in a grammy hand quilted quilt and each now has a twin sized hand quilted quilt - the last one will get hers in July unless I decide to enter it into our Jan. 2011 quilt show. They tell us that to enter a quilt into the show it must be perfect - well, this one isn't quite perfect which is why I'm holding back. It's darn close though with only 2 glaring issues and you really have to be looking to spot them. No one, not even the quilters, have spotted them yet so we'll see. My biggest concern is that if I do enter it and it places that my daughter in law, bless her heart, won't allow her now 7 year old daughter to have it. She fears the quilts will wear out is saving them for when they are old enough to appreciate them. My daughter allows her family to use their quilts daily and they are the one ones who treasure my quilts and NEED their grammy quilts as they feel the love eminating from them.

Amen.