Yes, we are definitely hard on ourselves! So this will make you laugh, I pieced and quilted 4 charity quilts for a local cancer center that are being used for patients during chemo, I intentionally made fun errors on the quilting so that if there would be something for the patients to look at and find during there treatments.

I could have tried to keep it all perfect, but then I thought, if I was sitting there bored, this would be fun for me.

We all have our own imperfections that make us unique, and thou shalt our quilts! :-)

I'm curious as to what you call "fun errors"?

I think you just have to decide what is most important to you. To me, that is not perfection. It has never been one of the goals. I enjoy the process and the output, but I don't care if it is perfect.

Sometimes my husband will come by, see a mistake and say "you aren't going to leave that one in, are you?" That is how I know it needs to be fixed- he lets the little ones slide, but his standards are a bit higher than mine, and I figure if he thinks it needs to be fixed, other people might too.


Besides, I figure imperfect quilts are more likely to be used. If parents see that the points don't all line up they may realize it was never intended to be an heirloom, and let the baby use it!

I compare myself to others and usually decide that my work is lacking, especially when I attend the big shows, like Paducah. But then I will see some of the quilts entered in local shows and county fairs and think "well hell, I do better work than that!" So, I will keep quilting, keep improving and just enjoy it. There are no quilt police looking at my work, except the ones in my head. The people who get my quilts love them and thats the most important part!

OK, I just realized this makes me sound kinda schizo. So, judging my own work drives me nuts!!

It is always easy to be critical of yourself .. relax about your skills. If you really feel like you are having trouble "turning it up a notch" take a class or find a quilting buddy who has some of the skills you admire.

Little things, one was quilted with words, hope, love, joy so I quilted all the words around the borders with one side spelled wrong, here or there not every word and only on one side. Another one I did meandering with variations of small items quilted in a flower, a heart, a moon, just a mish mash so it would be a distraction and something to look for. I'm hoping this has helped pass the time.

I'm still new at machine quilting and I'm still in the "oh, well, I'm just having fun and learning" phase. I'm making some quilts to give as gifts, so they have to be decent, though! I know after hours and hours of working on the same quilt, I'm pretty over it, and then I have to switch to another quilt or I'll tend to get sloppy.
I don't fret over little mistakes, like if I cross while meandering (because I'm still not very good at that!); I only rip out if it effects a portion of the quilt. I do have puckers on the front and on the back, but if they are bigger than 1 or 2 stitches, I rip it out. But if it's just a little one, I let it ride.

I'm hoping it will all be ok after it's washed and dried lol!

I am the quilter who goes to a quilt show and is "intimidated and inspired" at the same time. Intimidated because I don't think my quilting (or piecing) is up to snuff. Inspired because I can see myself making a similar quilt. I, too, am my own worse critic. I need to remind myself that the "quilt police" have no jurisdiction in my house. Most people I have shown my quilts to love them, but I always wonder if they are just being nice. We all need to stop being so hard on ourselves. Easier said then done...

When we start trying to be perfect, the pleasure of quilting has been ruined. I'm sure our grandmothers and great grandmothers could say the same things about the quilts they made but we seem to think they were perfect quilters. NOT SO! They were quilting by hand and sometimes there were several women working on the same quilt. That's how quilting bees began. It's hard to believe that all those women quilted on the same level, with the same stitch lengths. Don't be so hard on yourself.

Used to feel that way too but not anymore. Had to sit myself down and figure out exactly what I was after when quilting and discovered, for me personally, I wasn't interested in winning any contests with super fancy work. It was fine for others and loved to admire their workmanship but, for me, I preferred utilitarian quilts...not because it required less work but because I enjoyed the simplicity of it. I still put a lot of care into each one, square up each block, choose pretty color combos and receive many compliments when completed but I don't sweat a mistake or two because they are meant to be used.