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You have just voiced something I didn't realize was holding me back from joining my local quilt guild. Their quilts are so gorgious it's intimidating ( I see them at the quilt shows). I quilt alone. :-(
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Originally Posted by grandma judy
Well said!!
I'm new to this website, and I can see I will love it! |
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that we are all artists - and there aren't any mistakes in art. That is according to Sesame Street. If it's good enough for our kids it's good enough for me.
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:D Right on. Ditto on what those of the board have said. The only person we have to please is ourself. I like to make other people happy. They can look at my quilts and see how much better they are and that makes them happy. The quilts I make keep my people warm. That warms me. Win Win. BrendaK
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I feel the same way I feel that a quilt doesnt have to be perfect and the parts that arnt only give it its unique character
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A lot of what you said resonated with me. I'm the same age as you, and I do feel that pressure to make impressive quilts. I think part of that pressure comes from within, I push myself to keep getting better. The other part is feeling that if a quilt isn't super complicated then it doesn't have worth. I struggle with wanting to prove myself too. To me, quilting isn't just a hobby, it's an expression of caring and my artistic expression too.
I do think simple can be just as pretty as complicated. Some of the quilts I have enjoyed making the most are really simple. I think all quilters have gifts in different areas, and the fact we make something with so much love and thought is what makes it special. :-) |
Originally Posted by Cherylsea
I think people who find fault and put others down do so because they are unhappy - either with themselves or their life.
Don't share your unhappiness with me. Thank you. |
This is the biggest reason I do not join anything and teach myself to make what I like. I don't pay lots of money for fabrics. I have never made an heirloom quilt and at 66 I don't ever plan to. I give away lots of my quilts, my choice of colors, who gets one and what pattern. I try to always please myself and don't care what anyone else thinks and just keep sewing. Everyone loves the one or ones they get. Quilting is now all the hobby type thing I do and I'm not changing a thing. So glad you finally learned all this.
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Lovely quilt & pretty colors. When I started, every quilt had to be a learning experience,a knock them out beauty & there's not an artistic bone in my body.
Eventually I came to realize,it's my colors & piecing.If it suits me....that's what I spend money for,what I sit & sew for & nobody else has a say.In my sewing room,I rule the roost :)...I only make what I feel like making,using colors of my choice......so liberating. There are many quilts I admire, but have no interest in making. "Let me see if I can find a picture.." |
Wow! sounds like you've surrounded yourself with the worst that the quilt police force has to offer. I'm glad to see that you're turning over a new leaf. It'll make your time that you can spend creating so much more enjoyable. You're right - you ARE an artist - and no one else gets to determine whether you're qualified for that title or not.
YOU GO GIRL!!! :thumbup: Quit stressing and start enjoying your quilting.....beginning today! |
I quilt for my own enjoyment and I totally agree with you!
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This post just hits me in the heart. When I was your age, I was full of thoughts like yours -- was I good enough? As a Mom, as a PTA member, as a neighbor?
Now, 30 years later, I do what I like. If other folks like it, fine, if they don't, that's fine too. I wonder, are there 'needlepoint police'? Are there 'weaving police'? Or is it just quilters who look for rules to follow? |
I started quilting a few years ago I am 27 now. I am always the youngest in everything quilting related around me. So far I have not found it to be a problem. Everyone excepts me for what I am lol.
I am the leader and coordinator for our church quilt club that I started. I think next youngest to me is in her 40's. I normally end up giving the demos on show and tell night. Not because I know everything and most of the ladies have been quilting longer then me but I am a computer junky and I find all the newest tips and tricks lol With all that said. I quilt how I want with no quilt police or instructions and I dont think I will be making any master pieces any time soon lol and that is just find by me lol :D Keep doing what you love. The only opinion that matters is yours. Is the quilt up to your standards no one else |
Right on folks! It's taken me awhile to get back into quilting for all of the reasons specified here.....
Fortunately, the guild I joined has a bunch of neat ladies of all ages who follow the same guidelines...we are all on a journey and learning as we go. Don't let the **** get you down! Just do it, and you will be surprised and delighted at how happy those around you will jump at the chance to get those items you create. |
You got your priorities right! Every quilt doesn't have to be a masterpiece but every quilt is a masterpiece for someone who doesnt quilt! Keep happy, Therese
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Be confident in who you are and what you're trying to become.
It isn't bad to be challenged to become better. But choose people who make you feel enriched not down. Be happy |
I totally agree. I have been quilting for over 60 years and still not mastered a lot of the techniques but I am happy just to be able to make a quilt.
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You Go Girl! ! ! I am a new quilter. Heck, I haven't even completed my first project yet. I just finished an applique class last week. My opinion..Time to find a new group of ladies to hang out with. Older does not mean wiser (or smarter). I have a mother in law who thinks she is the 'WO-MAN' and I can do nothing right. Well, I've had it with her and her snooty nose in the air attitude. If she can do better, I say, 'Go For It Babe'. You keep doin' whatch'er doin'. And forget those bunch of people. The class I took had the most awsome instructor and classmates. I'm sorry these people are making you feel bad. Our instructor told use that our quilts are our own and we can make them any way we want....Never give up the Quilt! ! ! Horray for you! ! !
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Hahaha, Leslie, now days there are police for EVERYTHINGGGGG..............LOL
Originally Posted by LeslieFrost
This post just hits me in the heart. When I was your age, I was full of thoughts like yours -- was I good enough? As a Mom, as a PTA member, as a neighbor?
Now, 30 years later, I do what I like. If other folks like it, fine, if they don't, that's fine too. I wonder, are there 'needlepoint police'? Are there 'weaving police'? Or is it just quilters who look for rules to follow? |
You go girl! I, for one, needed to hear that! I am not the greatest quilter, but I love it. It is my therapy of sorts. It relaxes me and gives me a sense of peace. My sewing room is my sanctuary in many ways. Thank you for speaking out. Quilting is a competition only if you want it to be.
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Originally Posted by pumpkinpatchquilter
This is the lesson I am slowly learning. I have been quilting for 6 years, and as a new quilter I surrounded myself with some of THE most knowledgeable, and intimidating quilters in the area. I was 24 years old, green and new to the quilting world when I began. As I progressed I felt like I had to do BIGGER, BETTER, and GREATER to be taken even a little bit seriously by these women who were much older than me and knew what seemed to be SO very much more than me about quilting. If I wasn't getting snubbed for my age I was getting snubbed for my skill level. I am an artist at heart, all I wanted for years when I was young was to go to art school. That unfortunately never happened for me as I started a family early, and many of you know just how hard it is to go back to school with small children. But it was a blessing, truly, because my family is my world, and making a quilt for my daughter was what brought me to find my life's passion in quilting. All of this combined with a really awful experience with a quilt shop owner who hired me to teach a class but then treated me so rudely as if I didn't know a darn thing I was talking about has left me with this need to prove myself artistically and I feel like for the past several years I've been on this personal MISSION to prove to anybody and EVERYBODY that I am capapble, I am skilled, and gosh darnit, I'm artistic!!!
You know what? I refuse to live with that insecurity any longer, I know who I am and what I can do. Here I am. I am 30 years old, I'm a Mother first and foremost, second a wife, and third I'm a dedicated quilter. I have finally learned that FOR ME, every quilt doesn't need to be a masterpiece. Every quilt that I create does not have to knock everybody's socks off, and it doesn't have to encase all the techniques I have learned in the past 6 years to PROVE that I am a capable quilter. That is not to say I don't do the best I can with every quilt, but a corner that doesn't match perfectly doesn't always need to be ripped and resewn. Every project doesn't need to be the hardest and most complicated project I've ever done. I adore challenging projects but a simple nine patch quilt can be just as satisfying to complete as the most complicated paper pieced mariners compass. Thanks for the vent. Just thought I'd share that little revelation, because I know I'm not the only one who feels like they need to prove themselves to the local quilting veterans. ;) |
AMEN
Originally Posted by pumpkinpatchquilter
This is the lesson I am slowly learning. I have been quilting for 6 years, and as a new quilter I surrounded myself with some of THE most knowledgeable, and intimidating quilters in the area. I was 24 years old, green and new to the quilting world when I began. As I progressed I felt like I had to do BIGGER, BETTER, and GREATER to be taken even a little bit seriously by these women who were much older than me and knew what seemed to be SO very much more than me about quilting. If I wasn't getting snubbed for my age I was getting snubbed for my skill level. I am an artist at heart, all I wanted for years when I was young was to go to art school. That unfortunately never happened for me as I started a family early, and many of you know just how hard it is to go back to school with small children. But it was a blessing, truly, because my family is my world, and making a quilt for my daughter was what brought me to find my life's passion in quilting. All of this combined with a really awful experience with a quilt shop owner who hired me to teach a class but then treated me so rudely as if I didn't know a darn thing I was talking about has left me with this need to prove myself artistically and I feel like for the past several years I've been on this personal MISSION to prove to anybody and EVERYBODY that I am capapble, I am skilled, and gosh darnit, I'm artistic!!!
You know what? I refuse to live with that insecurity any longer, I know who I am and what I can do. Here I am. I am 30 years old, I'm a Mother first and foremost, second a wife, and third I'm a dedicated quilter. I have finally learned that FOR ME, every quilt doesn't need to be a masterpiece. Every quilt that I create does not have to knock everybody's socks off, and it doesn't have to encase all the techniques I have learned in the past 6 years to PROVE that I am a capable quilter. That is not to say I don't do the best I can with every quilt, but a corner that doesn't match perfectly doesn't always need to be ripped and resewn. Every project doesn't need to be the hardest and most complicated project I've ever done. I adore challenging projects but a simple nine patch quilt can be just as satisfying to complete as the most complicated paper pieced mariners compass. Thanks for the vent. Just thought I'd share that little revelation, because I know I'm not the only one who feels like they need to prove themselves to the local quilting veterans. ;) |
It has taken me 30 years to learn what you do now. I congratulate you, just keedp on quilting.
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Dear PumpkinPatch, I agree with you! As long as I am pleased with the quilt that I make (I looked back on some of my quilts and still like them) then I am happy because I know that I put a lot of thought and work into it even if the quilting part isn't every 1/8 inch and the pattern was "simple". I know that it will hold together when it is washed and dried and I hope that whoever uses it will use it enough so that they will have to wash and dry it.
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You are correct!
My quilts would never win any ribbons but my family enjoys them. I am intimidated by the pictures posted on this website but I'll still do what I can. |
Right on girl! If those photos are any indication of your skill - then you are so ahead of me that I am not sure I'll ever get there! Awesome attitude and quilting! I'm pretty new, but am loving it.
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The quilts we make are samples of our progress a quilters as well as out artistic efforts. I tried to make some complicated quilts but found no pleasure in them because I was not ready to tackle that level of work. Oh, I blush when I look at some of my first efforts but when I lay them beside what I can do with ease now, I see my progress at this craft. I too have to pull myself back from time to time and renew the reason I am quilting and it is the joy of creation. I doubt I will ever enter a judged event. I am not putting in my efforts for someone to check points or the exactness of my work. Some do and we all admire their skills and try to move just a little closer to that goal but I quilt because I love the process. Learning something new has always been part of my life and quilting gives me this opportunity. Each quilt allows me to try a new technique, try a new color combination or improve on making those points perfect. Some are better others, and other not so much but as board members have said already, even "oopes" and errors allow us to learn and those quilts still provide warmth and beauty.
As is often said on this board, "When it is not fun or pleasurable then why are we doing it?" Thanks for your thoughts and may we all remember why we quilt; for the joy of it and maybe to bless others. |
as a self taught quilter of many years I finally found a quilt guild, I was so intimidated by these women and their skills, but they were also very incouraging and stressed "you are making a quilt for you, no one else. ejoy the process and learn all you can but HAVE FUN". that has stuck and just enjoy what I do and don't try to make a masterpiece every time but do get some ooooohhhhh's at the show and tell section of our meetings.
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It's great that you finally realized that you don't need to please other people. Many people are trying to please others. You need to realize that most people don't look that closely at your pieces of art. Only you know the "mistakes" and unless you point them out others won't notice.
We should not be intimitated by pictures possted on this website. They should be viewed as inspiration and things we can practice to grow ourselves. We can learn from others not be intimitated. I learned this by experience, but as far as quilts are concerned, at one of our quilt guild meetins we had a speaker who passed around quilts. When I looked at them I realized that she was actually no better then me as far as her quilting was concerned. (she was being published in a major magazine). She had an attitued that I loved. She said "Just quilt" don't worry if it isn't perfect! If you wait for perfection, you many never do anything. Let others enjoy your works of art. |
I have been quilting for ... a Really long time. I have learned that as much as I like the challenge of something more difficult than the past , I enjoy the comfort of the easy "no thinking just sew" kinds of projects. I need both to be happy in my quilting life.
I am not a quilter for the stress ... I have plenty of that in other areas of my life. |
all true, and also - every quilt does not have to be finished, either. You can give away projects to others to continue, or use the fabrics as they want - I started a quilt for my sil and she died suddenly and I knew my brother didnt care for it, so I gave it to a sewing group and they were happy to finish it off and give it to their new pastor sharet
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I am so glad I do not have to sew perfect by all your views.
A lady I know told me it has to be perfect. so i have been very scared to start a small pieces. and designs. I have made several yoyo quilts. I made designs out of them but the piece one still scare me even though I have tons of material to do it. I as off work this summer but could not be on feet much so embroidered. I start back to work and home to start a new and interesting project and do not feel bad having so many things started, after listening to all of you. |
I totally agree.
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Good for you... I was that way about education... and it finally dawned on me that I didnt have to prove anything... (that was after lots of $ and 12 years of college - I am 63 now). Like you, being Mom was always my first priority and still is, even though my son is married and living in another state. I am lucky I have a very sweet daughter-in-law who doesn't mind sharing. But now, my daily routine is quilting and taking time for a cup of tea. I am glad you skipped all the years of "proving" ... they are absolutely unnecessary. I am happy for your early wisdom.
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BRAVO! :thumbup:
Quilting is not about perfection but about the love you put into it. Personally I live to annoy the quilt police. :-D To my knowledge there are no perfect people in this world but Jesus. The receiver is the one who determines if a quilt is awesome and not the quilt police. And the giver created it with love. |
Pumpkin patch, that middle is so beautiful. You know, the designers have their way, and it isn't always the way our brain works, so we have to make it our way. You did that, and I love it.
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I for one love your vent! I feel exactly the same way. There is a local quilt club close to me, in order to join this club you need to bring in a finished project and a completed block in order to join. They go over it with a fine tooth comb, no thanks for me! I'm not perfect in my quilts and I don't claim to be I do what I like and if someone else doesn't like it thats fine, but my recipients love what they get from me as each year I make each member of my family a quilt, they ask that they keep coming, so I must be doing something right! LOL
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A lesson learned and good for you at 30! Some people never get it... :wink:
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Originally Posted by arkansasquilter123
Very well said. I know that people have made me feel bad about my quilting and I really took it to heart. I even sew scraps together to make quilts for people that NEED them, and had one woman (a fellow quilter) tell me that the blocks were UGLY. How rude. I informed her that it would still make someone warm and/or feel better. I think beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, and the gesture of giving is the important part. I personally have yet to see an UGLY quilt, as I think there is personality, character, and love that goes into EVERY quilt, no matter what fabric is used.
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very well said and you have to do what makes you happy.
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