Great advice. It's worth the extra time and effort to do it well. My mother used to say 'Do it right the first time or do it again.' Sometimes in quilting it's again and again. :)

Never heard of this saying. It is great!!!

Certainly heard it when growing up, nice reminder. I think it might have been one of those sayings that people would write in other's autograph books as well.

I went to Catholic School, also, and was taught this, too! Everything LIKE this was ingrained in our brains!!!

Alice, I think we could be sisters! Wouldn't be room for us in the same house, however. I keep trying to throw things out but after I do I think of a use for them.

Did anyone ever hear: Lick your calf over? (redo your job) or It isn't what you say but how you say it? (don't cuss or use slang)

Love the good, better, best phrase. I had never heard that.

My home ec teacher told us that when a garment is made it should be made so that it could be worn inside out - finish those seams and cut the tails of thread. (she meant it too)

My mom was always telling me to lick my calf over. That was a favorite of hers. Also, the one about how you say it is more than what you say. You can feel the person's feelings by the way they say it.

Yes, indeed. Learned it in 1st or 2nd grade. It's appropriate for everything we endeavor to do in life.

The thing is that 'best' doesn't mean 'perfect'. Best refers to your own best, not someone elses best. None of us are exactly alike, so our 'bests' won't be alike either, and our best will change over time. Looking back at my first quilt tops and the ones I make now, I can see that my 'best' 6 years ago is not as good as my 'best' now. But it was still my best for my level of experience at the time.

We were taught the "good, better, best" jingle in grade school to help us remember that 'gooder' and 'goodest' aren't words.

True, but it was also a grammer lesson!

The key is to do 'our best', not necessarily strive for perfection. I think any time I learn something, I have done my best.

I heard that a lot growing up, and from my Home Ec. teacher especially. She always told us to do your best, even if it meant "un-sewing" a zipper that I had literally "sewn in" when putting in a zipper in a skirt I was making. Poor dear, she spent a lot of time ripping out, then spent over an hour teaching me the right way to put in a zipper - the lesson stuck. She had the patience of Job certainly.

I like that saying!

I am certainly not 90, nor close to it, but I do remember that saying being repeated over and over in school throughout my elementary years. LOL

A choir director used that many years ago. It comes to mind frequently! But, my mantra now - thanks to someone on this board - is "better done and perfect"!

Thanks to everyone who encourages us to do our best!

Good, Better, Best! Love it, and try and remember this for any job.

"Good, better, best, never let it rest, until your good is better and your better is best."

I heard it in a sermon in the late 70's when I was a teenager.--he said it so many times during the sermon that I learned it. It's an easy one to learn and while I don't remember the scripture text, I do remember the quote. (not necessarily recommending that method of preaching--just commenting on where I first heard this saying.)

I do agree that we do need to strive to do/be our best, but with the knowledge that sometimes "okay" is sometimes good enough. Life happens, emergencies happen, time is short at times and in reality, all dinners we serve are not masterpieces and every quilt we make probably won't be either. Sometimes "done" is good enough.

I've heard that saying all my life and tried to incorporate into my life in everything

I love it. Thanks

I like that

I suppose you have to be past 70 to have heard it, but my mother quoted it all the time when she wanted me to do a good job of something--no matter what it was. I believe it comes from POOR RICHARD'S ALMANAC.

I went online to find the quotation. Maybe I do not know how to search, but a guy named Tim Duncan claims it! He is not as old as I am and I remember that from my early childhood. Why do people plagiarize?

Anyway, here is a really cut little "print it yourself" version of it for your kids and grandchildren's school teachers.

http://www.makoodle.com/good-better-best/

I have heard them both many times, And to those sayings my mother-in-law also added "If it is worth doing, It is worth doing right!"

Wise teacher.

At eighty, I am familiar with that saying. Hadn't thought of it in years but. Yes, it was big in my time.

I've never heard it before but think it is a very good saying.

My home ec teacher whacked me across my knuckles as I was cutting out a dress because I wasn't cutting on the right side of the line. I was so embarrassed. Eventually, after high school, we became friends and I learned so much from her. She had a disappointing personal life (apparently) and she could control her sewing and man she was good at it. She also helped me get my Elna sewing machine 43 years ago that I continue to use nearly daily. I think of her so often as I work and sew and try for "best". But my best is all I could ever hope to achieve and I am satisfied with that. Thank you all for sharing. Many of these I heard continually when growing up as my mother was a real phrase repeater and she used mainly Proverbs from the Bible.