I am a relatively new quilter and I feel like an addict. I put off starting quilting because I thought corners had to come together perfectly. I took a gook look at the quilts displayed in quilt shops and fabric stores and none of them were perfect! Yet they were beautiful. Like so many, I enjoy the process. Nothing else I do is perfect – why should quilting be any different. :)

Linda, I was just like you. Sounds like there are others out there like us, as well. Quilting should be fun. I had to sit myself down and have a little chat. I told myself that it was okay to start a project. It's okay to not finish a project. It's okay to make a mistake. The purpose of quilting is to relax and enjoy myself. Once I let go of some of my OCD, I started sewing and actually finish some things! Don't worry about how well you are doing. Just begin and have fun. Start small. Maybe start with placemats and play around with color choices. See how they blend together. And HAVE FUN!! Post pics of your progress on the board so that we all can encourage you. Maybe you will encourage someone else, too!

[QUOTE=pad's;5323495]Saying on my quilt labels.....
"The blocks may not be straight,
The seams are quite askew.
But it's made with love,
Especially for you."

Only God can create something perfect,

And so far He hasn't decided to help with my quilts.

Jump in, my first "quilt" was made from cut-off jean legs back in the 70's.
One child still has his, crooked squares and all......( if anyone dares to make a comment, "New style, suppose to be that way"......best of luck

Sometime I think we spend so much on all the machines and stuff that we feel like with all this stuff we have to turn out a master piece every time. And then you may be a little like me and just love all the gadgetry.

I have to say, LynnVT, I just love your post! First it made me laugh, then I teared up a little. Your comments are so TRUE!

I can be the same way. I've found that what I have to tell myself is: I am going to use such and such pattern, but, I am going to make it my own. That way when it is not perfect I don't have to designate it to the unfinished project, or I have permission to change the pattern or idea smack dab in the middle of it.

My quilting teacher told me that the reason people put a "God's Eye" in their quilts was because only God could make something perfect & it was an insult to try to make something perfect. I don't have to "try" to make a mistake in mine... they happen spontaneously... LOL!

My word! That is spectacular! I love it! Think about it this way... practice makes perfect. What I mean by that is that as you make quilts, your color confidence will grow. Until then, use precuts or patterns that have specific colors. It will warm you to venturing out to making your own choices.

I'm a fine one to talk. I, too, have perfectionist tendencies & have to really work hard to overcome them. I find doing things like Jelly Roll Races MAKE me loosen up.

One of my grandmothers used to always include something deliberately wrong in almost every quilt. I have a pinwheel quilt that I love, and one of the pinwheels are backwards. I love that backwards pinwheel! My sister has its mate, and in that one, two pinwheels have single spokes in the "wrong" fabric. When my grandma died, I did a painting featuring things from her life for her memorial, and in the background in one spot there's a pinwheel quilt hanging on a clothesline, with one backwards pinwheel. My aunt zeroed right in on that and we all talked about how we loved those "mistakes" in our quilts!

And if I look real close...not all her points perfectly match up either and I had always just assumed they were perfect. I honestly never ever noticed they weren't until I started quilting on my own and did a detailed examination of several quilts made by both of my grandmas. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and my eyes don't seem to behold mistakes in other's work nearly as well as they behold the mistakes in my own!

For me classes give me a kick in the but to get a project going or shows