I found the Quilt Police!!
 

I found the Quilt Police!! They live in my head!! They fuss about my points! My sewing techniques, my choice of design and won't let me sew at all without having the ripper within close reach. Heaven help me if a seam line is slightly off!! Will I ever learn to just enjoy sitting down to sew??

What is it about our heads? I have an unsolved problem on a quilt; I won't let myself work on the parts that aren't a problem. I just stew and worry and fret about the part that is unsolved; so nothing gets done on it at all. I am apparently waiting for a bolt of lighting to strike me or the answer to be written on my wall. In the meantime I have gone back to sewing up a fall wardrobe for mysellf.

We are our own worst enemies! We drive ourselves crazy, worrying and fussing about the imperfections in our projects. These will never be noticed by others but we can't stop ourselves from pointing them out. I am making a conscious effort to not point out my oopsies to others. If it was my quilt, I wouldn't fret over it so why do I have to make sure that everyone sees my mistakes?

We are not perfect ... so our sewing will not always be perfect. It is what it is! Can it be seen on a galloping horse?

These are some of the 'sayings' that I try to remind myself when I go into 'Quilt Police' mode.

Yes, you will! I used to be like that, believe it or not. :D Way before quilting, I used to sew garments and craft items. If I noticed a stitch out of place, out came the seam ripper. Drove myself crazy. Well, my eyes aren't as good as they used to be (even with glasses) and I no longer have the patience for "perfect" stitches. I still try to have my points and seams where they should be but no longer beat myself over the head about "the little things." Thing is, most people don't even notice those little things, whether they're perfect or slightly crooked. I don't enter contests and am the first to admit my sewing isn't perfect . . . and am a lot happier for it! :thumbup:

Like I tell my DGD, strive for perfection but be happy with well-done. :)

My motto from day one has been "done is better than perfect." Perfection is unattainable. So just finish it.

there is nothing wrong with (striving) to improve your techniques- work at getting things as right as possible- but remind yourself (Only God can create perfection) and since you are not...
and if you stop & look around you---ever seen 2 leaves the same on a tree? or 2 flowers or 2 of anything???of course not- that is a lesson all it's own- strive for the overall beauty & don't try to be better than the only creator of perfection.

I heard this years ago and believe it. " A man on horseback will never see it, and a blind man will be glad to see it."

Thats all I'm going to say!!

I can't tell you how many times I have fussed over a decision on a customer's quilt, should I do it this way or that way? I ask them and get the answer, Whatever you pick will be fine. So I am trying not to fuss so much!!

I get the same way sometimes but I've gotten pretty good at just shrugging and saying to myself, "Lesson for next time!" and moving on. I rip out some mistakes but I leave a lot of them too. Some day I hope I'm as skilled as my grandmother, who deliberately added mistakes to her quilts! For now, plenty of them happen all on their own, LOL. And most of them wouldn't be noticed by a non-quilter anyway. I don't make show quilts (yet) - mine are designed to be portable hugs, and who will complain if a hug is not perfect!? It's the love that counts.

That's not the quilt police...it's your own ambition. Why on earth would you want to stiffle it? Grab ahold with both arms and embrace it, it will take you far. Aim high, as they say! There is absolutely nothing wrong with striving for excellence, or with reaching it. Do you really want to settle for 'good enough' as your goal?

My husband taught me a trick to solve this. When I get stuck on a quilt and don't know what to do, that night when I go to bed I tell myself to dream about that quilt. Sometimes an answer comes to me in a night or two, sometimes it's a week, sometimes it's during the day. I think our brains come up with more creative solutions while we're asleep. I keep paper and pencil next to my bed to write ideas down.

Telling yourself to dream about something sounds crazy, but it really does work.

I agree whole-heartedly.

I choose to live on the wild side and ignore the quilting police. I call my quilts unique especially when they are a mess.

yup. i think we all suffer from this at one point or another. like "they" say, "the enemy of 'good', is 'better'." sometimes, i just walk away for a few minutes, and when i return, things don't look so awful or bad. amazing what 5 minutes can do for perspective!

Words of wisdom to live by!!! Thank you so much!! I was a little down and out! I feel better!!

Ladies, don't be so hard on yourselves! We can only strive for "excellence", knowing that we've done our very best at the time. Don't beat yourselves up over an imperfect point. None of us will ever be perfect, so let's be satisified with "excellence".

Jeanette Frantz

I agree....we are not perfect.....so our projects be it quilting, sewing, cooking or cleaning will not be perfect.....so my personal moto is ...."LET GO....AND LET GOD WORRY ABOUT IT"....I do the best I can with the brain cells that I have at the time (some times more .....some times less).....Why oh why worry about the small things......Just do the very best you can, be it with quilting, husbands, a job or children..... JUST THE BEST YOU CAN....and not lose sleep over it :o

I agree. I rarely do anything perfectly. I can count on both hand the few times I've done a project that I really think came out perfect. If I had to wait until I did it all pefect....I'd probably never begin!

I have a friend who says regularly, "perfection is highly overrated." I got past that perfectionist point. I know people who have been quilting much longer than I who never have. .....and BTW, I get more way blue ribbons than they do. If you don't allow yourself to fiish, it does not matter how perfect you are.

I've found out that when the quilt is washed, it doesn't matter anyway.....it won't show! ;)

Don't sweat the small stuff. The finished product will still be beautiful.

I sure hope you get over 'the quilt police hangup'. but it's not bad to do as good as we can on any given day.(from dear jane quilting) but it all comes out in the 'wash'. :thumbup:

It's called 'dream incubation' and it's not crazy at all. Once the conscious 'clutter' of life is reduced, as it is during sleep, problem resolution is much clearer. http://www.wikihow.com/Influence-Your-Dreams

Anything that is hand made will never be perfect. That is what makes everything hand made one of a kind. If we wanted perfect then it would have to be made by machine. Everyone makes things a little different. Relax and enjoy what you are doing. I love to quilt.

LOL no way .. then who was that person in my house looking at my strip quilt the other day ?? and fussing at me about I didn't do it right. OH and by the way she has never sewn a day in her life !

Those are just the voices in your head silly !LOL WE all have them -its called we are our own worse enemy in quilting, sewing and life.

I always say "quilting is forgiving". After a top is quilted and bound, it is difficult to pick out the imperfections. Really obvious errors of course I fix....but the itsy bitsy ones I let sneak by....

Maybe you should send the quilt police on a vacation, tell them to leave for a little while so you can make some mistakes. LOL

Couldn't have said it better myself !!! 3 Cheers to you.

Don't you just hate those voices in your head? But I'm sure your quilts are beautiful when they're completed. Thanks for sharing.

I have a lot of work in this regard. it is hard to change old habits. When I was learning to sew and was in 4-H club, everything had to be perfect to win a blue ribbon. I think quilting does require some perfection, but I will never be perfect.

I had a psych prof who referred to that as "Stinkin' Thinkin' ". I think that's a great name for it, too!

Tell the quilt police to go bother someone else and the "lock the door". For me, making quilts is a relaxing, fun way to create something enjoyable. When it becomes that stressful for me, I'll quit!

I wonder if they are the friends that 'police ' my work also
Blessings Kay in Hot FL

Oh, those Quilt Police in our heads. They are the absolute worst, and most critical. The best thing to learn is NOT to point out our mistakes to others, and they will never notice.

Isn't that the truth!!

I totally agree!!!

So glad to see this post. I've been quilting for more than 30 years and am yet to be perfect. Hardly! I agree with ckcowl - - there is only one Master Quilter. My motto is, 'progress, not perfection.' Learn from your mistakes; incorporate 'intentional' errors into your quilts as the quilters who came before us did. If I wanted perfection, I'd still be working on my first quilt.

Most importantly, be kind to yourself. Remember, this is SUPPOSED to be fun, enjoyable, relaxing; a creative outlet.

Quilt on!

Jane