I am writing down your quote as my quilting teacher is so hard on me by refusing to accept anything but my very best (whether it is my best or not) and I always feel kind of beat down after messing up in her class, she calls me her "Problem child" but the other day she said...it isn't you today Sherrie, and I beamed. A little recognition goes a long way especially to a newbie. I love quilting and would give up cleaning house if I could, someday I will have more confidence, something we all could use I suspect.

As quilters, we (including myself) are very hard on ourselves.

Since it is a craft, I think all of us strive to do our best and continue to improve our skill level.

Nonquilters don't have "that" experience to draw upon.

Wow, I teach quilting in my home. I would never call a student a "Problem Child". I always tell my students to do "their" best not my best. We have a saying in my church that goes like this. "We are not perfect, just progressing". I teach if you can learn from a mistake, it is a lesson well learned. I am sorry you are not enjoying the learning process.

I like the finished is better than perfect quote. Non quilters don't notice the mistakes but they also don't want to pay more for a 'perfect' quilt. They're willing to pay the same no matter the quality of work so if you're selling (which I realize most of us are not) why bother to kill yourself over every detail?

I am now teaching my 9yo DGD to quilt and we decided that mistakes give the project their very own character. Trying to make it perfect was taking all the fun out of it for her. She is currently making placemats and now that she has stopped worrying about it being perfect she is actually doing much better. I did have to point out some mistakes that I had made in some of the quilts that I made. The last quilt that I made she noticed the "big" mistake that I made but told me that she would keep it a secret from DD for whom the quilt was made.

I had to have an outloud chuckle when I read you message. Way to go and I'll have to tell everybody to just look as you pass by.

I just finished a baby quilt and was not happy with it but gave it to them anyway the mother of the baby said it was beautiful and she admired any one who can sew made ma feel better about the quilt. Horay for non sewers they can't see what you did wrong.

Very few of the quilts I have made over the past 13 years are absolutely perfect. There is always something I have found after they are complete and quilted. The following was on a rock given to a gentlemen who had a deformed back. "Nobody are perfect". So some quilts have a mistake..this makes them unique.

I think that we are all too hard on ourselves, we see even the smallest of mistakes. Only another quilter might see your mistakes. The Amish always have a mistake in their quilts, their saying is that no one is perfect, the only one that was , was nailed on the cross.

You may not remember grannys & families quilts waaay back when, now I know they weren't perfect! and hand stitched at that! so why do we think they have to be so perfect? me included. I do remember some of grannys quilts, and they were not perfect, they were used to keep warm in the winter time, I would love to have one of my grannys quilts yeah just for a keep sake. and they did keep us warm too.