You know, the Amish believe that if your quilt is perfect it reflects a bit of pride. Keep those little oopsies in it. I have NO pride LOL.

It's our lack of perfection that makes us crazy.

Quilting is such a forgiving medium (unlike Counted Cross-stitch, when mis-reading the count can throw the entire design off.)... so what if the seams are off... "it will quilt out" and no one will notice...

If quilting (our hobby, our passion, our creative outlet) is forgiving, then shouldn't we also be forgiving of ourselves?
We put so much of ourselves into any quilt, and it is an achievement just to FINISH it. These quilts will outlast our natural lives, God willing, and will be our contribution to the future.

quilting should be fun....there is no perfect quilt...and the amish believe that if you make a perfect quilt you are equalling yourself to God and they rip something out and make a mistake on purpose...so relax...enjoy....if you end up with a perfect quilt..good for you...if not..oh well..when I taught quilting I would let them know I didn't expect perfection...every quilt should be a learning experience to the next one...thats all..do what your comfortable with....life is short..take one stitch at a time and count it a blessing that its finished...blessings

Yonnikka, ScissorQueen, LynnSV, & jad1044's grandson, RIGHT ON!!

tatvw01, I love your avatar, very cool.

mommafank, that pitching coach knows a thing or two about muscle memory.

k9dancer, I love you!

This post was up to 17 pages when I first saw it, a testament to just how controversial the idea of perfection is for all of us. In any management seminar you might have attended 5 or 6 years ago you would have heard 'perfect is the enemy of the good', because managers were seeing in the workplace that the pursuit of perfection was using up all their peoples' time and not getting real work done. Decisions need to be made quickly as well as smartly in business so a new management maxim is born.

Since quilting is a passion or a hobby (depending on the quilter) perhaps the above doesn't apply in all cases but it sure helps me in my life..along with a healthy sprinkling of 'anything worth doing is worth doing well'.

But my personal favorite? 'If you want it done right you have to do it yourself'. I've learned that in that statement you should substitute 'your way' for 'right'. Because that is really what that saying means. We all have a 'right' way. And if we're honest with ourselves that 'right' way changes over time as we learn a thing or two, from others (one won't live long enough to make all mistakes oneself) and our own mistakes and triumphs.

Thank you so much for all you are adding to my life! Laalaa

Perfection is only found in Heaven - not at the sewing machine. BUT - you can be perfectly happy sewing, perfectly happy with your product, and perfectly happy when you give your quilt to someone.

I was always told "only GOD is perfect", so I'll go with that! Bonnie

I never will have a perfect block. I gave up perfection so I could relax and enjoy the process of quilting. Never aimed to enter a show etc. as long as it looks good, I'm happy.

Agree heartily with this sentiment, I never point out others missed points or mistakes etc but in my own I am very critical. Saying this though I do make them and do miss them from time to time myself as well. Actually I am very good at reverse sewing! Can't catch em all! :lol:

Maybe1day

I was highly intimidated with all the "perfect" requirements for quilting - that's why it has taken a long time for me to attempt to even start to quilt... No, mine are never perfect... they are more whimsical and/or crazy... but I love them and now have fun creating my own designs...

I've seen all the new 'tools' out there to make quilting easier... but now know that they aren't for me... I'll never submit my quilts for contests etc... I'll just enjoy what I do...
:)