Well I have a very good friend that is a Mennonite and live in an area that has a huge Amish community. The women I have spoken to have told me this personally. Mrs. L (I will just refer to her as that) has told me she has "lost sales from the English because people want them to be perfect (referring to the quilts), and we Amish know that only perfection lives within God's hands. So unless you live in my exact area and know Mrs. L, then that is what she told me.

"So, I'm just wondering...am I the only one out there that has issues? Am I the only one who sometimes doesn't have a completely square quilt? Does anyone struggle with matching seams?"

Oh my gosh...<I>No!</I> The question is, is there anyone that can actually do all of those things perfectly every time? (<I>No!</I>) Sometimes the joys in life <I>are</I> the struggles. What's so wonderful about quilting is that even if your quilt has imperfections, is is still absolutely beautiful!

Heathermom2opmc...if you get tired of people and videos telling you to do this and that just right, then maybe it's a little hint that you need to do your own thing. That's how great artists are born. Follow your heart and create freely. There are no mistakes.

Perfection isn't even a goal. I do my best and after a few months of the finish, it looks ok to me. I do glue baste intersections, then machine baste them, especially when there's a long row of them, make changes when necessary and then sew the whole row. It takes more time, but for me it's a shortcut.

I think there’s a misunderstanding here. It’s has been incorrectly said that the Amish deliberately make a mistake in their quilts because only god is perfect. I could be wrong, it’s happened before. Onebyone explained it in her post.

It will be a good day when no one cares what other people think - about quilting, about hairstyles, etc. who ordained them anyway?

Well society does have rules but there should be no rules for art/hobbies. I agree judges have to have a set of rules to judge if winners want to be chosen. Not every quilt is a winner when compared to others. If you make quilts two win competitions then making a better or prettier quilt then the other quilts is the goal. I never ask advice about my quilts. I like the ones I make or I don't. No advise needed for that.

Yes I’m not talking about societal rules/norms/laws etc. I’m talking about when folks feel free to be critical (their right) and some of us take their comments as violated rules or not good enough and feel bad about whatever we made/did with no good reason. Obviously a quilt show would be different.

Karen, try comparing your quilting skills to learning to play a musical instrument. We cannot be accomplished musicians without practice, dedication and talent. We can decide why we play, is it to become a top notch musician or is it for enjoyment? Is the enjoyment from your audience or from you? Do you play to improve your skills or are you happy with where you are? Now ask these questions about your quilting, where are you heading?

When we run out of recipients for our quilts, it is time to find a charity that needs our quilts. There are lots of people that will love your quilts and treasure them, regardless of how perfect they are. We can satisfy our creative spirit and help others by giving.

Square? 1/4" seams? matching corners? Ha!
I've never had a quilt that lived up to all those expectations, but I love them all.
Also, if these things really get you down, try art quilts...no 1/4" seams or perfect corners there!

Watson