I have learned to live with a few irregular stitches. but I cannot abide a crooked line of quilting. I will take it out and redu.

unsewing, sewing.. its all part of the wonderful process!

That is why it takes me so long to finish a piece, I am obsessed with the perfect looking stitch, they have to be consistent and all look the same. I have tried to leave them in thinking that no one will ever notice and then I get up in the middle of the night or stop what I am doing because it is eating away at me so I sneak in and redo them. There could be the stitching police out there, I guarantee someone will notice. I need therapy!!

I think really that I was traumatized by my first commissioned piece. I had to interview for the job and take a sample of my work to this lady and her daughters. The pressure!!!! Ulda was not able to finish this last top that she was creating for a family member she had pieced the blocks several years ago and didn't finish it before she moved into a nursing home. She was giving her last quilt to her great-grand neice as a wedding gift. She was so sweet and told me that in her time when they still had quilting bees that sometimes you didn't want a certain persons stitches in your quilt and some of the ladies would take them out and redo it. Quilting was her life and hand quilting was the only way to go for her. I was chosen for the job and was truelly honored but scared to death that she would take out my stitches if she didn't like it. I finished piecing for her and quilted it. She loved it and sent me a picture of her giving it to her gg niece and new hubby, I was relieved.

Ditto!

Your stitching must be beautiful to have been chosen to complete this quilt...you brought the woman great comfort and joy!
Patricia

This is why peoples work was "undone" and restitched after a quilting bee ended. Some ladies just have a hard time quilting and their stitches are what most of us consider basting. We had an older woman come from the nursing home faithfully (she was brought by members of the church). We loved her company but she couldn't stitch the way she used to (she might be making anywhere from 4-6 stitches an inch). When she got tired and went home, we would restitch for her but felt we were blessed by her wisdom that she would be passing on. The quilts we worked on were to be sold, not kept for personal use, so we were pickier.

I find that I admire another's work (who might not stitch as finely as I do) but will seft-criticize to the max. I make measurements to six decimal places on any given day in the "real world" so I am geared to look for specific things. I have a hard time with acceptable tolerances (different for each quilter). It also drives me NUTS if my seams don't match and my points are off. I rarely notice someone else's work being off unless it is really glaring.

I am glad that I am not alone. Being new to quilting and learning on my own in my late 60's, my hands are not so nimble and I get 6 to 7 stitches per inch. I only undo them if they are really crooked (usually happens when I am in a hurry) but if they are just a little off, I do not bother. My daughter tells me that is part of the charm of hand quilting, bless her heart. I still cannot do quilting the "real" way and just plod along pulling the thread in and out on my Grace frame. If anyone has one, they are wonderful to use and I love mine.

I hate to say this, but I have no idea what a Grace frame is. I've only been exposed to the 1x2 strips of wood/fabric stapled and held together by C-clamp frames. Oh yeah, they were held up at the corners by whatever stand someone had welded together for the "frame" owner. Starting to sound more and more primitive. I think I helped staple some fabric back on one once. It was a big deal to get to "turn" the quilt. That meant it was getting smaller and would take up less space.

A Grace frame is mfd. by the Grace Company and they now also make frames that enable sewing machines with deep throats to machine quilt. Check the Grace Company website for more info. It is wonderful as you can roll the quilt as you finish the rows and no need to baste or pin them as it is all done in one shot. Wonderful!! My husband bought it for me when i started quilting and even if it does take up a bit of space when i am using it, it is great. It does fold up neatly when done quilting. Hope it helps out as it really does save a lot of work.