Are you your own worst quilt police? I was - but am truly trying to love my own work more and more.

Cindy

I've decided the quilt police are a myth and I don't need to worry about them anymore...If it's made with love, what else matters?

They are not in Alaska!

I'm the quilt police for myself. The secret is, I never tell anyone where the mistakes are!!!!!

I am my quilting police. I'm always surprised when people really seem to love my quilts.

My sister is my quilt police. I often don't tell her what I'm doing or show her anything. She always has a "suggestion". I'm doing the Farmer's Wife Sampler with the group on this board and I finally had to show her my blocks. Even though I said "no suggestions" please, she would have had a stroke from not talking, so I let her give me the advice.

Personally, I love the creating/designing and when things work just right. But, when I'm not perfect, I remember that the day that I have nothing left to learn, God will take me home! Quilting is one of those easy places to make my "mistake a day". :D

I think sometimes we get so involved in being critical of our own work that projects never get started or finished. Need to loosen up. Yeah, like that'll happen!

I don't worry so much about the quilt police, but we have several women in our guild who ALWAYS ask if something was hand quilted and sigh when the maker says no it was machine quilted. Another ALWAYS asks to see the back and comments on the quilting (not always nicely). I find it very annoying because I like machine quilting, understand that a number of quilts were machine quilted in the late 1800s to show that you had the money to buy a machine, and find it inappropriate that they always have to imply that hand quilting is somehow seen as "better" than machine quilting. I finally got so annoyed at the woman who asks to see the back of every quilt that I said no to her at the last guild meeting. I said I wanted people to focus on the front of the quilt (after all people don't turn the painting around to look at the back).

Love this!! :wink: It will be my new mantra! 8-)

BTW: My ex-husband was my quilt police!! :evil: He never said anything good, or nice, or encouraging about ANY of my projects! :thumbdown: My soon-to-be DH is absolutely wonderful about telling me what he likes about my quilts. He absolutely LOVES a log cabin quilt I made for him for his B-day two years ago. :D If I ask him for advice, he will give it, but has never said anything mean or hurtful about any of my projects. He will give constructive criticism but always with love. :thumbup:

There are no quilt police around my house. They know better than to come around me.

Well said. I try not to police myself to much but always find myself doing it. :thumbup:

Just me and my Hubby at home. He never says anything negative about anything I do. As far as myself, I try and do the best I can and leave it at that. :lol:

I lost the quilt police years ago...although I AM my own worst critic at times if the mistake is big enough. I remind myself only to learn from it. When I first started quilting I tried to do it "by the book". I could never get it "just right" and I almost quit. I can NOT imagine my life without quilting and sewing. Better done and Loved than Perfect. How many of your quilts are going to be loved? Or Judged?? Asking myself that keeps me going.

Sometimes you have to experience the pain of a bad relationship to appreciate a good one! I've been there, done that. My Beloved and I have been together for over 30 years.
He makes my heart sing!

I wish you and your future husband as much love and joy as my husband and I have had for so many years.

Share most with one sister, and sometimes will hear a suggestion, but nothing too critical, Brother in law likes all, have been assured by other family members any would work fine for them. QP Not allowed in the sewing room, but sometimes need a boost in the correct direction.
"Quilting is like a Journey down a road not taken, some potholes, some smooth, and you never know whats around the next corner, many seasons to be enjoyed"

most of my quilts are gifts to friends that can't even sew a button on a shirt so they think my quilts are perfect - gotta love those non-sewers!

I guess it takes a while to realize You are your own quilt police. I "fired" myself and now just call it "creative designing" LOL

I am my own quilt police, but I try not to let things bother me.If it is noticeable I rip it out, if I am the only one who knows something wrong I don't let it bother me.

not anymore...now a have a hubby who takes the job seriously.

The quilt police are just a myth....lol.... I don't need them anyway. I am perfectly capable of criticizing my own work. :mrgreen:

Quilters,myself included, are notorious for pointing out their mistakes. We need to overcome that.

I subscribe to the Japanese philosophy (at least as it was explained to me). "Nothing is perfect. We strive for perfection but ALWAYS include one flaw in everything we do to show humility."

Sometimes I even include more than one just to make everyone feel better and show how truly humble I can be.

I am my own Quilt Police... but I'm on the Take!
LOL
Sorcha

When one of them plays quilt police, the way to quiet her down is to reply "maybe when I'm your age,I'll have time to hand quilt".I'm already her age & believe me, the QP are everywhere.
My "mistakes" are places where I put a non perfect block to keep me humble.That's my story :-D

Theres only one Person that has made a beautiful quilt(tapestry) and there is no mistakes! anyone know who?

I would love to get that story again, its worth reading again.

Yeah I am my own "quilt police" but since I have been reading all of your mails and so on, you have had me learn the ten foot rule, and that one about riding a fast horse, still makes me laugh. but I am learning not to be hard on myself.
If the Amish do those beautiful quilts and purposely make mistakes, so what better are we? I am getting better at making the quilts, but the mistake, well anyway!!!

I police my own, but my family and friends always tell me I am too critical, I guess it is the Virgo part of me coming out.

The nationally known quilter, Sharon Carig, says, "so what if I have a point or two chopped off. If it bothers the person looking at my quilt, that is their problem. I have a finished quilt!" And as the Amish say, "Only God is perfect."

It's sort of like Rock Paper Scissors - ONLY it's Quilt Police vs Quilt Love and Quilt Love ALWAYS wins!!!

I too am my own quilt police. I have been very hard on myself, and it was'nt until I made a post, showing the start of my bagello. I was told by many that I was too hard on myself. DH tells me that I am doing really well, and that the quilts I make look great.
I just wrote my youngest sister. I will be making her a quilt down the line. I asked her color preference and if she had any idea of what she might like, floral, oceans, desert...
She said both her and DH love blue, like oceans and sky. I have looked around and have not found anything that really catches my eye. I wrote back and asked her for, what else she might be interested in. She wrote back, and said, you have a good eye for color. I know whatever you come up with will be beautiful and is made with lots of love.
What better encouragement can a gal ask for

Oh,lucky you! Wanted to make my Sis a throw & after buying fabric, she changed colors,pattern etc.Every day brought a diff change.After she remarked she didn't like squares in quilts, I told her I just didn't have anything to suit her.She was fine, no prob. So now I have fabric in color I don't care for.....but at least I don't have to work with them. :(


I too am my own quilt police. I have been very hard on myself, and it was'nt until I made a post, showing the start of my bagello. I was told by many that I was too hard on myself. DH tells me that I am doing really well, and that the quilts I make look great.
I just wrote my youngest sister. I will be making her a quilt down the line. I asked her color preference and if she had any idea of what she might like, floral, oceans, desert...
She said both her and DH love blue, like oceans and sky. I have looked around and have not found anything that really catches my eye. I wrote back and asked her for, what else she might be interested in. She wrote back, and said, you have a good eye for color. I know whatever you come up with will be beautiful and is made with lots of love.
What better encouragement can a gal ask for[/quote]

Same here! I mostly sew my stuff for non-sewers, and they think I'm amazing. Works for me!

I am definitely my hardest critic! I know that the objective is to make a lovely quilt for enjoyment but I really can't prevent the pefectionist in me when she comes to haunt me! I am sorry but if I'm going to make something I have high expectations of myself and my skills.

I am never critical of another's work because I realize the effort and time that goes into any project, however, I have to admit that I became the quilt police with a recent project of mine.

I was making a quilt for my Aunt who is a sewer/quilter and is 90 yrs old. A friend popped over unexpectedly to 'help'. The pattern is an older one with lots of smaller pieces and a white on white bckgrd.
My friend is an excellent sewer and expresses her creativity making lots of oriental type quilts with large pieces and she has a very strong psonality. I was very good and appreciative while she was helping and didn't let her know that I was upset with her technique but ....

It all started when she quickly grabbed the pieces and chained sewed them all together not counting or looking at the pattern - I tried to intervene, mentioned use of a scant 1/4" seam and tried to direct her but she was determined that I was going to have all the pieces for the 40 blocks sewn in the next hour! I reminded her that half of the pieces were to be sewn to go to the right and half to go to the left - well they were all sewn to the right and she cut and trimmed then before I could even blink (I was sewing another section) I had reminded her cotinuously that there was a right and left but she had the pedal to the metal and got them done faster than I could breathe!

Ok I took a few breaths and then spent the next hour and a half recutting all the pieces - I had extra fabric and since she had already cut them for the next step, half were not usable - she commented that maybe I can make another quilt for someone.

Continuing on, I then noticed that she did not press to the darker fabric so all of the white pieces had dark lines behind them pulling your eye away from the center of the design. She continued sewing and I was cutting and trying to press away from the white but it was a losing battle.
As she was leaving after our sewing session, I thanked her very graciously, closed the door and I just about cried!

Many of the blocks did not have a consistent seam allowance, some seam edges were caught in the seam making them bumpy and twisted and all I could see was the drak lines inside the white.
I next spent the following week riping out the blocks, resewing and repressing - she will never know the stress that I went through and she will remain a true friend. The next time she shows up at my door to "help" I will tell her that my creativity is on a vacation for the day and that I would rather go out for lunch with her. - This experience definitely taught me a lot about myself and that I do love my friend dearly but I will not be able to sew with her again.

I like near perfect contsruction...seams that match, etc. If something is obviously "off"..I tend to unsew it (rip it out), rather than have it bug me every time I look at it. Depends on the project whether I'm too picky, but I have a fellow quilter that finishes a lot of items and says "done is better than perfect"!

I am sometimes. I think I got over that when I saw a quilt in hand quilting frames at a historical site. I caught myself being a quilt police with that quilt. Then it made me realize that my stiches are really not that bad after all.

Yes, I am my own quilt police. So a lot of times I just wait for a while before I look back at it, and then it isn't so bad. But at that exact moment in time......I hear sirens!!!!!

Good for You!My quilt police is my husband.He makes suggestions to be helpful but it is usually hurtful.I know he is trying to help me get better but I just can't stand it when he points something out.Usually it is to ask why the points don't match but if I knew the answer the point would match!

Took me a while to realize it, but I WAS my own quilt police department. Thank goodness I couldn't arrest myself. After reading and enjoying this board I FIRED myself and am now really enjoying quilting. Still go nuts with matching seams but have even improved on that thanks to this board.

Love that quote. Think I will put it on all my quilt labels! LOL

Most definitely I am my own quilt police. It rubs off to my daughter as I make her rip out what she has sewn and resew. I have to loosen up and enjoy.