Ok I'm not trying to be snotty, I'm genuinely curious as to what made you ask this question. Did you have a conversation or an incident with the Quilt Police?

I am rather high on the perfectionist scale for my OWN work, I have high expectations of myself, but I will accept less than perfect if I feel I've done my best.

I would never tell someone else that their work was imperfect unless they asked for my honest opinion. And then I would be very specific and very kind about what I thought they could improve on.

There's an old saying in the quilt world...."Done is better than perfect."...because no quilt will ever be perfect and if you try, you'll suck all the fun out of quilting. Yes, try to be as exact as you can to get your points and your stitches even so you get a good product, but don't sweat the small stuff!

Watson

Me, too! I love my perfectly imperfect quilts and others seem to also. That's good enough for me. I try to do better but I also don't beat myself up if the corners don't exactly match. I'm more concerned that my colors are good for the pattern. We all do things right and wrong and are mostly somewhere in between. As long as you're enjoying it and happy with the result, you're doing fine :)

Only if you enter a really big national quilt show. The winners are phenomenal and they sometimes spend years working on the same quilt. I have friends who agonize over everything and sometimes I wonder why they attempt what they try to do but, wouldn't dare to criticize them. They do their own damage. Each person is an individual. Some like the agonizing over imperfections and others just like it done and move on. I'm a done and move on person. Enjoying the ride.

Depends on the quilter. Everyone decides what's good enough for them.
Also depends upon the goal for the quilt; charity, yourself, show, for sale, empress your MIL, etc.
I quilt for sale, so I want them to look professional, whatever that is.

We are waiting to hear why you asked the question. :)

I think how people are in other areas of their lives would tend to "spill over" into their quilt-making process.

And we ALSO know that those people are self-important jerks who love making others miserable

No, you do not have to be a perfectionist to be a quilter. I am absolutely sick of the overuse of the word perfect today. When I hear it it really irks me! There is no perfection this side of eternity. People are so accustomed to this new social media crazed society that everything is scrutinized by "someone" on FB, forum, blog, instagram and on and on. These 'someones' can be self proclaimed experts while sitting in their easy chair and have no clue.... I say quilt, piece,sew,cook,craft, etc. your way and do the best that you can do. Enjoy what you do. Learn along the way and stop using the word perfect.

Peckish, you took the words right out of my mouth!

I strive for perfection and frog when necessary. That's probably why it takes me forever to finish projects. My Mom always said "Don't bother doing something unless you are going to do your best".

I'm not sure why someone would spend kaboodles of time and money but not care enough to do their best. But if it makes them happy .....

At the same time, I sure wish the Quilt Police would mind their own business unless asked for their opinions. Like we would. :p

With that said, I know I'll never create a "perfect" quilt (or anything else) but as long as I enjoy quiltmaking, cooking, editing newsletters, needlepoint, etc., I'm going to continue striving towards perfection. :)

I think "perfect" takes away from the uniqueness. For a long time I expected quilts from renowned quiltmakers to be perfect and then I took a closer look at their detail pictures. Nope, they are no different from me. Not all points match perfectly. Yes, there are occasional wobbles on the FMQ. I felt so much better about my quilting at that point.