Has anyone gotten so frustrated wanted to quit, give up the craft of quilting, how long did you stop, and what were the results of your actions?
what were the end results?

Just a newbes thoughts here.

what's happening? Where are you stuck? How can we help?

Hmmmmm....I have wanted to quit working on a specific project, but not quilting altogether. I have many interests, and usually what I do is "work on something else" for awhile.

If it seems like you're beating your head against the wall about something, maybe we can help! :D

oh yes I guess I am! binding for one and getting the squares/triangles exact, I thought I was cutting them out exact, but I still am off on some of them. I also am using a rotor cutter as well, measuring with templates and so on, but I am not still getting the right measurements! Mary

Maybe like you, Rebecca, I should put it down, find something else to do for awhile, then go back to it. Mary

Just take a deep breath, ..........okay, now let it out. Bag it up and set it aside and work on something else for awhile. Are you following a pattern or just making up your own?

Maybe it's just because it's Friday the 13th! Put it away for today, pull out something fun that you have wanted to do and enjoy the day.

Mary,

The way I get my triangles exact is to cut the square at least a half inch larger than the pattern calls for. Once I have the triangle sewed together than I square it the size it should be.

Use rhonda's tutrial on HST's. You will find that her way makes a world of difference. Go to the tutorial section and look for easy HST's. If you can't find it pm me and I will find it for you and give you the link.

Ditto - for me, it's not inaccurate cutting, it's that my seam allowance isn't always accurate. This way, it doesn't matter.

don't be so hard on yourself! Early on in my quilting "career" I heard about "humility squares" These were pieces that were purposley off to show respect for God since he's the only one that's perfect. I live by that theory now, and God gets lots of respect from me! When the whold quilt is done, each little point loses some significance.

Thanks for that one dogsgod. Yeah only only one person was perfect and they crucified him!

thanks for the uplift y'all. Mary :D :thumbup:

don't try to be so perfect - all that does is stress you out and give you an excuse to quit because you aren't perfect....

Not to say that you should just slap-dash stuff together, but quilting should be FUN - when you make a 'job' of it, it's no longer fun. I see quilts that appear to be perfect and usually the person who made manages to smirk the whole time they are showing it off - bah humbug to them.... LOL

Have FUN - CREATE - if you hate the final product, give it to somebody you know will use it for a dog bed and you can tee-hee about it to yourself...

buwahahaaaa

Lately, everything I do I tell myself is just for practice. Really takes that self-induced pressure off of me.

When I need help with anything I come here to the board first and type something in the search box. If I need video assistance I go to YouTube and do a search there. Last night I needed help with doing the corners of a quilt binding (it's been a while since I did one) so I searched "quilt binding" and found a step by step video from Connecting Threads on Youtube. Of course, now I can't find it to post here but there are others. I even found one on tying a quilter's knot.

I also go by this theory! I read somewhere when I first started quilting that the Amish always put a "mistake" in their quilts because they are not perfect, only God is perfect! So when I make a mistake, unless it is too glaring to ignore, I smile to myself and am reminded that I am not perfect. It takes a lot of pressure off!

If you have trouble with the seam allowance, be sure to starch so you get a nice even cut, then you might consider triangle paper. Your sewing lines on on there and there is no guessing.

Or maybe they're smirking because they've fooled you and they know how crooked it really is. Or maybe they worked *really* hard and ripped and resewed until it was as perfect as they could get it.

Try using a scant 1/4" seam. If you can, move your needle over to the right a little. I use an index card to get my seam size, as the little lines are exactly 1/4" apart. On my Kenmore I move the needle over til it reads 6.5. All mileage may vary! Also, as the others suggested, just put it aside until later when you can look at it with fresh eyes. Good luck and remember, we are doing this for fun! If things don't line up right, it's not the end of the world!

I agree what happend we can all help. We all get to a time where we want a break, but never quilt quilting.

If I get flustrated and have problems on what I am working on, I just set it aside and maybe go back to it the next day or start working on something else. We are not all perfect, and have to redo something now and then.
Dreamboat

LOL, I worked on a 9"star block for 2 days. I would lay it out correctly, but everytime I sewed it together, the pattern came out wrong. After 2 days of countless sewing and ripping, I finally said *enough*. I just left it the way it was. Nobody but me will know it isn't in it's proper position!!

Thanks for that wonderful idea Melinda! I had never thought of index cards! I bought a new machine and can't use my 1/4" foot any longer. I've decided that after last night, I've suffered enough and will look for one for my new machine.

Glad I could help! :)

something i do is when i get frustrated with a quilting project , i cut out a blouse or something to wear and work on that , then maybe a fusible web applique project. I have several things going and it helps me to be able to put one aside and work on something else..my thought to you dont get discouraged, get busy...

I'm so new that when I get some blocks done that aren't just squares of fabric, whether they are perfect or not, I just get all excited.

Last weekend I took a Hunter's Star class and made an awesome table runner. Now I have to figure out what I want to do to quilt it.

I guess my 1/4 seam allowances are off too, because all my BOM's are not the same size when I am done, squaring up is confusing for me though and I am quite afraid to cut before I really know what I am doing. I've been shown how, but I don't do it enough to get it in the memory banks.

The Hunter's Star was easy because you cut them bigger and used the special ruler to square them up.

Laura, I square up my blocks after sewing them together. BFF taught me that! I used to not do it and they were wonky.

No quitting allowed in quilting! Short breaks only. If you are getting frustrated, leave it for a day or two. Meanwhile, search through the tutorials on this board and ask questions. There are way too many unfinished quilts buried in the backs of closets, unused and sad. I don't have any UFO's (Unfinished Objects) but I have many WIP (Works In Progress)

I foundation-piece my triangles so no more frustration. Anytime I can do that for triangles, I do! Whenever I get to a point that I just don't want to work on a project that seems to be never-ending or frustrating, I've found the best thing to do is to put it aside and put my energies somewhere else. You also need to remember that you will get better the more you do so don't be so hard on yourself. Everyone has to start somewhere, and we really do get better the more quilts we make. :wink:

If at first you don't succeed, try a different method. The days of individually-cut pieces from card-board templates are long gone and while that method still works, there are many other ways (and tools) to make the patchwork assembly easier. Just like anything else, if you want to get good at it, keep practicing. If you give up, you'll never master the process. Only you can say how important that is to you.

For me, I know there are certain patterns and color/fabric lines that I simply do not like. I will not work with them (unless in a swap) but other things that don't work, I will stick with - even if I take a break for a while.

...giving up quilting? Only if I lose my sight and use of my hands. Perish the thought.

I should have realized that I should come here for advice! thanks for the help, I did stop today, and may not do anymore till Monday! I do have a couple of things to finish, But I can do it next week, so crocheting time! I am going to finish crocheting the towel tops!!
and maybe a couple of other things!

Thanks again. Mary

You have the right idea....put it down for a bit and do something where success is guaranteed...and come back to it later. Preferably when not tired! I usually keep several projects going at once for this reason....right now I have a very stressful, tricky one, a bargello cut and waiting to be sewn, two quickies for my grandsons, and a beautiful one waiting for blocks to be put together. I can always find the one I'm in the mood to work on!

You know if all my points dont come out the way I want them to ,I put it away ,go on to the next one. Dont sweat it all never do come out perfectly. If one does get in a quilt,who except the Perfect ONe will know.lol I make quilts for the fun,relaxation,and therapy, dont sweat the small stuff. lol

Yup, when I go to a national show and see all the fantastic work, I think to myself "why do I even try", but then give myself a mental shake and realize I create quilts for ME not for some judge in a show. Rarely even enter a judged show as I really do not care what others think of my work. I do my best on all pieces and create what I want, not what someone else "says is good". My friends say I am an "out of the box" person. Hummm wonder just what that does mean.

I think it is good to take a break now and then to refresh the creative mind. I have several other things to play with when I feel like I am making the same quilt over and over. Once I even took a year off quilts to learn and do all about bookbinding. I am back to quilting but I know that I have other things too....
altered books, paper crafting, writing short stories, embroidery, reading, bird watching.....mix it up and go with what your creativity tells you is most interesting in the moment. You will find you bring that joy back with you to the sewing machine.

I'm working on a "simple" quilt right now and yes, I've gotten that frustrated....now I'm just laughing at myself. :-D

It started with taking a class on Friday to make a quick quilt. The directions were given verbally with the dimensions written down in one place on the wall... It seems that I can't retain numbers in my head when I walk, from the posted dimensions on the wall, across the room to my sewing machine. By the time I got to the sewing machine, my mind had dropped the 1/2 part of cutting the material 8 1/2 wide. Then, when I looked at another dimension for the block, my brain computed cutting 2" in into 3". :oops:
Are we getting the picture.... :roll:

Anyway, I've now brought this simple project home, made some adjustments to what the original instructions had been and I am really having fun with this project. ( Next time, I'll take a notebook with me and write EVERYTHING down.)

I've decided that this is *my* quilt and I will just enjoy it. (I never been one to follow the pack anyway.)

My advice is to do your best but make sure you *enjoy* yourself while you are doing it. Don't make things too hard on yourself and don't be so critical of your work that quilting becomes a chore.

I discovered that most people don't see all of the problems with the quilt unless you point out the problems to them..
If they do see the problems (because they are quilters) they should have the good manners to congratulate you on making a pretty quilt.

Mary, I wish I had found this thread sooner. I received your little quilt last week but my camara is kaput and I cannot post a picture till I buy a new one. I loved your precious little quilt! It is the same color as my Janome and I have given it a place of honor under her! It makes the machine a little more quiet, I can use the edges to hold my thread catcher, and it looks so pretty peeking out from under the machine! It makes me happy when I see it there because it looks like it was made to be just where it is! So, take a little break Mary, but get back into it because what you do brings joy to people who are lucky enough receive something you have created!

God Bless

I am so addicted to quilting that I don't think I could ever quilt completely; but I did give up on a project recently that was giving me trouble. I hated working on it so much that I just didn't want to sew at all. I felt obligated to finish it, and I knew I wasn't going to be happy with it. Finally, I did something completely uncharacteristic for me and quit. I just threw it away. I actually dug it out a couple of times and looked at it again, wondering if I'd been too hasty. In the end, it stayed in the trash and is by now in the landfill. Good riddance.

I think in retrospect, I could have offered it up to someone on this board to finish, but I was so mad at it I just didn't want to mess with it any more. Don't let one project ruin your enjoyment of such a worthwhile pastime.

I put it away for whale and work on something else but i write notes to myself about what I want to do to finish it.....in case it spends a long time on the UFO plie and I forget the plan..(I forget a lot). Then the project is fresh and new again and I can finish it.

Don't quit.. :) the more you do the better you get, may want to do easier patterns for a while that look just as good, so many pretty ones out there that nave no triangles so you don't need to worry w/bias stretch, sounds like tuts to help (yay) When one or 2 go great and are pleasing to you, gives reason to try more or practice techniques that are tough on small projects, that way if you toss them not such a big investment.
Don't think will ever stop completely, but have taken breaks and at other times lack of time or life gets in the way. :)
Hang in There !!