Slow slow or run and go??
 

Hello everyone, I love a debate so here goes!


Do you prefer a slow pot roast of a project and get the seams millimetre perfect??

Or do you prefer the 'sew on the go' approach and don't mind if they are a bit off because "I like the design so that's what I am sticking too and perfection 'aint my bag"??

Either but there is less frustration to be accurate and the pieces fit.

I prefer to take my time to keep things accurate and have less frustration later on when making rows or putting rows together.

I'm a sew and go girl...i'd like everything to be perfect but thats not how i get too frustrated. Nits mote fun to just roll with my chopped off points. Bet i'm in the minotity!

I prefer to go slowly and enjoy the process. It's the same, with choosing fabrics. :)

Measure three times. Cut once.

Match edges. Match intersections. Sew. Strive for that perfect quarter-inch seam.

With that said, if I have to fudge a bit to get things to fit together "perfectly" so be it! :)

Strive for that perfect quarter-inch seam UNLESS points will be cut off! :D

I find myself getting frustrated when pieces don't fit together, so much so that I will put a project away or procrastinate in finishing it. But I also don't like spending lots of time getting seams and points just so. So I guess I'm in the middle of that continuum.

I try my best to cut and sew accurately but I don't fret too much.
Like Neesie said, I enjoy the process.

Im am slow.... take my time, do it right the first time, Then every thing else just falls into place.

I like both, at the moment I am striving for perfection, unpicking if I am not happy etc etc. But when I finish this project, I am going to make a string quilt or rag quilt (or something equally simple) and just go for it.

I love being able to just sit and sew flat out without stressing too much, but I also enjoy getting things as near perfect as I can.

i'm of the pretty close is close enough... but that's only since my accuracy has increased... in the beginning, i did a lot of unsewing :)

I like them both ways. It depends on the project I am working on. I just finished a circular bargello. Accuracy is a major key to getting this one to lay flat. Others are just fun to throw together no matter how they turn out. The quilting will hide all those flaws.

I sew on the go! I don't really care about points, What are they? If I get close, I'm happy! I do know that as I have progressed over the years, good piecing comes easier and makes sewing more pleasant. But I have never suffered over crooked quilting.
peace

Wow, great minds think alike, right?? I was sitting at my sewing machine earlier today making a patchwork tote bag and thought what a good topic it would make to see who was a marathon quilter (slow and steady wins the race) or a sprinter (go all hell bent for leather and get 'er done quick!). :D I get on my computer this evening and see your thread. We must have been on the same wave-length today!

Anyway, I am actually somewhere in the middle. I don't do the pedal to the metal thing, but I also am not a perfectionist. I don't sew as fast as the ladies (and gents) I watch on quilting videos, I do like to take it a bit slower and have more control. And if I make a mistake that is glaring enough or bothers me enough, I'll certainly take the time to fix it. But it if doesn't interfere with the quilt pattern or is barely noticeable, I leave it. Life is too short to sweat the small stuff, and it's mostly all small stuff. :)

I do my best with any project I start. That being said, a lot can be said for both the slow pot roast and the drive thru burger.

I could care less about achieving perfection, an unobtainable goal, but I'm obsessive about striving for excellence. Accuracy trumps speed in my studio, I'd have it no other way.

Once you take 5 minutes to mark the seam allowance on your machine with a piece of tape, it takes the same amount of time to sew the right seam allowance as the wrong one. If you sew it accurately, you have less time spent with the seam ripper so for me the project goes quicker overall.

I do "plus or minus" sewing. And cooking

I start each new project determined to slow down and get it right. I'm fine until I start making mistakes (sewing wrong side to right side, etc.). Those first few problems I'll rip out and fix, of course there are some I MUST fix! At some point when the "quilt in a day" has turned into two months, I put the pedal to the medal and get er done. I'm a new quilter and learning, so each project has it's share of "learning curve" and rookie mistakes. Once I hit that frustration point, I take a break and then when I go back to it, I just go for it and do the best I can and vow to get the NEXT one "perfect".......and I don't stress about it. After all, it's not my job, it's my hobby and it is supposed to be FUN!!!!!!!!

I am sew on the go with a side of potluck. I see so many new ideas that I just have to try so I tend to have a lot of projects on the go. I am learning that its okay to work on somethings bit by bit as leaders and enders and eventually they will get done.

Definitely a Pot Roast girl ... and your analogy made me smile because not only is Pot Roast my favorite meal to eat, it's my favorite meal to cook :)

I have to admit I am the "slow pot roast " person. I prefer to be accurate as possible. But whichever makes you happy is the right method for you

It all depends on the mood I'm in. I really tend to be the crock-pot rather than the microwave, because I actually ENJOY the process, not just the product. But sometimes I'm just in the mood to FINISH something TODAY, and then I'll do something simpler and be less picky. Everyone needs a little instant gratification now and then, even the perfectionists.

Both I guess it depends on the quilt and my mood.

Nice answers ladies, it's great to see we all love our sewing hobby regardless of expertise/time/patience! I am a new quilter, I have sewn clothing before along with accessories but nothing this big before.

A long time ago I would have unpicked and cried doing it but as I get older my heart tells me that "no one will notice unless I point it out".....but then I know it's there and sometimes it bugs me. Accuracy in the beginning is obviously the best way to go, cutting and 1/4 inch seams are the things that will allow us to get it right in the first place and as it has been said, practice is going to make that better and better.

I have got to say, I am enjoying being part of this forum so much, you are all really lovely and so willing to help and encourage, so rare in forums these days :)

I want to get it done so I sew and go. But having said that there is BOM that I am working on and one month had to put it aside because it was not matching up. Am hoping to go to a sew in at my lqs and have them help me.

I try to be a "slow pot roast", but most of the time I seem to be the "sew on the go", as I want to get it done to the point that I can start something else. That's why I have so many UFO's:o

I do my best to keep it perfect, but.....only God is perfect, so I accept that I'm off a little and ease the pieces together. After all, there are no quilt police!

I do my best to take my time and get it perfect - often it is not, at which time i just go with it. I'm not a perfectionist about anything. A point that gets cut off is glaring to me when I do it, but generally unnoticeable in a finished project I am more of a process than a product person most of the time, so do my best to remind myself that it's not a race. So, not quite a pot roast - more of a pie that bubbles over the edges. Still good, but makes a mess.

I'm on the pot-roast side. But if I know that I am not a good enough quilter to be able to correct a 'blip' I don't try to muddle through fixing it to make it worse. That usually happens when I have over-challenged myself.

When I learned to quilt (mainly from this Board) MTS suggested I follow Sally Collins' book on precision piecing, and it was the best foundation ever. It taught me to look at everything I was doing for accuracy before and after I did it. Like someone earlier said, it takes as long to do it right the first time as to do it wrong the first time. :)

I guess I'm a slow pot roast type of quilter. Since I was a home-ec teacher for close to 30 years, everybody expects anything I do to be perfect..... even though it's not. I take my time..... mostly because I often change things as I go along. .... and creative minds need time to allow the creations to develop. Okay, that sounds kinda weird..... that's me, kinda weird!!

PS..... it's been fun to read everyone's comments on this topic. Thanks!

When I first started quilting I was anxious to get a project done and didn't make sure seams were accurate, etc. Now that I have been quilting longer - I am enjoying the process and find that I like to see my seams match up, etc. So, now I sew alot slower than I did. I don't stress over it - just enjoying the process of quilting.

I love the process so I'm a points have to match kind of gal. I'd rather have a few things done right than a lot of things just done.

Me too. Sometimes it depends on who I'm making it for. If it is for me I tend to say "that's good enough". If it is for a gift I will unsew more often.

unfortunately, I am a bit of a perfectionist and will often spend too much time making things (in my mind's eye) perfect. There are times I wish I could just get things done but... it is who I am.

Sometimes I get into a project and want to work on it all day, but I still like the feeling of the accuracy that I get by pinning and being careful.

I depends on if I am making a utility quilt/item or if it is a special gift for a special person or a quilt show.

Nessie, that's funny you say that...I.am always in a hurry. My friend that also quilts tells me to slow down and just enjoy the process ....so I am piecing a quilt now and as I sew I kept telling myself .....slow down and enjoy it....lol;)

I'm very, very much a slow cooker pot roast gal. I can think of three main reasons for this. One is that I'm an accuracy nut; I don't like to be even so much as one thread width off. Two is that I really enjoy the creative process; of course I like a successful and satisfying completed project, but the fun is in the doing. Three is that I have several projects that are in the works all the time ... all different and chosen as to how much time I have available to "play" and what my mood is.

Depends on the project for me. My 1/4" foot has a guide, so most of my seams are right. I've been known to rip something out if I think it's too far off or I'm not happy with it, but I've also left something that was just a smidge off, too. If it's a quilt that I'm working on because I love the pattern and want to keep it or give it to someone special, I'll be much more careful with my seams. If it's a quilt that has been "chosen by committee" by the group that I belong to, and it's not a pattern I wanted to make, but have committed to do, I'll run through it pretty fast, just to get it done. That doesn't mean it is sloppy, just that if every seam isn't perfectly straight, or I lose the very tip of a star into the seam, I don't worry too much about it.