Talent
 

I have decided that those that recognize and encourage talent in others have "The Talent of Encouragement"

Piers Anthony wrote a series of books called "The Xanth Series" in which the characters had various talents - some could become invisible, some could start fires, some were enhancers, etc.

What "quilting talents" do you recognize and/or have?

Some examples:

Sewing a straight seam
Attractive color combinations
Helpful suggestions (instead of harmful criticism)
. . . .

What do you see as a talent?

Teaching
Recognizing block components
Pattern writing

Precision piecing
ability to analyze/deconstruct blocks (is that the same as Jan's "recognizing block components"?) Basically I can look at a block or quilt and figure out how to make it.

I wish I had the talent to gently correct beginners while finding something to praise at the same time. I had a piano teacher once who was very gifted at that and it's a wonderful quality to have.

Asking a question in a way that clarifies an issue -

I thread the size 10 quilting needles for the older ladies in my quilt group, and make charity quilts lickety split.

Putting together fabrics/colors, stitching in the ditch using FMQ, making tiny hand applique stitches

So much that is seen as talent is / or can be an acquired skill.

Finding something good to say about every quilt I see, even if it's not my style .

While critical of my own work only to the degree that I correct something that I can't live with, I'm not a perfectionist, just an avid learner with a bent toward excellence. I am new to quilting, so appreciate the efforts of other greenhorns while admiring the talents and abilities of veteran quilters.

My Mom always told me I have "vision" and a good memory. If I go into a fabric shop I can look at a fabric and see what project it will work in. I can also remember a vision of a quilt that I saw at some time in the past and recreate it.

One of my maternal Gmas made many quilts every year. She always had a quilt show for me when we went to visit during spring break. I have fond memories of arriving at their house and going to the spare room to see all of the quilts she stored between the box springs and mattress. I can still see her whipping off the twin sheet stored between the quilts to expose the next one. She passed away in 1975. In 2006 I recreated one of the quilts that I remember seeing when I was probably 12 years old. Each block had a 9 patch in the center and what I called logs around it with pieced cornerstones in each round. The centers were 6 inch but the blocks were 12 inches each.

Oh, I like this one. :)

Out of literally hundreds and hundreds of fabric prints in my stash, I somehow have the ability to remember a specific one that would be just perfect for some project I am working on.

This is such an interesting topic!

Jan in VA

I can frequently remember a print (although when I go through my stash looking for something else, I am "reminded" of many that I had forgotten about. The tricky part for me is remembering if I still have it or if I sold it or if I gave it away.

I think one can enhance a talent or ability - but there are some things that I think one either has - or does not have.

Perfect pitch. A good singing voice. The ability to remember long phrases. "Photographic Memory." A sense of rhythm.

I have quite the talent for making (and ignoring) messes....does that count? LOL

Spatial abilities.

Charlotte

Not quilt related but I have the ability to cry at any given time. I always said my next career would be as a professional mourner.

I have what I call a wonderful "color memory". This means I don't have to take fabric samples with me while shopping to match something.

Quilters who can put colors together for a beautiful quilt amaze me. I rely on patterns and kits to put colors together for me. And those that can match points are super human as far as I am concerned.

I have that talent, too, lol!

In regards to quilting, I'd have to share Jan's talent of block component. I think the part of quilting I enjoy most is looking at a pattern and figuring out how to construct it. It fires up my brain!

The talent of reading this board way too much!

I guess my talent would be laughing in the face of disaster. I laugh when I'm in pain, I laugh when I'm sad, I laugh when I make mistakes. I laughed when someone crashed into my brand-new car! (Which perplexed my 12 yo nephew to no end and sparked some great conversation about how I handle things that would usually make me angry. I hope I was being a good example for him!)

I used to get really angry and upset about things when I was younger but then one day it's like a switch just flipped (maybe puberty finally ended, lol) and all of a sudden I could see humor in just about anything. In fact it often seems that the worse it hurts, the harder I laugh. (Especially physical pain...I stub a toe and I'm cussing and laughing myself silly.) I even managed to laugh at my father's memorial service after he died suddenly, and his death was probably the most painful experience I've ever had.

When my mom was teaching me to knit when I was 10, she laughingly commented that what I lacked in skill, I made up for in enthusiasm. I love what I do!

When it comes to quilting, I have the great talent of procrastination. I don't know if it is a fear of failure or if I just don't want the experience to end.

Grandma said, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." I have a bloody tongue. But keeping one's mouth shut when one's itching to criticize (a person's skill), but to all and sundry about the skill is a monumental task. Has anyone read Silver Boxes?

I've always been lucky. Seems I'm in the right place at the right time for when it counts. I have excellent intuition and I never ignore it when it kicks in.

Me? I GO FORTH AND CONQUER! Yep... I'm one of those people that you just can't convince that anything is impossible. I'm always sure there's a way to do just darn near anything, and stubborn enough to keep chipping away at it until I figure it out. ROFL! So I'm gonna claim perseverance, and I'm sure my family is gonna be mumbling *stubborn, stubborn, stubborn*, as my talent. ;)

A talent for doing things the hard way! I can always find a way to do it, but it isn't always the shortest or easiest way! ( but I do so admire sewnoma's talent for laughter. Maybe my other talent is the creative curse!)