I never see flaws in another quilter's work. I don't look for them. I look at the quilt as a whole. I might admire perfect work, but I don't criticize imperfect work. I just don't see it. We are all much harder on ourselves than anyone else is. And, in general, if I ever met a person who was harder on me than I am on myself, I doubt I'd want that person around me much. Their opinion wouldn't matter to me.

Wonderful topic :thumbup:

IMO, there is no such thing as perfection and I sure don't strive for it. The very first quilt top I ever did, I made from a kit. (baby quilt) Just squares sewn together (lots of minkie in it, big mistake!). I did finish the top but so unhappy with it I would not give it to my GD, which is the reason I got into quilting! Blocks didn't even come close to lining up :roll: and was not even close to being square. But what I learned from that quilt!!! 2 years later, I have decided to quilt it and make a wall hanging out of it just so I can see how far I have come.

My motto has become, *Good enough for government work!*
I'm proud of everything I have made and refuse to be hard on myself. I don't have to please anyone but myself.

You have a good attitude. I kept the first quilt I made. It was a nine-patch and rail fence. It was set on point (en pointe for all you stuffy people out there), and I learned so much from that one quilt. The woman who taught that class had her first quilt, which she showed us. I thought that was a great idea. The first quilt I actually completed was an applique quilt called "Girlfriends," which I gave to my best friend. It was just awful. It isn't square. My satin stitching is questionable at best. The quilting was a simple and not very straight diagonal grid. She has it hanging on the wall in her hallway where she comes out of her bedroom so it's the first thing she sees in the morning. She loves it. I told her recently that I'd make her a better one now that I'm a better quilter, and she said she wouldn't take it. Now that's a good friend.

You know, as I have been reading this thread, it has caused me to do some thinking. I have realized that in spite of the disclaimers, I am actually very proud of the things I have made. I have felt obligated to point out the errors and problems because I was raised to believe that pride in oneself was sinful. What foolishness that is!!! When I have worked hard and done my best, I have every right to feel proud of my results, regardless of it's imperfections. Being proud of our efforts is not saying we are perfect or don't need improvement. It is only saying I did my best, look how it came out!!
So Melinda, I'm with you!! I'm proud of the things I make! And I love how my mistakes lead to creativeness that other people appreciate.

I used to have a motto: "My best is good enough." I figured that if I'd done my best, that I couldn't do any more than that. There are no plus signs following that word, "best." The best is all there is. I guess it's still my motto, but I don't have to tell myself as often as I used to.

The good thing about mistakes is - If you can recreate the mistake you have created a new technique. I feel that if I can learn from a mistake, which I make plenty of, then it's isn't a mistake but a learning tool.
"That's my story and I'm sticking to it"

And I think it's a very good story!

Some of you have asked for a picture of this wall hanging. Here it is, warts and all:

It's beautiful. Certainly much better than my first attempt.

Nothing I do is perfect, but is always done with love.