A quilt with chopped off points and mismatched seams will keep you just as warm as a perfect one.

A quilt with mistakes in it will probably keep you warmer than a perfect quilt; because you'll probably use it more.

I look at quilting or piecing like I do anything else...Nobody is perfect. And who would want to be? Being perfect or reaching the perfect level to me is like reaching the end, for what else is there beyond perfection? I don't have to worry about it thank goodness because I really do have fun learning & I sure have lots of learning left to learn! LOL

I would like to read that quote also. It sounds great. I don't know what PM is though so if you can tell me how to do that I will greatly receive it. Thanks

I was doing a block (Prarie Queen) and kept getting it wrong. Ripped 4 times. When DH asked why I was talking to myself I told him what happened. He said "it looks fine to me, you just made a new block. You can call this one Prarie King". That's when I knew I was taking it way to sereously.

I would be interested in reading this poem, but I doubt it will change the critical eye I have for my own quilts. Considering the amount of time, effort, and money that goes into each of my quilts, I expect the construction to amount to perfection. Oddly enough, I don't expect that level out of anyone else. What I have done is pushed myself to continue to learn until I know I have the skill set to reach the goals I set for myself. I may not be there yet, but I'm working on it. :-D

Honestly, I see nothing wrong with striving to do my best. I don't reject a quilt if it isn't perfect. Usually it's a learning experience and I can still treasure a quilt without it needing to be perfect. Heck, I wouldn't enjoy quilt shows and Show & Tell at my guilds or here in this Forum if I were snobbish. You don't have to be stuck-up or un-fun as some seem to indicate to want to do good work on a quilt. And if I make the perfect quilt, it doesn't mean I am done. There are always areas to learn and improve in. It simply means I am growing as a quilter and that is being reflected in my quilts.

I hope that doesn't sound too defensive. I guess I just believe it is not a bad thing to want to reach a time where the points all come out perfect and everything balances.

[quote=Tiffany]Of course we all strive to do our best. What would be the point otherwise? I doubt anyone sets out and says, "I really want to make this the crappiest quilt yet."

For some people, striving to reach "perfection," which is ultimately an impossible goal, leaves them feeling dissatisfied and unhappy with a hobby that should be fun and fulfilling. None of this is about whether the quilt is good or not--it's about whether we lose sight of the fact that perfection is not the goal. In the end, at least for me, enjoyment is the goal. If it's perfect (and it will never be--not even if you think it is), that's all the better. But perfection shouldn't be an end in itself.

Someone told me once that a "perfectionist" is someone who is always looking for the flaw. I think that it's true.

I often think of the Amish and the Navajo, too. Then I ask myself: If the mistake is intentionally put in, is it really a mistake? I never have to worry about any mistakes having to be included in my quilts -- there are so many of them already there!!! If someone is a reallly critical person who always finds fault in everything, I don't give them a quilt! A quilt should go to a good home; a home that will be accepting of what it is: a symbol of my love for them. They should feel that every time they wrap themselves up in it they are getting a hug from me. ;)

I focus on design and color. I don't mind mistakes that much at all, it's a quilt and that's all it's going to be.

There is an up-side to giving a quilt that is flawed.......

.....we have reason to give another :) :) :) .....and another.....and another.....