We put ourselves down
 

I read this board almost every day, and at least once a day someone posts a photo of a gorgeous quilt, telling us about how it came about, but always saying something negative about her/his work - "the binding is too dark," "the quilting (or piecing) isn't perfect," "I should have used more blue," or whatever. I think it's great that you actually finished something and were brave enough to show it to the world. Thank you all for sharing!

I think its because we know our work and quilts so, so well.
We have high expectations of how it is supposed to look or we want it to look.

It is sometimes encouraging to know that you can do many steps imperfectly and the quilt still turns out wonderful.

Yes, we are our own worst critic. It can be a good thing or a bad thing. I have been quilting for years, and am just figuring out FMQ ... my results have been horrible LOL ... but I laugh about them, and keep going.

We are always wanting better work from ourselves. But, I believe, this is a good thing, as it makes us strive for something higher.

I never apologize for any of my quilts, good or bad. I never point out the oops in my quilts to others. One old biddy guild member pointed out to everyone I had a few points cut off in a star block and said it's not right. By the next meeting I had made another smaller quilt with every point cut off and showed it Show and Tell. I told them the name of the quilt was It's Not Right. I thought a few members were going to bust a gut laughing. Now when someone shows a quilt with mistakes they will say I have a It's Not Right quilt.

I think people also use a negative comment when they show a quilt so others don't see it as bragging and self importance.

I try to be realistic about my quilts, and only if I pay attention to what I do and don't like about it, can I make improvments and changes for the next one.

I do the same thing with my baking - I want honest answers to "what do you think?" because I'm not asking to get a "feel good" answer, I want a real answer so I can make adjustments.

I feel that if someone asks for opinions, we should give honest ones. If someone just shows a picture to share and does not ask for opinions, then I'll keep them to myself.

I chalk it up to simple humility. And I cannot think of better quality to have in life. We sure need a lot more of it nowadays!!

Some people are more high-strung and up tight than others. That is life. I don't think god makes mistakes, so there is a place for us all. Be kind and understand she has to be the way she is. A hard lesson to learn, but so rewarding.

I am not the perfectionist that my mother always said I was, by a long shot. I just have a thing about things in the proper order. It is the way I am hard-wired. I have made peace with it. I certainly would not judge another creature of god's work. We would all be so bored if we were all the same.