MadQuilter

NO! Why are you comparing yourself to what others can do? My friend has a beautiful voice and sings in a choir. I sound more like a coyote howling at the moon. BUT I still like music, and I still belt it out in the shower.

The nice thing about a BOM is that YOU do the work for YOURSELF. You don't have to swap or even share if you don't want to. The other nice thing about a BOM is that they usually build skills and you can learn new techniques and improve.

Why would you deprive yourself of that learning tool?

For every quilter at every level on this QB (or in "real quity world) there is a quilter who knows less or is yet untried in many techniques/methods. When you talk of giving up, what message are you sending to the newbies?

SO NO! I bet your work is really good and you are just being your own worst quilt police.

sharoney

Don't quit! And don't be embarrassed to ask for help! Most quilters I've ever met love helping newbies. Everybody was new to quilting at some point, and the best thing about quilting is, the more you do it, the better you get.

Miss Purple Shoes

Please don't give up. If the ladies are genuinely nice they will want to support you as much as they can. Don't forget that they were once where you are now and they will want to share their expertise with you. Bite the bullet and continue to enjoy the friendship and support that is on offer. I would love to be with a bunch of supportive ladies now but as we aer miles away from a decent LQS I can't.

Miss Purple Shoes

:)

janedee

Please don't give up - you will be proud of yourself when you have completed the quilt and just bear in mind that those other ladies all started just like you atsome point and probably had the same doubts - they sound like a nice group of ladies so make the most of there knowledge and don't forget there are alot of people on here who are more than willing to give advise if you get really stuck

janedee

Please don't give up - you will be proud of yourself when you have completed the quilt and just bear in mind that those other ladies all started just like you atsome point and probably had the same doubts - they sound like a nice group of ladies so make the most of there knowledge and don't forget there are alot of people on here who are more than willing to give advise if you get really stuck

oops managed to hit the send button twice - again!!!!!

nativetexan

can you get some one on one help? maybe from one of your fellow quilters who lives nearby? try that and dont' rip so much girl.

The Creative Seamstress

Everyone has to start somewhere. There is not one us of (at least that I know of) on this board that was a "Quilting Prodigy" where any of our first or initial attempts at any project (let alone a major one) went well. For as long as I've been doing this - I still have moments where I have to rip out rows. The tempting allure of the achievement of and the attaining of "perfection" is a complete illusion. It can be very difficult to feel like you belong in a group (when it's in a face to face setting) with individuals who are more accomplished/experienced than you. But you have to remember that we all were beginners just getting the hang on things and learning brand new skills at some point. There is nothing that can do more for you personally, your confidence and experience/skill level than throwing yourself in there and making every effort to try! Quit being so hard on yourself. If your fellow group members are all there doing something your describing as "more important than you" you're wrong. They had their turn in the learning curve, and now its your time. Believe me when I tell you that your efforts now are well worth it. Someday after having honed your skill, you'll look back on this project fondly (no matter how many times you screamed in frustration or ripped out rows) remembering what it felt like to be so full of excitement in doing a first project - and I promise it won't matter what it looked like or how it turned out. Don't sell yourself short into giving up, the lack of self confidence and moments of "why" hit us all. Listen - I've been sewing/quilting for a very long time, to the tune of about 23 years AND I STILL LEARN EVERYDAY! I just learned how to paper piece about two weeks ago. I made mistakes, I ripped out rows, I reprinted patterns, but I've learned and still am on this technique. Bottomline is - you will always need to learn more and be in some sort of learning curve if you wish to truly challenge yourself. If you give up on the process now - you never know where it may take you! So please, don't give up and quit. I promise you'll be very happy someday that you didn't!

Explosive blessings, abundance and inspiration to you all!
- The Creative Seamstress

BellaBoo

I never thought that I needed skills to make a quilt. I sew it up and it's done. I'm happy. I learn by doing, a mess up doesn't bother me one bit in my quilting. It may not win awards but it's pretty and won't fall apart. I surprise myself by making a perfect block every now and then.

Cornish Maid

MissB, please don't give up yet. I am absolutely useless at sewing and machining but I have managed to make some things that I am really pleased with. The stitches in the ditches have sneaked out of the ditch, the points often don't match but hey... in the end most people are not quilters and don't notice all the mistakes that are hitting you in the eye! I did a quilting class where a novice quilter decided her project for the 7 week course was going to be a king-sized quilt as a wedding gift for her son. (I was making a cushion cover!) As she was going to be on holiday for 2 weeks of the course (!) she rushed ahead, joined all her blocks incorrectly and spent one lesson sobbing in the corner as she unpicked everything! Made her teacher feel awful too. So do your best, learn from your mistakes, have fun and don't get mad at yourself - in the end it's just a scrap of fabric.