People talk about making mistakes in their quilting and being nervous because they are afraid they will really mess it up.

I say quilting is about the process as much as it is about the finished result. You can't have one without the other. So enjoy the process or struggle through the tough parts of the process ( I do both) and come out on the other side feeling like you did the best you could whether that is spectacular or just ok in your eyes.

I work in miniatures and so I do a lot!!! of hotpads. Several hundreds over the last 11 years. One thing I have learned is to do it to my satisfaction and to the best of my ability whatever that may be at that time. You will improve with time whether you are trying to or not. Practice and doing it many times will do that for you so just keep plugging away at it if it is what you love to do.

Sharing with us is a good motivator and will lift your spirits!! So if you are a lurker or you are a member take the time to share and enjoy the accolades and support you will get! Don't hesitate to share -you will get only positive feedback here. We care and we support each other.

I have mentioned in the past that I once made a hotpad that I turned one vital triangle backwards and didn't notice it til the hotpad was already quilted! Too late to go back and fix it so I took it to Kalona (where I sell my stuff) and just included it with the other hotpads.
To my surprise it sold!! Now someone either didn't notice the mistake or thought I did it on purpose but to me it is very glaringly wrong!

See what you think. I found the picture this morning and thought I would share it with you. Even quilters who have been quilting 30 years make mistakes and not just mistakes that hide in the back ground!! I can always pick out my mistakes but usually I know only I can see them. But I thought this one spoiled the design.
Apparently someone didn't care or didn't see it. Hope they weren't upset when they got home with it.

i'm sure they never noticed. most non quilters can't see these things.

Another mistake I made last summer was also in a hotpad. I don't prewash anything. The only time I wash a fabric is when it gets dirty somehow.
In 11 years I have never had a fabric run. I spray most of my stuff with spray starch when it is done.
I had made this hotpad and was pretty satisfied with it til I went to spray and iron it. It turned several of the white sections to pink!! I tried to wash it out. I was not going to redo it. So I decided to see if I could turn all the white pieces pink. I did get it to do that but I have never been happy with it. It looks deliberately done and not done well to me.

The red that did this is one of my favorites and I still use it all the time. I found that that one particular piece of red was the only one that ran. None of the rest of them ever had a problem.I guess it was just that one lot that had a problem.
I still do not wash my fabrics. Too much time and trouble and I prefer the state they come in when I buy them. I don't want to go through the hassle of washing and spraying and ironing to get back to the stiffness they have when new.
This is the one and only time I have ever had this problem.

Thanks Klue you're probably right but I sell in an area that the tourism is primarily about quilts. It is the most important thing in this town. So it is not like selling at a yard sale. People in this town have quilts on all the walls of the businesses and have the Amish ladies come into the bank and set up a quilt to hand quilt on as a demonstration quite frequently.
This area is steeped in quilts -some painted on the windows and virtually everywhere.
I know that most who buy my stuff are tourists and want a keepsake so they probably don't see the mistakes.

Thanks for posting this Rhonda. I have been quilting about 3 years now and still worry about my mistakes and there is a lot of them! But I'm starting to realize that mine go to family. And my family doesn't even know what it means to cut off points or how many stitches per inch are considered good. So with each quilt, I try not to point out my mishaps. What they don't know won't hurt them. Still, it doesn't stop me from being too hard on myself, but I do feel better knowing I'm not the only one!

I love your pot holders by the way!! What do you use for batting? Is there something heat proof?

Wow Rhonda, I really needed to hear some of the things you shared/said. Ok, I might sound like a big baby but I actually cried when I was reading it. I was trying hard to make a nice big pillowcover for my partner and I just spent twenty minutes ripping a big part of it out to start over, I was so disgusted when I saw how it came out. Had to walk away from it yesterday after I cursed a blue streak and sulked a bit. You helped me get back a better perspective.

Thanks for posting this, Rhonda. Your words are wonderful for beginners like me.

Yes, I noticed the oddball triangle immediately, but I do that kind of thing professionally (though with computer software, not quilt patterns). It always amazes me how some people wouldn't see something like that at first glance, but in fact most people don't.

OTOH, the pinkish fabric looked natural to me until I read that it was from red fabric running.

To billswife, I'm sure Rhonda will give you a more detailed answer than I can, but yes, special insulating batting does exist.

Yes, the turned triangle is obvious, but if I'd done it, I would pass it off as a 'deliberate mistake ' - in design terms, you could say it adds character! :D The white turned pink - who would know the fabric didn't START as pink? :D

BUT it's easier for me to 'forgive' or explain others' 'mistakes' - my own? Well that's a whole other story! :wink: :lol:

Oh I could (and did consider it but decided to keep it to myself) point out al the flaws in the bear's paws I posted at the same time i posted this. I can see them and the only thing to me is that the flaws affect how square it ends up. That is important to me to make it come out to be a pleasing picture.
But each quilter has a differant level of what is acceptable or not to her or him. We are individuals afterall.
I happen to have inherited a streak(small one mind you that does not include my housework!) of perfectionism that means i have to make it the best I can or die trying!!!!
Anyway yes there are heat resistant products you can use. I think Joanns has one. I don't use them because the expense would be too high to sell my products.
I use a traditional batting made by Fairfield Co. It is a poly-fil and I use two layers. When I first starting making these to sell -the lady I sell to and I discussed the differant battings and I tried differant things. This is the one that we felt was thick enough to not burn your hand but yet not too thick as to look too bulky. It is a somewhat dense layer that is denser than a low loft batting but is still light enough to quilt well.
I use it in everything I do. Here is a sample of it.
I get mine at Walmart but if you don't have a Walmart fabric dept I saw it at Hobby Lobby the other day. I have seen it online also but can't tell you where right now.

Yeah that is what Joette(my buyer) said too! I always leave these things up to her. She has to sell it not me. When I have something I thought was a great idea come out to be a miserable flop I still take it and have her look at it. Some of them that i would throw out she has sold! No accounting for taste!!

My friend Dorothy has a solution for things that frustrate and madden you. She throws it across the floor as hard as she can! Then when she calms down she goes and picks it up and starts over!!
I generally can not stay on one project from start to finish even if it only takes a couple of hours to do. I have to stop and do something else for awhile because I get bored. I go back to it often. Do one stage and leave it for awhile and then go back and do the next stage etc. I often when faced with ripping more than a few inches leave it til the next day if i am stressing over it. I HATE :evil: :evil: :evil: to rip seams!!!!
So don't feel bad we all have those moments sometimes tons of those moments!!!

It is good to get encouragement from you Rhonda. I make mistakes and live with them, or not, if I find them soon enough! There are lots of things not worth fretting over! :lol:

I have not been quilting as long as you by any means and I see all of my mistakes as well, some take longer to notice than other, I left one I knew about in the quilt I did for me, it was intentionally left, I figured that I am not perfect, my quilt doesn't need to be either.

I had a truly blank spot last night while quilting, I was doing a block that I had never done before, looked at the picture, naturally picked the pieces up and put them together like HST, the thing was they were not HST but QST. so there I was picking them all out, I had finished the whole line of them before I noticed, so that was done, picked them up to start putting them together again and did it exactly the same way, good thing I didn't get through the first one before knocking myself on the head. So I laughed at myself, called me a few names, and went on to do them the right way.

I have lots of those moments! I do alot of hot pads and I get so I do them on autopilot sometimes. I sew squares into sets of two and then sets of two into sets of four. One of the most annoying mistakes I make on a regular basis is to turn a set of four the wrong way when I sew two 4's together. I have gone as far as sewing the hotpad all the way together and start to stitchin the ditch before I see it! I could scream!!
But since it is to be sold I can't leave it and say oh well. So I pick out the finish seam that runs around the edge and then turn it wrong side out and pick out the seam or seams that hold that section together and then I have to rip out the two 4's and then usually some adjoing seams to get enough of a grip on it to work on it to fix it! Then do the process all over again to put the hotpad back together again!! VERY FRUSTRATING! and time consuming which is almost more of an issue if I am in the last hours of putting an order together. OH WELL!

Quilting can be soooooo frustrating!!! Why do we put ourselves through all this anyway?????? oh yeah to enjoy the beauty!!!!!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

The only differance between a new quilter and an old quilter is that the old quilter has learned to shut her mouth and not admit to any mistakes LOL LOL
Guess I didn't learn that one too well huh?

But when things are going well it is very relaxing and enjoyable, i have learned to laugh at a lot of it. There is something about getting into that groove where a lot of other things disappear as well.

oh, and I just checked, I have some of that batting as well, I even have scraps of it that are about the right size for pot holders, do I fell a project coming on?

but by owning up to still making mistakes, you are making it okay for the newer kids on the block that they are not alone, that it happens. to just keep going.

I had to go back to see the oddball white triangle - couldn't spot it at first look

Thanks Cute! I think the biggest thing I wanted to stress is that we all need encouragement old and new quilters.
I tell people all the time that even if I weren't selling my stuff (and it isn't selling locally real well right now due to the economy) I quilted for 20 years before i ever sold anything and i will still be quilting even if I never sold another thing in my lifetime.
I don't do what I do for the money primarily. Money is good and yes I can use it for sure! But I get a boost from my quilting that no amount of money can buy.
My mom said one time "Well you won't be able to sell your stuff so you won't need to quilt anymore" She doesn't understand!!! I quilt because it feeds my soul. I have to create so therefore I create. Where it goes is another issue entirely.
I quilt because it makes me feel good about myself in a way nothing else does. It is something I know I am good at even when everything else in my life is not so good.
So that is the reason to quilt because it says something about you and it tells a story about who you are. Not whether the quilt is perfectly done or not.
I have often thought about all those hotpads and other things I have sold over the years and I wonder where they have ended up.
I sold some in a yard sale one year and a couple of years later a friend of my moms gave her a box of junk she didn't want anymore and in the box was you guessed it one of my hotpads. The lady didnot realize what she had done and i never told her. I just brushed it off and sold it to Kalona! Quite a lesson in humility!! I thought this was a special thing selling her my hotpad and here she didn't remember I made it and she no longer valued it! Quite a come down for me!

I know selling some of my stuff and giving it away there is a chance that it won't get valued like the stuff I give to my mom and dad or sisters etc. Even then sometimes they forget what we put into it, and for some people it is just a way to make money so there is no value in it that way. There are some people that are a different brand and we put averything into it, even the stuff that we sell, My dad is so funny, he won't wear a sweatshirt that I made him with all the grands name and bunny picture that often as he doesn't want to wear it out as he knows just how much work I put into it. that and a quilt that I made him the grands are not allowed to touch really as he wants to keep it, it would make me a lot happier to see it used and worn, I can always make him another. But I hesitate to send some stuff to school that I do for hand outs as I am sure that a lot of them will end up in the garbage, not that a lot of them take a long time or cost much to do, it is what I put into it.

though being kept humble is a good thing, I think it keeps me real.

Perfect! I will have to write this down and learn to live it! :D (obviously I'm still a new quilter) :roll:

Don't take it too seriously :mrgreen: I was only joking :mrgreen:

Seriously tho we all learn from one another and our mistakes teach as much as they hinder. Some lessons just seem harder to learn somehow!
I know I will never learn to like ripping out seams!

I love the pink hotpad.
I know the Mennonite's and the Amish always make sure there is a mistake in their quilts. They feel it is presumtive to make a "perfect" quilt because only God is perfect. Helps me to know they do it on purpose LOL

Yall will HATE the quilt I am working on now.....its a allmost all HST and I was stressing SO BAD about getting points to line up I said GRRRRRRRRRR( not really, well maybe a little with some other words thrown in LOL )
So now I am sewing and if they match up well hey look there...if NOT, which most arent LOL That is the way its suppose to be.
Its very hard to "let it go" but its soothing to my soul and helping me see I am not perfect and nothing I do is perfect and making me ACCEPT my imperfections.

I had not heard of this truck stop. I am in SE Iowa but about 1 1/2 hours south of I-80. We take it to go to Des Moines. We are about 3 1/2 hours from Des Moines. Exept for the day my daughter and I got confused and drove for an hour west ( the wrong way!) I haven't really been west of Des Moines on I-80.
Where is this truck stop? Sounds interesting! My parents and i used to stop at Stuckey's when we traveled years ago but i don't travel much anymore.

Thank you so much for these words of wisdom, Rhonda :D :D :D

I still struggle with points. I don't think there is any quilter who doesn't lose points some time along the way. These things happen!

Boy, the only "mistake" I saw was that it wasn't sent to me to care for! :lol:

Tho' I'm just starting out, I've invested so much money in the tools of the trade, books, fabric, and the like, I've overwhelmed myself with the idea that it has to be just so. I love the detail of the process of sewing a pattern to perfection, but I lack the confidence that I will develop the patience to be able to do it well and it keeps me from actually following thru will all the ideas I have.

One day..............

Start with something small. Not tiny small but a small piece. A table runner or a wall hanging. You can practice on just one quilt block and practice sewing just that one together and decide on a border and use it as a starting point.
Or you could do a hot pad or some other small project. I did some tutorials on small projects and there are probably more out there.
If you want any help or suggestions just let me know! I would be glad to help.

I try to think of them less as mistakes and more as lessons in humility. The bear paw quilt I'm finishing for my nephew is a huge lesson in humility because it is horrible with tons of mistakes. But I know that he will love it and not care that the points are chopped off. It gives me motivation to learn how to make my points sharp. (BTW -- I'd love suggestions about how to keep my points sharp).

Most of my suggestions are accuracy related and are prevention ideas. I will put something together and post it soon. Most of it is just common sense and paying attention to detail. I am guilty of it too. We get in a hurry and oh well that won't matter and like a tile floor that is laid wrong pretty soon those oh wells add up to a lot wrong and before you know it you have a skewed picture because you (universal you not any one person) has chopped off points the corners are crooked the center is not in line the seams are bowed or crooked.
All these can be prevented if you are willing to take a moment or two to pay a little extra attention to making sure you start out with a square square and you make sure you keep a 1/4" between the point and the edge of your block. ( this is one of the biggest reasons people lose points)
I will put together some of my prevention techniques that I use to straighten a crooked seam or to tighten a corner etc. It does pay to take time to do this if you are looking to keep your points or have straight looking seams etc.

This is the reason I don't really shrug off mistakes because I need to look at them and find out why it ended up this way and how can I not do this the next time. I am a perfectionist tho so I probably go farther than most to straighten the picture before I am satisfied with what I am putting out there.

I sell my stuff and I feel I need to do my best on it. But that is a subjective idea. What i consider the point where I stop fixing things is not the place others would stop fixing or maybe even start to begin with!

QuiltMania I posted my Tips for not losing points Rhonda

http://www.quiltingboard.com/posts/l...52.page#458005

You should "charge extra" for the "pink" and red one because now it a unique, hand-dyed product! It's all in the marketing!

Very interesting idea!!! Thanks I might have to do that next time!!! This one is already gone. Whether anyone bought it at the store I don't know.
I sell to a local gift store and then she sells to the public. I'll have to look next time I go.

Somebody that didn't know quilting would have never noticed. I thought the second one was suppose to be that color. I really liked it.

If you saw the second one up close I think you would realize the color had run. It had a funny look to it and is not consistant. I really don't like the look of the center. I wished I had left that alone but thought it would look to stark white as opposed to the pink parts. I really didn't like the whole thing but I think it sold so it is gone. I checked my inventory list and it is not there so I'm sure someone bought it.

Rhonda, thanks for posting these pics.

You are correct, I think, on quilting being a process. I do get a wonderful feeling when the process is finished, but it is nothing compared to the peaceful quietness of the process itself.

Thanks for sharing this Rhonda. I panic if I think I did something wrong.

I had a lady in one of my classes that I suggested if she didn't want to lose the points she might think about going back and tightening the seams. I said it exactly like that. She got real defensive and upset. And she dropped my class.
Now I don't care if your patchwork comes out wonky or all the points are lost. It is your work and you can make it any way you want. I was just trying to be helpful in a non judgemental way but she got her feelings hurt. I do understand that because I can do that too.
So it is all about how much attention to detail do you want to take time for. Some mistakes are worth redoing and some are just an oh well better luck next time.

I know our work is an extension of ourselves but life is too short to make it so meaningful that it makes you feel bad because you didn't do some steps as well as you might have.
Dorothy used to tell me when she first started doing my blocks for me( she had never done any quilting) that this old lady was dumb and had a hard time learning things. She learned to make all of my Blocks in just a very short time. She had little concept of matching colors and she has learned to have a very good eye for color combinations now. I no longer have to lead her into the right choices in the work she does for me. She is almost 70 and has a few ideas of her own that have inspired me! It is good to have someone to bounce ideas off of.

This is important so listen up! There are no dumb quilters! There are only quillters who haven't learned those particular lessons yet!! You can't expect to be able to run if you haven't learned to walk yet! It all takes time and it is a process not an overnight success.
Inexperience is not the same thing as being dumb.

I have had 30 years of learning to get where I am
today and I have a lot more to learn to get to where I wil be in the future. You never stop learning. I have learned a lot from all of you.

I need one of those smilie things that clap, Well said Rhonda, Bravo!