annesthreads

Would you like to move to the UK, Suz?

Sadly, there are no local quilting friends. I've tried to find them, but there are only two guilds in this area - one is very snooty and I wouldn't be "good enough" for them, so I prefer to leave them to disappear up themselves, and the other treated me like something from another planet because I had no husband and grandchildren to talk about (their only topic). The board is my guild, and a really lovely one too!

annesthreads

That's an interesting insight - thankyou. And thankyou for taking the trouble to look at the blog.

Yes, the discussion on here has been helpful and illuminating. And - I very nearly finished a quilt yesterday! Just have to put right one small problem. I promise you all that I'll do that today...

annesthreads

I hope your nephew is OK, Teresa. Glad you liked the wholecloth quilts. I was amazed at how well they turned out - really wouldn't have thought I could do it. Wholecloth is quilting onto one piece of fabric, rather than onto patchwork, so the quilting gets ALL the attention, which is what made them so daunting to do.

annesthreads

No, just a way of being, I think!

cheezythequiltmaker

I find it very difficult to finish something unless it has a Home to go to, be that my sofa or someone elses.

So much of what I do right now is class samples and often I come up with new deisgns at short notice and don't have time to quilt items. But this weekend I was offered a new course which had some specific criteria attached and I adpated two blocks from another course and made a wall hanging. yes, made from start to finish including putting a hanging sleeve on!!!! Okay so it isn't labeled yet, but that involves getting the embroidery machine out.

I have quilts layered and ready to quilt that have been layered up for years. Once they are quilted I do tend to get on and bind them fairly quickly. but I had one that stayed unbound for a few years. It was intended as a gift for someone who I realised would not apreciate it, then the second intended recipient, I fell out with, so it wasn't until a particlualry harsh few days of winter when I relised I needed an extra quilt for my bed. It was bound before the end of the day and now has a happy home on my own bed.

Don't beat yourself up, If you enjoy the process do that enjoy the process.

It is sad about the local guilds I know I left one here becasue of the pushyness of the organisers. I was either expected to always teach the others (for free) and/ or to do the group project which was always hand sewing. I don't do hand piecing and I don't like hand quilting so I stopped going. Fortunately there are at least twoother lovely guilds local to me where My skills as a teacher are valued and not exploited and my need to be a Student and a quilter for my own sake not just a teacher is just as important to them as thier own work.

I envy your wholecloth quilting exploits and the beautiful results. You have inspired me to take sometime out and just play with my machine again, and hone my Machine quilting skills.

Good luck with all your projects you choose to do.
Becks

GramMER

[QUOTE=annesthreads;5120355]I’ve been sitting here thinking about my inability to finish my quilts. QUOTE]

Hmmm! I may just fit into this category too. As long as we lived in the states, I made quilts like they were going out of style. I gave every one of them to someone who just had a baby or who just got married. I felt like I was learning a lot with each one, but then I decided to make the "perfect quilt" to give our elder son for his wedding. It was a sampler with all different 12" blocks set together with sashing. We moved to India and could only take two suitcases. Well, you try moving in two suitcases and see what you leave behind. Life moves on and leaves you with all those choices. Then we moved back for a few years and I began teaching school and had no time to quilt. That poor quilt top is still in storage somewhere. Maybe before I die someone will motivate me to get it done. I have others to finish too--some for children and some for grandchildren. I have started myriad and have had some situation to keep me from finishing them. Lately I think a lot about how long I have procrastinated and have been dreaming of getting back into finishing those one-by-one. I am praying I can do it one day and not leave my unfinished business to someone to throw out. When I think of all the work I have put into these tops, I know nobody would understand nor want to finish them.

teacherbailey

I have the same problem.....and really enjoyed reading all of your posts. I, too, am a topmaker. I've known for years that I am much more of a PROCESS person than a PRODUCT person; that is, I love the process of finding the right pattern, often tweaking it in some way, finding the right fabrics, cutting and sewing and watching the top come together. Then my brain is "done" and ready to move on to another project. Another problem is that I can't/won't put quilts on my bed because of 100 doggie toenails (that's 5 dogs!) who love to play and sleep on my bed; so I use comforters instead of quilts; learned that one the hard way!!!!! I just finished a small project as a gift for a coworker.... my trick for binding and finishing when I HAVE to is to self-bind. You cut the backing 2" larger on each side than the top, fold the edge under an inch (giving you a double layer of fabric on the edge) and turn it to cover the raw edge. Pin, then one quick trip around the top with your sewing machine and you are DONE! Fast, and if anybody asks why I do it that way, I don't have to admit that "real" binding baffles and frustrates me; I just say "That's the way my grandmother did it" and that handles that!!!!!

annesthreads

Well, all this discussion seems to have had an effect because - roll of drums - I've just finished a quilt! It's a small wall hanging put together from some blocks a friend gave me, which I used to practice stippling and outlining for the Leah Day Quilt Along. It was interesting to work with these colours, as I usually stay clear of browns and autumn shades. I've had the binding on it for a few weeks, and managed to finish sewing it at my Mum's yesterday - visiting her is when I get some hand sewing done. That just left a small correction to be done on the machine, and this morning I've made myself go and sort it out - again, there was the inclination to put it aside, but this took me all of two minutes to do, and now the quilt is finished.

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Iraxy

As a young girl, I loved to draw. My mother wanted me to concentrate on "something real." She said my drawings were "time wasters and something that would get me nowhere". I stopped drawing and concentrated on the basics to get me a job when I grew up. I never took up another hobby that required creativity until I started quilting. She was not impressed with my quilting either and managed to tell me so often. Out of "revenge and/or hurt" I never made her a quilt. I would start one and not finish it. They were not good enough for her and I worried how she would criticize it. These actions only proved to her how right she was about my time wasters.

My mom died several years ago and when my sister and I went through her things I found many of my 50 year old drawings among her things. I was devastated.

As my silent tribute to her I have tried to make the most interesting and beautiful quilts that I can. I send them out to be quilted to make sure they are finished. I grudgingly bind them (it's my worst skill).

I don't know what to tell you about how to get from point A to point B about finishing your quilts, but you might try it one quilt at a time. Just do it, like the advertisement says. Good luck with this, I will keep reading this post to see how it works out. Hugs to you too and one for me.

annesthreads

Thankyou for sharing this. How terribly sad for your Mom and for you, that she was so unable to express her appreciation and damaged your confidence so much by her failure to do so. And deprived herself of the opportunity to have a beautiful quilt made by her daughter. Who can know why - maybe she was frightened for your future and wanted to be sure you focused on what would earn you a living. What a lesson to all of us, to encourage and affirm each other - we all need it.

It makes me think, because I've never offered a quilt to my mother either, never even considered it until recently - have just assumed she won't want one. And she would never ask. I wonder what part the memories of childhood putdowns and comparisons are playing there?