Most self- critical about?
#33
Junior Member
Join Date: Aug 2019
Posts: 122
I call myself a "veteran beginner". I have made close to 20 quilts but I have so very much to learn! This will make no sense, but I am most critical about being too critical of my work in every area. This is something I am working on a lot!! Beyond that I want my seams to match and not lose points. I am surprised that most of the time the seams match and my points are mostly there...but not always.
Tomorrow I will be basting 2 quilts that I will machine embroider the quilting. I have watched every video, researched everything I can find, practiced, asked questions and hope for the best. The first one is for our camper that no one will really see and the second is for a baby shower. We will see what jumps to the top of the what am I most critical about when I have finished these. Knowing me, I have no doubt I will have a list.
Tomorrow I will be basting 2 quilts that I will machine embroider the quilting. I have watched every video, researched everything I can find, practiced, asked questions and hope for the best. The first one is for our camper that no one will really see and the second is for a baby shower. We will see what jumps to the top of the what am I most critical about when I have finished these. Knowing me, I have no doubt I will have a list.
#35
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 3,639
You asked is there one thing that matters most to me when it comes to making a Quilt?
For me, the one thing that matters most is my color/fabric choices I enjoy choosing the fabrics and color theme for the pattern I chose. When I love the color in the fabrics I am working with, I look forward to making the pattern.
For me, the one thing that matters most is my color/fabric choices I enjoy choosing the fabrics and color theme for the pattern I chose. When I love the color in the fabrics I am working with, I look forward to making the pattern.
#36
Junior Member
Join Date: Feb 2016
Posts: 201
I find myself comparing my seams and points and whatnot to others, especially those on the professional youtube videos. Theirs are perfect, never a hair off, never a ripple, never a stray thread, just absolute perfection. I love the way pieces of blocks come together and then blocks come together with other blocks and then rows come together and all of the sudden there is a full sized quilt. Though by the time I get to this spot I am often so frustrated by seams that don't nest perfectly and points that are off kilter that I just want to be done with the quilt fast so I can move on to the next one. I start each quilt with high expectations, I measure 2-3 times, double check everything, go super slow, yet still it seems I can't even master a straight line of stitching. On the good side, I don't have a large pile of UFO's because I won't let myself start another quilt until I finish what I'm working on.
#37
Super Member
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Va.
Posts: 5,752
Not really any one thing, since each quilt is different. I work to try and get seams and intersections to match and to not chop off points, but like some others, I give it three tries to get it right and then let it go. I have been known to un-quilt an entire quilt if I decide I don't like the way the quilting is looking, and I just un-quilted 3 entire borders that I'd quilted feathers on before noticing a tension issue on the back. I spend a fair amount of time auditioning fabrics for color and value when making a top and also for binding once the quilt is done. Despite all the above, I'm definitely not a perfectionist as I fall squarely into the camp that says done is better than perfect. I've also found that over the years as my skills have improved, I've gotten more picky about some things and less picky about others.
Rob
Rob
#38
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: NY Adirondacks in Summer and goes "South" to WNY in the winter!
Posts: 480
I find myself comparing my seams and points and whatnot to others, especially those on the professional youtube videos. Theirs are perfect, never a hair off, never a ripple, never a stray thread, just absolute perfection. I love the way pieces of blocks come together and then blocks come together with other blocks and then rows come together and all of the sudden there is a full sized quilt. Though by the time I get to this spot I am often so frustrated by seams that don't nest perfectly and points that are off kilter that I just want to be done with the quilt fast so I can move on to the next one. I start each quilt with high expectations, I measure 2-3 times, double check everything, go super slow, yet still it seems I can't even master a straight line of stitching. On the good side, I don't have a large pile of UFO's because I won't let myself start another quilt until I finish what I'm working on.
#40
Super Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Dallas area, Texas, USA
Posts: 3,042
I enjoy the whole process and try to improve my skills along the way, but I'm not a perfectionist and my quilts are sure to be imperfect. My biggest mistakes almost always result from getting to a point where I just want to get it done, even though it may be late and I may be tired. I have to learn to leave the sewing room as soon as I start to make too many booboos instead of getting annoyed and trying to plow through or ignore things that could be easily avoided or corrected. The other thing I do that annoys me is getting well into a project and dropping it in favor of some new sparkly that caught my eye. I have too many UFOs. Some of them result from reaching an impasse. It is time to decide whether I want it to be bigger, or switch my original choice of border fabric to something else, or turn the blocks on point, or whatever indecisive thing I could do. So I postpone until I know what I want to do with it, and it doesn't get done - maybe for years. Sometimes I know what I want to do, but don't feel like doing it, such as going back and removing/replacing a particular fabric that I've used all over something and then decided it would make the quilt look like a bird splattered it! I have finished some UFOs months or years late, however. I have no problem finishing something if there's a deadline and a specific recipient, such as someone having a baby.