cumberlandquiltchick

Well said! AMEN. XO Sandra

gramqlts

I always put on the attached note or card to receiver....Made with love, prayers and a few imperfections. I'd say I was a cozy quilter too. I expect my quilts to be used in every day life...not put up for viewing in a museum.

blahel

I like that!

gramqlts

Catlady- my mom made me an aphgan years ago. I loved it so much and was so thrilled that I was afraid to use it cause it would get messed up....so I put it in a bag and kept it in the closet to "preserve" it. My aunt came to visit months later and when I was showing it to her she said "Oh, it is so nice of you to save it so your husband's next wife will have something new and beautiful to use." I have never put anything up again....I use them to death...lol. Needless to say that husband was used up and is gone also...smile.

Catlady

When I was much much younger I did the same thing with gifts
given to me, didn't want them messed up. Now that I'm
"older and maybe wiser" I use them to pieces. I put them out
where I can see them and use them. Especially the things my
mom made me. Now that she has passed away those things
are really special to me, feels a little like she's here with me.

Quiltgranny

Well, take heart, Harriet Hargrave and her daughter Carrie Hargrave have recently embarked on a new series of books that should appeal more to the beginning and intermediate quilter, especially if some have found her previous books a bit intimidating. This new series is called "Quilter's Academy - A Skill Building Course in Quiltmaking. There will be 6 volumes in all. The first one, "Volume 1 - Freshman Year, is available now. The second one, "Sophomore Year" will be available before summer this year.

Harriet says in this book, "Our plan is to walk you through a series of classes, lessons, and projects that will build one skill on another, so that when you have worked your way through the entire series of books you will be well on your way to being a master piecer."

Harriet has noticed in the past few years that there are many classes taught as projects, but the basic skills needed to really understand the process are severely lacking.

Their first book includes 11 projects, too. If anyone is interested, you can read more about it here:

http://www.amazon.com/Quilters-Acade.../dp/1571205942

So far, I have found her straightforward and easy to understand approach to be informative and helpful. I love all the tips she has to make it all go smoother so that our hobby can be so much more enjoyable.

Personally, I do strive to do my best, too. I'm a bit of a Type A, too, but am learning to relax some as time goes on and I become a little more comfortable with my abilities. One thing I have found quite stressful is this one particular quilt I am working on has caused so many folks to say, "You need to enter that into the next quilt show." That, and the fact that it is for DH, who is much more of a perfectionist (at some things) than I am has only served to make me quite nervous about the whole process. I am almost done and personally, I cannot wait to be done and relax into a project that won't be so stressful. However, that isn't going to happen yet, as my next project is a queen size wedding quilt for my DS and finance` due in July! Already I'm stressing, can I have it done in time? How can I do a quilt this large on my machine? How can I do the machine quilting any justice when I only do SITD and there are open areas just screaming for beautiful feathers or some other FMQ pattern? Where is that elusive cozy quilting?? :roll:

Fox

My critic was my mother. I saw some pieced quilts hanging on a clothes line on a drive when I was a child, that I thought were beautiful. My mother's reaction to them was a demeaning "those poor people, they have to live that way". She was born at the turn of the century to a very poor family, and hated anything that reminded her of Depressions, Wars, rationing etc.. I taught myself to quilt when I was in my forties, and had a quilt I'd designed hanging in my bedroom. On a visit she looked at it without saying a word, then turned in disgust saying I'd "cut off the points" on the border. Enough said. She never mentioned it again, and it took me ten years to get back to quilting. Of course she's dead now...but I can imagine her shaking her head in wonder how I could waste my time doing something so beneath her standards. I like it.

And I LOVE the COZINESS of it!!

jamh

Ima cozy quilter! I always say if you think you can do better than i do, i will give you MY machines and say have at it!! I do the best I want to do!! :) :) :)

Shadow Dancer

I don't do "perfect", that way there is always something for me to strive for. If every quilt I made was perfect, I wouldn't have any reason to keep quilting. :)

Every quilt is a learning experience, I will be truly sad when the day comes that I don't learn something when making a quilt.

kd124

I would say cosy quilter; love that term by the way.