Originally Posted by maggiesquilt

"Cozy Quilter" what a great name. I was taught by my quilting teacher to be anal. Guess, what I'm not, I enjoy every stitch and if there is an imperfection I'm the only one that knows where it is. I make my quilts with love and give them away to those I love. :thumbup:

Originally Posted by Needles in SW OR

To DSJ from Tennessee:
I agree that we should not be so hard on ourselves.
I have a quilting acquaintance that critiques everything to the last stitch. It hurt my feelings for a while and then I realized that I have known her as part of our quilt group for over 3 years and she has never finished a single project because she is so picky.
Now, my standard reply is, "I love it the way it is and wouldn't change a stitch."
I feel good about what I do and especially when it is completed, however close to 'perfect' it is or isn't.
Keep on sewing girl, I know you are doing a great job!

Originally Posted by 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.

Originally Posted by 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!!

Originally Posted by 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.

Originally Posted by PatriceJ

i think we all do the best we can in hope of achieving the human equivalent of perfection. the questions are:

1. what's our personal gabooble point? how much imperfection can we tolerate in our own work before the stitch-picker (aka seam ripper) comes out?

2. how many attempts will we make to fix something before we accept it as it is? (i employ the 3-strikes method. if it's still not right enough after 3 tries, i either use it the way it is or toss it into the trash.)

3. how hard do we kick ourselves for making mistakes in the first place? how big a mistake rates a kick?

my answers to those questions change from quilt to quilt. they also depend a great deal on my mood at the time.

my heartfelt wish for all quilters - especially those just starting out - is that as our skills improve and the gafarble rate goes down, our acceptance of our humanity and imperfection also goes up. happiness waits for us at the intersection of those two lines. ;-)

Originally Posted by MadQuilter

My Mom worked in a bakery that had many American customers. One soldier pointed to the puff pastry and asked what it was. She translated perfectly: Air Bags. We still laugh about the cream-filled air bags.

But back on topic. I am struggeling with the quilting of a quilt right now. I wanted to do something special and my skills in that arena aren't special. SO I tried to do a fancy stitch in the ditch. It turned out JUST AWFUL. I had also never taken out quilting stitches before. - rule #1 go very very slowly.

Once I took out the bad stitching, I accepted the fact that I am a SID girl (or a MAD girl = meandering around ditch). The quilt may not be perfect and it may not be as special as I would like. But it is made from the heart and hope it will bring the recipient joy.