Quilt Police
10-14-2010, 06:42 AM
#31
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Mid-West
Posts: 3,838
Oh,lucky you! Wanted to make my Sis a throw & after buying fabric, she changed colors,pattern etc.Every day brought a diff change.After she remarked she didn't like squares in quilts, I told her I just didn't have anything to suit her.She was fine, no prob. So now I have fabric in color I don't care for.....but at least I don't have to work with them. :(
I too am my own quilt police. I have been very hard on myself, and it was'nt until I made a post, showing the start of my bagello. I was told by many that I was too hard on myself. DH tells me that I am doing really well, and that the quilts I make look great.
I just wrote my youngest sister. I will be making her a quilt down the line. I asked her color preference and if she had any idea of what she might like, floral, oceans, desert...
She said both her and DH love blue, like oceans and sky. I have looked around and have not found anything that really catches my eye. I wrote back and asked her for, what else she might be interested in. She wrote back, and said, you have a good eye for color. I know whatever you come up with will be beautiful and is made with lots of love.
What better encouragement can a gal ask for[/quote]
I too am my own quilt police. I have been very hard on myself, and it was'nt until I made a post, showing the start of my bagello. I was told by many that I was too hard on myself. DH tells me that I am doing really well, and that the quilts I make look great.
I just wrote my youngest sister. I will be making her a quilt down the line. I asked her color preference and if she had any idea of what she might like, floral, oceans, desert...
She said both her and DH love blue, like oceans and sky. I have looked around and have not found anything that really catches my eye. I wrote back and asked her for, what else she might be interested in. She wrote back, and said, you have a good eye for color. I know whatever you come up with will be beautiful and is made with lots of love.
What better encouragement can a gal ask for[/quote]
10-14-2010, 07:13 AM
#32
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Northern California, Sonoma Co.
Posts: 2,814
Originally Posted by Fancy Nancy
most of my quilts are gifts to friends that can't even sew a button on a shirt so they think my quilts are perfect - gotta love those non-sewers!
10-14-2010, 08:07 AM
#33
Super Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 1,779
I am definitely my hardest critic! I know that the objective is to make a lovely quilt for enjoyment but I really can't prevent the pefectionist in me when she comes to haunt me! I am sorry but if I'm going to make something I have high expectations of myself and my skills.
I am never critical of another's work because I realize the effort and time that goes into any project, however, I have to admit that I became the quilt police with a recent project of mine.
I was making a quilt for my Aunt who is a sewer/quilter and is 90 yrs old. A friend popped over unexpectedly to 'help'. The pattern is an older one with lots of smaller pieces and a white on white bckgrd.
My friend is an excellent sewer and expresses her creativity making lots of oriental type quilts with large pieces and she has a very strong psonality. I was very good and appreciative while she was helping and didn't let her know that I was upset with her technique but ....
It all started when she quickly grabbed the pieces and chained sewed them all together not counting or looking at the pattern - I tried to intervene, mentioned use of a scant 1/4" seam and tried to direct her but she was determined that I was going to have all the pieces for the 40 blocks sewn in the next hour! I reminded her that half of the pieces were to be sewn to go to the right and half to go to the left - well they were all sewn to the right and she cut and trimmed then before I could even blink (I was sewing another section) I had reminded her cotinuously that there was a right and left but she had the pedal to the metal and got them done faster than I could breathe!
Ok I took a few breaths and then spent the next hour and a half recutting all the pieces - I had extra fabric and since she had already cut them for the next step, half were not usable - she commented that maybe I can make another quilt for someone.
Continuing on, I then noticed that she did not press to the darker fabric so all of the white pieces had dark lines behind them pulling your eye away from the center of the design. She continued sewing and I was cutting and trying to press away from the white but it was a losing battle.
As she was leaving after our sewing session, I thanked her very graciously, closed the door and I just about cried!
Many of the blocks did not have a consistent seam allowance, some seam edges were caught in the seam making them bumpy and twisted and all I could see was the drak lines inside the white.
I next spent the following week riping out the blocks, resewing and repressing - she will never know the stress that I went through and she will remain a true friend. The next time she shows up at my door to "help" I will tell her that my creativity is on a vacation for the day and that I would rather go out for lunch with her. - This experience definitely taught me a lot about myself and that I do love my friend dearly but I will not be able to sew with her again.
I am never critical of another's work because I realize the effort and time that goes into any project, however, I have to admit that I became the quilt police with a recent project of mine.
I was making a quilt for my Aunt who is a sewer/quilter and is 90 yrs old. A friend popped over unexpectedly to 'help'. The pattern is an older one with lots of smaller pieces and a white on white bckgrd.
My friend is an excellent sewer and expresses her creativity making lots of oriental type quilts with large pieces and she has a very strong psonality. I was very good and appreciative while she was helping and didn't let her know that I was upset with her technique but ....
It all started when she quickly grabbed the pieces and chained sewed them all together not counting or looking at the pattern - I tried to intervene, mentioned use of a scant 1/4" seam and tried to direct her but she was determined that I was going to have all the pieces for the 40 blocks sewn in the next hour! I reminded her that half of the pieces were to be sewn to go to the right and half to go to the left - well they were all sewn to the right and she cut and trimmed then before I could even blink (I was sewing another section) I had reminded her cotinuously that there was a right and left but she had the pedal to the metal and got them done faster than I could breathe!
Ok I took a few breaths and then spent the next hour and a half recutting all the pieces - I had extra fabric and since she had already cut them for the next step, half were not usable - she commented that maybe I can make another quilt for someone.
Continuing on, I then noticed that she did not press to the darker fabric so all of the white pieces had dark lines behind them pulling your eye away from the center of the design. She continued sewing and I was cutting and trying to press away from the white but it was a losing battle.
As she was leaving after our sewing session, I thanked her very graciously, closed the door and I just about cried!
Many of the blocks did not have a consistent seam allowance, some seam edges were caught in the seam making them bumpy and twisted and all I could see was the drak lines inside the white.
I next spent the following week riping out the blocks, resewing and repressing - she will never know the stress that I went through and she will remain a true friend. The next time she shows up at my door to "help" I will tell her that my creativity is on a vacation for the day and that I would rather go out for lunch with her. - This experience definitely taught me a lot about myself and that I do love my friend dearly but I will not be able to sew with her again.
10-14-2010, 09:43 AM
#34
Member
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Nebraska
Posts: 61
I like near perfect contsruction...seams that match, etc. If something is obviously "off"..I tend to unsew it (rip it out), rather than have it bug me every time I look at it. Depends on the project whether I'm too picky, but I have a fellow quilter that finishes a lot of items and says "done is better than perfect"!
10-14-2010, 10:23 AM
#35
Super Member
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Clemmons, NC
Posts: 1,055
Originally Posted by iluvquilts
Are you your own worst quilt police? I was - but am truly trying to love my own work more and more.
Cindy
Cindy
10-14-2010, 10:36 AM
#37
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Florida
Posts: 1,650
Originally Posted by e4
I don't worry so much about the quilt police, but we have several women in our guild who ALWAYS ask if something was hand quilted and sigh when the maker says no it was machine quilted. Another ALWAYS asks to see the back and comments on the quilting (not always nicely). I find it very annoying because I like machine quilting, understand that a number of quilts were machine quilted in the late 1800s to show that you had the money to buy a machine, and find it inappropriate that they always have to imply that hand quilting is somehow seen as "better" than machine quilting. I finally got so annoyed at the woman who asks to see the back of every quilt that I said no to her at the last guild meeting. I said I wanted people to focus on the front of the quilt (after all people don't turn the painting around to look at the back).
10-14-2010, 10:42 AM
#38
Junior Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 102
Took me a while to realize it, but I WAS my own quilt police department. Thank goodness I couldn't arrest myself. After reading and enjoying this board I FIRED myself and am now really enjoying quilting. Still go nuts with matching seams but have even improved on that thanks to this board.
10-14-2010, 11:17 AM
#39
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Illinois
Posts: 346
Originally Posted by catmcclure
Originally Posted by iluvquilts
Are you your own worst quilt police? I was - but am truly trying to love my own work more and more.
Cindy
Cindy
Sometimes I even include more than one just to make everyone feel better and show how truly humble I can be.
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