patricej

i cruised the displays at the Houston Quilt Festival in 2008. row upon row of breathtaking beauties! i walked out convinced i had never made a real quilt in my life. i had only cut fabs into pieces and sewn them back together. it didn't make me want to give up quilting, but it did make me question my own potential.

i cruised the displays at the Houston Quilt Festival in 2010. row upon row of breathtaking beauties! i walked out knowing i was a real quilter. most of them had at least one mistake! i just hadn't noticed the last time. i was too busy beating myself up for my own.

perfect, shmerfect. i don't worry about it anymore. :-)

pollyjvan9

I got into quite a discussion with a lady at a sit-n-sew because I said I wasn't striving for perfection, just completion. She insisted that we should set perfection as our goal in everything we do. Well, I'm too old and too set in my ways to want to perfect anything. Just the best that I can do and still have fun and end up with a sense of accomplishment.

GrandmaAva

"Finished is better than perfect" Don't know who in our local club came up with that motto, but most of our members have adopted it.

quilt1950

I apply the 5 foot rule. If it looks good from 5 feet away, I'm happy. I do the best I can, and always strive to learn and improve my skills. But, if I miss a corner by a bit, I don't beat myself up.

BellaBoo

If you make quilts for shows then perfection is your goal. I never even think if my quilts are perfect or not. I don't care.

Pat P

Here, Here.

yonnikka

Perfection is the art of forgiving mistakes we make; and overlooking the mistakes that are made by others.

katier825

It's no fun if you have to be that perfect! I have no intention of entering my quilts in a show, so I don't worry if anything is a smidgen off. Once it's washed and crinkles up, most mistakes are hard to locate. I say relax and enjoy your hobby!

buckyfan19

I would say that this discussion really encompasses the beauty of quilting. Each person can take it where they want it to go. Some people love creating the visual masterpieces that are "crazy", and others are so precise, they amaze me. I am a quilter that thinks just about is good enough. I told my husband the other day that he would be an excellent quilter because he THRIVES on being precise and exact in everything. So, he would really enjoy putting a quilt together that was "two threads" off of the 1/4 in seam and then his would match up perfectly at then end. Mine... well, I put lots of love in my quilts and that is all that really matters.
:)

cwessel47

The deal with all of those perfection gadgets is to get you to buy their gadgets! Trust me - you don't need them. You just need to sit and stitch a get a kick out of what you produce. The Amish were right. None of us is perfect. We shouldn't even strive to be. We make quilts that are unique, personal, loving - a time stamp on our lives and our goals. Nothing is perfect. Accept it and love what you do.