Is it time to call it quits?
06-20-2011, 06:29 AM
#92
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Eau Claire
Posts: 688
Please do not give up. it is a challenge and no one is more critical than one's self. There are times no one will notice. And each seam you sew will get better and better. Hang in there and ejoy your creations.
06-20-2011, 06:33 AM
#93
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Utah
Posts: 1,197
I can understand your feelings when things don't match up or when the blocks are not the size they should be or when points are off. I have suffered the same frustrations. Sometimes we just have to do the best we can and just keep trying. I just finished some blocks from a class I took. Every block was the correct size and all the points and seems were where they should be. Probably the most accurate blocks I have ever made. I don't know what was different with these blocks but it was exciting to see them come together and be so accurate. Sometimes I think the fabric you are using makes a lot of difference. Some fabric has more stretch and give than other fabric and this will certainly affect the sewing of a block. Don't give up, keep trying!
06-20-2011, 06:37 AM
#94
Member
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Idaho
Posts: 94
Do you know someone who quilts that could guide you through your problem? If so, ask!!! Don't get so discouraged that you quit. It could be something so simple. Even the people at your local quilt store would be willing to show you what you are doing wrong. Or, maybe you are just being too hard on yourself.
06-20-2011, 06:40 AM
#95
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: PA
Posts: 2,879
If you're frustrated, do something that DOESN'T have to match. Cut good sized blocks (I'm thinking 6") and off-set each row - sort of like bricks. Then trim the edges off the quilt when you're done. No matching and you have a quilt. Then you'll feel great and ready to tackle something else. I'm all for people challenging themselves, but get some practice and success under your belt and it will help a lot! Keep at it - and HAVE FUN!
06-20-2011, 07:00 AM
#96
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: 25 yrs in TN; now back home in MI
Posts: 1,871
Originally Posted by SharBear
ok, I'm having a crisis of ability.
I WANT to be a quilter. I understand that cutting is the foundation that quilts are built on and that accurate cutting leads to accurate piecing leads to accurate block sizes leads to quilt tops that lay flat leads to quilts that rock.
I'm making blocks for my first swap and am ready to put them in the bonfire. The points don't line up no matter how many times I take them out and put them back togehter. I've made sure all the seams are pressed correctly - I think I have used a whole bottle of Best Press on 12 not-yet-assembled blocks!
Maybe it's time for me to admit that for the first time in 46 years I've tried to do something that is just beyond me. I keep thinking this should be the perfect fit for me - I love, love, love Math (I have a degree in Applied Math!) - and jigsaw puzzles - if one is out I'm banned from the room it's in because my family knows I will stay up all night finishing it!
There may be a giant de-stash sale hitting the classified board today ....
:cry: :cry: :cry:
I WANT to be a quilter. I understand that cutting is the foundation that quilts are built on and that accurate cutting leads to accurate piecing leads to accurate block sizes leads to quilt tops that lay flat leads to quilts that rock.
I'm making blocks for my first swap and am ready to put them in the bonfire. The points don't line up no matter how many times I take them out and put them back togehter. I've made sure all the seams are pressed correctly - I think I have used a whole bottle of Best Press on 12 not-yet-assembled blocks!
Maybe it's time for me to admit that for the first time in 46 years I've tried to do something that is just beyond me. I keep thinking this should be the perfect fit for me - I love, love, love Math (I have a degree in Applied Math!) - and jigsaw puzzles - if one is out I'm banned from the room it's in because my family knows I will stay up all night finishing it!
There may be a giant de-stash sale hitting the classified board today ....
:cry: :cry: :cry:
Once you quilting becomes a job, you loose the joy in the process. Technique comes with time.
Enjoy the day!
06-20-2011, 07:05 AM
#97
Super Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Monmouth, Oregon
Posts: 5,884
I agree. Usually when I struggle with something if I go off and leave it for a couple of days I can figure it out when I come back. Don't give up!!!!
Originally Posted by lorimax5859
So sorry you've hit a "road block." Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day. :-D
06-20-2011, 07:07 AM
#98
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 311
Please don't give up. When working with a new pattern I use muslin to do the first block. Hand press with a wood iron. I usually don't press with starch until the finally squaring up and completion. Others do it differently, but this always seems to work for me. I tried pressing before with starch and my fabric shrunk. Ahh! What problems. Good luck and hang in there.
06-20-2011, 07:50 AM
#99
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Hamburg,Western New York State
Posts: 4,856
Put it all aside for a couple of days. Cut a fresh block and complete it and then maybe you can see what you are dong incorrectly. Math and puzzles definitely qualify you to be a quilter.
06-20-2011, 07:58 AM
#100
Junior Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 145
Sharon, dear: I hear your despair. I too am a perfectionist and as an eye doctor had tons of esoteric math classes. Then, last year when I decided I wanted to learn to quilt all my fancy math was for naught. So - I began taking classes and for the first year called myself the Village Idiot because, like you, nary a seam would meet. I began pinning and Lo! and behold, slowly those dratted seams/corners began to fall into place. Persistence is the name of the game. Looking back I am stunned at how much I've improved and learned - and continue to learn. Hang in there, girlfriend.
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