Perfectionism, quilting and other thoughts…

Hi friends!

How are you all? I’m tired! I just got back from traveling to film some videos for Annie’s.

Perfectionism

As I was traveling home, thinking on how the video shoot went, it brought to mind how I strive to be perfect. I didn’t want to mess up. Of course, if I did mess up (let’s be honest, not if I did, but when I did!) it’s OK. They can reshoot. Not a big deal.

But I always felt bad. Not actually a good thing!

Some will argue perfectionism can drive you to be the best version of yourself. That’s the good side.

The bad side is, it can lead to feelings of low self worth when we don’t hit our ideals.

Perfectionism in Quilting

Perfectionism seems to be prevalent in quilting. We look to have the perfect point, the perfect intersection and while striving to do our best is commendable, accepting only perfection is not a good thing.

I have a quilt that spent many a winter night on my bed. It kept us warm and cozy. The kids would snuggle under it when we would read together.

That quilt is not perfect; in fact, more of the points of the stars are cut off than are actually points! The fabrics for that quilt sat in a plastic bin for a while, all cut into little pieces. And a kitty thought that bin was a litter box. So they all had to be washed, twice. So all these little pieces were no longer the size they started out as.

I could have just scrapped making the quilt. But I didn’t. I put it together as best I could, had it quilted and it worked! It did its job, kept us warm and still looked lovely. (It has flannel on the back so really warm and snuggly!)

It is not perfect and to be honest, it’s not even “good” piecing! But really, does it matter? Sometimes, done is better than perfect! (And of course, I am not talking about show quilts! That’s something else entirely.)

Quilt Patterns

I write quilt patterns. And I have them edited. By 2 different editors! And often the patterns go through 2 rounds of edits from me and from each editor!

And yet, sometimes an error slips though. It will happen. Luckily for me, they are usually minor ones but still, I always feel bad. I strive to be the best pattern writer I can be, I work with great editors and still, we must accept that things will not always be perfect.

But I try really hard and that is all I can do!

My Quilting Goal

My quilting goal, for me and for you, is to strive to do the best job we can. And to accept that doing our best is all that is required and perfection may not be achieved but that does NOT mean we failed. Each time we struggle to make a unit, or achieve a perfect point, learn a new technique or skill, we understand more about how we work and how we sew.

I strive to continually be better and not to compare myself and my quilt journey to anyone else’s. To keep learning, knowing that the first time I do something, it may not be great but I will learn more by making mistakes.

Enjoy your journey, enjoy the process and quilt happy!

Kate