This quilting isn't going to win me any awards. It's hurried, crooked, rushed. But let me say it out loud: Who cares?
I've heard other bloggers say, and I'll admit that I sometimes agree, that its important to only show your best work on your blog to maintain some sort of quality standards.
The truth is that sometimes I do things that are substandard. Sometimes my points are wilder than a connect the dot gone crazy. Sometimes I rush the quilting out the door with so many wrinkles that you might wonder if I even bothered to baste. It happens.
When I made this quilt top, my husband said he liked it. He wasn't going to care if my quilting was straight. He wasn't going to care if the fabric is wrinkly. His biggest concern was if would I finish it before the cool weather disappears from Sydney. So I knocked it out quickly and it's ready to bind. Once it's bound and been through the wash a few times, I'll doubt we'll notice. It's going to live in a ball on the couch. For it's purpose, it's quilted adequately.
As a treat for finishing it this weekend, he's going to take me out for a Rachel at Reuben&Moore. Big win for me. Subpar quilting leads to yummy lunch. I'm all for that.
I flub it quite a bit when it comes to quilting. I don't really enjoy the process. I'm not sure if I do poor quilting because I don't enjoy it, or if I don't enjoy it because I do poor quilting. Neither scenario inspires me to practice. I know I could send it out to be quilted, but I've seen some real muckeries come back from the quilters. I figure if anyone is going to screw up my quilt, it may as well be me. There are some great quilters out there too who are reasonably priced for the work involved, but still out of my budget. So I muddle on with my shoddy quilting and smile. It gets me a sandwich. I might even get a red velvet cupcake, if I'm lucky. I think I've won.
How about you? Do you like quilting? Do you have a stack of unfinished quilt tops simply because you aren't into that part of the process? Maybe you've got a secret that might make me enjoy it a bit more... let us in on it, we want to know!!
I am spend too much time not doing anything between top and quilting. The fear of not doing it "right" takes up way too much head space.
ReplyDeleteI would love an answer, because once I do the quilting part, I love them!
Loved your post, Amy:) Whenever the Quilt Market posts come around, I'm always astounded at how some people can have a superhuman ability to quilt. I don't know if it's that my machine is too slow or I'm too new to it, but it's very difficult for me to maneuver my quilt around the machine. I like free-motion because it's faster, but I'm never satisfied with my results. I like the simplicity of straight-line quilting, but it's so damn slow. Jeez, the things we do to get a crinkly quilt.
ReplyDeleteI've been trying to let those imperfections go, too. (I do copyediting and proofreading work, so I have to be easygoing somewhere!) I agree with you that probably the best way to get that sense of perspective is to give the quilt to someone else, who'll just love it because it's unique, thoughtful, and handmade. I always give gifts to Dylan and, in the same breath, I'll apologize for some sort of minute-detailed shortcoming. In the most polite way, he always says, "I don't know what you mean, and it doesn't matter."
And seriously? Once it's washed, I never think about trouble spots in my quilting -- the crinkling effect is just too exciting!
Hope you enjoyed your yummy lunch:) We might go for crepes tomorrow...
I don't enjoy the actual quilting, unless it is on a long arm :) my quilting is always a bit wonky. I'm okay with that. I think it is because I hate basting... My friend and I recently started a great thing--we are making three quilts together for various reasons. I have total control over pattern, colors, etc, and piece the top. She quilts and binds it. We both get to do what we like most. And some pretty sweet quilts come out of it! Anyway, I'm glad I'm not the only one.
ReplyDeleteI used avoid quilting the top until I invested in a long arm machine and started a business. Now I not only look at the fabrics and pattern I will use but which quilting design I will use. Changes your whole perspective.
ReplyDeleteRemember back in the old days (and I use that term loosely because it was relly only a few years ago) when you actually had to put film in your camera? It would usually take months to use up all 24 exposures, but once you did you had to rush down to the nearest rabbit photo and pay extra to get the film processed in 1 hour?
ReplyDeleteI'm like that with quilts. It can take me many enjoyable months to slowly 'birth' a quilt top, but once that's done I get impatient and I rush the quilting to get the finished quilt on my couch.
I've been known to rush the quilting. I've been known to rush every aspect from fabric selection to binding!!!
ReplyDeleteMy motto has always been ... "A fast quilt is a good quilt" and to hell with any imperfections. They give the thing character.
For what it's worth ...from where I sit, your quilting looks great!!
xx
It looks alright from where I'm standing. I like the design you chose - it suits the blocky style of the rest of the quilt.
ReplyDeleteYou are not alone...I am big on quilting avoidance...if I make something large like a queen or king size I send it to the quilters, cos what takes her 8 hours would take me 8 weeks...I like quilting small stuff that I can have fun experimenting with FMQ and funky straight lines.. luv your quilt and the quilting!
ReplyDeleteI don't think my quilts fits for any competition either...It's totally for home usage and not for show so imperfections are pretty much comes as a package in my quilt making process..and i quilt my own on a domestic sewing machine...sometimes i got funny questions such as if my machine comes with all those preprogrammed fancy motifs for FMQ!! LOL
ReplyDeleteI encouraged my quilting friends to do their own quilting. No one will inspect the quilt inch by inch, right?!?! I only dread the process of pin basting because I don't use spray basting ( too pricey to get it locally) I have a stack of tops unquilted becoz I need to sandwich them first! I love doing FMQ...with practice, 15mins a day it took me less than a year to be good at it. A good machine, good thread and needle works for me. I know I'm pretty good in FMQ becauce I took a FMQ lesson in Feb then by August I am confident enough to do for others. Also I doodle a lot on papers...anytime of the day...and watch free tutorials on YouTube. Give it a try!
My machine can't be set to stop with the needle down so FMQ is out. I did try it on a friend's machine and sucked so badly at it I'm kind of glad I have a legit excuse not to do it! Straight lines for me on smaller quilts and when I start doing larger ones I'll send them out. I'm too much of a perfectionist to accept the crappy work I'd produce while learning! I'm also too lazy to baste so I need to sort out spraying because I still get puckering with safety pins. Perfectionism and laziness aren't an ideal mix ;)
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing like the joy you feel after you've completely finished a quilt -'perfect' or not - except the joy you see when that quilt goes to someone. Thanks for a great post!! Keep it up & enjoy that lunch! :-)
ReplyDeleteWell, I'm not in the club of "awesome works blogged" - I show on my blog everything. I know that I made a lot of mistakes - but, hey! I'm learning! If I don't show bad stuff, nobody can't help me to improve my skills (in Poland there are hardly no workshops for quilters and I'm learning only from the internet).
ReplyDeleteI don't think that your quilting is bad - I think that the scheme you've chosen is awesome and fits perfectly to the pattern (can I copy this way of quilting?:). Don't be so harsh to yourself:)
While I always have a stack of quilts in progress, once the top is completed I tend to finish it up fairly quickly. I have never been disappointed with what my home machine does and I agree with you, quilts are meant to be used and loved and whether all the stitches are even doesn't really matter. I am lucky enough to have a friend with a long arm machine that I get to use sometimes and that machine works wonders!
ReplyDeletekaitcetera.com
I have quite a large stack of finished tops that need to be quilted. Ugh! that is not my favorite part. I have a longarm but hate to practice. I just keep buying books and CD's hoping I will learn through osmosis.
ReplyDeleteWell, I show the good and the bad on my blog. Just keepin it real. Actually the quilting you just showed looks pretty good to me. I agree with a lot of the other commenters, I get to the end and just rush the finish. I get kinda excited to be done (plus I enjoy binding). Last xmas I made a quilt for my brother and his wife and I spent a chunk of time quilting feathers on it. I actually really enjoyed it and I think they looked great. I was very proud and I sent it off. I never heard if they liked it. Every time I think of doing more feathers, I think of that quilt and I deflate. I think I need to do some more feathers just to purge that bad mojo, lol.
ReplyDeleteI think it's a wonderful quilt. Thanks for sharing that you feel it has imperfections. I wish more bloggers I admire the work of would keep it real and let us know when things go wrong or don't work out quite as anticipated. When you're not sewing to the same level it can be a little intimidating when other bloggers make everything look easy and perfect EVERY single time.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a big fan of the quilting part. Probably because I've had some horrors and by the time you get to that stage you've already invested a lot of time and money into the quilt.
I think you're hard on yourself, Amy--no one but you will put a nose right up to the corners to check that they match, or to catch a wobble in a quilting line. I've often said it--we're always our own worst critics.
ReplyDeleteThat said, no, the quilting isn't my favorite part of the process, although I'm finding ways to make it a bit easier on myself. I don't baste or quilt during the summer months--that's for piecing. I move my machine out to our dining room table for quilting, so I have more room to spread out (my sewing table is rather small). And the more I quilt, the better (I think!) my quilting becomes.
And I wholeheartedly agree that if anyone's going to much up the quilting on my work, it might as well be me!
I like it and think perfect is overrated.
ReplyDeleteI look at the whole process this way. I am not sending my quilts to be judged in a compitition. I make my quilts to be loved and used and used up. I do try my best to improve in areas I am not strong in doing. I have given away only one 'perfect' quilt. It is loved just as much as the ones where I have pretty much a giant plete in the back. As my son tells me of the plete in his , this is where the love is tucked in.
ReplyDeleteHey Amy,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I love the quilting design you chose. It's really appealing with the quilt top! And your border fabric is so good!!
Second of all, I'm not big on the quilting part. I'm more of a "quilt cause you have to" sort of girl and my main goal once I start is to just get it done.
And yes, guilty as charged. 5 unfinished quilt tops in the closet, and enough quilt blocks for 7 more in a bin (from bees).
1. Done is better than perfect. Repeat often!
ReplyDelete2. I hate quilting. (I like hand quilting o.k., for doll to crib sized quilts.)
3. I would quit eating to support my long arming budget. (I have seen some shoddy work - not on my stuff luckily, but "Done is better than perfect.")
4. I hate binding more than anything on Earth.
ReplyDeleteIf I tallied up the number of quilts that need to be bound, I would be embarrassed to say the very least. (Most of them have the binding attached to the front.)
I'm (ahem, choke, choke) working on one that I have been working on for YEARS. My current excuse - my thimble, etc. are in my "Hexagon Love" to go kit - which I have not been working on very much either... (But I did take it to the car repair shop yesterday & basted a few hexies.)
I quilt all my own quilts. If I had a littel money, I might send some out to be quilted for me, but only to see what another artist would come up with so I could learn from their work. It's not my favorite part - that's the design and piecing stage - but I find it very satisfying once done, especially if I've pushed my boundaries and tried something new. Perfection it is not, but it's all mine!
ReplyDeleteI think there are an awful lot of us out there who prefer patchwork to quilting...hence the rise in longarm quilters.
ReplyDeleteLayering up is a chore so that doesn't help.
I purt off the quilting process for ages and then approach it in stages, aking deals with myself, like - quilt 3 blocks (or whatever) and have a coffee. When I actually get down to it - it never seems so bad.
I quilt all my own tops -- and I am quite good at hand quilting, but I just don't have the time for it (I tend to make only large bedquilts). I have recently tried free motion quilting again, after sitting it in time-out for a while and realized that I just dislike it. I am not good at it and while I know that this could be changed with practice, I dislike the process of it enough that I will never torture myself enough to get good. Straight lines from now on (or by hand when I have the time...). After all, you should love what you do...not be tortured by it.
ReplyDeleteLoved this post Amy! The 2 parts of the entire quilting process I enjoy most are designing and piecing. My brain loves the workout it gets when I have to do quilting math and the sense of accomplishment I get when the quilt starts to take shape is awesome. In the midst of all the awesomeness are 2 things that hold me back normally, the quilting and the cutting of the fabric. I have many a quilt still at the design phase because either there are lots of pieces to cut or I've moved on from wanting to make the pattern.
ReplyDeleteI also have several long-armer's on speed dial so that when I finish a top I can send it out and get back to piecing and designing.
Firstly, I love the honesty of your blog. Always.
ReplyDeleteI like the design and fabric selection part the best. Then piecing and getting a finished top. I don't mind the quilting but between the top and the quilting is the basting. I detest basting, utterly detest it. So, I procrastinate finishing the tops to avoid that next step!
I do use my local long arm lady for some larger (queen) tops as my machine throat is just too small to manage this size. I also use her when my budget allows for lap quilts as it means I avoid basting, just drop off the top and the backing, she supplies the batting, machine quilts AND will machine the binding on - for the very little extra she charges to bind, it is not worth doing it myself.
I love this quilt top - it's pretty much the perfect design for a stack of fabrics I pulled the other night and have been wondering what to do with. Your work is gorgeous and your far knees appreciated!
That was frankness, not far knees - damn auto correct! Sorry.
ReplyDeleteJust found your blog and love it! It's great that you can be honest about less-than-perfect results, which, of course, we all end up with sometimes. I love your sassy writing style. I'm glad you got lunch and a cupcake for your awesome quilt.
ReplyDelete