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| Made from Sue Ross BOM template, Cog Wheel. |
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| Made from Patchwork 163 Favourite Patterns |
I love quilting bees for the camaraderie and kinship. I've met some amazing and talented people via my online groups. It's an experience that I'd recommend to others at least once. The challenge of working with other people's fabrics and ideas can be invigorating. Though, being fair and honest, it can some times feel like a bit of a drag to make blocks in fabrics and colors that you'd normally run from. I'm sure I've inflicted that same dreadful feeling on others whose tastes run sideways to mine. A personal struggle for me was remembering that quilting bees are about contribution, not competition.
I'm competitive by nature. I wish I could be more easygoing, but I'm not. I'm 38 now, and I don't know if that will ever change. I honestly don't know if quilting bees are right for someone with my personality type. I should be able to let go and relax as I make blocks for others, but I don't. It's not that I want my block to be the best each month, but I want to make sure I'm giving something truly extraordinary. I don't want to fail them, and I don't want to fail myself. Quilting bees push me into uncomfortable territory and stretch my skills. I have a love-hate relationship with the quilting bee process. I get so worried that I'm going to disappoint someone that I work myself up into a tizz. I need a little break to refresh my head. So I've cleared out my bee calendar in 2012. I want to take some time to remember it's about contribution and community, the rest does not matter.
Have you had a similar struggle? Do you have any tips for finding balance?
I'm giving bees a break for the simple reason because when you've sewn your socks off and then there is the one person when it is your month and they don't bother, nor even return the fabric you have sent to them. Well...it kind of puts you off which I realise is a shame.
ReplyDeleteI hear ya, I don't have a response that will be a "fix."
ReplyDeleteI miss being a part of the fray while I am not in it, but while I am in it, I get more stressed than should be necessary.
I march into 2012 with several blocks to be done by the end of January & a round robin that will go until May/June. I "want" to do 1 more - where I can ask for a completed project that I want, but that I don't want to make for myself... I question my intention on that one...
I have the same struggle. I want to do my absolute best if I'm going to join a bee. I would be beside myself with worry that I produce something that others don't think is good enough. My tip for the moment is not to join a bee. Not much help I know.
ReplyDeleteIn the meantime I just like practicing blocks, playing with colour and enjoying myself.
I wish. I think I don't join bees for that EXACT reason. I just did my first swap and waited until the 9th hour and had what I thought were great fabrics, but my finishing was horrible. I am sure they all loved it, but I was disgusted with my work! I think balance is the key. Find out what makes you feel balanced. The amount of bees? The type of bees? Then go from there. At least I think?
ReplyDelete"quilting bees are about contribution, not competition."
ReplyDeletethis is really interesting to me. all of my bees that didn't feed me creatively have now ended. but now i find that i'm in 3 block design/curved/improv/paper piecing bees in the new year. for now i'm crazy inspired to be in them and the creative energies in the group are pushing me to some of my best piecing and best ideas. so far i've been able to turn the themes into a block idea that is personal to me. by making that personal connection, i can see my block from that frame of reference and not be competitive. i usually come up with a block design idea within a day of reading the theme. figuring out how to piece that idea and what fabrics to use takes the most time. maybe that is where i second guess myself. are the fabrics i chose "cool" enough? silly, i know.
anyway, good luck with your sewing adventures in the new year and your decision about bees in the future.