The Perfect Quilt? Well, Yeah…
Is there such a thing as the perfect quilt? Do you drive yourself nuts trying to make sure all your seams match? Do you feel like the Quilt Police are looking disapprovingly over your shoulder as you work? If so, you should read “Perfection” from The House of Krom.
I have to say that the author hits the nail on the head. I’ve spent so much time obsessing over trying to make all my quilts perfect. But the truth is, that no matter how carefully I cut and sew and press, I STILL can’t get all my seams to match! I actually stopped quilting for a while, out of frustration. The joy was gone.
Now I’m approaching my quilting differently. I want to enjoy the process, not drive myself crazy. I guess that’s what liberated quilting is all about! It’s not just about the wonky stars and creative piecing, as fun as all that is. It’s really a mindshift.
Look closely, and you'll see that the seams on the patchwork are offset by a quarter inch!
Take a good look at the picture on the right. Click on it to make it bigger, and you’ll see that the seams on the patchwork are offset by at least a good quarter-inch. I suspect this has something to do with the fact that I cut the patchwork squares in half, and then sewed them to the brown triangles.
No matter what I did, these seams were NEVER going to match!
A year ago, I would have given up in total dismay. But now? Well, if they don’t line up, they don’t line up. And you know what? From a distance, you can’t even tell.
The quilting police better not look too closely! Not all the seams in the border match.
You can see that not every seam in my border matches either! And I didn’t spend a lot of time pinning the daylights out of it, trying to make those seams line up. All I did was to press the seams going one way on one pieced strip, and going the opposite way on the other one. I put my walking foot on, lined everything up as best I could, and had at it. Some seams match, some don’t. And guess what? From a distance, you can’t tell!
Molly is excited about the Hopes and Dreams Quilt Challenge! She has carefully inspected this quilt, and says it meets with her approval!
And my quilt has found a home. When it’s done, I’m going to donate it to the Hopes and Dreams Quilt Challenge for ALS. This challenge is open to any quilter who wants to donate a quilt. The quilt should be at least 35 by 44 inches, and bed-sized quilts are even better. The quilts will be given to people with ALS, and some will be auctioned, raffled off, or displayed to raise money for ALS research. The challenge is open until July 31, 2010.
Anyone who donate a quilt will be entered into a drawing to win prizes provided by a wide range of sponsors.
This sounds like a win-win situation to me! You can donate as many quilts as you want. I already have another one about halfway pieced using Bonnie Hunter’s leaders and enders technique. I’ll donate that one, too. I love to make quilts, but you can only use so many of them, so it’s nice to find another place that can use them.
And it’s even nicer to use up all that fabric that has been sitting around here for years! As Clare at Dordogne Quilter says, “Finished is better than perfect!” I love it!
PS: Brenda at Scraps and Strings has directions for making utility quilts to donate to the Mennonite Central Committee. It’s pretty warm in Haiti, but I would guess those folks will need blankets at night.
Tagged with: cats and quilts • Hopes and Dreams Quilt Challenge for ALS • leaders and enders • liberated quilting • the perfect quilt
Filed under: Sewing Adventures
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Whoohoo, you did such a great job. wonderful quilt and what a cutie pie kitty. So happy you made the mind shift to liberated and can now enjoy your quilting!
I like what you did with those scrappy blocks, and from here, I see the values, not the colours or where the seams match or don’t match. I’m not all about perfection either, but I do want things to look good from a distance, and yours does. Thanks for the shout out. I know relief organizations don’t want blankets right now, but when they do, we’ll be ready!
Hey Tonya, Molly says hi to your kitties! Hope everyone is doing well. Molly loves to be a part of whatever we’re doing, and she tries to get right in the middle of it, too.
Brenda, thanks! Yes, I’m learning to let go. Liberated quilting isn’t about sloppy work, but it’s definitely a more relaxed mindset. And like you say, as long as it looks good from a distance, that’s what’s important, not whether every seam matches up perfectly!