Better Finished Than Perfect

On my fridge there is a magnet from Missouri Star Quilt Company that states "Better Finished Than Perfect." I really like that sentiment. It really speaks to me. I am not a perfectionist and I tend to get bored with projects about half way through. Rather than rip out every little mistake, I tend to leave well enough alone. Don't get me wrong I fix mistakes. But if my points aren't perfect and my corners don't quite match up, I will most likely leave it. I quilt because I like to create. I probably will never be a competition quilter but that is okay too. I am still working on my craft. I am still trying to learn from each quilt. It is a process as much as a craft. But I do not worry about being perfect. It is something that I must learn to strive for.

Lack of perfection is not my only down fall. I get bored about halfway though projects. Well maybe not so much as bored as I get excited about another project. I have a quilt that I cut all the pieces for about nine years ago. It was suppose to be for my daughters high school graduation. I have yet to sew a singe piece together. It is sitting very nicely in a plastic storage tote waiting on me to get back around to it. Her wedding quilt is waiting to be quilted and she has been married for over 3 years. I have way too many projects half way done. In fact, half way is generous. So in order to get a project done, I sometimes give my self deadlines. Or refuse to let myself start another project until I finish one. This only partly works. I am not disciplined enough to stick all the way to it. Plus I am also waiting for my long arm to do the quilting.

So these past two weeks, I have not been keeping my goal to sew a little every night. As a result I am behind on the Christmas Lemonade quilt. I did not sew four blocks a day for at least 10 days. So yesterday, I sewed 28 blocks. Yea!!! Then I stopped and worked a little on the Studio. I sat down to work on the blocks again but didn't feel like it. My daughter, Tatianna, wisely told me to quit trying to make up for the days I missed. She pointed out that I was defeating the purpose of quilting. It was becoming a chore rather than a pleasure. She was right of course. How can some thing releive stress when it becomes a source of stress.

So today, I worked a little on the quilt, no blocks completed but I did get some squaring up and cutting done. I also worked a little on the studio. It is no where close to organized but I am making slow progress.

On a brighter note, the reason I have not been sewing is that I am working on getting the Long Arm. Oh and getting the car insurance mess cleared up. (I miss my little toyota) The evenings have been filled with paper work for the financing. So where I have let some goals slide, I have worked on the others. Hopefully, I will get everything back on track and make some progress on my other goals. I guess I really have to because I need the studio in shape before the Long arm arrives.

Better Finished Than Perfect - While I like the sentiment, I don't necessarily live it. I have several projects not finished. and while I am not a perfectionist. I do want my quilts to be as good as possible. I just don't need them to be perfect. I quilt for people I care about. They know I am not perfect. They also know the love that goes into a quilt. So while I am going to get better about finishing projects and I am going to try and learn something from each and every one.

What Quilting motto do you like?