Some times I get down on myself for not doing more during the week. I tend to do a lot on the weekends and not much during the week. I also tend to put things off that I am not looking forward to doing. Especially if they are out of my comfort zone. I am sure a lot of people are like that. Because of this I don't make as much progress as I intend or want to. Then I get frustrated with myself.
I have a friend Cindy who doesn't let me beat myself up. I don't know how long Cindy has been quilting or how long she has had a long arm. I met Cindy at church about 13 years ago. We worked in cub scouts and 4-H together as well taught Primary (children's program in the LDS church).
Cindy does wonderful quilts, both piecing and quilting. And she follows my blog. We have the whole country between us and yet she is there for me. After my last blog Cindy reminded me that I shouldn't feel guilty about not finishing the Christmas Lemonade quilt. After all Christmas is several months away. So while the back and top to the quilt are loaded on Millie. I have not done much else with it.
Another friend that keeps me straight actually works for me. My friend Dawn is a crochet person. She can generally look at an item and then make it. But she never learned to read a pattern. Dawn is about 5 years older than I am and she recently told me that she is getting some women at church to help learn to read patterns so she can improve. She tends to have several projects going at once. That way she doesn't get bored with them.
Dawn reminds me that I can't expect to do everything while working a full time job. I just need to do what I can/feel like doing and not worry about making some arbitrary goal. She helps me not beat myself up. When I mentioned how far behind I felt compared to other women who recently acquired long arms machines, she accurately pointed out that those women were retired and had much more time to work on developing their skills.
My friend Angela is another who helps me stay balanced with goals and expectations. Angela reminds me that love is the most important thing I put into my quilts. Angela said to me just the other day "Didn't you tell me that you bought the long arm now while you could afford it. And that you wanted to get good enough to be able to supplement your retirement income in about ten years? Well you are only 1 year into that 10 year goal. Give yourself a break." Angela (who is an accountant) also reminds me to set aside the time and money I need to take classes to improve.
My daughters are also great advice givers. They are not too critical but still push me along. Arianna helps me reign in my projects by reminding me of projects long ago started and never finished. Yet she will tell me about cool projects she has seen. Tatianna is constantly urging me to finish started projects. Perigrine is great with positive praise and helps me to plan out projects. Both Tatianna and Perigrine remind me that my stash takes up their closet and I could help alleviate the storage problem if I would just get some quilts done. Yet they are still willing to take a road trip to a quilt shop if the fancy strikes.
Like all advice, it is worth what you make of it. I am thankful I have friends and family who keep me straight and therefor help me be a better quilter and person.
Who has your back when it comes to quilting?
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