Apology to Jane Kay and thoughts on imperfect blocks- long

Debra posted asking for help with squaring up a large block. Then
Jane Kay posted an "expert's" advice which included the statement that
a properly made block should only need the dog ears and threads
trimmed off. I appreciate Jane taking the time to make the post about
trimming blocks and blocking them to make them all "perfect" and I
apologize if my rather heated reply offended Jane in any way.... that
wasn't my intention. I'm sorry.

As Polly said to me in an email- someone needed to respond to the
"expert"- but my response wasn't directed towards Jane herself. Our
newby quilters (and some experienced quilters, too) do NOT need to
think they must aspire to perfect blocks. Their efforts are works of
art- no matter how wonky or lopsided their blocks may be. What our
newest quilters need is encouragement and advice/lessons on how to
work with the less than perfect block. They do not need to feel that
they are not cut out to be quilters because they need to trim more
than dog ears and threads or because their blocks end up being larger
or smaller than the pattern called for. Quilting is about making a
gift from the heart, making a quilt to donate to someone in need, to
celebrate an occassion, to keep our families warm and to decorate the
walls and tables of our homes..... it's NOT a competition to make
perfect blocks!!! Everyone must set their own standards on what is
"good enough" and what needs some more work to improve it.

Once in a great while I am able to make The Perfect Block. It doesn't
need any sliver trimming or any adjusting with a firm steam iron and/
or starch. Sadly, that perfect block is an annoyance to me. All my
other blocks will have their little oopsies and The Perfect Block will
be a pain in the butt to work into the less than perfect blocks to
finish my quilt top.

When I taught quiling, I usually made only quilt tops for my class
samples. My students delighted in inspecting the back sides for my
oopsies. They noticed when I had sewn a seam twice to take up a
little extra in the seam allowance to make a point reach the seam that
interesected it. They noticed when a seam allowance was a scant 1/8
inch when I needed to let it out a bit to make something fit together
properly. They liked to study which way I pressed my seam allowances
and teased me when a seam went to the right at one end and the left at
the other end. And I was happy to have them give me a bad time! The
beginners *needed* to know that "The Teacher" made mistakes, too, and
that I could help them make a respectable looking quilt top. I had
made ALL the mistakes already and could help them work with their
mistakes.

Quilting is NOT about making The Perfect Block.... it's about making
something that puts a smile on YOUR face and makes YOUR heart sing.
Phooey on anything and everyone else- including the "experts". It's
all about YOU.

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.

This is the point I have gotten across to my kiddie quilters. Our
seams don't meet, our squares are not perfect, but our quilts are -
especially to the homeless and sick children who will receive them.

Linda
PATCHogue, NY

On 15 Mar 2007 13:34:39 -0700, "Leslie & The Furbabies in MO."
wrote:

Quilting is about making a
gift from the heart, making a quilt to donate to someone in need, to
celebrate an occassion, to keep our families warm and to decorate the
walls and tables of our homes..... it's NOT a competition to make
perfect blocks!!!

Sorry, I have to disagree a bit.

There is no shame in wanting what we make to be the best it can be.
There is nothing wrong with someone wanting to do their very best and
maybe even do their best every time.

Striving for quality workmanship does not imply quilter competition. I
strive to make my blocks turn out perfectly sized, squared, pointy,
whatever, but I do it because to do so makes ME happy.

It's OK to feel differently, but we can feel differently and still
respect someone elses need to either make their blocks perfectly or not.

marcella
loves perfect blocks

In article . com,
"Leslie & The Furbabies in MO." wrote:

Debra posted asking for help with squaring up a large block. Then
Jane Kay posted an "expert's" advice which included the statement that
a properly made block should only need the dog ears and threads
trimmed off. I appreciate Jane taking the time to make the post about
trimming blocks and blocking them to make them all "perfect" and I
apologize if my rather heated reply offended Jane in any way.... that
wasn't my intention. I'm sorry.

As Polly said to me in an email- someone needed to respond to the
"expert"- but my response wasn't directed towards Jane herself. Our
newby quilters (and some experienced quilters, too) do NOT need to
think they must aspire to perfect blocks. Their efforts are works of
art- no matter how wonky or lopsided their blocks may be. What our
newest quilters need is encouragement and advice/lessons on how to
work with the less than perfect block. They do not need to feel that
they are not cut out to be quilters because they need to trim more
than dog ears and threads or because their blocks end up being larger
or smaller than the pattern called for. Quilting is about making a
gift from the heart, making a quilt to donate to someone in need, to
celebrate an occassion, to keep our families warm and to decorate the
walls and tables of our homes..... it's NOT a competition to make
perfect blocks!!! Everyone must set their own standards on what is
"good enough" and what needs some more work to improve it.

Once in a great while I am able to make The Perfect Block. It doesn't
need any sliver trimming or any adjusting with a firm steam iron and/
or starch. Sadly, that perfect block is an annoyance to me. All my
other blocks will have their little oopsies and The Perfect Block will
be a pain in the butt to work into the less than perfect blocks to
finish my quilt top.

When I taught quiling, I usually made only quilt tops for my class
samples. My students delighted in inspecting the back sides for my
oopsies. They noticed when I had sewn a seam twice to take up a
little extra in the seam allowance to make a point reach the seam that
interesected it. They noticed when a seam allowance was a scant 1/8
inch when I needed to let it out a bit to make something fit together
properly. They liked to study which way I pressed my seam allowances
and teased me when a seam went to the right at one end and the left at
the other end. And I was happy to have them give me a bad time! The
beginners *needed* to know that "The Teacher" made mistakes, too, and
that I could help them make a respectable looking quilt top. I had
made ALL the mistakes already and could help them work with their
mistakes.

Quilting is NOT about making The Perfect Block.... it's about making
something that puts a smile on YOUR face and makes YOUR heart sing.
Phooey on anything and everyone else- including the "experts". It's
all about YOU.

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.

I'm kind of in the middle here. I'm really not a perfectionist but
I really make every effort to get blocks as accurate as possible.
The more accurate you can piece the fancier you can get with patterns.

I have been lucky enough to win some block of the month blocks at
my guild. Boy are those a hit and miss on size. (how many sizes
can a 12-1/2" block be?) It is a real challenge to get them all working
together but you can get a nice looking quilt with some time and effort.

There are no quilt police. Whatever floats your boat.
Taria


Marcella Peek wrote:

Sorry, I have to disagree a bit.

There is no shame in wanting what we make to be the best it can be.
There is nothing wrong with someone wanting to do their very best and
maybe even do their best every time.

Striving for quality workmanship does not imply quilter competition. I
strive to make my blocks turn out perfectly sized, squared, pointy,
whatever, but I do it because to do so makes ME happy.

It's OK to feel differently, but we can feel differently and still
respect someone elses need to either make their blocks perfectly or not.

marcella
loves perfect blocks

But there is a BIG difference in stopping to square your blocks up
with rotary cutter and ruler versus wetting and blocking each
individual block to dry. In time, space etc. I can't imagine doing
that around here... for one... the last quilt was 110 blocks... where
would I have done that??? And how many would I have redone after the
dogs got them... and after the child got them while I was chasing the
dogs. There is perfection and there is reasonable. If I was doing a
HUGE New York Beauty center block, yeah, I might want to block that,
but for an every day quilt.... that would just be crazy in my book.
In my mind this is kind of a what is the quilt going to be used for
and you go from there... show quilt?? Once in a life time quilt that
no one is allowed to touch or one that everyone in the family will be
on and dragging around. Just my two cents....

And Leslie, I love your input and your creativity. We would be so
lost without you!!

Jan
RCTQ Coffee Diva

Well, It wouldn't be that much work after I have to rinse them anyway
cause the darned cat just puked on them. Yuck. : (
Leslie is one of those quilters that balances the creative side with
the accurate side too. Her work is more than acceptable from what
I have seen. She could send me a block to check just for sure though!
Taria

wrote:
But there is a BIG difference in stopping to square your blocks up
with rotary cutter and ruler versus wetting and blocking each
individual block to dry. In time, space etc. I can't imagine doing
that around here... for one... the last quilt was 110 blocks... where
would I have done that??? And how many would I have redone after the
dogs got them... and after the child got them while I was chasing the
dogs. There is perfection and there is reasonable. If I was doing a
HUGE New York Beauty center block, yeah, I might want to block that,
but for an every day quilt.... that would just be crazy in my book.
In my mind this is kind of a what is the quilt going to be used for
and you go from there... show quilt?? Once in a life time quilt that
no one is allowed to touch or one that everyone in the family will be
on and dragging around. Just my two cents....

And Leslie, I love your input and your creativity. We would be so
lost without you!!

Jan
RCTQ Coffee Diva

Marcella-

I didn't mean to encourage sloppy blocks. Never! LOL What I meant
was that folks new to quilting shouldn't get discouraged because their
blocks aren't perfect and give up quiltmaking or feel that The Perfect
Block is their only goal. I taught my students how to make perfect
blocks.... but I also kept encouraging them when it didn't work out
that way. I am a perfectionist by nature (a horrible burden IMHO- I
am often discouraged and give up before I'm really started because I
*know* it won't be perfect). I square my blocks and I try hard to
make every cut, seam, block and finished quilt as close to perfect as
I can. If it sometimes means I need to do a litle fudging, I will do
it. If it's too far off or the colors or whatever don't please me,
then into the trash with it. That's the reason I have so many
UFOs..... they just aren't "right" in some respect so I will not
finish them. I would *never* put that burden of perfection on someone
else. If they find joy in quilting when their seams are off and their
points aren't pointy then that's just fine with me. If they want help
with being more accurate then I gladly do all I can to help them out.
If they want help with "making it work" then I'll show them how to
stretch or ease a block or fudge on seam allowances or anything else.
We all have to set our own standards- but not at the risk of taking
the joy out of making quilts.

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.

On Mar 15, 5:32 pm, Marcella Peek wrote:
Sorry, I have to disagree a bit.

There is no shame in wanting what we make to be the best it can be.
There is nothing wrong with someone wanting to do their very best and
maybe even do their best every time.

Striving for quality workmanship does not imply quilter competition. I
strive to make my blocks turn out perfectly sized, squared, pointy,
whatever, but I do it because to do so makes ME happy.

It's OK to feel differently, but we can feel differently and still
respect someone elses need to either make their blocks perfectly or not.

marcella
loves perfect blocks

In article . com,
"Leslie & The Furbabies in MO." wrote:



Debra posted asking for help with squaring up a large block. Then
Jane Kay posted an "expert's" advice which included the statement that
a properly made block should only need the dog ears and threads
trimmed off. I appreciate Jane taking the time to make the post about
trimming blocks and blocking them to make them all "perfect" and I
apologize if my rather heated reply offended Jane in any way.... that
wasn't my intention. I'm sorry.

As Polly said to me in an email- someone needed to respond to the
"expert"- but my response wasn't directed towards Jane herself. Our
newby quilters (and some experienced quilters, too) do NOT need to
think they must aspire to perfect blocks. Their efforts are works of
art- no matter how wonky or lopsided their blocks may be. What our
newest quilters need is encouragement and advice/lessons on how to
work with the less than perfect block. They do not need to feel that
they are not cut out to be quilters because they need to trim more
than dog ears and threads or because their blocks end up being larger
or smaller than the pattern called for. Quilting is about making a
gift from the heart, making a quilt to donate to someone in need, to
celebrate an occassion, to keep our families warm and to decorate the
walls and tables of our homes..... it's NOT a competition to make
perfect blocks!!! Everyone must set their own standards on what is
"good enough" and what needs some more work to improve it.

Once in a great while I am able to make The Perfect Block. It doesn't
need any sliver trimming or any adjusting with a firm steam iron and/
or starch. Sadly, that perfect block is an annoyance to me. All my
other blocks will have their little oopsies and The Perfect Block will
be a pain in the butt to work into the less than perfect blocks to
finish my quilt top.

When I taught quiling, I usually made only quilt tops for my class
samples. My students delighted in inspecting the back sides for my
oopsies. They noticed when I had sewn a seam twice to take up a
little extra in the seam allowance to make a point reach the seam that
interesected it. They noticed when a seam allowance was a scant 1/8
inch when I needed to let it out a bit to make something fit together
properly. They liked to study which way I pressed my seam allowances
and teased me when a seam went to the right at one end and the left at
the other end. And I was happy to have them give me a bad time! The
beginners *needed* to know that "The Teacher" made mistakes, too, and
that I could help them make a respectable looking quilt top. I had
made ALL the mistakes already and could help them work with their
mistakes.

Quilting is NOT about making The Perfect Block.... it's about making
something that puts a smile on YOUR face and makes YOUR heart sing.
Phooey on anything and everyone else- including the "experts". It's
all about YOU.

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I didn't mean to encourage sloppy blocks. Never! LOL What I meant
was that folks new to quilting shouldn't get discouraged because their
blocks aren't perfect and give up quiltmaking or feel that The Perfect
Block is their only goal.

I almost stopped quilting because of this, I originally learnt from a book,
the first quilt I made was hand pieced, and did turn out pretty much
perfect, I think hand piecing with no pressing until the end does lend it's
self to perfection! Then the next one I tried, the book said nothing about
squaring up as I was going along, it is a 9 inch churn dash blocks, then set
with 4 triangles to make a bigger square, as I didn't square up the church
dash blocks, by the time I added the triangles, it's impossible to join
together! I've been doing it by marking seam lines and carefully pinning,
but I'm fed up with it and it's in a draw!

Luckily I moved to the US and quilt classes were easy to access and now I
love it, I've still got a lot to learn, but I'm also able to express my
creativity.

Anne

I do a lot of needlework in addition to quilting. Over at RCTN we
have the "Perfect vs. Not Quite Perfect" discussion every now and again.
It has made me think about what I want to achieve and what I tell
newbies to either craft. I have decided that when learning something, a
person should try their very best to make as perfect an item as
possible. When you are learning, you have to try hard to learn how to
do something as perfectly as possible for you.
Now, we all know, and I tell anyone I am helping, that we aren't
perfect. No matter how hard we try, stuff is going to end up a bit
wonky. This gives us the opportunity to learn how to deal with a an
item that isn't quite up to snuff. And it's a very valuable lesson to
learn.
We also have to realize that not all quilts are going to need our
absolute "best" work. I look at quilting and needlework as rather like
cooking a meal. There are some meals -- like Thanksgiving dinner --
that require our absolute very best work. We bring out the good dishes,
glassware, cutlery, etc. and set a beautiful table. We spend hours
making sure each and every dish is as perfect and beautiful as we can
make it. Then there is the quickie game night meal that consists of
heating up a can of chili and buttering a piece of bread and WHAM, your
finished. In the middle are those times we make a nice meal, maybe meat
loaf or cooking chicken with all the fixin's but we don't pull out the
stops like we do on Turkey Day. Quilts are like that -- some require
our very best work (maybe a Wedding gift quilt or a special Memory Quilt
for a loved one) and there are the quilts we make because we need
something to use for picnics or just keeping in the trunk of the car.
The stuff that's going to be tossed in the trunk of the car doesn't
*have* to be made with the same care used in making a quilt as Wedding
gift. It's up to the quilter to decide how much care will go into the
assembly of each quilt.
The key is in knowing *how* to make a "perfect" quilt and then using
that skill when you choose to. Beginners don't have that skill yet so
it behooves them to try their absolute best while learning. Experienced
quilters also need to try their absolute best when learning something
new. But when their absolute best doesn't end up perfect or at least
nearly so, that's OK. Eventually their absolute best WILL end up
resulting in something perfect or at least nearly so. CiaoMeow ^;;^

PAX, Tia Mary ^;;^ (RCTQ Queen of Kitties)
Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about
their whiskers!
Visit my Photo albums at http://community.webshots.com/user/tiamary

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO. wrote:

Debra posted asking for help with squaring up a large block. Then
Jane Kay posted an "expert's" advice which included the statement that
a properly made block should only need the dog ears and threads
trimmed off. I appreciate Jane taking the time to make the post about
trimming blocks and blocking them to make them all "perfect" and I
apologize if my rather heated reply offended Jane in any way.... that
wasn't my intention. I'm sorry.

As Polly said to me in an email- someone needed to respond to the
"expert"- but my response wasn't directed towards Jane herself. Our
newby quilters (and some experienced quilters, too) do NOT need to
think they must aspire to perfect blocks. Their efforts are works of
art- no matter how wonky or lopsided their blocks may be. What our
newest quilters need is encouragement and advice/lessons on how to
work with the less than perfect block. They do not need to feel that
they are not cut out to be quilters because they need to trim more
than dog ears and threads or because their blocks end up being larger
or smaller than the pattern called for. Quilting is about making a
gift from the heart, making a quilt to donate to someone in need, to
celebrate an occassion, to keep our families warm and to decorate the
walls and tables of our homes..... it's NOT a competition to make
perfect blocks!!! Everyone must set their own standards on what is
"good enough" and what needs some more work to improve it.

Once in a great while I am able to make The Perfect Block. It doesn't
need any sliver trimming or any adjusting with a firm steam iron and/
or starch. Sadly, that perfect block is an annoyance to me. All my
other blocks will have their little oopsies and The Perfect Block will
be a pain in the butt to work into the less than perfect blocks to
finish my quilt top.

When I taught quiling, I usually made only quilt tops for my class
samples. My students delighted in inspecting the back sides for my
oopsies. They noticed when I had sewn a seam twice to take up a
little extra in the seam allowance to make a point reach the seam that
interesected it. They noticed when a seam allowance was a scant 1/8
inch when I needed to let it out a bit to make something fit together
properly. They liked to study which way I pressed my seam allowances
and teased me when a seam went to the right at one end and the left at
the other end. And I was happy to have them give me a bad time! The
beginners *needed* to know that "The Teacher" made mistakes, too, and
that I could help them make a respectable looking quilt top. I had
made ALL the mistakes already and could help them work with their
mistakes.

Quilting is NOT about making The Perfect Block.... it's about making
something that puts a smile on YOUR face and makes YOUR heart sing.
Phooey on anything and everyone else- including the "experts". It's
all about YOU.

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.



--
ÐÏࡱá

Howdy!

Amen.

And thanks, Marcella. ;-)

I'm not looking for perfection but "good enough" isn't, for my quilts.

R/Sandy--definitely thinking differently, all the time,
'cause I'm kinda' weird...


On 3/15/07 5:32 PM, in article
, "Marcella Peek"
wrote:

Sorry, I have to disagree a bit.

There is no shame in wanting what we make to be the best it can be.
There is nothing wrong with someone wanting to do their very best and
maybe even do their best every time.

Striving for quality workmanship does not imply quilter competition. I
strive to make my blocks turn out perfectly sized, squared, pointy,
whatever, but I do it because to do so makes ME happy.

It's OK to feel differently, but we can feel differently and still
respect someone elses need to either make their blocks perfectly or not.

marcella
loves perfect blocks

In article . com,
"Leslie & The Furbabies in MO." wrote:

Debra posted asking for help with squaring up a large block. Then
Jane Kay posted an "expert's" advice which included the statement that
a properly made block should only need the dog ears and threads
trimmed off. I appreciate Jane taking the time to make the post about
trimming blocks and blocking them to make them all "perfect" and I
apologize if my rather heated reply offended Jane in any way.... that
wasn't my intention. I'm sorry.

As Polly said to me in an email- someone needed to respond to the
"expert"- but my response wasn't directed towards Jane herself. Our
newby quilters (and some experienced quilters, too) do NOT need to
think they must aspire to perfect blocks. Their efforts are works of
art- no matter how wonky or lopsided their blocks may be. What our
newest quilters need is encouragement and advice/lessons on how to
work with the less than perfect block. They do not need to feel that
they are not cut out to be quilters because they need to trim more
than dog ears and threads or because their blocks end up being larger
or smaller than the pattern called for. Quilting is about making a
gift from the heart, making a quilt to donate to someone in need, to
celebrate an occassion, to keep our families warm and to decorate the
walls and tables of our homes..... it's NOT a competition to make
perfect blocks!!! Everyone must set their own standards on what is
"good enough" and what needs some more work to improve it.

Once in a great while I am able to make The Perfect Block. It doesn't
need any sliver trimming or any adjusting with a firm steam iron and/
or starch. Sadly, that perfect block is an annoyance to me. All my
other blocks will have their little oopsies and The Perfect Block will
be a pain in the butt to work into the less than perfect blocks to
finish my quilt top.

When I taught quiling, I usually made only quilt tops for my class
samples. My students delighted in inspecting the back sides for my
oopsies. They noticed when I had sewn a seam twice to take up a
little extra in the seam allowance to make a point reach the seam that
interesected it. They noticed when a seam allowance was a scant 1/8
inch when I needed to let it out a bit to make something fit together
properly. They liked to study which way I pressed my seam allowances
and teased me when a seam went to the right at one end and the left at
the other end. And I was happy to have them give me a bad time! The
beginners *needed* to know that "The Teacher" made mistakes, too, and
that I could help them make a respectable looking quilt top. I had
made ALL the mistakes already and could help them work with their
mistakes.

Quilting is NOT about making The Perfect Block.... it's about making
something that puts a smile on YOUR face and makes YOUR heart sing.
Phooey on anything and everyone else- including the "experts". It's
all about YOU.

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.