When do you pull the plug?

Ok, I've tried and tried and every way I look at the blocks and put
them together and mix them up, I just hate this project. At what point
is it "ok" to pull the plug and dump the thing and admit that I wasted
money and fabric on this mistake?

The problem is this: I love the look of classic quilts. The even
lines, gorgeous points and the way the secondary design pops out at
you. I love two color quilts that are understated and calm. I love
wild and vivid New York Beauty quilts with odd angles and amazing
swoops in the modern incarnations. I love scrappy quilts with their
unplanned and totally natural beauty.

I love them, but I can't make them. Boredom hits. I forget what it was
that drew me to this pattern or that. I become positively billious
when faced with cutting 130 HST from the 6 yards of a fabric that was
so gorgeous in a fat quarter.

Ok, just wanted to vent. I'm not going to complain any more about
this. But I am going to toss this thing I've been working on off and
on for months with no enthusiasm. I think my guild's garage sale is
going to get a donation.

Now, to avoid making the same mistake the next time Eleanor Burns
publishes a new book.....I am considering something akin to a Medic
Alert bracelet. It will have a little quilt block with a Verbotten
sign on top of it. Quilt Store clerks will not be allowed to sell me
any more standard quilt patterns or piles of fabric intended to make a
gorgeous Baltimore Album. Any purchase of fabric must be accompanied
by the purchase of fisible web, spray adhesive and no piece of fabric
intended for the front of a quilt can be more than 2 yards.

Sigh,
Sunny
"To thine own self be true"

On May 7, 2:11 pm, Sunny wrote:
Ok, I've tried and tried and every way I look at the blocks and put
them together and mix them up, I just hate this project. At what point
is it "ok" to pull the plug and dump the thing and admit that I wasted
money and fabric on this mistake?

The problem is this: I love the look of classic quilts. The even
lines, gorgeous points and the way the secondary design pops out at
you. I love two color quilts that are understated and calm. I love
wild and vivid New York Beauty quilts with odd angles and amazing
swoops in the modern incarnations. I love scrappy quilts with their
unplanned and totally natural beauty.

I love them, but I can't make them. Boredom hits. I forget what it was
that drew me to this pattern or that. I become positively billious
when faced with cutting 130 HST from the 6 yards of a fabric that was
so gorgeous in a fat quarter.

Ok, just wanted to vent. I'm not going to complain any more about
this. But I am going to toss this thing I've been working on off and
on for months with no enthusiasm. I think my guild's garage sale is
going to get a donation.

Now, to avoid making the same mistake the next time Eleanor Burns
publishes a new book.....I am considering something akin to a Medic
Alert bracelet. It will have a little quilt block with a Verbotten
sign on top of it. Quilt Store clerks will not be allowed to sell me
any more standard quilt patterns or piles of fabric intended to make a
gorgeous Baltimore Album. Any purchase of fabric must be accompanied
by the purchase of fisible web, spray adhesive and no piece of fabric
intended for the front of a quilt can be more than 2 yards.

Sigh,
Sunny
"To thine own self be true"

You might try putting it away for a long time. Maybe one year or two.
Then see if your interest and focus has returned. Once you give it
away it is gone. You can always give it away later. It won't be any
less worthwhile if you wait and then decide to give it away, after
letting it stew for a long bit. Put it somewhere you don't have to
come across for that period of time and then pull it out and see if
the fire has been rekindled. If it hasn't, then pitch it. My 2 cents.


John

"Sunny" wrote in message
ps.com...
Ok, I've tried and tried and every way I look at the blocks and put
them together and mix them up, I just hate this project. At what point
is it "ok" to pull the plug and dump the thing and admit that I wasted
money and fabric on this mistake?

It's okay to pull the plug ANY time. Really, it is.

It took me a long time to realize that quilting was supposed to be FUN, and
if I wasn't having fun with a quilt, it was time to move on to something
else. Some times that means putting it away for a while and pulling it out
later. Some times that means giving some blocks to a fellow RCTQer, or
donating them to our guild's community service project. (Seems I'm not the
only one who has blocks that don't work, given the number of donations I see
every month!) And I don't feel the least bit bad about it any more.

--
Kathy A. (Woodland, CA)
Queen of Fabric Tramps

http://fabrictramp.typepad.com/fabric_tramping/
remove the obvious to reply

I've pulled the plug twice this year already. Well, it IS May so maybe
that's not really many. One was patchwork surrounded by a large floral
border. The border had very fussy-cut big flowers appliquéd so that they
spilled over from the border into the patches. It would have taken many
years to complete and would have been too fragile to enjoy. I tossed it.
The Tumbling Blocks I was playing with is gone to the landfill. I realized
that doing a perfect point with 6 diamonds coming together several hundred
times was not fun. Gone.
Both projects were things I had wanted to try for years. I realize that
all of you weren't adults in the 50's but getting them out of here felt as
good as taking off a longline strapless bra, brushing out a piled-high
teased hairdo and kicking off pointed-toe 4" high heels. My yes, it did
feel good. Quilting should be a joy and pleasure. When it becomes a trial
of endurance and tedium, I'm outta here. Polly

"Kathy Applebaum" wrote in message
.. .

"Sunny" wrote in message
ps.com...
Ok, I've tried and tried and every way I look at the blocks and put
them together and mix them up, I just hate this project. At what point
is it "ok" to pull the plug and dump the thing and admit that I wasted
money and fabric on this mistake?

It's okay to pull the plug ANY time. Really, it is.

It took me a long time to realize that quilting was supposed to be FUN,
and if I wasn't having fun with a quilt, it was time to move on to
something else. Some times that means putting it away for a while and
pulling it out later. Some times that means giving some blocks to a fellow
RCTQer, or donating them to our guild's community service project. (Seems
I'm not the only one who has blocks that don't work, given the number of
donations I see every month!) And I don't feel the least bit bad about it
any more.

--
Kathy A. (Woodland, CA)
Queen of Fabric Tramps

http://fabrictramp.typepad.com/fabric_tramping/
remove the obvious to reply

On Mon, 7 May 2007 11:33:02 -0700, "Kathy Applebaum"
wrote:

It's okay to pull the plug ANY time. Really, it is.

It took me a long time to realize that quilting was supposed to be FUN, and
if I wasn't having fun with a quilt, it was time to move on to something
else. Some times that means putting it away for a while and pulling it out
later. Some times that means giving some blocks to a fellow RCTQer, or
donating them to our guild's community service project. (Seems I'm not the
only one who has blocks that don't work, given the number of donations I see
every month!) And I don't feel the least bit bad about it any more.

You are so lucky. You learnt that your hobby was supposed to be fun
(1), that it is fun when *you* decide it's fun (2) and that you are
not a bad person if you decide not to finish something (3). If you
have lived for a long time with a person who thinks that every thing
started *must* be finished, or you are a lazy person who doesn't
finish anything, your hobby ceases to be fun pretty quickly. But once
you learn these 3 things, it is a very freeing experience.



-- Jo in Scotland

In article ,
"Polly Esther" wrote:

Both projects were things I had wanted to try for years. I realize that
all of you weren't adults in the 50's but getting them out of here felt as
good as taking off a longline strapless bra, brushing out a piled-high
teased hairdo and kicking off pointed-toe 4" high heels. My yes, it did
feel good. Quilting should be a joy and pleasure. When it becomes a trial
of endurance and tedium, I'm outta here. Polly


I may not have been an adult in the 50's, but I was close to it in the
60's, Polly. I remember *very* well the joy of taking off a longline
strapless bra (I don't do strapless anymore), brushing out a piled-high
teased hairdo and kicking off pointy-toed spike heels. Ouch! And I agree
about pulling the plug -- do it when the project is no longer fun and
satisfying!

--
Sandy in Henderson, near Las Vegas
sfoster 1 (at) embarqmail (dot) com (remove/change the obvious)
http://www.sandymike.net

I did that with a stack and whack that I realized I couldn't stand.
Felt guilty for about 3 nanoseconds.

On May 7, 3:11 pm, Sunny wrote:
Ok, I've tried and tried and every way I look at the blocks and put
them together and mix them up, I just hate this project. At what point
is it "ok" to pull the plug and dump the thing and admit that I wasted
money and fabric on this mistake?

The problem is this: I love the look of classic quilts. The even
lines, gorgeous points and the way the secondary design pops out at
you. I love two color quilts that are understated and calm. I love
wild and vivid New York Beauty quilts with odd angles and amazing
swoops in the modern incarnations. I love scrappy quilts with their
unplanned and totally natural beauty.

I love them, but I can't make them. Boredom hits. I forget what it was
that drew me to this pattern or that. I become positively billious
when faced with cutting 130 HST from the 6 yards of a fabric that was
so gorgeous in a fat quarter.

Ok, just wanted to vent. I'm not going to complain any more about
this. But I am going to toss this thing I've been working on off and
on for months with no enthusiasm. I think my guild's garage sale is
going to get a donation.

Now, to avoid making the same mistake the next time Eleanor Burns
publishes a new book.....I am considering something akin to a Medic
Alert bracelet. It will have a little quilt block with a Verbotten
sign on top of it. Quilt Store clerks will not be allowed to sell me
any more standard quilt patterns or piles of fabric intended to make a
gorgeous Baltimore Album. Any purchase of fabric must be accompanied
by the purchase of fisible web, spray adhesive and no piece of fabric
intended for the front of a quilt can be more than 2 yards.

Sigh,
Sunny
"To thine own self be true"

Toss it Sunny - why torture yourself with something that's just
annoying you. A couple of years ago I saw the cutest pattern that had
a lot to do with chickens, got the perfect chicken fabric, the perfect
chicken wire fabric, etc. etc. Spent hours and hours putting that
thing together, knew I hated it less than half way thru but continued
on. When the top was pieced, I laid it atop a bin so that I could see
it every time I passed that room. After about 3 weeks or so, I said
it out loud - I HATE THAT QUILT .. so off it went right into the
garbage, and it just so happend it was garbage day. When that truck
pulled away with that *&^%$ chicken quilt safely aboard, it was one of
the greatest feelings in the world - freedom!!! I've never regretted
doing that either. :-))

Sharon (N.B.)

Remember Jill can use all the cast-offs. She can cut them to size.
Gen


"Polly Esther" wrote in message
...
I've pulled the plug twice this year already. Well, it IS May so maybe
that's not really many. One was patchwork surrounded by a large floral
border. The border had very fussy-cut big flowers appliquéd so that they
spilled over from the border into the patches. It would have taken many
years to complete and would have been too fragile to enjoy. I tossed it.
The Tumbling Blocks I was playing with is gone to the landfill. I
realized that doing a perfect point with 6 diamonds coming together
several hundred times was not fun. Gone.
Both projects were things I had wanted to try for years. I realize
that all of you weren't adults in the 50's but getting them out of here
felt as good as taking off a longline strapless bra, brushing out a
piled-high teased hairdo and kicking off pointed-toe 4" high heels. My
yes, it did feel good. Quilting should be a joy and pleasure. When it
becomes a trial of endurance and tedium, I'm outta here. Polly

"Kathy Applebaum" wrote in message
.. .

"Sunny" wrote in message
ps.com...
Ok, I've tried and tried and every way I look at the blocks and put
them together and mix them up, I just hate this project. At what point
is it "ok" to pull the plug and dump the thing and admit that I wasted
money and fabric on this mistake?

It's okay to pull the plug ANY time. Really, it is.

It took me a long time to realize that quilting was supposed to be FUN,
and if I wasn't having fun with a quilt, it was time to move on to
something else. Some times that means putting it away for a while and
pulling it out later. Some times that means giving some blocks to a
fellow RCTQer, or donating them to our guild's community service project.
(Seems I'm not the only one who has blocks that don't work, given the
number of donations I see every month!) And I don't feel the least bit
bad about it any more.

--
Kathy A. (Woodland, CA)
Queen of Fabric Tramps

http://fabrictramp.typepad.com/fabric_tramping/
remove the obvious to reply

I think I made that same quilt! I hated it too!!! Had lots of problems
making it.....and threatened to toss it, but a friend wanted it to give to
her DD. So she got it.........I don't think she ever gave it to her DD.
Probably didn't like it any more than I did!!

Toss it Sunny - why torture yourself with something that's just
annoying you. A couple of years ago I saw the cutest pattern that had
a lot to do with chickens, got the perfect chicken fabric, the perfect
chicken wire fabric, etc. etc. Spent hours and hours putting that
thing together, knew I hated it less than half way thru but continued
on. When the top was pieced, I laid it atop a bin so that I could see
it every time I passed that room. After about 3 weeks or so, I said
it out loud - I HATE THAT QUILT .. so off it went right into the
garbage, and it just so happend it was garbage day. When that truck
pulled away with that *&^%$ chicken quilt safely aboard, it was one of
the greatest feelings in the world - freedom!!! I've never regretted
doing that either. :-))

Sharon (N.B.)