Overcoming Perfectionism When Finishing Your Quilts

Take it from me -- a recovering perfectionist: nothing can keep your pile of unfinished quilts growing like perfectionism can.

The fear that speaks through our perfectionism can often keep us from finishing our quilts. Any mistake in a quilt somehow becomes a reflection of who we are as a quilter. And honestly, we should be embracing our quilts despite (or even because) of their imperfections. Because that’s what makes each quilt beautiful and that shows to others that they're handmade. Our mistakes make our quilts feel special and unique.

How Perfectionism Shows Up In Your Quilting Life

People feel different levels of perfectionism in their quilting lives. Some people agonize over every step of the process – they need to pick the perfect fabrics, press until there are no creases, machine quilt like a professional, have the design on their backing fabric align perfectly so you can’t even tell there’s a seam, have perfect mitered corners on their binding.

And some people may feel perfectionism over the circumstances of finishing their quilts. They can only prioritize finishing their quilts when their work and household to-do lists are done, when they have no other ongoing projects, or when they have an entire day free to work on things -- and that means they never prioritize their unfinished projects.

When you're finishing a project, perfectionism can rear its ugly head up in a variety of ways. Maybe you’re working on a project you started years ago – and now that you’re seeing it again in the finishing stages, you notice that your skills have dramatically improved or your taste in fabrics have changed. And that can make us pause, because we want to go back and fix things or change things instead of pushing forward for a finish.

Or maybe you’re still learning how to machine quilt and are unsure about your skills. And instead of accepting where your skills are at now, being brave, and using those skills to finish a quilt – you decide to hold out, practice more, and obsess over it until it’s perfect. You may feel like until you’ve mastered machine quilting, you won’t finish your quilts.

How to Overcome Your Perfectionism

Find your comfort level of what you can let go of, so you can push forward on your projects.

I’m not saying you can’t take extra time on an older project or fix a few things or spend a few hours practicing a new machine quilting stitch so you feel confident. You should absolutely LOVE your finished quilt and be proud of it. I’m just suggesting that when you’re stuck on a project, ask yourself if it’s the perfectionism talking, saying, 'Your skills aren’t good enough and your quilt isn’t good enough'. And if so, ignore it and push forward!

A Lesson to Learn From Antique Quilts

Many times when I see antique quilts, the things I praise about them are the mistakes. Little imperfections that add such charm and personality to a quilt.

I always try to remind myself that I rarely notice mistakes in my finished quilts. Once the quilts have been washed a few times and are in use, I don’t usually overanalyze them anymore. The best part about finishing a quilt is giving it life – the quilt will hold memories of the special people who used it, the occasion it was displayed for, the happy or hard times it provided comfort through. And the memories will start to blur our vision of any of those imperfections.

No quilt that has ever been made has been perfect. We can’t expect that level of perfectionism in ourselves and we definitely wouldn’t expect it of others. Give yourself a little grace when finishing your quilts – sometimes, finished is better than perfect!

Thanks for joining me for "happy hour",

Lindsay