mim

I can relate -- For many years I couldn't seem to finish any project -- It didn't matter what it was. I wasn't that way when I was a kid. Then I figured out that it went back to my not-so-DH -- my first DH. He was super critical and nothing I did was right. So I guess that I decided that if it wasn't finished, I had a come back -- "I'm not finished with it yet"

Even tho everyone else thought what I did was great, I still had this hang-up. Now that I know why, I can finish things -- sometimes not too swiftly -- but they get done -- and I understand my "weakness"
Mim

stampinteresa

Hi annesthreads, I just looked at the 2 whole cloth quilts. They are beautiful. Now I need to investigate what "whole cloth" quilts mean. Just hang in there and keep trying. I know I have Adult ADD b/c I get bored with one project and have to stop it for a while and go on to another. Then bored with that one and go back. It drives my SIL crazy but I have finished lots of projects here (while at dads in Indy). Still have a few more to work on but today was a rough day. My nephew was hurt about 5 am and is in the hospital waiting to see if there is a need for the neurosurgeon. So some days are just not sewing days. I really enjoy the piecing of the quilt top; love hand embroidery, paper piecing. Have tied quilts for years. Took a hand quilting class last year but, she taught without any kind of hoop. You just put it .. I am getting good at the rocking the needle but not sure if that is how I want to quiltl. so hang in there and do what you like. Enjoy. Teresa

QandE2010

After I have finished a quilt, it takes a little while to tackle another one. I just want to bask in the glow (or the high) i feel when it is completed.

sewellie

I can't believe people would say such a thing. Every quilt is beautiful and if others do not think so, that is their loss. They are the ones that are missing something, not you. Please believe that!!!!

martha atha

I feel your pain. I have only finished piecing two quilt tops but have many UFOs. I feel some kind of fear of finishing a project. I must admit, I am a perfectionist, and this effects me. I try to let go of this and tell myself that it is okay if it isn't perfect and that whoever recieives that quilt would love it no matter what. My sister also quilts and she can whip up a quilt and have it quilted in no time. I, too, suffer from depression. I find myself coming up with all kinds of excuses why I cannot sew. I can spend endless hours going through fabrics and patterns I have already matched up to them. I also find that I want to start a new quilt even before finishing my UFO's. I am trying very hard to choose one project and finish it. It is hard, but I feel I must prove to myself that I must try to put my fears to rest and make progress. Hopefully after I've finished one UFO, I'll get excited about finishing others.

par4theday

I am guilty of starting too many quilts before I finish one. I hope this is not a sickness. My intentions are to get them finished, and I do, ever so slowly. I think with me, is the wanting to make all that interest me, and cannot wait until I finish one, before I start another. This year I did finish several tops, but now I have a stack to quilt. I have a long arm, but do not enjoy that part as much. I guess there are just some things one has to push to get done. With owning a long arm it can be part of the problem. Folks are always asking me to help them. I have rescued a couple, done several for charity and so on. It is just really hard to get to mine.

annesthreads

A lot of truth in this, thankyou. But I also wonder if I have a fear of SUCCESS! Sounds crazy, but I've always been self-identified as the failure, the klutz, the one who can't do this stuff. Discovering that I can make quite good looking quilts has been exciting, affirming - but also perhaps a bit scary. Does this sound totally insane?

annesthreads

Yes! Beautifully put. That's an aspect I hadn't thought of, but how insightful. Thankyou very much.

annesthreads

No, I don't think so. Yes, I know that I can certainly get too self-absorbed and lost in the whys and the significances of my struggles, and this thread probably totally exasperates some board members who just get on and do stuff instead of talking about it (!) but when the past is complex and painful, or when so much of yourself is tied up in a creative project, there are useful things to be learned from self-awareness and observing of one's reactions and resistances. (Up to a point - there comes the moment of "just DO it!")

annesthreads

Right on! Thankyou