Know your limits

Despite my protestations that I am not a quilter, its no surprise that I have taken up quilting. But, I have very definite ideas on what constitutes me as a quilter, as opposed to others.

A good friend is a professional quilter. She has a business quilting for others. She is very ….. very good at her craft. In fact I would go so far as to call her an artist, and I am impressed with her talent.

But ….. I know my limits.

I am not an artist. Don’t get me wrong, in order to be a seamstress you have to be creative. And for sure I am creative. I accepted years ago, that I can put together a great outfit, I can sew in a wicked zip, I do baby clothes that are stylish and special, and I can see a problem, and will work away at it until I get a resolution. I can trace Burda and Ottobre patterns from satans own pattern sheet. I am great at coordinating colours, and matching fabric to designs. But I am not artistic.

And so quilting. I like basic piecing. Not complex, not fancy. Basic. I can quilt in straight lines, I can ditch stitch like a boss, and I will condescend to following a wavy line occasionally.

But …. I know my limits.

Today I attempted FMQ (free motion quilting …. what is it with quilters and their abbreviations?). Even allowing for being a rank amateur, I hate it. I hate the lack of consistency, and I find it difficult to work with the concept of moving backwards, sideways, on an angle. And, I don’t like the feel of the quilted piece. Its too stiff and hard. My quilts are for wrapping up and snuggling.

And so, I acknowledge my limits. This is not failure, its acceptance that something doesn’t make you happy, so why force yourself to do it? So You will see plenty of quilts from me …. simple squares and rectangles, quilted with straight lines, occasionally wavy but thats about it. And thats ok!