I receive a daily "Quilt Tip of the Day" email from About.com. Today's couldn't come at a better time. Ever since I went to the quilt show in Jonesboro, I have been lamenting that I am not more advanced with my hobby. My points could be more precise, my seam allowances more perfect, my hand sewing is the pits...you get the drill. But the tip of the day was to remember something important in life. There are heirloom quilts in which you truly challenge yourself to do something utterly stunning. These are the showpieces at large shows and state wide fairs. Then there are the quilts that we make out of love. Love of piecing, love of quilting, love of fabric, love of the recipent and in those quilts, while we want to do our best we must always remember:
Finished is better than perfect!!!
It's so simple, yet really profound. We surround ourselves with quilts that we love and with people that we love. We show love to people, sometimes, through a gift of quilting, a little bit of ourselves. Those quilts are often loved hard, washed often, and abused through use. Imagine how you'd feel if your heirloom was loved literally, to death? Yet, it's wonderful to see a child with a quilt that shows lots of wear through love. But, if we let perfectionism take over, that child might not have received a quilt, or worse yet, would not have been allowed to cuddle with it and to drag it around the house.
Yes, finished is satisfying in its own way. It's wonderful when it turns out perfect and I do want to learn better ways to do things, but it's okay if it's a bit wonky in places and not perfect.
Love isn't perfect and neither am I.
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