I was listening to "Quilting... for the Rest of Us" today, episode 36, and was struck by Sandy's comments about not being so hard on ourselves with respect to our quilting projects.
Last month when I got a chance to go to the American Folk Art Museum and see some of the quilts from their collection, I was struck by the lack of "perfection" in some of the quilts. Many of these are clearly masterwork quilts, and yet -- if you look at them, and you don't even have to look at them that closely, you'll see some points cut off, or places where a fabric was cut crookedly so that a vertical stripe actually goes off at an angle, and many many instances of blocks not all being exactly the same size. It doesn't distract from the beauty/brilliance of these quilts because perfection in construction isn't what makes these quilts fabulous. What makes them fabulous is the particular design vision that each of the quilt-maker had for her quilt...
It seems to me that a lot of the post-bicentennial quilting revival in American quilting was grounded in a kind of county-fair/quilt show competition approach that put a premium on technique, and that's certainly a focus that permeates the world of instruction-focused magazines and classes. It's much easier to instruct on technique than on style or design vision - but it doesn't necessarily lead to beautiful quilts -- or quilters who are happy with their work. I'd rather be happy with my work without worrying about whether all my blocks are identical or my points match up exactly. So, if someone is starting a let's-not-be-so-hard-on-ourselves-about-our-projects club, I'm in!
I do agree that perfection is not something to strive for and that design/vision is much more important. I also think that good technique is important. By good technique, I don't mean perfection. I mean technique that doesn't distract from the design or vision. I sincerely dislike quiltmakers who claim to be making art quilts, because they don't know how to bury and tie off their quilting threads.
ReplyDeleteI still like having good workmanship in my quilts if for no other reason then the blocks fit together and for ease of construction. Yes the overall look of the blocks/ quilts is what has the biggest impact.
ReplyDeleteWhat I am tired of is COOKIE CUTTER quilting where everyone makes the same quilt patterns from a class or book or magazine. I wish more quilters would go out on a limb and do something different ... not just copy or buy quilt kits... to me that is a boring way to make a quilt and a boring way to view a quilt.
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I think the design / vision is the most fun and rewarding part of a quilting project. I think good workmanship is important in the overall look of the quilt, sloppy work detracts and perfection isn't needed if the vision and design is a good one.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with the statement of not doing cookie cutter quilts. I have done that and now I am trying to do quilts that provide more challenge and opportunity to be creative.