The scrappy purple Pick-up Sticks blocks I've been working on fairly diligently for the past month or two are finally complete. A stack of 170 (give or take) blocks in all variations of purple prints and solids.
My design wall isn't big enough for all these blocks, so row by row, I arranged the blocks into 15 rows of 11 blocks, each 5-1/2" square, on the hard wood floor in the basement work room. Then I stacked each row neatly and in sewing order, to transport them to the sewing studio to sew the rows together.
As each row is complete, I add a 1" wide sashing strip to the bottom of each row so it's ready to be attached to the next row when it's done. One row of blocks becomes two. Four rows become two rows of two. Those two sets of two rows becomes four sewn rows. And so on.
Yesterday morning, I made it all the way to eight rows sewn together and I noticed a little problem right in the middle.
One of the sashing strips was noticeably too narrow. Okay, it wasn't *that* noticeable, but I noticed it and it bugged me. Finished sashing should be 1/2" wide. The one on the left is, the one on the right not so much.
And then a saying popped in to my head. I read it on social media someplace within the last couple days and it stuck, and it surfaced in my brain as I was contemplating the sashing issue. . . Here it is, are you ready?
Done is better than perfect.
(Blerg!)
Before I go on, this isn't a phrase exclusively directed at the quilting community. It's everywhere, and it raises my hackles every time I hear it.
Will you allow me to dissect my issue with this simple, (supposed to be) motivational phrase?
- The word Perfect. This is a subjective thing. Perfect doesn't have to be "perfect" but replace that word with the phrase "my best effort" and I'd feel a tiny bit better. We all come with different skill levels, experience, and sensitivities. Celebrate your best effort, whether it's perfect or not, don't judge your work to someone else's standard (unless he or she signs your paycheck).
- The word Better. Another judgement. If something isn't right, and it's noticed in time, and it can be fixed, why not fix it? Whether it's your hobby, your employment, relationships, whatever, don't you always want to put your best foot forward? Better in this phrase feels like a sell-out.
- The word Done. It's done when it's done. If it's not done, then no definition of 'done' makes it done. It'll get done when it's ready. And especially with a hobby like quilting, the maker gets to decide when something is done enough to be done. That means you decide what flaws to keep and what flaws to fix. However if you have a deadline, 'done' might come sooner than you like. A-a-and, if a quilt is 'done' and it's not perfect and it's going be photographed for a publication, done and not perfect is a disaster! Try telling your publisher that at least the quilt is done, even though three of the rows are noticeably sewn upside down.
Rant over. (I promise)
It's probably pretty amusing how I can get so hot and bothered in a conversation WITH MY SELF!
Back to the sashing. An issue with piecing ALWAYS boils down to three potential causes: sloppy pressing, inaccurate seam allowances, or an incorrect cut. It's that simple, those are the only three possibilities to diagnose and correct a piecing issue.
In this case, the seam allowance and pressing appear to be fine, then open up the seams to expose the strip width and it's clear the white strip is too narrow. It should be 1" wide and it's significantly less than that, off almost 1/4".
Easily fixed. Remove the sashing--later this evening while relaxing with something on TV--and sew on a new, correct width strip during my next sewing session. And just like that I'll be back on track.
I think maybe I'll check the width on the rest of my sashing strips before I sew them!
It's getting late, and this article has to be published - Done is better than Perfect! (nyuk-nyuk!)
Happy Stitching!
Head Hummingbird
Hummingbird-Highway.com
The quilt is lovely. Is this a pattern from one of your books? I don’t see it in your store.
Hi Zeddie,
This is a variation on a bonus pattern that you receive when you subscribe to my weekly newsletter, “Good Migrations.” Are you a subscriber? If not, you can go to the top of any page on the website, then look for the purple box on the upper left, right under the twisted threads. Add your name and email address, then watch your email in-box for the pattern.