Don't cry when life gives you lemons,
make a Lemonade Quilt!

I have a friend who has near perfect vision, and loves quilting, but has a problem with her hands that prevents her from accomplishing anything with small turns and corners detail.

She has arthritis in her finger joints, and some nerve damage following surgery on her wrists. No matter how hard she tries, her fingers will not make the moves necessary to produce what she's trying to do.

The results are interesting and usually unique (she can't reproduce her "errors" even when she tries).

We love her errors around here because they come from her. But they're also non-standard according to quilt making tradition. As with my own Lemonade Quilts, her blocks are sometimes not square, and when she squares them up with a template before sewing, her pattern designs sometimes do not match each other.

We can take apart the mis-shaped block and re-cut the offending piece -- as long as we have that much excess fabric to work with. That's not always an option. And sometimes she just doesn't WANT to change what she has because it's beautiful just like it is -- imperfections and all.

Occasionally it is a challenge for both of us not to let frustration and disappointment get in the way. When we're trying to match up two blocks and one is half an inch shorter than the other, the temptation is great to put the whole project away and try to forget we ever started it.

But the "stress reliever" factor takes a huge jump backward from that solution. Don't "quit" on your project just because it isn't perfect!

Begin by giving yourself permission to enjoy something without it being "perfect". Then enjoy "creating" a way around the problem and keep going. You may discover a whole new level of ART to contribute to the Quilting World.

 

Happy Quilting!
LLoni