perfect is the enemy of done

I made a quilt. It's not perfect. But it is done. I was intending to do a lovely outdoor photo shoot and make a fancy blog post. After 10 days of busy life and of it living on my couch, it became clear that a real photo shoot wasn't happening. I took photos of the quilt in its natural habitat so I can talk to you about it. Perfect is the enemy of done. 

It's the kind of quilt that probaby ought to be perfect, seeing that it's full of precision points and all. But, I was using the quilt piecing to hone my abilities at sewing a scant 1/4" seam on the bias of the fabric and to really get to know the ins and outs of my new(ish) sewing machine. So, they're not all perfect. I could have ripped them out and sewn them again, but then it would be sitting on my work table in hundreds of small pieces. Not finished on my couch. 

The quilt is pieced entirely from the Denyse Schmidt Flea Market Fancy line. Most of it is the re-released prints, but some of it is from my original hoarded fabric. I don't typically make a quilt from one line of fabric - I like the magic of finding combinations that work and the beauty of accidental pairings. However, this fabric line was the first one that I fell in love with back when I was newly sewing again and just discovering the miraculous new world of fabric. That original release was my first online fabric purchase - I was smart enough to buy a full fat quarter set that I have used in bits and pieces over the last few years. When the re-release came out, I bought yard cuts of all of my favorites, knowing that I wanted a cohesive quilt of them. I started without a plan beyond sewing half square triangles. After fiddling around with it for a while, I decided that I just wanted a simple, flying geese pattern. I probably should have spent more time laying out all of the fabric before sewing it all together, but I just made sure that no triangles from the same print/color were next to each other, and that it was pleasing to the eye. Perfect is the enemy of done. 

The plan was to have this quilt cover my white couch, since Luna the dog considers that couch to be her fluffy white dog bed. Gunnar took one look at it and pronounced it "too white" for the couch. I was a little crushed, but regrouped and chose a medium grey for the back with random strips of the FMF fabric throughout. It turned into side A and side B instead of the front and the back. White is the "company" side and grey is the "pet" side. As you can see, at least one pet approves. 

My original intention was to free motion quilt it (seeing that this was my put-the-machine-through-its-paces project). I even began to free motion quilt it, in a bubbles pattern. I hated it. I had chosen white thread for the top and a light grey for the back - I didn't want the threads to be too far off so that if any was visible, it wouldn't be a big deal. On the front my bubbles looked fine. On the back, with the quilting thread standing out more, it was Not Good. I had quilted over one triangle strip and had quilted it really densely. I sat down with the seam ripper and started picking out the quilting. Soon, I realized that it was going to take forever and that it would end up in a pile on my work table for weeks, just because I was frustrated. I pulled out my rotary cutter and cut off the top 5" of the quilt (much to Grace's and Laura's chagrin), knowing that it was plenty long and that I just wanted it done. Perfect is the enemy of done. 

Instead, I quilted it in randomly placed zig zags (which take a LONG time, btw) that reflected the randomly sized and placed stripes of fabric from the back on the front, and brought the geometric patterning from the front to the back. I love how the quilting unites both sides, which wouldnt have happened if I had stuck with my original quilting plan. 

Don't get me wrong. I love it when something comes out perfect. I strive for it. However, one thing I have learned about myself is that I can let perfection paralyze me, or more accurately, let the frustration over something being not perfect paralyze me. Sometimes I have to let go and embrace imperfection in the name of learning and growing and finishing. It's not perfect. But it's done and living on my couch. That in itself is pretty perfect, indeed. 

Comments

[Lois Williams]

Looks GREAT Sarah!!!

[Honora]

You are both talented and wise, my friend. {hugs} It is AWEsome!! [wonders whether I'll get the "company" or "pet" side on my next visit . . . ] ;-)

[melissa]

lovely. done is wonderful.

[Julie]

Looks perfect to me. Perfect place for it, ideal fabric line. Perfect match of fabric to pattern, gorgeous (and well suited to the patten) quilting. It's done which is also perfect. Love that you cut the top part off. It probably looks better. Dense picked out quilting would probably have left marks, thus making your quilt less than perfect. Really a lovley quilt.

[Julie]

I love it! The texture jumps off the cozy cotton and I love both sides. Maybe flipping it will feel like you've rearranged the room a little, without the heavy lifting.

I'm going to steal your wise quote about perfection and use it with my son, a 7 yr-old who gets frustrated when things aren't done quite right. I procrastinate because I want something done a certain way and don't feel prepared; many times it's best to just get it done rather than focus on what you're not accomplishing (perfection). Lately I've been telling him that people are not perfect, and if they are, then something's wrong. And it's taught me as a parent, that it's better to focus on what you've done (or been brave enough to try) rather than what you couldn't do. Thanks for the wise thoughts this morning!

[Heather]

I gasped a bit when you mentioned cutting off 5". It looks beautiful to me. I too let my desire for perfection run amuk. Kiddos have taught me that sometimes good is good enough. Lovely job.

[cathygaubert]

um, dare i say it? yes, i do. perfect. the quilt, your words, the daring (which, by the way, is beyond awesome and scary to me!)...thank you for helping to readjust my own attitude. xo

[laura]

i think you must be stoned, the quilt looks damn perfect to me.

[Lori]

it’s gorgeous. :) and i totally agree with you re: perfect is the enemy of done!

[Quiltefia]

I like it a lot!! Anne:-)

[Amber at Berlinswhimsy]

It's beautiful! I'm contemplating a similar design (flying geese)--- my time is far too short nowadays to worry about intricate and perfect projects (though, I must admit yours looks pretty perfect to me)!

How did your new machine perform? Are you loving it?

[Sarah Jackson]

Totally love it. Especially for quilting. Dont worry - theres a lot of not perfect geese in there. :)

[amy h]

Oh, hush about the not perfect -- it looks gorgeous to me! Own it. That's just how I want to quilt my Flock, but I am intimidated and never get started on it. Maybe I can keep looking at yours as the light at the end of the tunnel!

[Sarah Jackson]

Start, Amy! You wont finish if you dont start. :)

Lots of my points dont match or are too high or too short. Im okay with it - HSTs are hard to get perfect the first time. The beauty of a quilt is that you have to look very closely to see the mistakes.

[beki]

it looks perfect to me!! (ha ha!) I don't think perfect and quilts should go together. As I was working on my quilt this weekend, all I could think was how much of an imperfect quilter I was - and I have no intention of changing that. Oh well :)
be proud of that lovely creation!!

[Sarah Jackson]

Lady, you totally get the pet side.

[Sarah Jackson]

You and I, we know the perfect conundrum. When are you visiting?

[Sarah Jackson]

xo. Of course you know that i think everything you do is pretty much perfect.

[Sarah Jackson]

Does this mean you have now forgiven me for cutting it up while we were on the phone?

[Sarah Jackson]

I know you do. We see eye to eye on this issue. xo

[Sarah Jackson]

Thanks, sweets. I do love me some imperfect, as a general rule. I like myself better when I'm not hung up on perfection.

Dying to see that star quilt that I am totally ripping off for a new quilt around here.

[Sarah Jackson]

Thanks, Julie! I love what the quilting added to it.

I have little perfectionists around here, so I have to be good about practicing what I preach. :)

[Sarah Jackson]

I think it would have looked icky. Plus, by happenstance, it's actually a better length for the couch now than it would have been. Thanks so much!

[Sarah Jackson]

Thanks, lovey. xo

[Sarah Jackson]

Thanks, Lois! When you come over, you can sit on the company side. :)