No More Excuses...

I received this short essay from a daily newsletter I receive about beading. However I really liked the concept so re-posted it here - changing the word "bead" for "quilt".
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No More Excuses: Let's Quilt Something!

I have a confession to make:  I'm pretty good at sabotaging my own creative work. There are days when I can find a whole list of excuses to send me away from the quilts, even though my fingers are itching to make some new quilted designs. And I'm sure that I'm not alone! Take a look at some of my favorite reasons not to quilt, and see if they look familiar to you:


Addicted to Perfection. I strive for perfection in many areas of my life, but none so much as in my quilting. That can be both a blessing and a curse. Don't let your desire for perfection give you a reason to not to make your own designs. Embrace your mistakes. I can't tell you how many times I've made a mistake that actually ended up as a beautiful piece of quilting!


Fear of Success. This might sound like a stretch, but for some people, it's very real. Some people actually fear success, particularly artistic success, because it means that they might actually be good at something they love. But really, what's the worst that could happen here? (Maybe you might end up getting a quilt of yours published in, say, _________ magazine?) Abandon your fears and feed your dreams when it comes to your quilts and quilt designs.



There's Nothing New to Make! This is another one of my favorite excuses for not making my own quilt designs! Just when I think I have a great new idea for a design, it's way too easy for me to talk myself out of actually making the design if I tell myself, "Well, someone else has probably already done this before." Not so. Quilt designs are only limited by the human imagination, so let your fabric tell you what to do.

My Quilting Isn't As Good As... One way to set yourself up for failure with your designs is to compare your work to that of another quilt or fiber artist, particularly one that you admire. There are plenty of amazing quilts that are being made by artists in obscurity all around the world, including your own! Your original quilt designs are an expression of your personal experiences, and that has a value all its own!