Anything can be a buffalo for me. Maybe I need to learn a new technique. Maybe I need to correct a mistake. Maybe the project just isn't coming together the way I imagined. Even fear of finishing a project I'm enjoying will get me stopped. Mother called it a hurdle. When I was young and working under her watchful eye, she would say, "I'll get you over the hurdle." Then she would correct the mistake or work through the hard part and set me up to continue, but I didn't like that. It seemed dishonest to say I had done the work when Mother had helped. She didn't see it that way. She felt that my ability to cope with difficulties would come with age and experience and it was important that I should know the fulfillment of completing a project and moving on to the next.
So far I have completed the center section of my "vintage holiday" quilt, but now I must leave it for a day or two to pursue some other interests, and I do hope I'll be able to get back to it and take it on to completion. I have enjoyed the work. KW
7 comments:
That's a very pretty and fun quilt! You used to help me when I made crocheting mistakes. You'd rip out to where the mistake was and then I could come back and pretend it didn't happen. I don't think that you'd stitch it back to where I was when I DISCOVERED the mistake because our crocheting hand is so different.
Don't let the enormity of the task overwhelm you. Any project is worked on in bits and pieces. It's funny that we can manage to finish something for someone else because of the deadline (Birthday or Christmas). For outselves, we slow down because we can.
Explain the beautiful bedcover under your quilt, please.
Yes -- so true: We finish gifts because of deadlines. Mother used to encourage my progress by saying that just one step a day would eventually finish a project. It is important to keep some momentum.
It can be very hard to acknowledge that we must rip back and work over the same territory. But to me this illustrates a life lesson in that we can't build successfully on an error. So thank goodness for those who help and encourage and stand by us while we make corrections.
The pretty bed cover is ShopKo's finest. I bought it when we moved into this house six years ago.
Your quilt is lovely!! I love what you've done so far--you're going to love it when you're done. Take a good look at the Shopko quilt--I'll bet it's far from perfect, and you've enjoyed it for six years. :-)
Wow - that's an impressive quilt - beautiful! I have a problem with procrastination, and find it helpful to just focus on setting small goals and doing a little at a time. Thinking about the whole job can be overwhelming.
You are all so kind in your comments about this simple quilt. Quilts can be very elaborate in the blending of fabrics or geometric design. I find I like those that are simpler in design, showcasing beautiful fabric.
And Chris -- at your suggestion I did go and take a good look at the ShopKo bed cover. I had to laugh. Though the initial impression is "quilt," it was not quilted. Instead, they (people in China) "tied" the layers with periodic 3-inch running stitches in the sashing.
I like this colorful vintage quilt. Nice job. I know what you mean by staying with a job until it's finished or you won't get back to it for some time. I do the same thing. Sometimes I don't do projects because of this.
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