Here at Princess YellowBelly Designs we’re all about quilts and every type of related quilting project, but driving all of our passion and interest in these types of fabric art is a deep love for a quilting life.
Like everything else in life, and in fact, life itself, quilting is a journey.
And that journey takes us through so many techniques and pursuits of joy and creativity, passion and struggle, hard work and results that it really becomes a totally consuming lifestyle. Or at least, that’s how it’s been for me. What started as a part-time hobby has become a whole business, and as I look at the art on every wall and every bed in my house, I can honestly say I’m on the path of living a quilting life.
The Imperfections of a Quilting Life
There is no way you can simply sit down at your sewing machine one day and sew a beautifully crafted quilt. It takes a lot of learning and practicing to get it right.
And by ‘right’, I don’t mean perfect.
Not Perfect – But it’s not bad…
You know how in recipe books the pictures of the dishes of food are always so beautiful and perfect? I have been cooking for decades and my finished dishes rarely look like those perfect pictures!! But they do taste great!
This is because the dishes in those pictures had to be made inedible in order to look that great. Suzanna took a college photography course once where she learned all about how to completely yuckify normal good food in order to perfect it:
- How to replace ice cream with Styrofoam
- How to glue hamburgers together
- And how to paint dewdrops on with more glue and a glitter gun
Just like those food pictures, the photos on the quilting patterns are taken to create the illusion of perfection – which is unachievable for the vast majority of us.
Note: Not that I’m blaming anyone. I’ve watched Suzanna create “perfection” out of my admittedly beautiful, but definitely imperfect, quilts using the right camera angles, carefully staged rooms, and an almost freakish attention to detail.
My Top Tips to Living a More Productive & Fulfilling Quilting Life
But, I have discovered that the more time you take to do things right, the more amazing a project will look and the happier you will be with the finished result. And let’s face it fellow quilters, we walk this way on a quilting life path because it fills a need we have to create and the way we accomplish this is through quilting.
So, just like life, let’s strive to quilt the best we can – not perfectly – but as close as humanly possible.
We do this by doing each step as right as we can and the end product will be great!
Give Yourself Time to Do Each Step Right
Make a promise to yourself that you will take the time to perform each step and task in the quilting process to the very best of your ability.
Set your mind to it and remind yourself of it firmly whenever you are tempted to fudge, skip or ignore something. It always helps me to remind myself that whatever I’m making will likely –hopefully – outlive me, and I really don’t want the posthumous humiliation of my descendants being so underwhelmed or even embarrassed by my quilts that they sell them in garage sales!
Learn New Techniques Continually
Many things that look hard or impossible in many patterns aren’t really. I’ve found that one of the redeeming graces of most quilters is that they love to share their knowledge. You can find the know-how you need in quilting friends, quilting books and patterns and quilting videos. Isn’t YouTube a beautiful thing?! I have found that there is a YouTube video for almost any technique I want to learn and watching someone else explain it helps a WHOLE LOT!
And it’s free – which quilting books and patterns are not, and YouTube doesn’t take up any space on your shelves!
And, if you like our unique and original patterns and designs – you’re more than welcome to browse our shop of original printed photo panels and quilting patterns.
Don’t Be Afraid To Strike Out and Create Your Own Path to a Quilting Life
A lot of the patterns I’ve created have started with a common enough technique and then, as I think about what I want to achieve, my brain supplies alternate routes for getting there. If it doesn’t work, no one will ever know, and if it does, people will declare you a genius – or at least your family will.
Strawberry Patterns Combo Pack
- 3 PYB Designs original strawberry patterns
- One original printed photo panel
- The cost to get all 3 & the photo panel separately is $84.50 – save $12.05!
- Strawberry Farm-to-Table Runner
- Bargello Strawberry Table Topper
- Strawberry Patch Fruit Bowl Holder
- Strawberry Smoothie Printed Photo Panel
Strawberry Patch Quilted Centerpiece / Fruit Bowl Holder
Shaped strawberry patch quilted centerpiece table topper
- 6 shaped strawberry mini-quilts
- Joined with green leaf 3D pop-up design
- Large hole in the center, perfect for holding a fruit bowl or large flower vase
St. Patrick’s Day Mug Rugs – Set of Two
- Set of 2 St Patrick’s Day Mug Rugs
- Four-leaf clover / 7 inches X 7 1/2 inches
- Leprechaun hat with gold shamrock detail / 8 1/2 inches X 8 1/2 inches
- Green striped shamrock pot holder
- Leprechaun hat hot pad with black band
Be a Small-Time Mad Scientist for Big-Time Success
Before using a new technique on a large project such as a quilt, try it out on something smaller instead so that you can practice and tear out and practice and tear out repeatedly if you have to without struggling with a large quilt or ruining it.
Time Is Your Friend!
Nothing has to be completed today, or even this week. The carefuller you are – I just made that word up – the more time it will take, so don’t rush. Enjoy the process instead. Remember, it’s all about the journey.
And speaking about time being on your side – it’s on my side to.
I have a whole other article about practical tips that will help you grow in a quilting life and lifestyle, and I’ll publish it, in good time. If you want to be sure not to miss that article – and all the other great exclusive content and reminders that you’ll get in our newsletter, please subscribe today, 100% FREE.
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future. Many thanks