Embracing Imperfection

REDWhiteBasketQuiltinBoothLast month I went to possibly my favorite antique show – Midwest Art and Antique Show and Collector’s Eye in Cedar Rapids, Iowa with friends Linda Dorr and Pam Bostwick.  I bought a salvaged quilt piece that I intended to bind and use with my bears and baskets as I decorate my house.  I collect doll quilts, and even though this is probably a piece cut from a larger tattered quilt, it is the right size.

That very same day, I went to the fabric store and bought red double fold tape to bind it.  Then they sat forgotten while I did other things.  Why didn’t I just go right up to my sewing machine and sew the binding on?  Well, because I always want to do everything correctly and perfectly.  That’s how I was raised. Whoever cut this piece from the quilt did not cut exactly straight.  I would surely have to lay the piece out on a table on a big cutting mat and use a see-through ruler and a rotary cutter to straighten it out so it would be perfect.

Who am I kidding?  My table is always covered with half a dozen projects.  I am not sure where I have stashed my cutting mat or my rotary cutter. Shocking, I know.

A few days ago, I listened to a speaker, Suzanne Hull, who has branded herself the “Get It Done Girl”. She helps people and companies with their social media and things like that and was speaking to my AWC group about making the most of our LinkedIn profiles.  But later, that “Get It Done Girl” seed sprouted. Maybe it’s not what the presentation was intended to inspire, but I realized it’s time to “Get It Done”.

I took PTO on Friday so I would have a long weekend and I started to get it done.  I am tackling project after project to set my house in order.  The closer I get to retirement age, the more urgently I feel the need to get it done.  And I need to let go of that instinct for perfection.  It’s an excuse that has bogged me down for years and prevented me from moving forward.  Not that I want to be sloppy or substandard.  I still want to do things well.  But they don’t have to be so perfect that I set them aside.

QuiltBindingonMachineSo here I go.  The binding is sewn on and I am ready to wrap it around the edges and whip stitch it to the back.  After all, this is a decorative piece.  It will be hung on the wall, draped over a table, used on a doll bed or maybe it will just be peeking out of a basket. It doesn’t have to be perfect to give me joy and it will be DONE!

Then on to the next unfinished project!