I’ve been working to a deadline and all seemed to be going well, except that at the last minute I had a rare re-occurance of a back problem which leaves me unable to sit comfortably for much more than twenty minutes at a time. Suddenly the time to finish became scarce. Did I like my quilt when it was ‘finished’ - no I didn’t. The final quilting had an unexpected impact on the whole which left me dis-satisfied, and I’d left myself no time at all to address the problem.
Comparing this to the pleasure I’ve had from the TIF pieces I’ve made this year has made me realise that, contrary to my previous definition of myself (Or maybe that was just a younger self ????), I don’t work well to deadlines. And in spite of everything I’ve previously said about working to a finished design, either in my head or on the PC, I do let the quilt talk to me - because this one is shouting WRONG, and other than not submit it all, there’s nothing I can do about it.
Lesson noted. Lesson learned from? I’ll have to wait until another exhibition deadline comes around before I can comment on that!
4 comments:
Hi Linda
So sorry to hear that you're disappointed with the finished quilt. I know the feeling, but sometimes i wonder if it is the fact that we've had to work hard to make the deadline that makes us feel jaded with the final end product. I hope it's just , 'finishing let down' which usually passes after you've put some distance between you and the piece.
I hope your back gets better soon, very bad timing!
Sorry to hear about your back and your frustrations.
My favourite deadline quote is from Douglas Adams
"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by"
As a student I was the one finishing my essay at 3am in the morning - I've always needed deadlines to prioritise and focus on.
Sometimes quilts work and sometimes they don't and it's not necessarily related to how much time and effort have gone in to them. For me anyway extra time might mean the chance to correct or more likely to fiddle and overwork (especially with painting) so although I panic a bit, deadlines are usually good for me.
'A goal is a dream with a deadline'
Would that be the same Friday deadline I'm still (on Thursday) hoping to meet?? Hope your back is better soon!
Get well soon! I find deadlines quite helpful, but I loved magsramsay's quote about the whooshing sound as they rush by. Perhaps you just need to put the quilt aside for a while and come back to it with fresh eyes? It may be that you could do something else to it that will turn it around for you - but you just haven't discovered what yet!
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