There is a time when every single quilter that I know throws up their hands in the air and lets out a good “AAARRRGGGGHHHH” because they just-can’t-take-it-anymore. If this is you, you’re not alone. Today I’m going to share with you the 10 things I hate about quilting because it has been one of those less than stellar weeks over here… We can sit this little quilting time-out moment together.

I haven’t always been a quilter, but deep inside I always knew I would become one. I love the fabric. I love the design and I love to snuggle on the couch with a good blanket and a book… It’s a match made in the stars… but things around here aren’t always so heavenly.

10 Reasons Why I Hate Quilting

10 Things I Hate About Quilting

  1. When you get a pattern and you’re really excited about it, but soon realize you’re in way over your head. The shiny newness has worn off and you’re faced with a big decision. Either give up and pretend it never happened, add it to the ‘someday’ pile. – or – press on and know you’re going to be scratching your head a lot and spending hours on youtube, but you’re going to persevere anyway! Note: I’m totally guilty of both reactions to the situation.
  2. Pressing – Ugh. I know the iron is hot, I know it is emitting hot steam. What am I going to inevitably do? Stick my fingers right there next to it, yup. One of my most read posts is answering the question, Do you have to press your seams as you sew?
  3. The fabric stash – You have lots of fabric. You know you don’t need to buy more. Your family knows you don’t need to buy more. Heck, the bank may even know that you don’t need to buy anymore… but what they don’t understand is that… you need it. and you’re totally going to buy more.
  4. Pins – Ouch. I used to baste my quilts with quilting straight pins. Then during the quilting process, I would manage to stab myself about 1,000 times because I couldn’t fathom the idea of being bothered with safety pins. Ha, turns out I can be totally bothered by it and it is worth every single open and close of the safety pins to be able to grab my quilt and go without fear of bleeding on it.
  5. Forearms of Zeus – You know what I’m talking about. Quilting isn’t for the weak. Those nights when you find yourself completely worn out from lugging around and heaving a large quilt through your home machine? I would like to see The Rock take on quilting.
  6. Too many ideas, not enough time – Self-explanatory, right? I call this hyper-active squirrel syndrome. I’m usually barely 1/4 ways through a quilt when I’m bursting with ideas for 10 more quilts that I want to try! The key to this being that I’ll never ever catch up.
  7. Bobbin Thread – It always seems to run out at the most inconvenient times. 12 inches left to sew? ’nuff said.
  8. Basting – I’m blessed with a giant kitchen counter island. It’s the easiest place where I can lay out my quilt and spray baste in sections. Then I go back with my safety pins for extra security. But all of this security doesn’t mean anything if I happen to baste incorrectly or my alignment gets off.
  9. Housework – Or anything else that begs to be done instead of quilting. Dishes and laundry are a big hangup for me.
  10. The kids, I love them dearly but they always seem to know when I’m in a quilting mood. Those days you could just spend hours sewing and be the happiest girl on the planet. Those are the days when my youngest will bring out monopoly and he wants mommy to play with him. Monopoly. Seriously. Not go fish. Monopoly. But these days are few so I save my quilting times for the evenings and make sure my moves are strategic enough to let a 6-year-old just barely beat me in a board game, but not crush me.

And yet, after that little rant of all the things about quilting that I hate… I could not think of one thing in the world that I LOVE more and that brings me more joy than quilting (apart from my husband, my kids, my family, God, ice cream, and spending a vacation in Disney World).

You know that scene in 10 Things I hate about you where she is reading her poetic list and she ends with “Mostly, I hate the way I don’t hate you… Not even a little bit. Not even at all” (*tear* Any other 90s movie fans? Or just me?)

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Quilting… once you get it, you’ll be hooked.

…it will take over your thoughts.

…You’ll create an entire Pinterest board dedicated to projects you want to try in the future.

…You’ll tell yourself that you will only buy the fabric that you need for a project and then amass a collection that would make a JoAnns Fabric Store blush (but you’ll hide it so it’ll never look as bad as it really is)

…You’ll also curse and yell and exhale in frustration at this beautiful network of fabric that you created because you’ll always have a love/hate relationship with quilting. Always.

What about you? Where do you stand at this moment? Loving it or hating it?

I wish you good sewing vibes and endless bobbin thread and that your corners always meet.

Happy Sewing, my friend! 🙂