Finding the Good in Quilting: Choosing Perspective Over Complaints
It’s easy to complain, especially if we are having a rough day in the quilting room. When things don’t go as planned—when messes pile up, when schedules change, or when situations feel unfair—complaining often feels like the most natural response. I know this because I catch myself doing it too, especially in my sewing room.
Maybe it’s a quilt that isn’t coming together the way I imagined. Maybe it’s a pattern that suddenly doesn’t make sense, fabric choices that feel wrong halfway through, or a sewing space that looks like a scrap explosion just happened. Or maybe it is a quilt on the machine that needs a whole row of quilting unstitched. In those moments, frustration shows up fast.
Or maybe it’s dealing with a negative attitude—my own or someone else’s—when quilting becomes hard. It’s tempting to let discouragement take over, but I’ve learned I can shift my focus instead.
But lately, I’ve been trying to pause and ask a different question:
What if I looked for the good instead?
Not to dismiss the frustration—but to reframe it.
What I Can’t Control
There are a lot of things in life—and quilting—that are simply outside of my control.
I can’t control changes in plans, like when I think I have a wide-open day to sew and suddenly I’m needed somewhere else. Interruptions that pull me away from the sewing room just as I’m getting into a rhythm are also out of my control.
I also can’t control when my machine decides it’s done for the day—skipped stitches, tension issues, or refusing to cooperate at all, no matter how nicely I talk to it.
I can’t control other people—their schedules, needs, or expectations. And I can’t control unexpected obstacles that derail even the best-laid quilting plans.
Spending energy wishing those things were different rarely changes the outcome.
What it does change is my attitude. It also reminds me that if I want an uninterrupted sewing day, I need to plan a getaway. A quilting weekend is often just what I need.
What I Can Control with my Quilting
What I can control is myself.
How I respond when a quilt block doesn’t turn out right is within my control. Instead of ripping seams in frustration, there’s the option to pause, take a breath, and remember that mistakes are part of the process. Even a messy sewing room can be reframed—not as lost motivation, but as evidence of time spent creating.
If my machine is being finicky, I can pause and regroup. Instead of forcing it, I can shift my focus to another part of the process—pressing blocks, cutting fabric, sorting scraps, or planning the next step. I try to look at moments like this as a hint to slow down and take a break.
Sometimes that means stepping away for a few minutes. Time for a good cup of coffee (or tea), a deep breath, and a reset.
I can also control whether I get annoyed by the time it takes to organize scraps, or appreciate that those same scraps are proof of quilts made, projects finished, and skills growing. Lately, I catch myself looking at them, smiling, and shaking my head. Perhaps one day, the drawers of scrappy fabrics will finally be under control.
That shift doesn’t magically fix the problem, but it does change how heavy it feels.
Finding the Positive Doesn’t Mean Ignoring Reality
Choosing to look for the good isn’t about pretending everything is perfect or forcing gratitude where it doesn’t fit. Some sewing days are genuinely hard—fabric fights back, points don’t match, and nothing feels cooperative.
Sometimes I just need to remind myself that I truly enjoy the process of quilting—of creating, experimenting, and bringing something together piece by piece. It isn’t a race. There’s no finish line I have to cross by a certain time. Quilting is about the process as much as the final quilt.
Even on frustrating days, there is often something to be gained:
- A mistake that teaches me a better way to do it next time
- An unexpected fabric combination that ends up being better than the original plan
- Extra time spent problem-solving that builds confidence
- A reminder that handmade doesn’t mean flawless
When I focus on those pieces, the situation starts to feel less like something happening to me—and more like something shaping me as a quilter.
Complaints vs. Constructive Thinking
Complaining keeps me stuck in the problem—and there is no way I want to be stuck there.
When I focus only on what’s going wrong, whether it’s a stubborn block, a messy sewing room, or plans that didn’t work out, I don’t leave much room for movement or solutions. I just sit in the frustration.
Looking for the positives often gives me options. It creates space to think, to breathe, and to pivot. Those small questions—What can I learn from this? What’s another way to approach it? What’s one good thing hiding here?—change the tone of the moment.
More often than not, that shift gives me exactly what I need: enough time and clarity to find a solution.
Choosing My Reaction with my Quilting Frustrations
Life—and quilting—will always come with challenges. Blocks will be wonky. Scraps will multiply. Sewing rooms will get messy right when I want them tidy.
Interruptions to my sewing time will happen. Plans will shift. Quiet, uninterrupted hours at the machine sometimes disappear without warning. And sometimes, I’ll find mistakes in my patterns after they’ve already gone live on the website. I truly appreciate the quilters who reach out to give me a heads-up about a pattern mistake—their kindness and willingness to help mean so much.
I won’t always like those moments, and I won’t always handle them perfectly.
But I can choose my reaction.
I can choose patience when a project takes longer than planned, grace when interruptions pop up, and problem-solving when I discover an error that needs to be corrected. Mistakes don’t erase the good work—they’re simply part of creating something real.
Sometimes, finding the good isn’t about changing the situation at all.
It’s about changing how I show up—at the sewing machine, at the cutting table, and in the middle of the mess.
Looking for Something to Do?
If you are a prolific quilter or one who only works on one project at a time, and you don’t have a project to work on, check out these pages: 2026 Block of the Month or Scrappy Quilt Patterns.
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Until next time.
