Skill to Improve
Skill improvement is something I'm always working on for my quilting. It's the reason I still take beginner classes. I always want to know more.
Feathers
Creating beautiful feathers will likely be on my "SkillImprovement" list for the rest of my life. Not because I can't master Feathers,but because I think you can always get just a little bit better. The best wayto get better at feathers, or any quilting technique is to MAKE QUILTS.
"Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect." ~ Coach Vince Lombardi
https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/vince_lombardi_138158
I know just what he means. Let me explain. I was in the highschool band. There was a song we worked on that had a particularly tricky drumpart. We had a very talented drummer yet at one spot he made a mistake. Hewould practice and practice and still he made the mistake. Over time, he practicedIN the mistake. He couldn't NOT make the mistake. It wasn't perfect practice.
Because I know More
No, I don't. Growing up, my dad never said, "because Isaid so." Instead he would say, "because I know more." I'm notsure that strategy would work for every kid, but for me it was the right thingto say. It always stopped me cold and made me think, "what is it that heknows about this?" and then I'd have to try and figure it out.
Take Classes
I never assume I know more about quilting. I believe thereare instructors out there who know things I don't. And, I suppose, I knowthings they don't. Nonetheless, I take classes. I get to meet new people, learnnew skills and have fun.
Learning a new way to do something can break the practicedmistake cycle. I think my classmate could have benefitted from another teachershowing him a different way to approach that sequence in the song. By shiftinghow he practiced the song, he could have unlearned the mistake.
When I started quilting, I acquired a few bad habits,particularly my approach to feathers. By taking classes and being willing tolearn from others, I have been able to learn better ways to quilt feathers.
And so, I practice feathers…and take classes.
What technique do you want to work on?