perspective

I am learning to quilt, in fact, this is the first quilt I have ever done using an open toe, embroidery foot to quilt a blanket.

I brought it over to my sister's house, because I was pretty proud of how it turned out. It was just a shower curtain I bought at a garage sale last year, but I loved how it ended up looking.

My mom asked me if I was going to sell it. I said no. Not because I wouldn't like to sell it, but because it wasn't perfect. I quickly tried to show them my mistakes.


You can kind of see in this picture how I tried to make the free-hand quilting look like hearts (abstract hearts to be sure). And there were plenty of spots where there is not a heart shape to be found. But the greatest flaw is what you'll see in the next picture.

This is the spot where I forgot to put the presser foot back down and quilted a whole bunch before I realized it. I thought I would go back and take it out and re-do it, but my husband reminded me that it was just to learn and not a big deal.

My point is not that I messed up. My point is that my sister couldn't even tell what I was talking about. What was so large and prominent in my eyes, didn't even make the radar screen in hers.

This can actually be taken two ways. The first is that we tend to see others like the first picture. Far enough away to enjoy the beauty and not pay any attention to the flaws. Sometimes we forget that everyone has flaws because we can't see them. (no one's life is as perfect as it seems). The second way to see it is to remember that no one looks as closely at ourselves as we do. We are aware (sometimes too much so) of our flaws and at times we let that get in our way. We think everyone sees us (and our flaws) this close up and judges us for it. A happy place is somewhere in the middle. Looking close enough to see that everyone is human (and forgive them for it), and stepping back just a bit from ourselves and our flaws (and forgiving ourselves for them).