First off thanks to those of you who responded to my post from yesterday! The response has been great so far and I truly appreciate it!
For this week’s soapbox I wanted to tread lightly on the whole notion of acceptance and rejection, alluding to the very vibrant and passionate discussion that has been going on in blogland and on instagram since people received their notices about their QuiltCon entries. As I mentioned earlier, I got 3 accepted and 2 rejected so I got to experience both emotions.
Remember this? It really is how the process works most of the time!
I think most of everyone’s disappointment stems from the fact that we are so used to uplifting and encouraging each other in the online community, so it can hurt when all of a sudden that seems to be taken away, even momentarily. We begin to question ourselves, our worth, and even our reasons for making. That’s totally normal, and fortunately, for most people, that initial frustration and disappointment dissipate with time so we can get back to the fun part of making.
I will admit that I’m an optimist, but I’m also a realist. My friend Leanne (from She Can Quilt) put it best when she said that anything she enters she expects to get rejected. I totally echo that sentiment. You guys know quilting is my career and I try to do all I can to further that career in an uplifting, positive way. But trust me, I have had my share of rejections along the way.
If at first you don’t succeed – just keep sewing, just keep sewing!
I was sharing with some friends at a quilting meeting last night, that it’s not a smooth path to success. For every positive experience I’ve had, there have been an equal number (or more) negative ones, too. The thing is, I just don’t dwell on them. I move on to the next thing because I just don’t have the time to waste on negative energy.
I know my perspective may be a little different in respect to this. Because quilting is my business, along with my passion, I just see a rejection as something that didn’t work out on my way to my goal. But I don’t let it stop me from doing what I want to do.
So if you experience rejection, disappointment or frustration in anything you do – please don’t let it stop you from achieving your goals either. As I said in an earlier soapbox, the only one standing in your way is you. 🙂
Now, what fun things are you working on this week??
Christa Quilts 
I definitely entered my quilts for QuiltCon in the spirit of not anticipating them being accepted and because in my mind it was a win just for me to have quilts *I* was proud enough to submit. See you in Austin in February! 🙂
Although I have never entered a competition, Christa I echo your sentiment. I am working on a Christmas tree skirt and am doing free form feathers. I have extremely little experience with this style but figured it would do, since few people will see it. Then my adult daughter sees the wip and says “Mom that’s so cool”. She really is my cheerleader! We all need one of those!
All competitions sets one up for success and yes failure or as you say rejection. As an athlete I can’t tell you the number of times I have lost a tennis match or a golf tournament. I have not always made the major team or been picked to participate. However when you win, when you are picked to participate you fell tremendous because you have achieved your goal. Success is addictive. I do not agree with the statement that your friend enters thinking she will be rejected. I feel one should enter hoping or knowing there is a chance. As you say the initial rejection hurts, hopefully it doesn’t devastate. Dwell on successes. Wow long.
Working on applique and machine quilting Christmas projects and they are definitely not in entry category, but fun and getting better.
My Crystal City quilt is still firmly in the “this is crap” stage. Probably my only quilt ever to get stuck there. What I learned from this (which I will probably elaborate on in a blog post later) is that I made that quilt for all the wrong reasons, and it being rejected really made me think about why I made it, and how to avoid it in the future.
My son loves his Harley. My DIL decided he should have a Harley quilt ! I am now in the process of designing a quilt for him and I have never done this before, talk about rejection issues !! Well, he is a kind of simple guy so I am going for a simple quilt. I bought the Harley emblem fabric off eBay and will center it with white, orange, gray and black with flames (fabric) going up and around the border. Decided to quilt it with red and orange thread in flames going toward the center. Have no clue if I can pull this off by his birthday Jan. 19th but I will try.