Let’s be real… Sure, you can build some confidence in your creative hobbies by practicing alone… But there’s nothing that builds confidence in quilting more than hearing those “Ooohs,” and “Ahhhs” from a group of your favorite people.
Confidence in quilting rarely happens in isolation… and really… it’s way less fun.
I have attended (and been part of running) many quilting retreats, and I can tell you that I have seen this in action. It’s hard to keep getting better at quilting without confidence. Building a solid quilting community is a sure-fire way to have your confidence skyrocket.
Science says so…
Retreat quilting communities create an environment where encouragement is damn-near constant. Positive social feedback activates our brain's reward system (helllllloooooo, dopamine), which our brain is always in search of because that little boost of dopamine feels so good. Interested in learning more? Check out this previous blog!
We know that encouragement reinforces learning. The more positive feedback we’re receiving, the more motivated we are to continue to learn and try new things. When we experience success, our faith in ourselves grows and confidence sprouts.
Yes, it really is as simple as that.
Those small “oohs,” “aahs,” and “you’ve got this” moments are actually powerful drivers of creative growth and confidence-building.
Why Encouragement Matters: The Psychology of Confidence
How does social encouragement affect our motivation?
Typically, humans do not like to engage in activities that make them feel bad (duh), and when they don’t know if they can do something or know what to expect, they become nervous and try to avoid it.
We are all about self-preservation. Honestly, failing sucks. No one likes to fail, and it’s easier to do things we already know we can do or are good at. Especially, when we are sitting at home with our cats watching and judging us.
But we’re often a little braver when others are around, especially when we’re successful and praised for it. You know, it feels good and makes you far more likely to try the action again to seek out that good feeling because we are pleasure seekers.
Humans respond strongly to positive feedback from their peers, especially people we know well and trust. This lasts across the lifespan, all the way from kindergarten to the care facilities. And for quilters, people in our quilting communities who have “proven” that they have our best interests at heart are the best!
This encouragement activates your brain’s reward system using good ol’ positive reinforcement.
Positive reinforcement is adding something in order to increase a behavior. We do not need to know that it’s occurring in order for it to work (this is the magic of it). Praise is added, and confidence in quilting increases (but don’t worry… you won’t end up salivating… I know, terrible Pavlov’s dogs joke).
As quilters, when we hear someone praise us for our fabric pull, the excitement and oohs and ahhs of finishing our first block, or the encouragement we receive for trying a new pattern, encourages us to try it again and do more.
Your brain registers that creative effort is rewarding, and slowly (or very fast), we gain confidence in our ability to succeed. Gotta love behavioral psychology. It doesn’t require us to do a bunch of hard work, just to be around some of our best people.
Celebrating Wins: Why Small Victories Matter
Something we do at all of our retreats to encourage celebrating victories, big and small and naturally increase creativity and confidence is a show-and-tell.
After three wonderful days of sewing together and creating some amazing stuff, we spent some time on the last evening showing off what we’ve been working on.
We’ve seen all kinds of great things: first perfect half-square triangles, finishing a long-term UFO, completing a quilt top, tackling a tough curving project, finishing a quilt for a baby’s first blanket, even a fun quilted jacket.
Everything is met with a roaring round of applause and shared excitement, leading to some really great motivation to try new things.
But the best part is that it makes the sharer feel REALLY good about themselves, and when they feel really good, they feel really confident. Confident enough to tackle another, more complicated, project.
Recognition from peers activates the same reward pathways as achieving a goal itself.
When a group celebrates a win, your brain associates quilting with a positive emotional experience. When the brain forms a positive association with something, it’s more likely to willingly engage in that action.
Here’s the best part: even after you go home, the moment you take out your sewing machine, that association is still there. Your confidence in quilting sticks with you. You didn’t have to work super hard to build it up; you just had to be in the right place with the right people.
Confidence in Quilting Is a Team Building Activity
Quilting communities create more than beautiful projects. They create environments where people feel confident learning and growing. Trust increases, and you are ready to be brave and try new things.
Encouragement fuels:
creativity
learning
connection
and confidence
When we quilt in isolation, we don’t receive that instant feedback. We never know if we are truly doing it right, and we don’t get that feel-good boost of dopamine. We build confidence by doing and receiving supportive feedback. And let me tell you… Your cats would rather judge you and knock everything off the table than give you a round of applause.
Sometimes all it takes is one person saying “You’ve got this” to turn hesitation into a finished quilt and build long-lasting confidence in quilting.
Ready to give your confidence in quilting a super boost and find the best quilting community? Check out our next quilting retreat, and get all of those pesky WIPs finally complete!
