Over the summer I did cut the sashing and the corner blocks, then remembered my error and once again put the whole project away as it was too painful to see all those pretty points that would be lost with the addition of the sashing. All that time spent on the project only to have it look bad in the end.
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| Look at the edges near the sashing and you can see all my missing points :( |
This last weekend I finally trimmed the blocks to the same size and started putting on the sashing. It was hard knowing there wasn't anything I could do about all my disappearing points, I just worked on through and tried not to over think the process. The top isn't as bad as I had envisioned but it's not my typical level of craft. Overall it looks ok.
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| Two of my favorite blocks on the right |
The original plan was to hand-stitch the whole top, but that would be too slow and I would fixate on all the mistakes. For that reason, I am going to machine quilt the top instead. The backing is going to be an orangey floral backing fabric I was gifted a while back.
Has anyone else ever experienced this level of disappointment on a project that has taken so much of your time?
-Patch & Chels
Has anyone else ever experienced this level of disappointment on a project that has taken so much of your time?
-Patch & Chels
When I made my first quilt, she had us cut all the blocks down to 12.5" and I lost a lot of points. Considering it was my first quilt I wasn't that surprised, although I was kind of bummed. One way to deal with size issues like that (according to the teacher I had) is to add a border to each block. The width differences aren't as noticeable as you think, and I remember a girl in the class who had the same issues as you (1/2" difference between her block sizes) ended up using that method.
ReplyDeleteOh no!! I wish I had known before -- there's a layout that would have helped with blocks not being the same size. Basically adding more white space. But that might have ended up much bigger than you planned. :) At least its done, and looks gorgeous, and really only you will know that points are missing. With all that work in it, I know its disappointing, but really, only the quilt police would notice. I had to really really look. And once its quilted, it'll be even less noticeable. And chopped points don't make it any less spectacular, or less warm. :D It really does look gorgeous from here.
ReplyDeleteI cant see the chopped off points...looks great! I have this book and after seeing your quilt might even one day attempt to produce a quilt from it. Love your colours. Things always look better after the quilting is complete.
ReplyDeleteHow frustrating, but to be honest it still looks completely amazing. Maybe you could gift it to a non-quilting friend and they won't notice the imperfections :-)
ReplyDeleteOh Chelsea, I feel so bad for you. It still looks beautiful but I know how frustrating something like this can be and we are our own worst critics. I love the one block you highlighted - looks like a spider web. All the colors and fabrics you selected for all of the blocks work so well together. Despite the missing points on some of the blocks I think it will look great once it's quilted and washed. Stay positive!
ReplyDeleteI have a project with a lot of triangles that are missing points. The thing is that I am really the only one who notices, and it is hanging near my entryway. Most people look at the overall effect rather than all the little points. Your quilt is beautiful. Step back and enjoy!
ReplyDeleteChelsea, I'm so sorry to hear about your Farmer's Wife quilt. I can only imagine your disappointment after all that time and work! I wonder, however, whether there's a silver lining to this story. I know if I had dedicated the time to such a quilt and it *did* meet my expectations, I would likely *not* use it. For real. It would end up folded in a closet, only to be brought out on the occasion I wanted to look at my work. (I actually feared that I would do that with my Penny Sampler quilt, which I spent months and months of crafting time on. So I gifted it to a five-year-old, who I knew would love and use it.)
ReplyDeleteI hope you use this quilt for the very reason it has caused you heartbreak: knowing that it doesn't meet your standard of artisanship, you don't have to worry about mucking it up with food or pet hair or whatever else ends up on quilts. Maybe as time goes on, you can focus more on the beautiful fabric and the variety of blocks and how snuggly the quilt is -- and less on the imperfect points. And if that doesn't happen, I'm always happy to give it a good home. ; ) I think it's lovely!
Quilts are like people, if you look long and hard enough you can always find the flaws. But why does everyone always look at the flaws or try to search them out. What you have here is a beautiful piece of blocking. Wonderful cheerful colors, once it is all quilted and the border sewn in, it will be absolutely beautiful. Just like people sometimes the flaws are what make them beautiful. I think sewists are sometimes way to hard on themselves. Enjoy what you have made and just remember one day someones going to be laying under this quilt thinking, how special there quilt is and how beautifiul it is and how happy it makes them feel to have such a special quilt for there bed. It's turning out beautiful enjoy what you have made the future owner certainly will.
ReplyDeleteFor sure - those are all the quilts that I have for myself... it's true, I keep my worst quilts for me AND I love them anyways. It's a beautiful top even though a few points are missing.
ReplyDeleteI too am a perfectionist and dwell on things I probably shouldn't. I think it looks amazing and no one but you will ever know! I do know how you feel though as the first few months of the gypsy wife quilt along left me very frustrated and with blocks that never measured up
ReplyDeleteIt sure is frustrating to work so hard on something and then have it not turn out the way we envision. I'm in the middle of a project now where I'm going to lose points and it irritates me when I think too much about it. But I've decided to just embrace the flaws because I love the fabrics and the design and the way it looks so far. The others are right - people will only notice the beauty and your quilt IS beautiful! :)
ReplyDeleteMy first quilt - hand-pieced hexagons. It lives in a dark cupboard. I was not happy with the colours, the fabric quality or the finished look.
ReplyDeleteDoes it help to know that I would not have spotted the points at all until you told us? My first impressions were simply, 'Wow! What a beautiful quilt!'
Ah that's a tough call you made. Better to finish though ... it would be a waste to keep them all in a pile as they are all so pretty! I used to really obsess over stuff like that, now I don't so much and just enjoy the process as much as I can :)
ReplyDeleteWe made a group quilt and had 4 different sizes so we sashed them very thickly and then cut them down to 14" off centre so they intentionally didn't all line up and it worked for us. Cindy at Fluffy Sheep had a similar problem so she turned them on point and put the most off blocks on the outside. I love your colours and I really like the finished quilt! I'd have that on the sofa for watching movies!
ReplyDeleteSo frustrating, but it really does look beautiful. I can't see the missing peaks, even when I look, but machine quilting is probably better for your piece of mind. Good job finishing even though you felt so disappointed
ReplyDeleteOh that would feel devastating. Rest assured the quilt looks beautiful, much better than just okay. I have made similar mistakes, but probably not persevered and finished the quilt, just thrown it in a corner. I hope you have come to a higher level of acceptance of the quilt. It really is lovely.
ReplyDeleteI can imagine how you felt to discover them being the wrong size! I am twenty blocks into my farmers wife quilt, so know the effort you put into it!
ReplyDeleteI just finished my 100th Tula Pink City Sampler block and am considering jumping into the FW project. I have to say that yours is absolutely one of the loveliest I have seen flipping through Flickr, IG, etc. I've seen many beautiful ones, with exquisite amount of detailed work but the overall aesthetic does not appeal to me but I just love yours! I need to start thinking about a fabric color scheme!
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