Today is the last day of this fun blog hop and my day to be the “Queen of Qwazy!” I hope you’ve enjoyed everyone’s posts. Thanks sew much to Marian of Seams to be Sew for hosting this fun springtime hop! At the end of the post, there is a list of the participants for today. If you have time, please visit my fellow bloggers and leave a nice comment. Your comments really do make our day! Oh, and did I mention – there is a GIVEAWAY?!!
When I pondered this year’s theme, “choose your own Qwazy,” whether it be a project with a mistake or one that just turned out wonky, I couldn’t help but think about my current project! One of my goals for February was to finish the center medallion for a quilt I’m creating for guild’s our biennial quilt show, QuiltFest 2019.
There was a little (okay, maybe a tad more than a little!) time lag between when I created the pattern for this quilt in EQ8, and when I actually cut out the blocks. Can I just say time is not a friend of my memory?!!
And sometimes, as much as I love (really!!) math, my brain takes leave sails right on through to the next step, leaving part of me behind!! Or, maybe I was just not quite awake when I cut out the blocks. At any rate, I did NOT think it all the way through. I can definitely recommend not only the good advice of “measure twice, cut once,” but also please double, even triple check what the measurements should actually be!!
As I was getting ready to cut the filler blocks and sashing for my quilt, (keeping in mind it had been a while since I designed it), I opened up EQ8 and, using the Print & Export feature, clicked on the block and got the measurements for cutting. OK, so here is where my brain took leave (or I was still asleep!). The blocks were 10 x 4.25 inches. Somehow, I remembered to add the seam allowance on the long side of the block to make it 10.5 inches, but did not allow for the extra on the width of the block. So instead of cutting them 10.5 x 4.75, I cut them 10.5 x 4.25. Guess when I found out about my mistake?! Yes, it was when I started putting the sides, top and bottom on the center piece! I thought OK, no problem, I’ll just “ease in” all that fullness. Well, apparently I was STILL in sleep mode when I had that brilliant idea! But, I trudged ahead, making it all “fit” or so I thought until I put it up on my design wall! Much to my embarrassment, I’m going to show you this fiasco!
Nothing I did would smooth out all those wrinkles!! And honestly, there was a full inch along all four sides to make it fit! I sat down and stared, and stared, and stared at it for a good 30 minutes or more until my brain hurt and I just walked away. After a couple of days, I came back and stared some more. Then I started “ciphering!” I got out my handy tape measure and measured the blocks, went back to EQ8 and looked at the design – and then it hit me – like a ton of bricks!!! I didn’t add the seam allowance to the width of the block!
Since this quilt will be entered in my guild’s quilt show this summer, I knew exactly what I had to do. Thank goodness, I usually buy more fabric than I really need – especially of fabrics that I like! Back to the cutting table I flew and cut out eight more filler blocks – the right size this time! LOL Next came the horridly fun task of unsewing all those seams. Thank goodness for my friend Jackie the Ripper! Once that fun had ended, I began stitching everything back together and oh how much nicer the second try was!!
Lesson learned: ALWAYS double and triple check EVERYTHING – especially if it’s been a while since you designed the project!
Well, that’s my Quilt Qwazy story. My question for you is: Have you ever done something this qwazy?? Today, I think I am the Queen of Qwazy!!
And now, on to the giveaway! Fat Quarter Shop has generously donated note one but two $35 gift certificates! Since they ship internationally, the giveaway is open to everyone! Just complete the rafflecopter form below! Good luck in the giveaway!!
a Rafflecopter giveawayEven though this is the last day of the hop, you can still go back and check out the other posts, if you’d like and have some “extra” time! Here is today’s schedule and you can see the rest of the schedule on my post from 3/14/19, here!
March 20, 2019
MooseStashQuilting
Thrift Shop Commando
Karrin’s Crazy World
Songbird Designs You are HERE!!
Thanks so much for visiting. I hope you’ll come again soon. Until next time…
Yes, I have made some pretty crazy quilting mistakes already and I am new at it.
lol I don’t think I’ve sewn anything that I haven’t ripped apart at least once! You did a great job and it looks beautiful!
Don’t you just hate when you miscalculate like that. I did the same thing recently. Had to recut every single block. Thankfully, my quilt isn’t being entered into any show!! Lovely work!
I love your quilt. I have had those days too!
o Gosh! Unsewing!!!! I dislike so much when I have to do one block….couldn’t imagine a while quilt!!! Bless you!
Jackie the Ripper! I love it, and make steal the idea, just for use at home! Thanks
This is so pretty. You did a fabulous job of fixing it. My ripper and I are intimate friends since I was nine years old. Good luck in the quilt show. Yup even when I double check things, sometimes I have done it wrong. Opps, lesson learned over and over. LOL
Unsewing and resewing is always a pain, but the results are definitely worth it. Thanks!
Oh how I wish I could tell you, I’ve never done anything like that. Just why is it our brains tell you go ahead, it will all work out… Then the seam ripper comes out. LOL!! I feel your pain!
Goodness, I don’t think there is any of us quilters who haven’t had to rip out a project. I keep my handy helper{ripper}close by at all times. Your project turned out nicely after all and you really don’t have to tell about the memory lapse…… Thanks for sharing!
My handy dandy seam ripper is always close by … I think we all use it and sometimes more often than we (think) we should. The joys of sewing!! Wouldn’t trade it for anything!!
Your quilt top is gorgeous. A long road to get there, but so worth it. Thanks for sharing.
it.
Brenda I can so identify with your giving Jackie her name. Your Qwazy (like mine) made me so well aquainted with mine that Ishould name her, too! The end result for you Guild is beautiful. Thank you for sharing 😉
It came out beautiful! So I’ve heard people say about the wrinkles that you won’t notice when it’s quilted. Is that so? LOL
Glad you had the extra fabric. I really like your final quilt.
Just the other day I cut a piece half an inch short and had no fabric big enough to recut. So I just made everything half an inch shorter. Came out ok.
The saying is something like: “it isn’t a mistake, it is a design choice.”
Oh dear – that’s an intense level of crazy! Glad it worked out in the end!
Thanks so much for sharing “behind the seams”. We so often only see the perfect finishes–I love knowing about the process. I admire you for using EQ to design your quilt. And for entering it into a show. I have yet to be brave enough to take that step.
You can make a table runner, pillows or bags with the extra blocks.
Yes, a FEW away results have occurred-luckily, no photos…but lessons were learned!
My seam ripper and I are well acquainted, too well!
I have a ufo in the bottom of a bin that needs a visit with Jack.
Thought I was the Queen of “rip out” – kind of nice to know I am not alone. Always find the repair was well worth the take out! As was the case for your project – very nice & flat …. now!
At least you figured out your error and got to work fixing it. Usually, I toss mine aside to deal with another day. Funny thing…another day never seems to come.
Yep, I have done stuff like that. And like you it’s usually on projects I designed long before I started working on them. Some mistakes are easy to fix or hide and others are impossible.
Beautiful quilt Brenda and well worth ripping out the seams to fix it!
oh gosh! Yes I love EQ8 but I have had a few discrepancies along the way but nothing quite as entertaining (for Me, not YOU). Glad you persevered!
I don’t have EQ 8 but wish I did. I once had to rib out 180 strips on a log cabin pattern because I put them in on the wrong side. Lessons learned.
Brenda this is Beautiful quilt!! I only made a strip piece top of a quilt and then lost track of where I put it. It is now somewhere at the bottom of a pile of other things, Your fix for your quilt was an awesome inspiration, and I am glad you were able to figure out how to save your fabulous quilt.
I have had to use my seam ripper on a quilt top more that a few times. Usually to take out and turn a block or unit that was sewn together wrong. I have a round robin top that returned to me with a center that would not lay flat. One of the borders must have had a cutting error like you have described, It is in a drawer in my closet. Someday I have to take it out and take the seam ripper to it. Your quilt is looking beautiful now. Thank you for sharing in the hop … 🙂 Pat
Ugh, I think I may have been tempted to find two thick poly battings and try to “quilt it out”!! Your decision was probably the smartest one of all! My “oops” was putting the wrong fabric in the middle of a paper-pieced block, in the middle! I didn’t want to remake the whole block so I took that little piece out and put the right fabric in there. It probably took as long to do that as it would have to remake the whole thing!!
Oh, I have done the same! And one project I did it on has become a UFO 🙂 Your quilt is very pretty though and luckily we don’t have to unpick every project we do! xx
I suppose you didn’t have a choice but to rip it out, but I would not have ripped that out… I would have just started over… You can always use the project you goofed up later to do something else with… One of my favorite things to do with mistakes is to save it and then cut it up and use it later. However, I have absolutely made those mistakes before tho so I know it is frustrating and annoying. It sure is a beautiful quilt tho with the embroidery… I’m trying to think of where I’ve seen those designs… BFC or Emb Library… just not sure.. 🙂 Thanks for participating Brenda in QQQ 2019, I would say it was pretty Qwazy to rip all of that out. 🙂
Oh, so glad that you had extra fabric. I so hate to cut incorrectly. The quilt is really pretty.
Hi Brenda! Oh my, how many times have I done this . . . I can’t even count. But you got it figured out didn’t you! and it turned out great too. Well worth the effort to un-ease those blocks – look how nice and flat they lay now. ~smile~ Roseanne P.S. Thanks for the shout out, too!! That’s sweet of you.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had the “I’ll just keep going, it’ll be fine” thing going on in my head. I always end up paying for it (rip, rip). Fun to read your story and commiserate with you! Great outcome though, and a beautiful medallion!
Glad your quilt fix worked in the end, though.