Jan in FL

I have been quilting a year. I am learning with each new project and can see improvements. I tried so hard to have my cutting and my seams perfect with my latest project - and am so proud that they are! I just knew that this was going to be my best quilt so far. I am making a quilt called Shadowplay. The instructions have you sew pieces together and then "trim down" to 8 1/2" blocks. I did it so carefully...taking my time....not rushing, eventhough I couldn't wait to start sewing blocks and rows together.

When you trim down those blocks to 8 1/2" squares, there is absolutely no way to have them all centered exactly the same and now, my perfectly sized, perfectly cut, perfectly sewn blocks do not match up with each other and the whole quilt is not going to go together like it should.

It is so discouraging, I haven't been in my sewing room for over two weeks. I feel like I am just not capable of improving.....

My DH said to just throw the fabric and the pattern out and start over on the next project. And I was surprised that he said that so I know he is really supportive of me, bless his heart. I just hate failure. And the fabric was so pretty and I was so excited and proud.

I don't know what I want to do at this point. Have you ever been in this spot?

mea12

You definitely have my permission to dump the project but maybe there's a way to salvage a portion of it for a bag front, pillow top...or maybe a way to cut down each block matching centers before trimming? It would help to know how the mistake occurred. If you cut and sewed correctly, then the problem must have been w/ the squaring up to 8.5. until you know what went wrong, it will shake your confidence for your next project, but yes i know we've all been there...i googled the pattern and it looks difficult to me...what i saw was a tumbling block variation? if you have more than 3" pieces...just dice it up and save the scraps for something else! Over. Done. And you can move on.

goldsberry921

Jan,

I worked on a project of my daughter and the pattern called for 287 5.5" squares. I did get in a rush and stacked the fabric to make the half square triangles so they did come out uneven. Long story short, I got a 4.5" square ruler, squared them off and put them together. The ones that didn't square up to 4.5", I set aside, I ended up putting 50 of them aside, so chances are your project can still be "saved".

In my MOST HUMBLE opinion, if they match up or not, the time and effort put into it is worth every stitch upon completion. I haven't been sewing very long myself but I've noticed improvement after moving on to the next project.

Happy Sewing/Quilting Jan!

Monique

nanna-up-north

Oh, I'm so sorry that your excitement just got flattened!! I would love to SEE the problem so everyone can offer some ideas for a solution to salvage the project. We have all had that one quilt (or more) that was so perfect until 'the horror' happened and we had to change plans in some way. But there is usually something that can be done that will make the project livable, if not lovable. So, post a picture or two so we can offer our help.

Having said all that, I threw out the 1st quilt I ever attempted because after getting it half done, I hated the way it was coming out. But, I've never had to do that again. Lesson learned! That was 40 years ago and I don't know how many quilts since.

gollytwo

Trash it, cut it into slices and make a Mile a Minute, continue it remembering that only God is perfect - just keep going girl - we all have made our share of wonky quilts.

Swan Song

I agree with nanna. Post some pics of your problem and let us see if we can find a way to help salvage your quilt. There is so much experience on this board that I am constantly learning and everyone is so helpful. If we can't find a way to fix it maybe we can suggest a way to transform it. There are never mistakes in quilting just design opportunities.

mawluv

I'm with Swan Song, post a picture, let us help!

barri1

I wouldn't trash it. I don't trash, I reinvent. I don't like wasting. I will repurpose. I would take a picture for those in the know to figure out what can be done. It also would help if you went on to something else temporarely. Another thing I have in my head is I don't use other people's patterns. I prefer to make my own. I have seen many patterns I like, but will create my own design.

kristakz

A couple of thoughts. If it's the picture I saw, and your problem is that the points don't match, perhaps you could add some sashing between each block? Then the point matching won't be so important. You might still lose a few points, depending how you trimmed, but it won't be as obvious.

For you trimming issues - pictures would help, but I think the problem was that as you said, you can't center a block. Rather than trying to do that, you should check when you are trimming that all the points you expect to have when done are exactly 1/4" from your trim line. That should keep everything square and easier to line up when you are ready to assemble.

Pieces2

When I need to center a trimmed block I measure from the sides to center it. Try this next time.
For now, finish your quilt top. We learn from mistakes. After its quilted it may not be as noticible as you think.