So there I was, rolling along so beautifully. This quilt looked great in sketches,
the fabrics are completely fabulous, I was so psyched because this was the second one in a row that was great and "grabby" and did I mention I loved the fabrics? Oh, I was so happy. And then it happened. I put the thing together, started quilting it, and noticed there was a problem with the design. It's just a little off. I have no idea if it would be a big deal, but it bothers me, so I don't think I'm going to use it for the pattern line next year. Dammit. Still love the fabrics, though. Yummy! Guess this one'll be just for me. OH, what a burden to bear.
the fabrics are completely fabulous, I was so psyched because this was the second one in a row that was great and "grabby" and did I mention I loved the fabrics? Oh, I was so happy. And then it happened. I put the thing together, started quilting it, and noticed there was a problem with the design. It's just a little off. I have no idea if it would be a big deal, but it bothers me, so I don't think I'm going to use it for the pattern line next year. Dammit. Still love the fabrics, though. Yummy! Guess this one'll be just for me. OH, what a burden to bear.Believe it or not, that's not the problem. I hate when a design flops, and I think this is the first time I got to quilting it before I noticed the flop, but what are you going to do? One more for the back of the couch! The problem is that I quilted the quilt with a "stitch in the ditch" technique on my mach
ine. Then I echo quilted it just one line on the blocks. It was so pretty. It laid so flat (see that top picture? F-L-A-T. SO nice). I clipped the threads (hate that), sewed on the binding, did the hand sewing, and just like I always do, washed it. GRRRRR!!!!
ine. Then I echo quilted it just one line on the blocks. It was so pretty. It laid so flat (see that top picture? F-L-A-T. SO nice). I clipped the threads (hate that), sewed on the binding, did the hand sewing, and just like I always do, washed it. GRRRRR!!!!An aside here---I have a "dirty little secret". I wash my quilts. Always. I can't help myself. I handled the dang thing. I drew on the dang thing with chalk. The cats lay on it. The kids probably wiped their noses on it or touched it with chocolate hands, so it gets washed. End of story. I know there are some quilt purists out there who wash the fabric and then never the quilt, but those people 
must not have kids or ever use the quilts. That's not me. They get used, they get loved, they get dirty, they get washed. End of story. There it is. I've confessed. I feel better. :)
must not have kids or ever use the quilts. That's not me. They get used, they get loved, they get dirty, they get washed. End of story. There it is. I've confessed. I feel better. :)Anywa
y, I washed it. I had used cotton batting (Warm and White), so I figured on a bit of shrinkage, as I hadn't pre-washed the batting. I was hoping for that "soft puckered look". The look I got when I pulled it out of the dryer (on low--I know better!), was not softly puckered. It was more like the "in agony because the batting went one way and the fabric stayed put" puckered look. Oh boy, not pretty. I had bubbles in the fabric, the border (which you can see below) was doing 
a waving thing, and my beautiful, funky fabric was just a sad, sort of tangled-looking mess. Ugh.
y, I washed it. I had used cotton batting (Warm and White), so I figured on a bit of shrinkage, as I hadn't pre-washed the batting. I was hoping for that "soft puckered look". The look I got when I pulled it out of the dryer (on low--I know better!), was not softly puckered. It was more like the "in agony because the batting went one way and the fabric stayed put" puckered look. Oh boy, not pretty. I had bubbles in the fabric, the border (which you can see below) was doing 
a waving thing, and my beautiful, funky fabric was just a sad, sort of tangled-looking mess. Ugh. Well, I darn near threw it out. The design flopped, and now it was just an ugly too-puckered mess. But I knew I would be sorry, because I still love the fabric, so I just threw it on the back of the couch and thought about it. The fabrics relaxed a little in the next couple of days. The batting relaxed a little, too. It started to look like a flatter quilt, the border no longer waved at me, but the center strips were still puckered too much. So I decided to requilt it. Th
e pics above show how it's going---SLOWLY. I am just echo quilting my echo quilting, for lack of a better explanation. Trying to ease the fullness of the fabric into the batting and make the damn thing sit flat like a good little quilt. I don't think I've ever requilted a quilt before. I think this is a first. Of course (or I think I should say luckily), the quilt I did right before this one got an allover quilting technique, so it puckered softly, and sits flat like an obedient quilt should. So the moral of the story? If using cotton batting, remember to quilt it into submission!! And I guess, if your quilting doesn't work out at first, don't be afraid to requilt. Lesson learned.
e pics above show how it's going---SLOWLY. I am just echo quilting my echo quilting, for lack of a better explanation. Trying to ease the fullness of the fabric into the batting and make the damn thing sit flat like a good little quilt. I don't think I've ever requilted a quilt before. I think this is a first. Of course (or I think I should say luckily), the quilt I did right before this one got an allover quilting technique, so it puckered softly, and sits flat like an obedient quilt should. So the moral of the story? If using cotton batting, remember to quilt it into submission!! And I guess, if your quilting doesn't work out at first, don't be afraid to requilt. Lesson learned.Thank you all for your comments on the last couple of posts. I always really appreciate and look forward to all your feedback. I wish I could find a way to comment back on your comments and have a "real" conversation! Thank you also for the tips on customizing this template. I'm still looking into it. If you see, I did manage to get my email link into the sidebar. I'm a computer GENIUS!! (NOT!)
1 comment:
I think that quilt looks wonderful, fantastic colors and I love the way it has puckered!!! If you still want to throw it out...could you throw it my way? LOL!!!
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