April 04, 2019

My Quilting Blunder

Bernie, of Needle and Foot, has come up with a fun link up all about our quilting blunders and mistakes. Bernie said, "While I do love the inspiration found on Instagram and Facebook, sometimes it makes me wish I were more skilled or more artistic or more prolific a quilter or more, just more. Know what I mean? It seems to me we should share both – the mistakes and the achievements, the blunders and the best of our work. This would present a balanced picture, it would show quilting – in real life!"

There's no doubt that we're more likely to share our triumphs with the masses on social media, but that doesn't mean we haven't ever made mistakes! When Bernie invited me to take part in this blunder exposing link up, I knew exactly which of my blunders to share 😊

I learned the basics of sewing from my Mom and everything else has been picked up from books, magazines and (more recently), online tutorials or classes. Back around 2001 or 2002, I bought this book so I could learn paper piecing.
paper piecing book | DevotedQuilter.com
From it, I made this mini quilt. I bet you can see my blunder (and I'm not even talking about my complete disregard for the direction of the fabric I used for the border).
Mini tulip and spools quilt | DevotedQuilter.com
  Yes, I was hand quilting everything back then 😊
Mini tulip and spools quilt | DevotedQuilter.com
The book had a great explanation of how to attach a binding that finally allowed me to figure out how to do it properly. Unfortunately, I've never been good at estimating distance. In the instructions, it said to stop stitching about ¼" from the corner and I must have been scared of going too close and ruining my chances at a properly mitered corner, so this is how far away I stopped...
binding error | DevotedQuilter.com
I measured and it varies from 1" - 1¼!! Not even noticing that I had way too much of the binding unattached, I blithely continued on and hand stitched it to the back and proudly displayed my little quilt 😆

The quilt is kept on a small table next to our bed and every now and then the gap in the stitching of the binding captures my attention and I consider hand stitching it down. In the end, though, I always decide to leave it because it captures a stage of my journey to becoming a competent quilter. I love being able to look back and see how far I've come!

If you have a quilting blunder to share, head over to Needle and Foot. You can either write your blunder in a comment on Bernie's post or you can write a post of your own and share the link in a comment.

6 comments:

  1. I didn't see any blunder - just thought you weren't finished binding - cute quilt.

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  2. I think it’s cool that you have kept the binding original and can see how much you have progressed! Honestly it looks great and I could see creating an artful finishing like this could become a trend.

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  3. I also like that you are keeping the quilt the way it is. It's a good reminder that it is a process we are on.

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  4. Oooh, I was the opposite when I started binding! I measured and was terrified to go even a stitch past 1/4 inch because I was sure it would destroy everything. Isn't it funny how we interpret things differently? Your piecing and hand quilting are awesome!

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  5. I don't know that I could stand not fixing it. I love that you can tolerate it and admire where you are now.

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  6. I didn't even notice the binding LOL I was too busy looking at your hand quilting.

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