Not even spending the time to get a decent photo of this mess will make it better.
This string foundation pieced project began at our 2016 PTA retreat. It was supposed to be huge....destined for a large stairwell wall. It's been a problem child from day one for so many reasons: boring without the white sashing but when that was added, the planned finished size wouldn't fit my hanging device. So I decided to make it smaller and use for a lap quilt.
The seams got very bulky given all the strips and muslin foundation. Pressing toward the white sashing allowed too much nasty shadowing and pressing toward the blocks distored the narrow sashing.
Stupidly I continued and basted it using a thin poly batting to avoid the weight of cotton. What a mess.....I don't care what the label on the package said....it's NOT thin. I continued anyway.....should have just eliminated the batting!!!
It got worse.....I'm still regretting the purchase of the Janome 8900. Despite my best efforts I can not get this thing to do what I want!!! I quilted the sashing in the ditch, using the Accufeed system.....adjusting and adjusting to find the perfect tension. I never did. And now that those areas are all quilted.....the white strips look gathered!!
My stupid continued as I started quilting diagonally through the center of each block. While I had no thread breakage previously, now the invisible thread broke just before every intersection. I'm SOOOOOOO done. I'll rip out the three diagonal lines I stitched allowing each block to look like a beach ball. And for the first time in my life I'll add the binding all by machine and call it DONE!
Perhaps if I'd have been feeling better I'd have had more patience to correct my poor decisions as they came up. Unfortunately my upper respiratory bug has lingered, making me realize I should have just been watching trash TV instead of trying to sew!
This piece is definitely going to the dogs.....our black lab rescue dog Sooty.
FOR THE DOGS
54" x 62"
You may want to check out these links of the SUCCESSFUL work of others this week : Sarah's Whoop, Whoop Friday, Crazy Mom Sews, and Nina-Marie's Off The Wall Friday.
13 comments:
I'm so sorry you had such a frustrating experience with this piece. Thankfully the dog will be snuggly warm now. Whew! That's one less thing you have to worry about! Hope the next effort is much more enjoyable.
Sometimes things are just not meant to be. We quilters are a stubborn lot, aren't we? Just don't know when to let it go - if it's any consolation, it does look really good from a distance in the photo.
Mary here.....Actually the top looked pretty good......I was satisfied with my idea to separate the block with white sashing....and had tried a wider which didn't look right. The narrower one did but caused so much trouble due to the thickness of the seams/and muslin foundation. Then compounded with the bunchy machine quilting....geesh....but Sooty is happy.....I need to take a photo of her lounging on her new bed!
In spite of all the troubles, I think Sooty has a beautiful quilt with a beautiful story.
Oh my! White fabric can be a problem. I had to press seams open in my red and white school house quilt because of shadowing. The trouble with that is you don't have the ditch any more. I love the look of the quilt. The fabrics and the gradation is great. When did you buy the 8900? I have a 6500 and thought of buying the 8900. Maybe is should just stick with what I have....Why don't you like it? What did you have before ou bought it? I was also thinking of getting a sit down mid arm machine for quilting instead of upgrading my domestic machine. Not sure what to do....
Chris
What a frustrating ordeal! Still, your quilt is gorgeous. I have a Janome 6600 and love it! When I have tension problems it's usually be cause of the thread I'm using.
Im so sorry about the quilt issues but its beautiful. your color graduation is fabulous!!! I have just bought the Janome 8900 and so far I LOVE it. take it back and have them look at it! i had my walking foot disintegrate in the middle of a stitch. broken pin! fixed me right up when i complained. good luck and let your creativity flow!
First time visitor :)
I can understand your frustration but I have to say that it look lovely in the picture :)
Your quilt looks quite lovely. Bummer about all the issues .... I can relate.
This quilt top looks so cool too!!! So sorry you had all those issues...but we've all been there!!! Geeezzzz I can feel your frustration for sure....
what a shame this has caused so many problems but good for your dog who no doubt will feel very much at home snuggled into it. Te machine is surely trying your patience fingers crossed you can master it soon
Hi Mary, I don't know if this will help you at all, but I was struggling with my machine as well (I have a Bernina 820) and literally wanted to throw it out the window. I was very blessed to go to a new dealer who not only did not hasten to sell me a new machine, but instead sat down with me and made me fall in love all over again with the one I have. I'm sure your Janome 8900 is a great machine and maybe just needs some "tweaking" for different threads. Hang in there!
I'm sure Sooty thinks it's fabulous! I guess one needs a fail like this every now & then to keep us humble. :-) I don't know why some projects fight us every inch of the way but some do. Our beautiful visions cloud our better senses and we stubbornly forge ahead anyway. Visually it's not that bad but I can see why it's not fulfilling your original end purpose even if there weren't the technical issues. Ah well - it's behind you now (or rather, below you). Now go work on something that will be a success & lift those spirits!
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