Friday, January 22, 2016

UFO Report

Oh this UFO is kicking my butt! 
This is the third month that my Deckade the Halls quilt has been my primary focus, and the progress is so slow it is driving me crazy.
Why is this so hard?
I have put on hundreds of quilt borders over the years, and this one just wouldn't co-operate with me.
So I removed the ruffly border, re-measured the quilt top a hundred times because see that 2" piece to the right of the needle? That's how much I had to cut off the border piece! How could I have been so 'off' on that border size measurement?
Okay, so then I resewed the border. 
Now it was too small, and still didn't fit!
What the @#$%& is going on?!?
I unstitched it again, re-measured, decided it was in fact the correct size, re-pinned with triple the number of pins, and the border fit beautifully and went on with no problem.
Oh my goodness. Third time's a charm!
When I get over feeling stressed every time I look at this quilt, the next step is to re-pin baste the left side of the quilt, and finally start the quilting. 

21 comments:

ES said...

oh my goodness! I am sure you will feel good when you can see the border looks so much better than on your first two attempts! For me it is nice to read about someone else's mistake and how they over came it (because I am learning through you!) thank you and good luck :)

Kaelyn Angelfoot said...

I recently cut a border too short, re cut the border, and it was still too short! Brownie points to you for not giving up. My UFO is still in my sewing closet, waiting for borders.

Ellen said...

I feel for you! I am working on a quilt with similar issues that belongs to my sister. Over the next few days I will work on getting the borders back on. I have my fingers crossed in hopes I can make it work.

Deb @ Frugal Little Bungalow said...

You will certainly be happy when this one is over with! :)

Deb @ Frugal Little Bungalow said...

You will certainly be happy when this one is over with! :)

Deanna W said...

It just wasn't a good sewing day! or hour! Hang in there girl!

Janet O. said...

What a frustrating experience! Borders can be such a roadblock at times. I'm glad you finally worked this out, and I hope you can find the courage to get it done soon so it won't be weighing on you anymore. It is a very cute quilt!

Needled Mom said...

I won't even attempt to put borders on without using the walking foot on the machine. I'm glad that the third time was a charm for you.

swooze said...

So frustrating but rewarding to finally get it done!

PeggyinNO said...

I guess there is something about that saying "third time's a charm". Maybe is means you can finally replace the frustration with a smile, because it's done!! Hope things go smoother now and you can finish your project. Smile!

allthingzsewn said...

I'm going through something similar with a Christmas throw that a friend wanted made from a shower curtain that her deceased gave her. I had to make every other block out of cotton so it would not slip of the users lap so easily. But for some reason when it came to the quilting it was nothing but trouble. I used a simple stippling pattern and fmq. I ended up taking out partial quilting about 5 times. All stupid mistakes, one time I managed to quilt a double layer of the quilt upon itself. I used a few of your ex plaintive words myself. I got done with the quilting yesterday and will finish the binding
This evening while watching the snow storm that is coming in. Never so glad to finish anything in my sewing life. What makes us do the things?

Julierose said...

there are just SOME quilts (that shall remain nameless in my closet of shame) that will not COOPERATE....kinda like my son who was 2 1/2 weeks late to his own birth!! BUT.... then he was just the easiest and very best baby ever..{heart}...and is still sweet.... BUT I digress;--000
....hopefully the rest of the sides will get the message and be very easy...hugs, Julierose

Deb A said...

I think you deserve a big bottle of wine for getting that quilt to a top stage again!
Thanks for the UFO reminder... will grab the QSAB and stitch a couple strips down - one set of 2 blocks and one set of 4. Progress at least.

Jo said...

I am finding large quilts to be such a struggle. Borders are always one of the tough parts for me.I have two large tops to quilt, and after that, I am thinking of trying quilt as you go, or just sticking to smaller projects for a while. I will have more quilts than I have beds and sofas to put them on soon, and no one I know is begging for quilts. That's sad. But I think I will be happy to be doing small projects for a while.

Connie said...

Do you quilt on a domestic or other machine? I'm forgetting if you have a longarm. Now that I've sold mine I'll have to learn to quilt on my DSM, I guess. Will begin a new chapter in my life.

Sarah said...

I admire your perseverance! I think I might have thrown it back in the UFO pile by now!

Lisa J. said...

Well I'm glad you wrestled your way through this and will now be able to get on with the quilting.

Katie Z. said...

My non-quilting husband had a good chuckle over your story. I had to explain it, and he grasped the frustration.

Carole @ From My Carolina Home said...

Kudos for sticking it out! Measuring is the right way to go. I pin the ends and middle first, then at the quarter measurement, then distribute any fullness between the pins. Glad it finally worked out for you!

Kate said...

Oh that's so frustrating. Congrats on sticking with it and getting it finished. Looking forward to seeing how you quilt it.

Kristin said...

You can do it! You can do it! You can do it!