The Error of My Ways

I would dearly love to have a quilt go together with no problems.  Is it possible?  I guess it would be if I did a really simple one without complicated piecing and color arranging, but I am not drawn to simplicity.  You get to listen to me vent as I try to solve the problems.  Sorry!  It does help to clarify the difficulties by writing about them.

I am making 36 square blocks with the same pattern. Each block is made of two half-square triangles, but each of those triangles is made with 14 pieces.  The finished blocks will each be 7 inches square (not counting seam allowance).  Three of the 14 pieces that make up a triangle vary in color in order to produce a complex design.  Below is the part of the design that threw me a curve this week and forced a bit of ripping and redoing.

Graphic of four blocks on point.

Note the four triangles with check marks.  They have to go the right way to create a bit of structure to the center of the quilt.   The checked black triangles must all be north and south, while the red ones must be in the east and west positions.  Those checked triangles are each a corner of a different block.  It really makes a difference when you look at the total design.  The graphic above shows one of four exact groupings that occur symmetrically in the quilt.  I am sorry, but I am not going to divulge the complete design so you just have to take my word for it.

Two of those four checked triangles were going the right way and two were oriented the wrong way - grrrrrrr!  I  had switched black for red and red for black.  A secondary design had vanished.  Some required the rip-and-redo treatment.  The others hadn't been sewn yet, and were only glued so they were really quick and easy.

I am so glad I discovered the goof before I went any further, and it only took about an hour to re-establish order.

TIP:  This is where a design wall is helpful.  I walk into my sewing room frequently and look at my work on the wall, analyze design and color choices, and find mistakes.  My wall is cheap.  I hung a flannel-backed tablecloth flannel side out, and it works great.

Off topic TIP:
I found a website with a solution that might help some of you.  It tells you a simple way to clean a cutting mat if it begins to hug fuzz in the cuts.  Here is a great fix.

Sew some happy seams this week.  I wish you easy fixes if you run afoul of perfection.

Mistake Madness

Do you think that all I do is make mistakes?  I prefer to state that I correct mistakes and solve problems, but then I am a glass-half-full sort of person.  That is what this blog is all about and what better to write about than my own foibles.  I hope my solutions will be helpful to others as they read.  When you design your own quilts you have to iron out your own problems, and it is unrealistic to imagine that there won't be some along the way.

How's the paperless paper piecing (PPP) going?  Fantastic.  I am cutting out three or four of each piece, which takes about 30 minutes.  From there I can breeze through three or four blocks in nothing flat.  Well....compared to my first attempts.  I save up several glued blocks, and sit down to stitch them all at once, chain stitching.  That's called efficiency!  I have decided that this process  doesn't take any longer than paper piecing.  Both methods require a learning curve during which you have to be patient with yourself.  Now I have another plus to share about PPP.  Read on.

Mistakes?  Yes!  I printed out the overall design to use as a guide for the colors in each block.  All the blocks are the same basic pattern, but the colors are arranged differently in various blocks.  After printing the guide I went back to the computer and changed the color of one piece in each half-block.  Then I forgot to print out the new version.  Now one black piece in each half-block has to be switched out for turquoise.  Six square blocks done, so 12 triangles to rip back to that piece to change it.  It is an important element and must be done.

Black vs turquoise triangle.  Center seam not stitched.

Inner bulldog, get moving!  It sort of takes the joy out of quilting, but not the satisfaction of doing the job right and completing my design correctly.  Sigh......ripper in hand I plucked out the necessary stitches.  Fortunately, there really aren't too many because the offending piece was one of the last in the sequence of sewing.  By the time I replaced one, I had figured out how to do it without distorting the block.  First, I folded, ironed and starched the seam allowance on the new piece so I had a nice, sharp crease.

The fold is pressed over a strip of heat resistant template plastic.
You can use double freezer paper, but it gets soggy soon.

Then, working from the right side of the block I glued the seam allowance in place with the sharp crease exactly on the old seam line of the embedded piece, where I could see the line of little holes.  Press.

Glued down in place, with other pieces pinned back out of the way.
(except for that one little tail on the right - it was too stiff to stay folded back, but easy to work around.

Open out the new piece and stitch exactly on the crease line.

Crease line is a perfect guide.

The remaining two pieces were corner pieces needing only partial dismantling so they were really easy to manage.  They were the ones that were pinned back.  I laid those corners carefully back in place and glued them down making sure that the dimensions of the block were not compromised.  Then stitched.  Done....and it didn't even take too long to do.

Measuring before stitching.  Love glue basting!

If I had done this with paper piecing I would have unstitched the same three pieces, which would have messed up the paper, and I might have had to replace more than the one piece of fabric because the trimming would be tight.  There might have been more distortion from the messed up paper.  Paper piecing requires a bit of guesswork to position the fabrics correctly, then trim after sewing.  PPP is clearly the way to go!  However, I am glad the error was on the outer area of the block and not in the center.  Smile!

That turquoise piece is important as it part of the basic framework for the whole design.  It will set me back a day, but it will be soooooo worth it.  I'm not in a hurry and am already thinking about how I will quilt it.  Slow down....it takes time to do those blocks correctly.

Oops!  I found a few seams that I hadn't sewn.  Good grief, I am glad I discovered and could fix them.  I had to hand stitch one because it was too deep in the stitching sequence.  It was a good lesson and warning to carefully check the seams as I go along.  The only downside of PPP is getting the seams sewn in order without missing any.  Working on that!

Sew some happy seams this week.  I wish you no mistakes, but if necessary, easy fixes.

Lemonade

When life serves you lemons, make lemonade.  What a concept for life and for quilting.  If you hadn't guessed it yet, I am a flea on a hot stove, except when I am hiking (when I am really slow!).  My excitement and anticipation sometimes get me into trouble when I enter my sewing room and plow forward with determination.  That is why my faithful readers get to vicariously walk through a lot of obstacles on my blog.  I try so hard to achieve perfection, but remain quite good at making mistakes.  However, I usually am able to figure out a way to solve the problems I create, so I share.

I put together the white and the black background of the quilt.  Then I pieced the side panels and machine appliquéd them onto that background.  There was some excess black on the left side, which I intended to cut back once the sides were sewn down on top of it.  I forgot!  I didn't even think of it again....until I quilted one of the orange triangles.  It was very clear that there was black fabric behind half of it with a very visible straight edge.  It SCREAMED at me under the light fabric.  I was not going to redo the quilt or remove all the quilting that was keeping me from getting at it.

Black fabric behind upper orange triangle

So I set the "lemon" aside and did some other things that needed doing.  Then I made some Christmas presents.  Then there was lots of cooking for Thanksgiving at the last minute because icy roads prevented us from joining family for the celebration.  By this time several days had gone by, and I had finally decided what to do.

The background quilting of the offending triangle was very tightly sewn so I made a mock-up with scraps showing the black behind the orange, and then did the same kind of quilting with the same color thread.  Why?  I needed a tester.  I tried some paint, but that looked awful.  Than I wanted to see if I could take out the heavy quilting without ruining the fabric.  YES!  It worked, so I carefully ripped out the quilting of the one unsightly triangle.  It took a couple of hours and a good audio book.  Then I sprayed water on the fabric to relax the fibers and rubbed a soft toothbrush around to gently induce the needle holes to disappear.  The fabric looked a bit used, but not damaged.  Once the fabric and batting were dry I opened the triangle and carefully snipped out as much of the nasty black fabric as I could reach without cutting the quilt top.  I couldn't get it all, but as you can see below, there is no longer an eye-catching straight line of black.  A little bit is still there, but could be mistaken for a shadow or a natural dark spot in the batik fabric.  At least I hope it looks like that!  All has now been repaired, the area re-quilted, my enthusiasm restored and I am excited to move on.

After snipping out the black and redoing the area - not perfect, but OK (I hope)

TIP:  It is discouraging to make a distracting error, so leave it for awhile as you ponder solutions and decide on options.  This took me a few days.  I don't recommend tossing it in the closet until next year.  If I did that I wouldn't remember my plans for finishing and that might lead to more ripping.

I successfully finished the background quilting and some of the pieced side borders - still more to do on the sides.  The black at the bottom will be quilted after the bird is in place.  (Don't worry, it is not crooked, but is hanging wonky with a rumple in the middle - nothing permanent.)

Background quilted and ready to receive the bird.

Below is the back.  I wish I had put colored thread in the bobbin for the straight lines on the pieced side parts.  Oh well, I think I will do that as I quilt the rest of those pieced parts.

Reminds me of the Mediterranean designs.

Creativity

My house is still in disarray.  My sewing room is crowded with stuff that doesn't belong there.  I am quilting black on black, which is frustrating because it is hard to see.  I need the magnifying thing that fits over my head and that is a nuisance.  I took a break and sewed a different spot with red on top and black in the bobbin (backing is black, top is orangy).  When I looked at the back it was clear that my tension was off so I ripped it out.  That's my day so far, and we all have those days sometimes.  Life is just that way.  OK, I'm done venting!

I was reading a very uplifting article in American Quilter by Thomas Merton, "Transformation: Art from Within."  He tells about how several churches got together to provide opportunities for prisoners in a local correctional institution to do creative activities.  These activities also had a spiritual side beyond individual beliefs, time for discussion and much more.  Can you imagine having to log out every piece of equipment used for a project, and then log it back in when the session is over?  I will never look at my sewing tools the same:  seam ripper, stylus, scissors, pins.  The inmates respond positively to the chance to do something creative, and I am sure some of them never imagined they could create anything.  The goal is to help them transform themselves as well.

The article mentioned two particular women from rival gangs who ended up sitting together because all other seats were taken and they had no choice.  These women learned about each other and found common ground, which broke down engrained barriers.  In many ways creating something of beauty was freeing for them as it is for us.  The art that the inmates have created will be on display at the San Jose (CA) Museum of Quilts and Textiles from September 12 through November 2015.

This is what keeps me sewing, drawing, painting and taking photos.  It is so uplifting to create something.  It doesn't matter if you use a pattern and sew together traditional blocks or if you start from scratch and design your own.  We each have our own talents and inclinations so listen to your inner voice and enjoy your creativity.  It truly is a source of freedom and accomplishment, even on a bad day.

Wild Gaillardia aka Indian Blanket - work of the Supreme Creator

BTW after my session with the seam ripper I put red thread in the bottom, tightened the tension and sewed up some nice looking quilting.  Was that cheating to put red thread in the bottom just so any glitches won't show?  Of course not.  I am looking to make my quilt and my quilting look the best it can with the skills I have.  Besides, that fire-red stitching looks great on the black backing (especially with the adjusted tension!).

TIP:  They say you shouldn't go to bed angry.  When training a dog you always want to finish a session with something she does right.  Try to rectify at least some of a sewing mistake before you quit.  You'll be more enthusiastic about returning to a project if you are ready to move on.

Creativity is allowing  yourself to make mistakes.  Art is knowing which ones to keep.  (Scott Adams)

Sew some happy seams this week.

Frogging

Do you know about "frogging?"  Rip it, rip it, rip it.  In spite of all the suggestions and solutions in my last post, in spite of all my planning, in spite of all my practicing, in spite of quilting half of one side of my border and walking away happy.... I later noticed a glaring, ugly line where I wanted a free-flowing curve.  I like to backtrack on the spine of my feathers to bring out the curvaceous base design.  However, if the base design is faulty it shows up like a spotlight.  No photo because it looked too ugly (besides I didn't think to get the camera!).  I sat through two episodes of "The Mentalist" while I ripped out a lot of stitches...carefully.

It didn't take long to solve the problem as it was all due to a poorly designed corner.  I had turned the corner awkwardly and that caused all the spine lines to go the wrong way.  Thus all the ripping.  The next afternoon I re-marked the border and stitched it up again.  Now it looks graceful and I am sooooooo glad I took the time to redo it.  Below is the final feather quilting complete with marking lines and even a dog hair if you hunt really carefully.  Dixie dog likes to add her two cents.

Please don't get the idea that I always make mistakes.  This blog is generally about dealing with problems and my only experience is my own.  Mistakes are OK as long as you learn from them.  Have you ever heard that one before?

TIP:  Don't get discouraged.  It happens.  Encourage the bulldog in you and rip with care.  As you are frogging, your creative, flexible brain can preview options, ponder alternatives and produce new ideas.  Just do it!

Dixie

See a painting of Dixie here.

Mistakes. Who me???

You don't make mistakes on your quilts, do you?  I have asked the Quilt Fairy to eliminate all mistakes from my sewing machine.  She is probably hovering over my sewing room laughing.

I have been working on a quilt for over a year now and have tackled both large and small design flaws and outright errors.  One afternoon I did a really stupid thing.  I was quilting some long, narrow spokes with a line of diamonds down the middle.  I did five spokes and when I was done, I scrutinized my work and then realized I had used the wrong color thread.  I do Art Quilts and like to show them.  If that quilt had been for a child's bed I wouldn't have worried about it, but for a show quilt I am sure the judges would ding me.  Besides, it would drive me crazy so I swallowed my pride and did it over.  The rest of my daily sewing time was spent taking all those little stitches out.  Lost afternoon.

TIP:  Do I really need to say it?  Make sure you have the right thread, right needle and right tension before you start quilting.  It is much more fun to quilt than to rip!

Even for an Art quilt there are some errors that I will let pass. In the same photo (above) you can see that the the curl at the top of one feather goes one way.  The next one goes the opposite direction.  Well, they were supposed to curl the same way, but I decided to leave it rather than take it out.  God doesn't make all flowers grow the same direction.  Do you think the judges will notice or care?  We will see.  I think it adds a bit of tension and interest, like putting a dab of orange next to magenta.  Most people won't even notice it anyway (I  hope).

TIP:  If you like it, leave it. It is a judgment call. If judges don't like it, consider it a lesson learned, but don't leave an obvious mistake just because you are too lazy to take it out.  You can wait until tomorrow when you are fresh or work in front of tv to take your mind off the disappointment of having to rip out tiny stitches.  You will be happy when you redo it right.

I was busy quilting away when I came to a corner on this same quilt and discovered that a small block was set in slightly off kilter.  Where was the Quilt Fairy when I did that?  The diagonal seam was 1/8 inch off where it was supposed to meet the intersection of two borders (see the drawn line in photo below).  The seams were sewn, stitched in the ditch, and decorative quilting stitches had everything fastened down tight.  It wasn't just an issue of ripping out a few stitches on a top.  A technical error like this is a magnet for the judges' eyes and can cost you a win.

This was a BIG MISTAKE and was a bear to fix.  I took out the quilting on the two borders and the little block, set the block straight, hand-sewed the seams, and replaced the quilting......and it was still crooked with the added disgrace of a bow in the blue border.  I re-ripped the hand work and quilting, but more this time.  Then I grabbed the bottle of Elmer's School Glue, and with a vengeance set the borders accurately into a measured 90º intersection and secured them with glue.  Then I took a pin and moved the offending block until it's seam was accurately placed in the corner, glued it and ironed the glue to set it.  Ahhhh, looks good.  Finally I re-did the seams by hand and re-quilted.  Success!  I don't have a before photo of the corner, but you can see the final result.  It took two afternoons to twice rip and repair, but I am pleased with the result so it was worth it.  Sometimes my bulldog genes shine!

TIP:  Don't wait until later to discover an error.  Check your quilt top carefully as you sew the seams and again before you assemble the quilt sandwich.  It will pay dividends in time and frustration.  I will take my own advice next time, believe me!

TIP:  Follow the above tip to make life easier, but if you do mess up, be assured that there is usually a way to fix it.  Appliqué can be a great coverup, but obviously it wouldn't work on the problem in this particular quilt.  Sometimes you may need to ponder the problem to arrive at a solution.  Let your brain percolate and get creative.  Then put on your virtual overalls and get to work.