Sunday, April 20, 2014

Mistake? No. Scenic Route YES!!!

"Oh, you took a wrong turn, honey."
"No, sweetheart. We are taking the scenic route!!!"



Have you ever taken a wrong turn? But then eventually found your way back to the destination via a scenic route? I have. Many times.
Today I want to share with you this fantastic finish - A Walk in the Park Quilt for a sweet four year old darling girl. The pattern is from Ellie Roberts @ Craft Sew Create from Craftsy.

First, look at the back of the quilt.



I love how the floral print is framed by the dark purple border. But the journey to this gorgeous destination of a quilt was a "scenic" one.












Once I completed the quilt top, I made the quilt sandwich - Top, Batting and Backing - and spray basted it. Once everything was ready to be quilted, I realized my mistake. The backing was not straight, and it was smaller than the batting/top. Oh no!!!

Front - looks fine

Back - Far from fine :-(


Two choices
1. I could either take the backing apart, find new backing (this was not enough) or add another piece to it and redo the whole thing. UGH!!!
2. I could be creative. AHA!!!

What if I added a border to the quilt back? Yes, I could do that.
Without removing the current backing? Yes, I can quilt as you go!!!
EUREKA.



So, I cut 2.5" strips from a bright purple fabric and joined them to have adequate length. I then placed the purple border strips right side down, 2" away from the edge of the quilt sandwich. I pinned it in place and stitched it, flipped it and ironed it.






Here is the result.
The new Back (rescued)
The "quilt as you go" stitch line in the front
Yes, it resulted in a new quilt stitch line in the front, but I can live with that. It is not straight - I am fine with it. Since it was already quilted, all I had to do was binding and then hand stitch the label.



I feel so triumphant. I not only saved myself from some hair-pulling moments, I saved the quilt and discovered a new way to correct my mistakes. Remember there are no mistakes. Only opportunities for learning and improvement.

Finished Quilt - A Walk in the Park

How did you recover from a wrong turn? I look forward to hearing from you.
Linking up with Throwback Thursday.

10 comments:

  1. Very good quick thinking and I will be sure to remember this. My last quilt I struggled with the size of the backing. This would have been a great fix.

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  2. Each quilt we make teaches us something. There are many routes to the same destination. Sometimes we have to blaze a new trail! Such a lovely quilt!

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  3. I love your writing style and your beautiful quilt. Thanks for reminding us that every step in our journey is worth it

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  4. What a clever "out of the box" solution. I'm going to need to remember this!

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  5. More eye candy and good prose too. Thanks for the share. I especially appreciate the quilt I.D. I have been reading about adding that last little bit to our work but struggle with "how". I attempted embroidering it once but the letters were too small for me to stitch (I hand wrote out the info., duh). I don't have the funds to order pre-maid tags and thought hand crafted ones fit my style better. On I go with figuring it out. I have a quilt to take to my granddaughter this June and alas it has no siggie on it.

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  6. A smart and patient person learns to make the best of every situation - just like you did! The backing is much more interesting with the decorated edge! Great save!

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  7. Ah Preeti!!! My kind of gal,,, as you may have read on the forum... there are NO MISTAKES...........Only "creative opportunities"!! Fabulous!! GB

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  8. Thanks for linking up with Throwback Thursday @ A Quarter Inch from the Edge!

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  9. Clever solution. Mama used an innovative approach and learned a new trick, 4-year old got a beautiful quilt and did not care about the additional seam line.

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