A Little Fixer Upper

The last couple blog posts I’ve showed you the wedding quilt we made for Ariel.  I had intended on telling you earlier this week about the little mishap I had when quilting it.  Then time got away from me and I was so busy finishing the quilt up that I didn’t get time to tell you about the mishap.  Well…it had me almost in tears at the time.

Kelli was at my house.  I had the quilt loaded on the frame and was quilting it.  Kelli was making the binding so it would be ready once the quilt was off the frame.  She finished the strips and was going to go home.  I stopped the machine, walked her our and said good-bye.

I went back upstairs to shut the lights off in the sewing room but decided that I was almost to the end of the row.  I’d finish up, advance the machine and go to bed.  I finished the row.  I advance the machine.  I advanced it too far.  The machine bumped the back rail and ripped a hole in the quilt.  UGH.

It was no little hole.  It was at least dime sized.  There was no quick stitch up.  It was going to take more than that.  At that point I turned out the light and went to bed.

Up the next morning..I had a plan.

Lucky for me the hole was in the border.  Luckier, the hole was close to where the two border pieces were attached.  I took the seam ripper and ripper up the spot where the border pieces were seamed.  I ripped down to the hole.  Then I lobbed the piece out.  The I cut a new border piece and hand sewed it in place.  It was a task to maneuver the needle while it was on the frame.  It was really an odd angle.  But I did it and thought it would likely work.

A little Hallelujah prayer of thanksgiving went up after I saw that it was going to be okay.

My only problem was this…Once I took the quilt off the frame I saw that I was not in the clear.  The hole was in the backing too.  UGH.  How was I going to fix that??  And then I remembered that I could sew a label right there and cover the hole…

..and here’s what it looked like once it was in the completed quilt…front.

and back.  Ahhh…..  It worked.

Yes…if you’re wondering I am “Aunt Jeanne” to the Minnesota relatives.

When little things like this happen..and they do and will happen…it just reinforces to me that I new want to professionally machine quilt for anyone.  I would just be in tears if this happened to someone else’s quilt.

But luckily this time around tragedy averted.  Let’s hope that all Sam and Ariel’s problems in their married life can be fixed so easily with just a little patch.

If you missed the free pattern for their quilt you can find it here.