shhh…Just between you and me and whole internet…Here’s my confession. Twice in the last week I had twisted blocks on my quilts. Once it was done before I quilted it here on my Making Ends Meet quilt. See the lower left side block….
Then worst of all, I did it in my Moda Bake Shop project, Chain of Faith. Here’s my original post about the project.
I didn’t have a clue about this until I got a several emails from viewers pointing out my error. I had caught two twisted blocks as I was sewing the top together, and ripped them out both together as a unit.
As I look at the quilt now, I think I must have sewn them back in place just as they were. I must not have rechecked the blocks…just assuming it was right.
Someone commented to the fact that I mentioned in my directions to be careful that it’s easy to twist the blocks….yet I twisted the blocks anyway. I am taking that as the hugest compliment ever. I love when people point out that I am honest. Some emails wondered if I was embarrassed or devastated….um, NO! It’s a quilt. I am not, nor do I claim to be a professional designer or have ambitions to be a professional designer.
Did I learn a lesson from the experience…definitely. Chain blocks are not my friend and I have to be extra super careful with them. From now on I’m taking the kind advice of a viewer, take a photo of the quilt top once it is all sewn together as mistakes are more easily seen in a photo. I try to learn from my mistakes…I’m not always successful, but I try.
Well that’s the confession…I am human. I am not bothered by the whole situation…actually it gives the quilt a story. Years from now when the quilt is here and I’m showing it to someone, the quilt can speak to the day it was made. The twisted block is like a memory marker. I can remember what was going on over the couple days I frantically sewing trying to get the quilt finished to meet the deadline. It will speak to the snowy, stormy day that I took as a blessing so that I could just settle in and sew for the day. I can vividly remember the first time I felt the fabric…honestly, it’s the softest quilting fabric I’ve worked with. I can remember Gracie laying all on the blocks as I laid them out on the floor wanting to get her picture taken….all in all….those twisted blocks are memory markers..good memory markers.
Memory markers…I will have to remember that! What a great way to look at the situation.
The quilt is beautiful just the way it is…. Thank you again for sharing the pattern. :) Have a great weekend!!
Great confession — I’m sure a lot of readers can relate. I know I can. I hand quilted a quilt and was ready to bind it when a friend stopped in and when I was showing it to her I noticed that I had twisted a block. Fortunately it was on the last row and I was able to take out the quilting and fix it. That quilt brings memories of my friend who has since passed.
Barb
LOL Love it!! I think it is so funny!!! When I was looking at your quilt, the one for moda and reading about it, I saw the little ribbon shape with the diamonds and thought that is how it’s suppose to be! I thought it was kinda cool because it was a ribbon shape and I assumed it was an awareness thing. This has happened many times to me before!
What makes me feel better is that I consider you a great quilter and it’s nice to see that even the great ones make mistakes time from time!!:D
Have a great day!!
Congratulations on being human and accepting that… “the only perfect quilts are made by God!”
(Quote from song by Cathy Miller “You can quilt that out”… URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzoL7ddTEnA )
Your quilt is beautiful. The feelings you have about your mistake being a memory marker make it even more so. I have read several places that Amish quilters will purposely make a mistake, called a “humility block.” They feel God is the only one capable of perfection. Someone told me that Native Americans will do the same with their beading for the same reason. Maybe our “mistakes” are meant to be.
Thank you for sharing such a nice pattern.
I really like the colors in your Bake Shop and it is really nice the way it is. It is also a great lesson for me to be careful and I can get lost in my thoughts when sewing. Thanks for the confession.
It makes the quilt more interesting, imho. If there is a quirky spot in a quilt it captures your attention, and makes you look over the entire surface more closely. Perfect is boring!
I really love that quilt! I did the same thing on a quilt I worked really hard making for my son and his wife. It had the chained effect, too. I turned two the wrong way, and didn’t see it till it was quilted. So I decided it would be butterflies in the garden, as if I intended it to be that way. Lemonade!
I did the same thing on a quilt. Had it completely finished…quilted, binding on…the whole nine yds. Took pictures, posted on my blog, I didn’t notice a thing, nobody emailed to point it out. It was in a quilt show, still didn’t notice a thing, finally in looking at the quilt show photos I saw it….couldn’t believe my eyes. It’s a pieced border block turned wrong so I guess I could correct it with a minimum amount of fuss, but I’m not going to. It still keeps me warm at night, and like you say, it’s part of it’s story.
Jo, I, too, looked and saw the resemblance to an “awareness” ribbon and thought it was very cool, lending itself to the various appropriate colors. Will be on the lookout for that fabric in the future since your comments about it’s soft feel. Absolutely love your “memory marker” label and will use it many times in the future, I am sure ;-)
You know, I don’t think I would have noticed your twisted blocks until you said something. I’ve done things like that before only it was on individual blocks and it wasn’t until the end that I realized that I sewed them all wrong. We are definitely only human!
I, too, thought you placed the chain that way on purpose but I didn’t “see” a ribbon like a couple other ladies above. I thought it was a fish and thought your reference to faith was a religious one…. =)
Great quilt….twisted block or not! I’m sure everyone has been there. I know I have :-)
I’ve done the photo thing for the past few years … ever since I had one block in a pineapple be too light … it wasn’t twisted, just could’ve been positioned better. It’s now mandatory … I do it every time and am always surprised to find something to fix – even if it’s just a “this block would look better HERE”.
Well, those memory markers are what make your quilt so special, not only to you, but to anyone who sees it. Perfection is definitely overrated.
Hi Jo, beautiful confession! And didn’t I say perfection was boring! It’s a gorgeous quilt, it has us talking, and feeling all warm and fuzzy inside, just like it will continue to do so for all the years to come. Gail
I so understand – I can tell you how many times I’ve laid quilt blocks out, picked them up in order and STILL got them wrong. It is very frustrating and teeth-gnashing ensues! I never noticed the mistake and still love your quilt!
Yes, I was debating putting mitered borders on a wall hanging. Decided I didn’t have enough fabric and reminded myself that I’d have to put the two borders on separately if I wasn’t going to miter. I then continued to sew the two borders pieces together and sew them to the middle. Didn’t realize my mistake until I went to put the top and bottom on. Duh!!! Your quilts are beautiful anyway!
In all honesty—-I rather like the boo-boo on the twisted blocks :0)
I have learned….always take a picture and look at it. For whatever reason, mistakes jump out at me while looking at a picture rather than looking directly at it on the design wall or floor.
I never noticed it on “Making Ends Meet” but did on the Moda Bake Shop one… and would have never known that it wasn’t meant to be had you not confessed. You are so right that it becomes part of the quilt’s story! :) I love that!
When I made Bonnie Hunter’s Christmas Lights Mystery on the backing side I used up some extra units I had left over and together they made an intresting design… well in a rush to get it to the PO to my longarmer I twisted 2 blocks and messed up the design… instead of ripping and fixing I purposely left them as is – after all when could I ever remember working with “Christmas Lights” and NOT getting them tangled? LOL
Hope you are having a great weekend! Love from Texas! ~bonnie
What size does this quilt cause-faith make??
howmuch more fabric jelly rolls and yardage would i need to make a kind size??
My mom has a few things her mother handstitched years ago. All my life my mom would comment on how the little mistakes in the items were her favorite parts. My grandmother past away before I was born, and while my mom was still in her 20s. She said the “mistakes” reminded her of her mother and made the items unique and special. They helped her actually visualize her mother’s hands while she would sew. Much like your attitude on Memory Makers. I love it. And your quilts still look beautiful.
Jo, your wonderful upbeat attitude is as fresh and honestly enjoyable as the quilts you craft. Thank you again for modeling behaviors that we can all admire! Vic in NH
Jo, Chain of Faith is just beautiful. Yesterday afternoon my best friend learned that she has breast cancer again, and is facing a more difficult course of treatment. Immediately, I knew that she would need a quilt to wrap up in, and Chain of Faith is just her style. What’s more, is that when I noticed your turned blocks form a ribbon design, I knew that this is the quilt for her. Thank you for sharing such a fabulous pattern. Your quilts are beautiful!