More haste, less speed

Some of you may have spotted my tweet on Saturday, saying that I was hoping to make a whole quilt in a day. I was hoping that by today said quilt would be finished, so that I could post a mixture of finished and in progress pictures, and parcel it up ready for the wedding at the weekend.

The charms laid out ready to piece.

As you can probably guess from the lack of triumphant, "It's finished!" I didn't manage to complete the quilt on Saturday, although I did get a lot done.

Sashing pieces attached to each charm.

Sunday was spent working on patterns for A Stitch in Time vol 2, so after finishing in the evening I did a bit more work on my strips and got the long pieces of sashing attached to all of the charm strips.

Strips nearly ready to join.

I decided that I would prioritise getting the quilt top finished after work yesterday evening, and sat down to seam the last few strips together. I trimmed back the seams, feeling smug that it was so quick to do with my rotary cutter. After all the wedding is this weekend, so there was still a great deal to be done. And then, as I was ironing the seams flat and admiring how nice it was looking...

Looking good?

...I spotted that in my haste to trim my seams, I had cut a chunk out of one of the sashing strips.

Arghhh!

There was much swearing and sobbing at my stupidity. I considered some cheap and nasty quick fixes - stick an appliqué patch on it, and pretend it's part of the design! But the truth was unavoidable - I need to unpick the seams and sew in a new piece of sashing. Sigh! So much for making a quilt in a day, eh? That will teach me. It is worth fixing this properly though - I really want this quilt to be a much cherished wedding present. I want it to be something that lasts and is enduring, and the happy couple are much more than worthy of 2 new seams. So this evening I shall be mostly unpicking my sewing in front of the TV, and wistfully remembering those halcyon days when I knitted in the evenings.

Comments

[Lilysunshine]

Oh no!! How annoying!
But it is looking good, still! Hope you'll have it finished in no time now! :)

[Jen Arnall-Culliford]

Thanks Mélanie! I got the two seams unpicked last night, so hopefully it won't take me too long to fix. I was SO cross with myself though. :)
Jen x

[Rhian Drinkwater]

Oh no! I hate how long it takes to unpick sewing, I was wrestling with a project bag yesterday and it drove me mad!

[Debbie Tomkies]

What a gorgeous quilt - such patience! Hope you get the "blip" sorted out - it will definitely be worth it : )

[Bombellablog.wordpress.com]

It's stunning! Definitely worth unpicking to repair -though it must be frustrating. I think we all have these moments!

[Jen Arnall-Culliford]

Thanks Debbie, Rhian and Ella!
I've bought some more plain fabric, and hope to fix it tomorrow. Tonight is knitting night, and nothing comes in the way of knitting night! I might even still get it done for Saturday, but I'm not going to rush it this time.
Jen x

[amanda]

Oh Jen - I find in times like these it's best to throw more alcohol at the situation. If only to dull the pain!

[Jen Arnall-Culliford]

Hee hee! It wouldn't help the repair though... I try to have a strict no alcohol+crafting policy as it always ends in tears if I do mix the two! But yes, it would have helped the pain somewhat. I was so fed up (own stupid fault!).
Jen x