The Show Me Something Purple Linkup, hosted by Sarah Goer, was the kick in the pants I needed to finish my fifth and final version of Camille Roskelley’s Little Man Quilt, from her Simplify book.
Why five versions of the same baby quilt pattern? Because it’s an easy pattern whose yardage requirements are easily met by the fabric I have on hand. The first three versions I sewed were all for little boys (see them here, here, and here). My fourth and fifth quilts are going to sisters: This purple finish is for my 4-year-old niece, and its peach and blue counterpart (see picture below) is going to her little sister, who is scheduled to arrive by this time next week.
What I like so much about this pair is that they’re completely different quilts made from the same line of fabric, Rae Ritchie’s Seaside Carnival. The only print they have in common is the strip of ocean waves, a fabric by Janet Clare. You can see it at the top of this picture ...
My favorite print from the entire Rae Ritchie collection—beating out even the soft pretzels, featured in my fourth version—has proved to be the mermaids. Dear Stella has released that design in a different colorway, and I’m trying to come up with an excuse to buy some!
You would think that a fifth go-round with the same pattern would make me an expert, but I made more mistakes with this dang purple quilt than the others combined ... First, when I was quilting it, I realized that there is a discrepancy in dye lots: Two blocks are ever-so-slightly different from the other ones. The disparity is most noticeable in artificial light, and I fear it will become more prominent with each washing. I also had a weird experience squaring up the project after quilting. Until I remedied the situation, the quilt was more parallelogram than rectangle. Sigh. It’s a sign. After five finishes with the same pattern, it’s time to find another go-to baby quilt pattern!
DonnaleeQ was recently expressing a similar gripe to me via email. She said after 30 years of quilting, she still makes the occasional silly mistake. Whereas my pitfalls were dye lots and squaring up, she managed to cut a stack of squares the wrong size. (Been there, done that!) How about you? What amateur mistakes do you find yourself making, even after having sewn dozens if not hundreds of quilts?! Commiserate with the rest of us in the comments below. : )
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The pageant rules are simple:
- Post your finish in the linky tool. (No links to your own giveaway or linky, please!)
- Point your readers back here with a text link or use the button above.
- Visit and comment on other participants’ finishes.
My most common mistake is attaching a unit (like a HST or a Flying Geese block) the wrong way round! Thank goodness for a sharp seam ripper! :-D
ReplyDeleteMy stitch in the ditch not staying in the ditch!
ReplyDeleteI can't tell you how many times I still sew pieces together facing the incorrect way!
ReplyDeleteI love to sew blocks together upside down. My seam ripper is a good and faithful companion. Regardless of the discrepancy in dye lots, I suspect that the quilt will get a lot of love and use in its life. Congratulations on the finish and I hope that baby sister arrives safely in the upcoming week.
ReplyDeleteI'm a new quilter so that's my excuse for so many mistakes. Yes, little embroidery scissors have found a new use.
ReplyDeleteYour quilts certainly look wonderful!
Hi Michelle! Oh, do you really want to hear about my most recent oops?! I'm making a pentagon ball - pentagon means FIVE. So I cut out five sides and one bottom piece. No top. Umm, hello??! Worse yet, I sewed all the sides together without the top and then wondered why it wasn't round. Good grief. I carefully reversed at the start and end of each stitching, too. That was fun to pick out. NOT. I adore your latest version for your niece. I know she will as well. ~smile~ Roseanne
ReplyDeleteMy most recent oops where I had to use a seam ripper, was NOT sewing right sides together - pretty bad. Fortunately, it was only one piece that I had to rip out. Trying to go too fast was the culprit. I'm sure your nieces will love their new quilts! They are both wonderful!
ReplyDeleteWith hundreds of quilts under my belt, I do make the occasional mistake, though it's never the same one over and over. Wrong size setting triangles, binding at 2-1/2" (forgetting to trim it to 2-1/4" which I prefer), using my nice rotary cutter to cut batting (a real no-no to me). thanks for the linky!
ReplyDeleteOh, silly mistakes like cutting 2-1/4 strips when 2-1/2" strips are called for... Measure once, cuss twice! lol!
ReplyDeleteMelvaLovesScraps(at)NolanQualityCustoms(dot)com
I can really appreciate your frustration with your blocks. Though I’ll have to say that my most common, repeated mistakes aren’t so much a problem with quilt-making. Though I have my fair share of frustrations with domestic machine quilting (lines that aren’t straight; bobbles, and such). I have more issues with making bags, purses and wristlets. I can’t tell you how many times I find myself unsewing. I do the same with recipes too -misread steps- which is why my husband does all the cooking!
ReplyDeleteSuch a sweet pair of quilts! And no way to confuse the two, so no fighting over them!
ReplyDeleteHi Michelle, my most often oops is to sew things the wrong side. It would seem that when I get confident, I make mistakes!
ReplyDeleteI just cut my batting 1 inch too short! Ugh! Goes to say, measure twice, cut once!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you finished up the purple version and it was so fun to see all the different colors/designs you've used. What a great utility pattern. Thank you for linking up with Show Me Something Purple.
ReplyDeletePretty purple quilt!
ReplyDeleteLong time quilter her, 28 years, and yes, I make mistakes too. I will forget to add for seam allowances when doing the math on a block, or I'll layer the quilt top centered on the backing seam, totally forgetting it's seamed, ugh!
ReplyDeleteI think I always make mistakes - don't we all? We are "just" human :) But the most annoying I did last year and just recently again is misscutting a big square for no-waste-geese. And each time my remaining fabric was too small to cut it again so creative solutions were in order... xo Melanie
ReplyDeletePS: Beautiful quilt. And they are really different but I like the idea of the similarity through pattern for the sisters!
I find that I make mistakes either when trying something new or when I become too confident. The mistakes remain the same : cutting the wrong size ( too short of course!) Sewing the wrong size of the fabric, or even cutting when I meant to mark a sewing line ( I now constantly remind myself to put the cutter away when I need to mark sewing lines)
ReplyDelete