Oh, the life of a crafter with the attention span of a squirrel! I am a lover of all things fabric and have amassed enough of the stuff to last more than my lifetime. Why then can't I just let some projects go? You see, I'm a hoarder at heart and can't bear to see anything go to waste.
A little backstory: In 2009, I crafted blackout Roman Shades from Comet blocks for our home. But when we moved in 2010, my dear father removed these handcrafted beauties and returned them to me. With their pristine condition, I couldn't resist the thought of repurposing them into curtains for my new sewing room.
Fast forward to 2015, and the great disassembly of the Roman shades began. Alas, there weren't enough green blocks for my grand curtain plan, so I started creating a complementary set in purple. But my fickle focus struck again, and several years later, the project remained incomplete. Looking back, I can't pinpoint the reason for my procrastination; perhaps it was the lack of a solid plan or the project's sheer monotony.
By 2020, my fabric wall had faded from waiting, and finally, I whipped up some lovely curtains for my sewing room - but not from the blocks as originally intended. Instead, I decided to sew those mismatched purple and green blocks together to form a quilt top. Now, the poor green blocks had suffered from their window-hanging days, and their edges stretched out like a cat in a sunbeam. I should have abandoned the project at this point, but no, I persevered, ignoring the rippling, wavy edges, determined to check off the ToDo. The result? A bona fide disaster of a quilt, complete with added borders. What on earth was I thinking?
I couldn't fathom sending this catastrophe out for professional quilting, so it was consigned to the depths of my closet, expecting to be forgotten. But this year I joined my quilt guild's UFO challenge and I put it on the list. Why oh why would I do that? And this quilt was the draw for the month.
What I would have liked to do is just put the quilt on the long arm and quilt it, but my perfectionist self won't let me. Even though I have my own long arm, the high cost of battings and backings still makes it hard to justify. But remember, I'm a hoarder, and I just can't let those blocks go without a fight. So, I'm giving them one last shot at redemption.
I've resolved to pick apart those blocks and see if a gentle wash and iron can restore the green ones to their former glory. If not, I'll bid them a tearful farewell. But if they do make a miraculous recovery, I'll combine them with some green log cabin blocks I rescued from another quilt earlier this year.
Who doesn't love a good quilt made from leftovers?
So, here's the plan for the coming week: disassemble the quilt, recover the blocks, and figure out the best way to wash them. After that, I'll cross my fingers, toes, and eyes in the hope that my plan will work. Wish me luck!
Linking up with
I love quilts from leftover's Sharon! Looking forward to watching this come together. Thanks for sharing with us at MM.
ReplyDeleteSharon I do like your plan to try to save those blocks. I’m not sure I wouldn’t have just put it on the longarm and finished it! 😉. Hope you had another great week and had lots of stitching time. Thank you for linking with To Do Tuesday.
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