It's okay to be a failure
 

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So, I spent a lot of time on these..and now I hate them and don't want to put them into a quilt that I will see on a regular basis, they ended up slightly different sizes and if I matched them all to the smallest one, it would be out of proportion and just weird. I have already started putting together smaller collections to make baby size quilt tops instead of the one queen size duvet I was going to make.

I learned a lot making these pink blocks. But they turned out so catty-wompus that I just can't even allow myself to make it into a quilt for my stepdaughter. I want something that is more polished. I had intended to put a fleur-de-lis in each white block since that is her favorite shape.

LESSON LEARNED: This is what happens when you are fearless and thinking you can just sew fabrics together and that will make a block. Not saying you can't do that, but I think I will be more successful once I have a lot more experience, knowledge(and quite a few more failures, I'm sure), and have followed a pattern more than once. I have 18 pairs left, enough for two more tops.

Now... what to do with them? 1) use them to learn on the long arm....

by the way, the pinks match a whole lot better than they appear to here.

I agree that some blocks I make just don't fit, but they can always be used somewhere else ... a pet quilt maybe?

I like the pinks!

Ooh, I like the idea of quilting these and donating to a pet shelter. That is where my heart has always been, with the animals.

You just have to square them up to be the same size as the black. Use a ruler just about the same size as the size block you want; like a 6 1/2 or or whatever. Then find the center of the block and for a 6 1/2 in block the center of the ruler is 3 1/4 and that should be in the center of block on all 4 sides and then trim each block so that they are all the same size. You might consider a white or another color for sashing and then you don't have to but up seams or alternate the blocks on each row so that the black buts up with the pink and white each time and then you don't have to worry so much about matching seams. My daughter made a block quilt and the blocks were off but I didn't want her to get disappointed and quit quilting so I made sashing to put between the rows of blocks and then it didn't show as much that the blocks weren't 100% the same size. I even had to take one whole row apart because there was way too much off in size but I didn't tell her, I just put it all together and then taught her how to do some SITD and tied it off and she gave it as a baby gift and the new mom and all the guest thought she did a great job. She told me later, how can they say that I made so many mistakes. I told her that only someone that quilted or knew to look really careful would see them. Most people look at the gifts; not the mistakes. Her next quilt was so much better and she did it all by herself. I was very proud. I think you are on a role here and can have a very pretty quilt if you keep going.

Here's a trick I learned from making all those Blooming 9 patches -

Don't ever cut the plain/solid squares until all the pieced squares are sewn and squared up.

And then, whatever that measurement happens to be, that's the size you cut the plain squares.

Yes, in a perfect world, even if you weren't doing such a free-form design, every block sewn would be finish to the same exact size.

Well, the world ain't perfect.

So you can stress over the fact that yours aren't - which is in total opposition to the whole free-form movement - or you make sure they're the same size (by squaring them up), and now the blocks will go together so smoothly you'll be done before you know it.

I respectfully disagree with the title of your post. You are not a failure. You may have failed at meeting the expectations of this project but that is it. YOU are not a failure. That said, the blocks are cute. One possible use is to turn them into HSTs with the black on one side. Then it wouldn't be noticeable that the lines don't match up. You can square up the HST and nobody will ever be the wiser.

Practice your FMQing with them and make them into doll quilts to give to little girls

The pinks combined with another fabric would make interesting half square triangles.

you are not a failure because if that is a failure then wow i am
really bad. i just start over and eventually it all goes in place. i really
like the pink it will be used somewhere else. keep plugging along you
are doing great.