So much of what we do is ... whatever! Everyone has a different opinion and all of them work. But.... some things are absolute. Like:

Never never put borders on just to see what the finished thing will look like. You truly must have the center finished before adding any borders.

I'm just saying --- would never have done that on my own. How impatient would you have to be to do something like that?

What do you mean by the quilt center being finished? I put the blocks on my design wall before sewing them together and sometimes I put different color borders next to one side to see how it will look I don't know how anyone could sew borders on a quilt top when it's not sewn together.

Well, I did the top row then wondered what it would really look like with the borders. So ... decided to just go ahead and sew on the borders to that row. Continued with the rest of the rows. This is a lap quilt - 3 rows of 3 blcoks - 12 inch blocks - with sashing in between. I should have ripped off those borders when I realized what a mess I'd made, but ended up just piecing as I went - for each border had to piece the top borders with that new fabric. Sigh. It was a mess. I've posted the top under pictures and ... it doesn't scream at MISTAKE - even less when I quilt it, but .. what a waste of time just to see what the colors would look like.

No design board here - I generally make one kind of block and then just figure out what to do with it in the quilt. Beginner, beginner, beginner!

Definately a never never.

Lesson learned even thought it was a creative one. Good luck on next project

Always check hand dyes and batiks for color fastness IF you are thinking about not prewashing... the same for deep rich colors like red, green and blue :D:D:D

No design wall here either. but lay the blocks out on a bed or the floor and step back and see how they look. You are right, don't sew the borders on until the center is completely sewn together. Well, we always remember the lessons we learn the hard way!

I usually lay out my blocks on a bed. This is a strippy quilt - 3 blocks in each row - alternating horizontal and vertical. I tend to slam-bam-thank-you-ma'am in my projects. I've learned lots of lessons this way - not many of them positive ones. My new machine has a speed button and I'm learning so much to slow down and enjoy the ride!

ANyone else learn from doing something so totally stupid that you'll never, never do it again?

All the time. sigh.. :-(

Boy, I'll say. I made a string star quilt and used yellow as the solid color. Well, it's so bright you could see it in the dark. Nonetheless, I am going to finish it. Next time with all the loud prints I will use something more subdued for background!

digital camera...lay it out and snap some pix...the put them on the puter and ponder of them for a while if you need to!