Pulling My HAIR OUT !!!!!!
 

I just finished making (15) 8 point stars for this new pattern. They all looked good UNTIL I went to assemble the dang thing. the blocks ended up all wonky. I may have 5 that are useable. I'm stomping my feet and ready to spit. I took extra care with the cutting and sewing. Was so proud that I actually took great pains to make sure everything was accurate. So my questions is????? Do I start all over or put it down and come back later to try again? No idea what happened!!! But now am VERY discouraged. I havent been doing this that long, would say I'm an experienced newbie :) thanks for letting me vent. Hubby just gets a glass eyed look when I try to explain why I have tears in my eyes!!!

So sorry!!! I also consider myself an experienced newbie and I feel your pain. I think I would put it down for a while and regroup!! Might not be so bad when the head clears.

Not even attempting to touch inset seams yet, but keep trying you'll get the hang of it. I think harriet hardgrave has a book on it I think its the senior year volume.

Don't give up yet. Try spraying them lightly with water, blocking them and pressing them. Not sure what pattern you are doing, but sashing can cover a multitude of sins. Then there's always wonky blocks that are really fun. Post a pic and let us see the problem.

Have a glass of wine. Tomorrow, ask a local friend to help. Or maybe there's a tutorial on the internet. Or maybe your LQS staff will help.

Could you add a border around each one to minimize the mistakes?

A picture is worth a thousand hair pulls. Show us and we may be able to give an easy fix

Please post a pic of your blocks. If they are what I think they are I (and many others) can give you some pointers on getting the blocks to come out square.

Are they Flying Geese? My 8 point stars are Flying Geese, so I wondered if that is what you are talking about. They can get wonky.

Spray starch and up down pressing may help, this sort of blocks the stars.

Don't be discouraged DesertNurse. There are some great positives here. Firstly, let me say it happens to us all at the beginning. Here is your opportunity to start your 'Orphan Box' ... put the ones you really are unhappy with in there, believe me they will be used later for something else, call your disappointment a 'learning curve' and try again, the experience you gain with be well worth it. Enjoy your quilting and wipe away those tears. Hugs and good wishes,

Mary B

If you used Flying Geese sewn to a central square ... then I suggest you make some FG in different ways and see which best works for you.

One central rectangle with 2 squares sewn at the corners.
Sewing well starched triangles to a central isoscolese trapezoid. [ 2sides parallel, and the other sides equal in length, though not parallel.]
Using a FG ruler - beware, there are many out there, so try before you buy.
Paper Piecing: Triangles on a Roll has FG, as does a few other comapnies. Your LQS should have some.
Triangulations, I think then also have FG. I haven't used these but some quilters love the program.

Also do a 'net' search for Flying Geese. There are several tutes on the net, including John Flynn's method.

I would put the blocks together, even if wonky. Years from now, you will look back and see how much progress you've made. Every quilt is a good quilt -- it doesn't have to be perfect!

Take a deep breath & repeat after me "design element, design element, design element" use them & be proud as you are probably your own worst critic

I had the same complaint last week! lol I worked so hard to make the pattern even when cutting I couldn't figure out why it was so crooked when I started piecing them together! Then someone asked if I ironed instead of pressed. Ironing stretches the fabric. It really does! I'm pressing on the project I'm working on now and what a huge difference! Who would have thunk it? Don't know if this applies to you but it's worth a mention.

i would suggest a 'custom' frame system... frame each block separately with either a matching fabric or different for each block to complement each block's colors... use a generous 2.5 or 3 inches... then after assembling... measure all to find the smallest block (they will be different because of each star's original size before framing. After you find the smallest one, trim all other to the same size, squaring up as you go... now they will all fit together perfectly and no one will be able to see the tiny difference from block to block... This is a method i often use when i find antique or stacks of unfinished blocks... you can make everything the same size without sacrificing any of the first round of work whether it's yours or someone elses'...good luck

I agree with this suggestion. I made a Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt (think it was her first online) and I was very new to quilting. It is full of mistakes but from a distance it looks pretty and it keeps me warm (made it 1/2 size). Hand quilted it -- had no idea what I was doing but it was fun and I smile each time I look at it and realize all that is "wrong" with it. So glad I didn't "ditch" it.

As QuiltnMyra says "Enjoy your quilting and wipe away those tears.."

Before you do anything more to your hair . . .
 

. . . rest and see if you can figure what you did "wrong." With planning, you can join diamonds so those center seams are paired--one on grain, one bias. That helps.

When you set in the squares/triangles between the diamonds, don't stitch past the dot. When you're in the middle of a seam, stop a stitch or two before before the dot and back stitch. When the seam is made, pull out any stitches that are in any of the seam allowances. At the outside edge of the block, the seams can be sewn from the raw edge (ignore "dot" rule).

When you join the quarter units together, the center has to match then--you can't adjust when all 8 are together.

If you decide to unstitch, do it by clipping the stitches from one side and pull the thread out from the other when it's loose. You don't want to pull on the edge of the patch and stretch it more out of shape.

Press all the seams in the same direction, working around the center. They should marry to make matching easier.

Use fine (.05) pins and fine (aurifil or similar) thread when lots of seam allowances meet. It helps keep the points crisp.

Without seeing your blocks, it's impossible to tell for sure. The fact that you tried so hard leads me to believe that the issue is pressing. During assembly or final. check for folds pressed at the seams. The wonky statement says to me you ironed. When I run into a challenge like that I have a pressing board that i drew square sizes on with pigma pen. I will pin a block to the correct size and spray back with starch(before pinning) and press the front. Often all that is needed is to tell the block what is needed from it LOL

Border around the "bad blocks"? spraying them ? Glass of wine and find information ?

I'd put the blocks away, and consider it "practice". Then get out some scrap fabric and practice those stars, or different ways of making an 8 pointed star ( and my personal preference is Ded Tucker's Lemoyne Star ruler from 180 designs. Works out perfectly every time!) and figure out where you went wrong. Maybe if you sent us a picture, it would help.

I know how you feel. take a deep breath & spray starch it!

This is a good idea. In the alternative, put the wonky ones aside, re-do your pattern to include simple squares and the star blocks that are good. Take the wonky ones and make the really wonky with framing and you'll end up with two quilts. Pictures would be great. We could really see what you're talking about.

I would say to heavily starch and block them. If that doesn't square them up, add sashing. That will hide almost anything! Don't give up. You can do it!!!

Jinny Beyer does a lot of inset seams and stars. You might find somethig on her web site.

My first attempt at stars turned out wonky, too. The problem started in the points of each star. To fix, do not sew to the end of the fabric. Instead, mark where the two seam lines intersect and only sew dot-to-dot. If you do this for both the stars and the insets, the wonk might be greatly improved.

Don't pull your hair out. It probably is not as bad as you think, and even if it is it can be altered a bit. Use the suggestions given and I am sure it will be a lovely quilt.

Is the problem you are having that you are cutting off your 'points' when you go to put the blocks together? If so you have to have your points 1/4 inch in from the edge to accomodate your block seam.

Have never done an inset seam with flying geese (which is what I would do with an 8 pointed star).

These things do happen. I am sorry you are having this problem. Just take a breather and come back to it. It may look very different after a break.

Tuck them away and work on somethingn else, then go back and try a figure out how to fix them. Time away helps sometimes, as they say cant see the trees cause of the forest.

I'd forgotten about my first quilts. After many years as a UFO, I found one of my first quilts. I'd done a good job on the blocks, the color choices were so predictably a beginners choices. One of the blocks was obviously done at a different size. While looking at it, I remembered some of the resources I'd used & the people I was with at the time. I finished it, trying to be true to where I was when I started it. It's now part of my treasured memories.

So, I suggest, take a break. Consider what people have suggest on this thread. Get local help. Finish it, maybe with only 8 blocks. And later in your quilting career, look on it fondly.