juliasb

I was out garage saling this morning and came across a few quilting items. The one that interested me the most was a UFO in colors that I just love. Black & white, turquoise, purples and browns. The woman selling the UFO said she just hated the way it looked over all.
So I bought it home, laid it out on the floor and immediately understood what/why it did not set well to the eye. She has a number of 2 1/2" sashings in all the different fabric pieces to add some zing. they look nice. What she didn't do, as far as I can see is add any of the black & whites as blocks so it tends to look boring. What I am gonna do is take some of the strips apart and add in various blocks of the black & whites. There are several different prints so it should make it much more interesting. This is a quilt top that I don't feel any guilt reworking. The potential is there for a beautiful quilt top. I have a couple quilt tops that I have been ask to rework that I feel a lot of guilt it reworking. How do others handle reworking someone else's quilt. Be they damaged or incomplete. Also if you are asked to rework a quilt made by someone you know?

Iceblossom

If a person decides to get rid of a project then it is yours to do with as you would. You can cut it up, carefully take it apart, or try to finish it true to the original concept.

When I buy unquilted tops or other kits I usually try to keep true to the idea of the project, this past week I picked up a Tumbling Blocks top that was nicely made other than a terrible flimsy poly border. I'll take that off and replace it with a print from the period that is also double the width of the current border. Part of me really believes that I should take it all apart down to the hexes and reassemble them so the dark fabric is not on the top for a better 3D effect, but in that case I might as well just make one from scratch.

On the other hand, I've seen some great stuff done by people who cut blocks and reassembled them or did some pretty major changes and that can be great too. At a guild show a number of years ago one of the small groups did a 9-patch swap, everyone had exactly the same blocks to work with and what they did with them was amazing.

I really try to keep out of doing stuff for other people! I have finished some UFOs, repaired a quilt here and there... Fortunately I can often say truthfully and honestly that I am not good at handwork stuff but I can find someone to refer you to.

Tartan

I finished a quilt kit that came with the pattern and cut pieces. I just laid it out in a pattern I wanted and finished it. I made it lap size and had enough to piece a back and make a couple of hot pads.

toverly

I haven't reworked someone else's quilt but I have finished someone else's UFO's. I finished 4 quilts of a friend's mother's when she passed away. They were late 70's early 80's quilts. She had started them, sandwiched them with high loft polyester (what was the style then), then tried to hand stitch part of two of them. I simply machine stitched the rest not taking out her own stitches. When I handed them over, I pointed out the hand stitches and told my friend that they were her mom's. She teared up. The ones without hand quilting, I simply replaced the batting with cotton and machine finished them. I felt good about it.

tranum

I got fabric & handwritten notes for Eleanor Burns “Twin Sisters” quilt. Directions were somewhat sketchy but we are lucky to have internet available for all our questions. I found a YouTube and have the blocks done. Now to get the sashing done !

stitch678

Oh boy, l get into ufo's other people started but quit all the time! We at Water Oak Quilters in Lady Lake Fla. make quilts for hospitals, vets, nursing homes and other organizations using donated fabrics or purchased after fundraising. So many of our talented sewists teach newbies the ropes. In learning and demonstrating, many orphan blocks get created. Those and projects left unfinished by those leaving the community ( or passing away) are put in our UFO bin if not made into quilt tops or backs. A few of us " scrappers" love raiding the box and coming up with ways to rescue these. Our resulting quilts are often imaginative and stunning...not ugly or boring in the least. Sometimes it takes someone with a totally different view of those materials to rescue them and work them up to their potential!

juliasb

I left all the rows laid out last night, decided to sleep on it and then look at it again. It needs a focal point of some kind. So today as I try to stay cool and wait for the AC repair guy I am going to do a bit of re-design work. The good news is my stash is loaded with fabrics that can make this a stand out quilt. The bones are good so I know I can do this one. Looking forward to having it done. No guilt. After this one I will be onto one that has a bit of guilt attached to it. I will be finishing a rework of a graduation quilt made for my niece by another family member.

juliasb

I like this idea a lot. Always looking for guild activities.

ppquilter

I did a quilt top, loved the colors (Civil War fabrics) but it just didn't grab me, hubby walked by it in the sewing room and commented "You aren't making that bigger are you?". He didn't love it either. It hung there awhile to see if we changed our mind, I don't do much ripping out. Penny , a fellow quilter with a longarm machine, said she would take it and quilt it as she wanted to try some new free-hand quilting designs. Win Win we were both happy, she could practice something new and we'll donate to a charity.

ppquilter

Forgot I was going to add a pic..... was doing like a Bonnie Hunter Lozenger quilt, but mine were 5 X 10 with snow-balled corners