Ever start a quilt & quit because you aren't happy with it?
 

Just wondering if I'm wasting my time. I started a quilt for my son (very simple disappearing 9-patch), and as I go on I'm hating it because the fabric I used (because of all the colors) was cheap. I'm thinking about bailing & just maybe using the blocks I already finished for a small couch throw, and starting a new one with better fabrics.

Anytbody else do this? Am I nuts for wasting my time? I have everything cut out, and probably finished about 3 rows.

Maybe you could donate the quilt to a homeless shelter or something and make your son a new one.

No , you are not alone. I started a dissappearing nine patch and just did not like the way it was looking. So I unsewed all the strips I has sewn ... and made something else. There have also been a few projects that only me and the garbage man ever know existed. When your heart and mind aren't in it .... just stop.

I wasn't going to just trash it, and don't really have extra funds or time to finish & donate it. The backing & batting wouldn't be cheap for me. My reasoning is that I wanted to make something that lasted for him, and I'm afraid the Walmart material I bought just won't stand up to the test of time, especially for a boy.

If you think it won't hold up, then I would start another one for him. I have actually tossed out a couple projects that just weren't coming out the way they should. Or they have become cat blankets!

All the time. It goes with being a quilter.

Well if it's for a boy that MIGHT be hard on it, I'd probably finish it and let him use it well. Then you might not stress when it's dragged outside on the lawn , or maybe to the ball game. Finish it and let him love it well, them made him a better one with nicer fabric when he might be less likely to harm it

I think it depends on the age of the boy. What is ok at 4 years old might be babyish at 6 yrs. If he is young, make it for him and take your time and buy good fabric as you can for the next quilt. He will get his use out of it, and you can have time to buy the perfect supplies needed for the next one. If he is older, then maybe I would look for something else if I didn't like the first one.

He will actually be 9 in March. It's my birthday week this week, and I thought maybe I'd buy some fabric for his new quilt to add to what I already have in my stash. Hoping to spend the day quilting!

The quilts I've started and tossed aside for one reason or another I call my UFOs.

How far have you gotten? Have you cut the nine-patches into smaller sections yet? Maybe it is just in the layout. Once it is cut into four it might look better.

I have several quilts I've started and never finished. Most of them were discarded because I tried to do things that were beyond my experience. I've kept them, thinking I would go back and finish them when I had the knowledge and experience. However, I find there is always a new pattern or tool I'd like to try and they are still in the UFO box, even 10-20 years later. I think they have found a permanent home!

I have a BOM that I am not satisfied with, and paid a lot a money for it. I squares aren't as large as they are supposed to be, so I put it away and did something else. UGGG makes me mad, but I WILL get it done (someday).

i've done this more than once. however, after putting it away for a while, it didn't seem so bad anymore :)

There is absolutely no reason to finish every quilting project you start, and even less reason to feel guilty about it. You don't have to put it away for later, you don't have to donate it somewhere, you don't have to cut it up and make something else out of it. You are allowed to stop doing things that don't bring you pleasure or make you feel good about what you're doing. You don't have to justify that in any way to anyone. Move on with your life and make a quilt for your son that brings you both joy. You deserve nothing less.

....and that's why people have UFOs. Maybe you just need to put it away for a while and get back to it later.

Yes, I have abandoned projects. I used to feel guilty, but not anymore. I chalk it up to a lesson learned. Sometimes its a color study (like the orange quilt my son requested. HATED making it, LOVE the quilt done! Go figure!) Sometimes I use it as a leaders/enders project just to 'git 'er done' and move on! Once or twice I have even passed it on to someone who LOVED it. Guess those were not mine! I have enough to do that I dream about and cannot WAIT to work on . I know i"m not into it, if I am happy leaving it to go make supper! Pass it on if you are not WILD about it!

Funny this topic comes up. Just this weekend I'm scrapping a scrappy. Had so many fabric going on that it completely obliterated the star pattern. Not enough uniformity in the background fabric. Figured I'm out about 12 hours of my time but nothing in materials. It's all in a zip lock bag and if I don't use it in a year's time, out it goes. First time in 30+ I've completely bailed on a project. Life is too short to hate what you're doing. I do that enough for 40 hours at my job!

If you hate it, stop working on it, and give the fabric to a thrift store, or throw it out. There's no sense continuing with it. Wait till you have some money saved up & buy top quality quilting fabrics from now on - don't use WalMart fabric for quilts - it isn't worth all your time, and the cost of batting, etc. You can get great deals for top quality stuff from stores online. And don't feel badly - you learned a bunch - so, move onto a new project, one that you delight in.

Unlike so many on this board I HATE doing the D9. I started one for a California King bed (ours) and after about a year, maybe two, I finally took it to a retreat with me and finished it in about 10 minutes. When I took it out to work on the lady across the table kept talking about how beautiful it was, how she loved the colors, etc. I said, "Do you really?" When she answered 'Yes', I shoved it and all the extra fabric across the table and said, "It's yours, I'm sick of working on it."
Yeah, had that sucker finished in a matter of minutes.

You know your boy. Will he like it because MOM made it for HIM????Maybe finish it for now and look at something later on ??? There are numerous patterns for t-shirts maybe wait till he's older and do that ???? We are always hardest on ourselves.

I have started many projects, knitting, quilting, crocheting and sewing... if i don't like them, i pkg up with needles (lord knows I have enough to share an occasional knitting needle)... project, scraps, pattern and put in a clear bag so people can see what the yarn AND pattern are.... someone else will love it and if they are shopping at a thrift store (as I have needed to many times in my life), then they just may need a project they couldn't afford otherwise.... if they tear apart and use any other way, fine, if they complete it.... fine.... it isn't sitting in my closet, taking up space and not being used...

I would finish it and give it to him, it might not last forever but I'm sure it won't fall apart. When I first began quilting I only had the local Joann's for fabrics and believe me some of the fabrics I used was kind of thin, the batting was cheap and really thin and the quilting was about 12" apart. Made the quilts for my young grandkids and they used them and abused them and after 10 years those quilts are still intact. As I learned more about quilting I began using better fabrics, batting and threads and made the grandkids bigger quilts but those first quilts they love and still use them.

Maybe you should finish it and donate it. But then make something else for your son.

Funny thing is that I started a quilt for him with this same fabric (literally) about 3 or 4 years ago and changed the pattern from triangles to this one! I may cut WAY back on the size & make him his own couch quilt with a fluffy, comfy & cheap poky batting. I know he will use & love it. I did find enough fabric in my stash to make the other one, PLUS now he wants to paint his room blue instead of green!

At least one year! When a quilt is just not working for me I stop where I'm at, add a back, turn it and give it to someone that needs a pet quilt. I don't feel guilty at all. I have even thrown a few unfinished in the trash because I was so frustrated.

Your quite funny but you did a good thing for that lady and yourself.
The only UFOs I have are tops waiting for me to get them quilted and I have more of them then I wish I had. LOL

I made my son a quilt from Walmart fabric 3 years ago I think, maybe 4... he was still in his toddler bed and is about to turn 6. Between the kids and the animals quilts get well loved in my house :) and it's holding up as well as any other quilt I've made for my kids (maybe better). But, I did buy some really cheap fabric from Walmart once because I wanted a cheap project to work on right then. The pattern I chose had triangles, and thin, stretchy material and triangles are not a good combo. The blocks are in a bag waiting for they day when I might have the patience to block them -- but more than likely I will get tired of moving them out of my way and just toss them.

We should have a UFO exchange! Ha ha

I have a kit that has been sitting on the shelf forever. Yesterday, I took it off the shelf, scrapped the pattern and am doing my own thing with the fabric. Some times that's just what happens.

I have three quilts I hated. I didn't even bother to fold them up, I just wadded them up in a plastic bag and tied it shut. That was several years ago. I came across them while looking for Christmas. Gifts I had hidden, OMG, where did
These come from. I hardly recognized them. They are now being finished because now I like the fabric colors
Which I did not before. Our taste's really do change over the years.

Yes been there done that. I too used cheap fabric in colors and patterns that I realized I did not like. I threw it out and have never regretted it! I know some would say finish it and give it away but I feel my time is worth more than that and I don't want to waste time working on something I dislike. So my advice, start over with fabric you like and know is good quality.

That is onc source of UFO's! LOL Its your project! Do what you want with it! Finish it, UFO it, through it out the window! Who cares, it's your do what you want. That being said there are a lot of good ideas being shared here, any one would work.

amen sista!!!

I have 5 nephews. All like different sports and camping and are generally rough on anything cloth. Since they grow into and out of colors ,patterns and themes so often It doesn't really matter if it's made from top line fabric or Wal-mart. They love it to pieces anyway!! I am too cheap to throw out something I hate. I have traded with other quilters and some UFO's are stuffed out of sight until I decide what to do. Rip it all apart and start over or keep going just to finish it.

Oh that is a tuff one! I guess I would finish what I started, quilt it then wash it up. It will soften once the sizing washes out, will be just fine for a young boy who will love it regardless. I guess I just dislike not finishing what I started, and many times I find I like it better after it is all done and washed up. Lesson learned and move on :) hugs

I have one now that the binding is 1/2 done. I hate it and sew have not finished it or started any more.
I like the previous idea to finish the project and donate it somewhere other than the intended one.
Thanks for this suggestion.

Funny, I actually convert a qulr I had started in a wall hanging and chair covering couple of days ago :-) So you are not alone ;-) I just had a better idea to replace the project I was working on.

For a 9 year old boy, I would finish it and give it to him to use howevery he pleases. He won't understand the quality of the material, etc., and you will enjoy seeing him dragging it around or putting it in his dogs bed, or whatever 9 year olds do. Now, when he gets to an important time in his life, college graduation, marriage, first child, then pull out that good fabric and make him another quilt. I have to tell you that the ones I have made for my children and grandchildren are now mostly in their closets, except for my oldest son. He uses his in his boat for him and his wife to cover up when needed. I must add this, however, if it is making you very unhappy to continue with this project, put it aside and do what your heart tells you.