Goofy Quilter Award Goes To....
 

I've started my Christmas sewing, a first for me to be doing it this early and I love the fabrics, patterns and looked forward to creating a simple runner as my first gift. I need 32 HST, which is really a very small amount compared to larger projects. So I carefully cut my squares, matched the colors, put the squares with right sides together. I then very carefully measured the diagonal line and marked my fabric squares. I put my 1/4 foot on, a new foot that has helped greatly in keeping my seams at 1/4 inch. I thought I'd just chain sew the squares, how great. While I was doing this I was thinking of my sister who had just called. Sewing machine is humming along, feeding the squares one right after another, very pleased with the nice straight stitching. Finished the last square, removed the chain from the machine. Pressed each square. Sat down and am all ready to cut the HSTs apart, very pleased with the chain and how efficient it was to have chain pieced them. What I had done was to sew a beautiful line of stitches right along the marked diagonal line, no stitching 1/4 inch on each side of the line. Well it is only Tuesday and I've already wasted a great deal of time and made what is probably the dumbest mistake ever. So take heart if you mess up, no one could do anything nearly as dumb as what I just spent the afternoon doing.

Well, you got some good practice in.
I've taken the exit to work so many times, I even take it when I don't mean to :)

If it were me, I'd probably have done that with no thread in the machine! You are not alone. Have a glass of wine and wait for tomorrow.

You're not alone we all mess up.....

I have done the exact same thing! Only natural!

When I do something goofy like that I walk away from the machine and find something else to do. I think we all have done really goofy errors so you are definitely NOT alone. Hope all goes well now.

I have that,too. What I did to fix it was to see 1/4 inch away from the ' sewn ' line and then just cut up the middle. No way was I gonna rip.

Count me in on the goof ups! Then I usually try to think of how I can re-design my quilt instead of ripping anything out or re-doing anything. I too am working on a Christmas project (lap quilt). I thought "oh those giant black and white polka dots will work great for the background around the blocks in the middle part." So I just start adding the polka dots to the blocks and find I don't have enough. So these giant dots have weird piecing together and I'm hoping it will look ok after I quilt it. My husband thinks it looks dumb, but I'm just going to move on with it. The person getting it isn't a quilter!

Take heart. I'm in a similar position having to start from scratch with my quilt top. Had to rip everything apart, soak the muslin-backed feature fabric & start from the beginning. Not only did I do something wrong, I didn't even know I was doing it wrong. Wasted a ton of time & money since I didn't realize you need to pre-shrink Wonder-Under before pressing it to the first fabric so it seized up hours after I had sewn everything together. What a mess!

Take the night off & start again tomorrow. You'll get it done. :thumbup:

I chained pieced approximately 100 blocks the other afternoon with NO BOBBIN THREAD while watching a movie....just kept pushing those seams under that presser foot! I feel your frustration. I used to think how can ANYONE be so careless as to do that...HA!

Been there, done that....have the T-shirt to prove it! LOL

Tomorrow is another day. At least you didn't start to cut them apart!

Who? Me? Never?!! lol, lol, lol !!!!! (And many others. I try not to sew when I am tired.)

Wine, chocolate, a good movie and a ripper will get you a good start on solving that problem.

not square
 

yesterday evening cut three strips which should have been 6.5 cm. then cross cut to make squares. Came to put them together this morning and one of the strips must have been 6 cms. Unfortunately I don't have any more of that fabric.
Lesson learned (until the next time) don't cut when you are tired.
Pippa

Preshrinking wonder under? I never have....seizing up hours after? What do you mean?

Well, now you have a nice cutting line to use when you are ready to cut them apart. Just whip out those other two seams and you're done.

At least you don't have to rip it all out!!

Thank you one and all. I still feel like a super dummy, but it all worked out; just took twice as long. I'm trying to look at it as a lesson in making my stitching a straight line better.

True, but I did have my scissors in hand when I discovered what I had done.

Great save! That takes a lot of the cussing out of the mistake :)

What a great post. I thought I was the only one to make such goof ups. And repeatedly. My sister told me in my beginning stages of quilting I needed to embrace the frog stitch. (rip-it, rip-it, rip-it) Enough said.

Oh Dear!!! Everyone messes up from time to time. Just think about all the times you didn't mess up and be at peace that this time shows you too are human.

You don't need to rip that. Just sew the two seams on each side as you were supposed to, then cut right next to the seam stitching that isn't supposed to be there. Cut on the other side of it, too. Your seams will be a mite less, but it really doesn't matter. Your only added time will be the double cutting to get rid of that thread. Faster than ripping it out. And you have to cut it once anyway.

Oh all that sounds like 'been there, done that' to me! My latest goof was being spectacularly fussy and accurate with a border of HST's and when I sewed the border onto the medallion center square I carefully pinned it, just perfect, made sure all the seams matched up, and basted and sewed it - before realizing I had the medallion piece right-side down and the HST border right side down....

I think if you went back and sewed it all in the right places, 1/4" either side of the center sewn line, you could then cut down the centers and be good to go, with a little fudging

I think I would have to wrestle the Goofy Quilter Award away from you BettyGee. I've made so many dumb mistakes it would take two editions of the Board to list them all. Welcome to the "we're only human" club :-)

OMGoodness! what I wonderful laugh I got from that, Chaney Ranch! .... Been there, done almost all of that... Join the club...

Betty Gee, this has given me a great idea for a conversation session at our quilt guild. NO Quilt Police live there so we're pretty honest with one another. It will be enlightening for sure.

Not only will quilting with a friend keep you in stitches, but those who sew together, grow together. Maybe we can learn from someone else's GOOFY mistakes. Thanks!

I used to have this great nook sewing area in my living room, had an over-sized desk so it could hold a quilt with out it dragging (it was wonderful). I was able to sew in the middle of the night, because the lighting was great. But more than a few times I would get into chaining and FORGET my bobbin thread and I would just keep going and THEN find out all was for not!!!!! So I feel your pain.

Ahhh doesn't that just call for a good scream? Something I did myself at one time.

Welcome to my club! I'm always doing things like that! At least you don't have to rip the seams out! Just put them through again! Lemons out of lemonade!🍋🍋🍋

Sometimes I just start another crazy quilt! Add few beers to the mix and doesn't look 1/2 bad. Of course the other side doesn't look 1/2 good. Crazy. Shut everything off, walk out of the room, shut the door, have another beer and maybe start over the next day.

OMG, I am so glad you wrote this. My DH acted as if I was ready for the rest home when I told him this last week. LOL

been there --- done that too! Good thing I learned how to use the seam ripper in record time!

For me it would be getting all that chain stitching done, only to find out that I ran out of bobbin thread after the first one. Oh yeah!! I'd chalk it up to good practice chain piecing.

Well, someone once told me the only people who don't make mistakes are DEAD. If you're living - you will make a mistake. Plus - who will care 100 years from now anyway?

BettyGee, I think we are members of the same club. I did the exact same thing and I wasn't thinking about my sister. Tomorrow is another day. :)

I have that,too. What I did to fix it was to see 1/4 inch away from the ' sewn ' line and then just cut up the middle. No way was I gonna rip. quote: Mike's girl
My thoughts exactly. Been there, done that........

Cool, I'll have to remember that one!

Hey I thought I was getting an award! Lol! You know we have all done this. Once I sewed a whole bunch wrong sides together!! Man I was ticked.

Yep! I'm with "mike'sgirl".... Just sew on each side and then cut down the center over the other stitching! This is almost a "normal" mistake for me!