I can't believe I did this!!
 

This has been the most frustrating quilt I've ever made and it's all my own fault! First I loaded the quilt on my Tin Lizzie frame and quilted most of it before I dicovered that I had loaded the top going the wrong direction so the backing was way short, the batting too. So I took it off the frame and added 10 inches to the backing. I loaded it back on the frame and rolled the quilt to where I left off, only to discover that I should have added at least 14" inches to the backing! It's still too short! Now I have to do it again. I wonder what (or if) I was thinking!!!! Am I the only one who's ever done this? I've been quilting for many years and never done this before, maybe I'm loosing it.

I feel your pain. I'm famous for sewing a seam wrong, unsewing it, and sewing it wrong the same way again! Some days the brain takes a vacation without your body.

Maybe your brain is distracted by sorting out a worry or stress. You're not losing it. You're just human. Good luck with sorting it out.
Annie

Step away from the longarm. Take a walk. Have lunch then take a nap. Then go back and look at it with fresh eyes. Believe me you are not the only one who has done this. Sometimes stepping away for a few minutes really helps.

You are not alone. My mess up wasn't as painful as yours but I do feel your pain - just to a lesser degree.:) I basted my last quilt with the top/batting on the wrong way also. Thank goodness it was spray basted and that I caught it before I quilted it all! I had only gone around 1 block using stitch in the ditch so it wasn't too difficult to unsew and reposition. I do the same thing as Lisa all the time. It makes me so mad at myself!

Will the bug recover from hitting the windshield?!?!?!?! ROFL...

I sure hope tomorrow is a better day ...

Slow down and take a breath!

Thank goodness.....I thought it was just me...:)

My favorite thing to do (it seems, anyway....) is to plan to leave the backing big enough to just fold it over and make the binding. SO what do I do? I cut a hole in it as I'm "trimming" the batting from the finished quilt, ruining forever any hope of a back to front binding....sigh...

Sorry for all your frustrations. About the only way that I can remember to keep from doing that is as soon as I get the backing ready for the frame is to put a Large safety pin in one end, so that I know that end has to be loaded first. Also do the same with the quilt top and batting.

Ah, this is a road that I travel daily. I just found my reading glasses in the refrigerator. I am finishing a flying geese and the geese will fly across the bed, it is for a nonquilter and he will think it is just fine. I know it is hard to find, but there is humor in there somewhere, and year by year it gets easier to find.

Believe me you are not alone.

I just did something very similar 2 weeks ago. Don't feel alone.

I've had more than my share of "mental-pause" moments myself lately. Is there a cure?

Darn 'reality checks'!
They tell us we are not as perfect as we thought ;)

Dear Dear Friends---- We are NOT making mistakes---We are making new Creations. Some of my best work was when I thought I had made a mistake. Relax and enjoy.

When I make the same dumb error twice, I shut everything off and do something else, maybe a cuppa, and go back later

I did that once!!! Now it is my biggest fear and I check the fabic at least twice. I put Safety pin on the edges that are on the bars now, every single time.
Mary Katherine

OUCHIE!!!! MY condolences! I get very frustrated with myself when I cause myself EXTRA WORK1

I used to work 2nd shift and was often sewing/quilting at 1 am or worse. One night I had just finished a quilt top for my first granfson. I decided to clean up one edge with a single rotary slice and then off to bed.

What I didn't see (BECAUSE I WAS HALF ASLEEP) was that the quilt was folded under itself. I CUT THE QUILT TOP IN HALF. I thought I was going to C-R-O-A-K. I was ill & catatonic when I went to bed. The next day.. I took a huge breath... forced myself to GET OVER IT - made a band of 4 patches in coordinating fabric...and sewed it in. I gave it to my daughter and she told me later that band of color was her favorite part about the quilt. When I told her HOW that 4 patch strip came to be she laughed until she cried....lol

Go figure..
.

Welcome to my world. I have done it too! Find comfort in knowing you are not alone--still frustrating, but we can rant together! :)

No, you are not the only one that makes mistakes like that.
Last night, I hand sewed two CW squares together, only to discover one was backward! So, I carefully rip out those teeny, tiny stitches and sew it together again THE SAME WAY! Errrrg! (It's still sitting there waiting for me, at that point, I had to walk away from it) lol

I just finished the top of an irish chain and I put the second border on the sides first instead of the top and bottom first like I had done the first border . Had to take them off and redo them. I hate it when I do things like that.

So glad you posted this. I just started quilting my son's b'day present and found a big pucker in the back. Was feeling stupid and discouraged. But if good experienced quilters can have an off day, there's hope for me.

I done this last week..had my backing to short..after I had quilted most of the quilt..I took the easy way out..I cut of the last 2 rows of my quilt..it was too long anyway ..I told myself..lol

You are not alone ...I have done the very same thing!!! I think we all have at least one LA nightmare. Another of mine was a wedding quilt for my niece...I was so proud of this quilt, the top was absolutely gorgeous and about half way through the quilting process, I noticed that I had tension issues and only then realized I had loaded the backing fabric facing UP which required that I unsew the entire quilted area and start over... needless to say the wedding quilt became a Christmas present for the bride and groom.

I feel for you. I received a customer quilt the other day...she always sends fabric for me to make into the backing. Quilt is 76 x 86...I measure the quilts folded...add an inch...and then make my backing 4" larger all around. I cut the fabric 100" long...twice...sewed together...then proceeded to baste it to the zippers along the selvege edge...oops! only got about 1/3 of one zipper on...thought...I won't have enough room! I'm glad I caught the error...or I'd be in the same boat as you are!

We all have those days when our brains are not engaged. I had one quilt where I had sewed a 4 inch square backwards/wrong side up and did not discover it until I was hand quilting. So forgive yourself and just go forward.

Time to take a coffee/tea break, take a walk, just distance yourself from the project, maybe even do a different project then you can come back to it with a new perspective. You're not loosing it, you're probably ju st trying to do too much or have a lot on your mind. Remember there is only so much space in your brain and it can get overloaded, then spill over into gobbleygook. It will all work out.

No,you are not the only one who has done this.I loaded a quilt around Christmas time and as I quilted it I realized the pattern would have looked better if I had loaded it the other way.It hapens.I have "Red Snapprs" so it is easy load and unload then reload,but still aggrivating.Especially when you need to add fabric.I haven' had that happen in years,but,my life isn't over yet.Just regroup,forgive yourself,and move on.I've had my Gammill for 9 years.So,I am not a newbie either.

That sounds like how I quilt. I have made so many mistakes on measuring for the backing that I now just add an extra 6 to 8 inches on each side. It works for me, but it is a waste of fabric.

I just hope it's yours...

Oh my Mary!!! Bless your heart. Please realize that other people do silly mistakes like this too. I have, more times than I can count. Especially when I am finally out from under the gun.

I am a great organizer and performer when there is lots going on (like the holidays) But, when I relax from it all, I cave. I don't know why this is. Maybe it is a rebellion on the part of my brain... LOL! But, I know to watch myself closely at those points in time.

The nice thing about it .. Tomorow is another day. Be kind to yourself and have a good laugh.

What a brilliant idea! Wish I had known that years ago!! Thanks

Me too! I need to take a break here because I've given myself a limit of three times for the same error. On a small scale like making a block I throw it into the scraps pile for something else and restart the whole block.

But after a nice break (and indeed a cuppa really helps) I'm usually fine to continue.

Some time ago I decided that my trademark on my quilts would be some type of mistake in the quilt. Not really, but yeah, sort of!! If I make a mistake, I first start to get upset by it. Then I quickly switch into the "this will be the I spy block/section in this quilt!!" I decided that I wouldn't drive myself batty over it. Of course, some things you have to fix in some manner in order to finish - and that is frustrating. Love, love, love the story given where the recipient really liked that section of the quilt (that was added in after the quilt was cut in half).

I did a Triple Rail Fence quilt a number of years ago (think that is what it is called) where I managed to get one of the triple rails the wrong way. Didn't notice it when FMQing it, only noticed it after it was opened at Christmas by my parents and put on the bed. Actually, took me a couple of days even then, when I just happened to glance at it just so. Oh well - I considered that block to be the "I Spy" block in that quilt!!!

I have discovered that if I put a safety pin at the top of each layer as I finish it when I put it together or send to one of LAers, it is easy to put it together right. I always let them know that the pins are on the top edge of the piece.