oh dear double entry ,was SO slow going thro' said ERROR!!!

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I'd have to go have good cry then sit down with a cup of tea (or glass of wine) and a seam ripper.[/quote]

Forget the glass of wine...take the bottle!

But don't rip until the effects of that bottle have worn off!!! :lol: I tried piecing after a few glasses of wine...next morning was rippit time!

oh dear had this same thing happen to me, I hid it for a year then took out all the quilting, took off the really cheapo batting and back, then sent it to my sister who machine quilted it on her long arm, soooooooooooo much better! finally can have it on a bed and not hidden away! I know just how you feel, so sorry this happened to you.

I too would take the careful time to rip it out and start over. You've put so much time into building it, it makes sense not to give up. I would also let her know in a nice way how disappointed you were in the quality of her work and help her to know the mistakes she made if she wants continued referrals. Is there anyway she would let you use her long arm to do the quilting yourself? Might be worth asking.

I don't know if I could rip out a King size one...that is so heartbreaking. I think I would try washing it first and see if the dryer will take up the slack in the puckers.

Sounds like you're set on ripping it out, so have at it and I bow to your perseverence.

I personally would not rip it out, which makes me clearly in the minority here.

I would rather spend my time figuring out a way to make what is already there appealing than picking at stitches and then having to re-quilt the whole darn thing. Are you sure that your efforts to hand quilt a king log cabin are going to be significantly better? Or done in this lifetime?

Depending on the design, what I would do is figure out how to applique something interesting over the log cabin blocks, covering up the most objectionable puckers. I could imagine a floral and vine pattern working, or maybe even a favorite animal silhouette -- birds of various types are very popular right now, and would lend themselves to that approach.

RST

Personally, unless it is really bad I wouldn't rip it out... just me, chalk it up to a lesson learned...

Also, I wouldn't say anything to her unless you don't care about her friendship.. just don't send her anymore. Some things are not worth the hurt feelings..

I am so sorry you had this problem. Lesson learned for all of us.

Was the fabric pre-washed? This is a good idea and perhaps will save a ton of ripping if you did NOT wash the fabric before you pieced it. However, if you do decide to un-sew the quilting, here is what I do. Takes less time and less cramping and numbing in the hands.

One thing you have to decide before using this method: you have to be willing to (as I call it), "sacrafice the backing" and replace it. It may have some places that can be reused for piecing, but will be useless for reusing it as the backing. You can reuse the batting.

I take a rotary cutter and FROM THE BACK, between the backing and the batting, I very carefully cut the backing off. (Always keep the batting next to the quilt top, to help protect the top, and only cut between the backing and the batting. By pulling (tension) on the backing, you expose the qulting threads and are able to very carefully "cut" them, a few at a time. Then move your hands closer to the quilted area and repeat adding tension and cutting until finished. **You still have to be very careful (1) not to cut yourself and (2) not to cut through the batting to the quilt top. Did I say VERY CAREFUL?

I have done this a couple of times and have been happy with re-quilting the top.

Ellen