I made a quilt and had just a little trouble (understatement). I have it finished and it didn't turn out very well.

I'm trying to decide whether I should try the pattern again. I'm afraid if I don't do it again I will let the pattern win.

So, try again or not to try again?

Maybe on a small scale (like a baby quilt?) just to prove to the block that you can do it! :) :) I hate it when I feel like a pattern has gotten the better of me, but it seems to happen a LOT! Good luck!

Sometimes a bit of distance and time is needed before going after a pattern that causes you problems. Sometimes there are easier ways to get the same pattern done. Just curious, what pattern was it?

Spinning Stars.

Two friends & I started it severals years ago getting together once a month to work on our quilts. I feel like part of our problem is that we folded it up and put it in a box until the next month when we would pull it back out, figure out where we were and what we needed to do next. It didn't turn out well for any of us.

It is full of puckers and just not fun. It really is a beautiful quilt though. I did it in blue & yellow and I am considering trying it in Christmas colors.

What caused the problems to begin with? What kind of problems did you have with it? Can you pin point the problem?

Is it piecing? Take a ruler and slide it under your presser foot. Line up your needle with the exact 1/4". If it doesn't meet the edge of your presser foot, put a small stack of sticky notes, a small piece of foam or something to act as your guide.

Is your pressing ok? Are you ironing from the top of your work or back?
Always press from the top, that way you will be certain to get the pieces flat. Pressing from the back and cause a "ridge" at your seam line and subsequent pieces won't fit.

Is the pattern correct? Sometimes when you use pattern pieces (if it calls for templates) can warp or be off size during the copy process in printing. I always redraft a pattern to make sure it is accurate.
Even with bought patterns, cutting instructions could be wrong. As a pattern designer, I have a pattern tester test all my patterns for mistakes.....even she can miss something....and has.

Is your cutting accurate? Measure twice, cut once!! Even a fraction of an inch can mean a lot when the block is finished.

What thread are you using to sew with? Do you realize that a thicker thread sewn at an exact 1/4" can take up space in the seam?

If you could post a pic of your work and explain what caused you problems, we may be able to help. Right now I'm just trying to think of different things that I teach my students to ensure accuracy.

I love the pattern and the puckers aren't all that noticeable. Love blue and yellow.

You are right, this is an absolutely beautiful quilt.
Have you already quilted it?
I couldn't tell.

Apparently we were posting at the same time.
It really doesn't look that bad!! Maybe a good steaming and spray starch will take care of it. Try it, it couldn't hurt.
As longarmers, we get quite a few quilts that look a lot worse than this one.......which by the way is fabulous........we spray starch and steam it into submission.

You said the others had ripples, too - I would think all of you were not making the exact same mistakes, and put it off to an inaccurate pattern. If you decide to try again, measure each subset before you sew it on, then square as you go along.

Because of the puckers I am hand quilting it. I thought I could ease in some of the fullness better that way.

That is a beautiful quilt and I love the blue and yellows together.
Mary.....are the puckers or ripples in the triangle section on the bottom left and bottom right of the picture you posted? Is that the area that you had the problem with. The large center square looks like it's lying flat without any ripples.
check out the previous postings about this pattern. Kitty Yates, Stitchin4Fun, Debra Mc, Diamonds, ccbear66 and Quilting Aggi all were ordering it. Maybe they can give you some insight into the problem.....but don't give up on it or let it get the best of you.

http://www.quiltingboard.com/posts/list/4089.page

I have the pattern and I have started it ( I have the log cabin squares done and that is all) but I set it aside to do some easier projects that need to be complete before Christmas. So I'm probably not going to be of much help to you. I think that your quilt looks great and I love the colors that you chose.

No the ripples are not in the corners. Those are stars that were appliqued on and the picture was taken at the pinned on stage.

The ripples are in the small star borders.

Mary

I have that pattern and will start it sooner or later.
I think yours is beautiful!

That quilt is beautiful! So sorry you are having issues with it.

It really is a striking top. I'll bet a lot of it can be eased with your quilting. I hope so. :)

It looks really beautiful!!! uhm, my favourite trick is stretch pull tug steam! lol

The puckers could be from a triangle or block edge that is not on/ or on a bias...I can never remember which...
But I do know that the long edge of triangles can stretch, that may be the reason for the puckers...
It looks like a very complex, advanced quilt. Where did you find the pattern?
Also, when pressing blocks or seams, if you use steam it can distort the blocks. I have been told to use starch to keep them "squared"
Hope this helps.
Also, could you do a very quick, light, cold water wash to get the fibers of the material to line up again so that you might be able to quilt it without a lot of "easing"? Just a thought.
Kirsten

This pattern always attacts my attention - You have made it beautifully, I hope you don't lose heart with it, such a lot of dedication and hard work has gone it to this obviously, your colour choices are marvellous, I hope that some of the tips already posted help you finish it with pleasure, please post updates, its truly wonderful to see and deserves to be admired by all :D

back to the original question: should you try the pattern again?

if you really like the design and want another one, then i would encourage you to tackle it again. you'll have learned a lot by now about what does and doesn't work when putting it together.

considering how lovely this first one is, the next should knock our socks off! :wink: :P

THat is a beautiful quilt. I would try it again. Second time around is the chram.

I think you did a wonderful job and the ladies here (who are experts) seem to have come up with some wonderful ideas to help the problem, which I didn't see. Also thanks for the post because some wonderful tips came out of this post. Thank you ladies.

I can relate to what you are going through with this quilt. It is a beautiful quilt, colors are ge
gorgous. I started a lone star,the star was not pieced,The diamonds were one big piece and then you had big triangles and squares to go in between. My star would make a bubble where the points met. The triangles just didn't fit. I had a fit, folded it up and put it away. Was sorting some material today came across it and hmmm looked real close and saw what I had done. now I have it in plain sight so I will not forget it on purpose, it has to annoy me and it will until I fix it and finish. As a first grader told me one time, Sometimes it Be that way, Mrs. Brown. :lol: :lol:
Bonnie

It's a lovely quilt. And the puckers aren't very obvious from the picture.

If ALL of you had problems, I think it might be the pattern.

I've tried making the pieces in paper and laying them together to see if they fit together properly. I had a dresden plate pattern that ended up being about 370 degrees - didn't lay well at all.

Sometimes the templates are off. Just because it was purchased, doesn't mean it's perfect.

IT IS ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL !!! We are always harder on ourselves than others. When I have to put away a project I leave myself a note as to where & what I will do next, it is better to do more at a time when it gets complicated, I mean small simple steps are easier to catch up on when it i "put away" for a month or so. does this make sense?

Thank you for all of your help and encouragement.

I am almost half done with the hand quilting. It is looking better. I have been able to ease in some of the questionable places.

Mary

I hope you do it again, and I'm glad your quilting it into submission! It is just beautiful, if you do it again, alone, and a bit quicker, you may figure out where the problems are and fix them, just don't let it win!

I wouldn't let IT win!! You get in there and show em'!! I'd try a pillow or wall hanging, so you feel a moe instant success, if that's possible. Would love to see the pattern just to see what you are doing. I can't imagine it could be THAT bad!

Susan

I will just bt that after you get it quilted, it will be just right! This is really a beautiful quilt! I'm glad you posted it!

Susan

It looks wonderful. Do something else now. After you're away from it, look back at it and I think you'll find it looks better than you perceived it to be. Then try it again to show you can master it.

I like the yellow and blue. Very Pretty!

Here's what I've got so far. I think I will just applique it for the center and then piece the rest.

If you want to try it in Christmas Colors, try it. :) You'll be doing it on your own time, and it will get done when it gets done, it will be all you.

EZquilts4me (& anyone else working on this quilt). It is looking great. That is a good idea to applique it. She doesn't really give the right dimensions for the piecing. Where I had a little trouble is putting the small star border around. I somehow got that part messed up. I know what I did wrong and won't bore you all with it.

Keep it up yours is looking good.

I just took a better look. That is your corner stars not the center right? Are you going to applique the center or the corners? The pattern calls for the center pieced and the corners appliqued. Just curious.

That's my center.

My size was a guess. For what looks like a 12 inch square, I started with 2.5 inch strips of 3 fabrics, after they were sewn together I cut on the 45 degree angle, and sewed those triangles together to form the 90 degree angles.

I went to the free paper pieced pattern that was posted in the spring discussion, here it is if anyone's interested: http://www.quilterscache.com/S/Spinn...heelBlock.html

I'll try that for the border of smaller stars... either that or get lazy and just do pinwheels. :D

BTW For those looking for a quick and pretty Christmas project, just make the center, and you can either turn it into a table topper or a tree skirt. Just add backing (batting if you want it quilted, obviously) and use bias tape for the edge, or sew it inside-out and flip like a pillow.