Getting married for the second time.....oh wait.....this has nothing to do with quilting......


lol

Only major thing I can recall was cutting twice as many blocks as I needed but it didn't matter. I soon had to make another quilt.

Funny! Funny! Good way to wake up in the morning with a good chuckle.Thanks

Loved everyone of these replies but Deb Watkins and cmrenno made me laugh - but I am like Bellaboo - every quilt I make has more then one mistake in it. That is just who I am - a wanna be perfectionist -but oh so human.

love it!!! :-)

Running out of fabric. 3 recent quilts, I've gotten to the end and found I didn't have enough fabric for the final borders. Now, that's been my own fault - on two of those quilts, I redesigned the borders/made it bigger at the last minute, so my original fabric quantities were off. And the third, I knew it was close, but decided to try anyway.

I'm sure I've had other big "oops", but I've carefully blanked them all from my mind. All except the first mystery quilt I made - from 5 different novelty fabrics. The top made me sea-sick to look at, and I finally pitched it as irrepairable last year.

That's a good one! LOL

this is one of the mistakes that I have made several times, even with them laid out before sewing... I just say my trade mark sure didn't plan to take it all out after quilting it. If I had seen it earlier then reworking it I would do.

I heard somewhere....early in my quilting career......that the quilters of the past, knowing that there has only been ONE Perfect Person, actually purposely put a mistake in their quilts. I don't do the mistakes on purpose, but when I have one, I chalk it up to the early practice.

Also, I inherited a Drunkards Path quilt top from my grandmother, and found where she had turned one block the wrong direction. I never knew whether it was done on purpose or not.

I can't describe all the mistakes I have made, but when I cut 6 1/2" blocks too small....6" blocks, I just make it work!.....or I recut. Life is too short to sweat the small stuff!

I made a rail fence quilt for my SIL and since she wanted all colors I decided to create a rainbow effect on the diagonal. I didn't realize until I started putting the rows together that there are more rows diagonally than horizontally or vertically. I had to take some of the blocks apart and add more fabrics to get the effect I wanted. It turned out beautiful and my SIL loves it. It was my 4th quilt and king size.

Now, that's funny! Something I might do at the end of a long tired day.

Guess I should add my current WIP. I started this quilt for my DGD, before we moved (about 3 years ago). It was to be a QUICK AND SIMPLE quilt . . . just something for her to call her own. The top is just two fabrics (patterned pink and purple w/hearts and solid purple), alternating blocks. Was planning to just attach a blanket backing, do some top stitching, and let that be it. Well, we moved (greatly downsized) and I had no room, for finishing anything. We eventually expanded our space a bit and I had room to spread out. Basted the top to the blanket but my sewing machine was still in a corner, so waited. In the meantime, decided to stitch heart outlines (in solid blocks, to attach the two layers). Marked the hearts. Now I have a sewing room (finished shed) and have all my stuff set up . . . and decided to applique some hearts instead, for the solid squares. Luckily, Hobby Lobby still carries the original fabrics, so no problem there . . . other than WAY underestimating the fabric, I'd need. Trip to HL for more fabric. Also had to make another trip for more iron-on interfacing, for the silly hearts (ran out, after heart #57 of 58) . . . then made extra hearts, just in case. Got the stupid hearts stitched and turned . . . and decided I didn't like them. The edges are too thick and the solid fabric is lightweight. Whined about it, posted about my woes, got needed encouragement from you wonderful folks. Decided I'd just go back to original plan of simply stitching hearts. Yesterday, after more encouragement, decided the applique would be so much nicer, so decided to "paper turn" on Heat N Bond. Have done that before, so no problem. Why didn't I think of it sooner? MUCH sooner??? So yesterday evening, I traced and cut out 60 HnB hearts. In a short while, I'll start ironing them onto fabric and carefully turning the daggum edges, then remove the backing and VERY carefully fuse the edges to the edge of the HnB. Oh . . . and while cutting out the blasted hearts, I decided the top really needs a border . . . so I'll see if I have enough fabric for one. If not . . . . Will deal with that, if and when.

Almost forgot - after turning the first hearts, the bottom points weren't turning well (too narrow), so I went back and re-sewed the bottoms. Was starting to re-turned them, when I decided not to use them.

I am soooooooooo tired of hearts!!!

Hey - the containers were about the same size and shape.

I did take the machine to a repair place and they did get it going again. It was 'a bit' embarrassing to tell them what happened.

Amen sister!

mine was cutting fabric in the quilt it was already quilted

Using unwashed red flannel for the backing. It was the first quilt I ever made, for my nephew when he was born. That stuff stained the bed of my Singer Golden Touch-N-Sew and I could never get the stain off, even by scrubbing with Comet. Lesson learned, the hard way.

But, you know what? He turned 34 in August, and he still has that quilt!

glad to see that I am not the only one:shock:

ROFL...I can relate!

I'm not sure if it's my biggest mistake, but my most recent mistake was to cut 140 1 1/2" x 8 1/2" strips for sashing. The mistake? They were only supposed to be 6 1/2" inches. At least it wasn't the other way around!

My most recent boo-boo was thinking I could make a throw by just looking at a pic of it...WRONG!!.Since I have three to make, after working and ripping and working and ripping finally got the first one done..got up next morning and ordered the pattern....got it yesterday...looked it over and saw how simple it is.. oh well, lesson learned...the pattern is just for the center..I added the three outside borders to make it bigger..Now I'm anxious to get on the next one...with a pattern to go by...

Ooooh, that's PRETTY!!!

I signed up for a BOM at my then LQS. I was assured that I would love the colors. I didn't like the colors at all. I don't quilt in browns and greens. Muddy blues don't do much for me either, but the Moody Blues do--but that is another topic. After I soldiered on with the darn thing, I found out that she had used several variations. I think she should have asked which was preferred, or used the same colors on all the quilts. The quilt top is finished and ironed. The backing is ready. I intend on tying it. It isn't worth it to me to send it out or try to quilt it myself. I call it the 'ugly' quilt. It has been called that since the second month. I will post when I finally get it tied. I need a big place to lay it out, and haven't found a place big enough yet...

Anita in Northfield, MN

You made my belly jiggle with laughter!!!

Being a new quilter, afraid to make mistakes keeps me from having fun and really learning the art. This thread really helped in my understanding that mistakes will happen and you move on from there . . . this is not a dress rehearsal and I need to live my life without fearing I will make mistakes. I am old enough to have learned this lesson years ago but it is still a hang-up for me. This question and answers has really given me insight, thank you all sooooo much.

That sounds cool. I'd like to see it.

I made a cute little dolphin quilt that will forever to referred to as the wonky dolphin quilt. My 1/4 inch seam is more like what ever width my presser foot is, it's pretty close. Well that works if you are using the same machine/foot to make the entire quilt. I didn't. I forced my blocks together, stretching some here, pleating a little there. I sent it off the charity LA, and she promptly returned it to me as a complete mess and "please don't do that again." It wouldn't lay flat at all. It had little mountains and valleys when you laid it flat. Another quilter took it over as a challenge and fixed it. I don't know what she did, I know she didn't take it completely apart.

So don't mix your seam sizes. Be consistant.

oh, wow, how did you get it out before it dried? Did it ruin the machine?

Wow, why on earth would someone say you didn't need to quilt a large quilt? Where you tieing it or something? Did they think you were making a wall hanging-a really large wall hanging? Good think you could fix it. Think of the lumps as little bits of love reach out to goose you. :)

The biggest mistake I ever (not that I have a long history?) made making a quilt was stippling a fairly large lap quilt too close together and also in close quarters. I was almost at completion and found that the backing had several folds in it, and I had to rip out all of those tight/close stitches. It was a nightmare but I fixed it and completed it--whew!!! Hubby is now working on a sewing room for me and I will not make anything larger than a small wall quilt until it is done.

I've made all of them at one time or another. The second quilt I pieced was an Irish Chain. I ran out of red and decided to replace the corner squares with black. Looked great till I put the blocks together, we still call it the zipper quilt.

Geez Louise I have many boo boos. My latest was the disappearing nine patch quilt. Sounds easy right? Well it is unless you use one directional fabric! You know where I'm going with this. All the little people on the quilt were going every which way. I was so embarrassed. Was actually going to show you guys but I chickened out!

Carol,

I don't consider that a mistake, but rather an opportunity for retail therapy!

Ha ha! Love it

besides coming out short on some blocks and not cutting a strip without elbows , forgot to remove paper from my granddaugther applique quilt but that my secert lol

I cut all the blocks out for a quilt without sewing a test block. All 63 of them--only to discover that when I tried to sew them together, none of the pieces fit. Lots of little scraps went into my scrap basket that day. Lesson learned-always cut AND sew a test block before you waste $100 worth of fabric!!!

My mistake was not buy enough fabric. I purchased fabric for a quilt according to the pattern BUT it was not enough. Later I found out there had been a correction issued with the correct fabric listed. SO; now days my DH say always buy atleast half yard more or a yard- anyway. SO; if I like the fabric I buy more YARDAGE; I can always use the extra for another quilt. I now have a large stash. I must admit ; I have gotten in a hurry and mis cut a time or two.

I just made a doozy of a mistake. I'm making a Bonnie Hunter "Pineapple Blossoms" quilt out of blues. If you make the version with sashings out of a different colorway, it forms a secondary pattern. I selected a red print. When I cut the strips last week I misread my cutting directions and cut the sashings 1/2 inch too short. After assembling the blocks, I decided I really liked the all blue scrappiness, so I counted out my blue 9.5" strips and I have enough for the sashings! I have enough of the white/blue print I used for the pineapple corners in the block to cut cornerstones, so I may not have to buy any additional fabric.

OH, OH, OH! I sooo feel the pain. It's so something I would do. Could they clean it? Did it cost as much as you paid for the machine?