Note*** I wasn't sure just where to post this...it is a finished picture, a kinda sorta tutorial, a whine/pity/kick my self in the rear, heads up, have any other suggestions/ideas for a future mistake like this kinda post...LOL Admin and Moderators, I leave it up to you to leave it here or move it to where you think it should be :wink:

Here is my story...please feel free to add suggestions/ideas on what else you would have done or tried...I know this will not be the last time I encounter some or all of these same issues! :wink:

I had finished a paper pieced block for MsSage. Upon close inspection about 3/4 of the way through the block, my stitches were loose, and not properly formed. I was sick as this block had turned out soooo well, until this catastrophe!!

I sat and stared at it last night and again this morning...and then it finally dawned on me, clean your bobbin case!!! I had changed needles...rethreaded, changed bobbins, changed thread...spent an hour doing everything BUT the obvious...another "hard knock" lesson learned. :oops:

But still that did not solve the loose stitch problem on the completed block. By now I had also noticed that I did not follow the piecing sequence consistently on a couple of the white pieces and had sections that were off looking!!! While it was not glaring, by any means...I seen it, it was there, and it added to my frustration....

Then I remembered seeing somewhere on the web, a woman who took a traditional pieced block and added some decorative stitching to it BEFORE it was sewn into the quilt top or quilted...combining crazy quilt blocks with more traditional...sadly I did not bookmark her site or remember where I seen it.

The wheels started turning, I thought what have I got to lose? So I top stitched around the white pieces with white thread, and used a blending varigated on the colored. I used an open toed foot, moved my needle way over and used the inside of the foot as a guide to keep my stitching straight. It still can be SID very nicely as I made sure to avoid all of the ditches, as stitching there would not have "strenthened" the seams anyway...another reason to make sure when pressing to swirl the seams all in the same direction, it not only makes the blocks all lay nicer, quilting to look better, but fixing mistakes easier. LOL

Question: When using cotton threads we know they will shrink. The varigated I used here will not, so I used a cotton thread in the bottom thinking it would help pull the varigated down after being washed and dryed. Was this a "real" concern or just me being paranoid after the other mistakes I had just made? :roll:

Now came the surprising parts.... Even though I made a mistakes in the piecing sequences, I mimic-ed (is that even a word?) where the stitching "should" have been while topstitching, and my piecing mistake kinda blended in and is way less noticeable...I can now live with this fix. Also, the many seam junctions on the back that don't always want to lay nicely??? Well they were tamed in the process...the whole block lays much flatter and nicer, too. The stitching in the star to me, gives it a little more contemporary or old fashioned look, depending on how you see it...I also stumbled onto learning the .5 stitch length on my machine will work as a lock stitch 8)

I did not think to take a before picture...as I was half sure that it would end up in my pile of "practice/turned out wrong size/what was I thinking/etc... pile when I started out to fix it. The thought of sharing this, came after I had already started sewing on what I will now call "my unplanned embellishments" to MsSage/Joy's block LOL

Please share any comments on how you would have tried fixing this block, or whether you like the look, whether you see that I may have made an additional problem come up by doing this, or anything else about the block.... I promise, scouts honor :wink: you will not hurt my feelings!!!! :D :D :D

3 more

It's beautiful! Don't see any problems!! Not sure on your thread issues...when I paper piece, I sized down my stitch length...I go down from about 2.5...to a 1.5...makes ripping the paper later easier. Other then that...they loook super! Skeat

I love it! It looks gorgeous! What was the question again? LOL

It gets my brain spinning actually... I never thought of doing crazy patch embellishing on a traditional block. What a darn fine idea!

Thank you :D

I use a 1.8 stitch length when paper piecing also, the problem was that because my bobbin area was too linty, the stitches were not forming quite right. It caused them to look "loose" in the seam lines...if that makes sense. Anyway the stitches themselves were weakened because of that.

Looks good to me.

OK I am tired so maybe I am missing it...........what was/is wrong with the block???
To me its wonderful. I love the decorative stiching :D
I will look again tomorrow.

i love it. to me it looks like an applique block.

WOW Talk about taking lemons and making lemonaide :mrgreen: Looks fabulous to me :thumbup:

Amma, what an amazing job you did "covering" the problem - it looks fantastic. I'll try to remember to do that next time I mess up (which won't be long, that's for sure!!)

The block is beautiful. You should have never mentioned it was a fix for a mistake. Your post could've read 'HEY, LOOK AT MY COOL NEW IDEA!" No one would have been the wiser.

Thank you all :D

Klue, I went back and looked at it and Yes it does have an appliqued look!!! :wink:

It was brought up a while ago about posting our mistakes and/or corrections as a learning tool...boy did I learn LOL Next time, and there will be a next time, I will try to remember to take a picture of it in "all of it's glory" before experimenting with it.
The idea I seen led to this idea...it seemed right to pass it on...as well as CHECK for lint more often in the bobbin area :oops: ...check your stitching frequently :oops: ... hopefull someone else will read this and avoid one or more of my mistakes :wink:

MsSage, the stitching would not have held the block together in about 1/4 of the pieced work. Also there were 2 places that I blew the piecing order which threw off the look of the block...

It looks great and should be stronger. Good thinking on your feet!

Just what i need with my morning coffee ... a question with too many answers to choose! :lol: :lol: :lol:

FYI: it ain't a whiney self-pity party when it has a happy ending. :wink:

a very clever and pretty solution. :P :P :P

amma, it turned out great !!

I'm trying to figure out WHERE there is something wrong?
I think the block is awesome! :)

OOO-la-la

Amazing what can learned from a mistake-whoops-I mean a different way to do something-

beautiful!

It is Beautiful.

Very nice block I didn't see anything wrong with it, and I love the embellishments.

oh wow. your sage is an adventure with a positive out put.. Life gives us tools. one of those: tenacity.

Now the question is: are you going to do the same thing with the rest of the blocks?
:D

Didn't find anything wrong!
Love it.
It's beautiful!!

Gorgeous block!!I'm with the rest, WHAT mistake????

Thank you Amma for the encouragement to never give up! I'm impressed with your fix, it looks really good, and a very pretty block!

Your block looks wonderful!!! Isn't is great when you feel you have such a mistake and the last thing you want to do is start all over or throw it in the scrap pile or the trash, but can actually figure how to make it come out great. I think you did a wonderful job figuring it all out to come out the best! Thanks for sharing all that info.

Amma it looks AWESOME. You know what they say about necessity, you may have just invented a new cure :D. It really is very lovely and your fix it stitches are perfect! Great job o'clever one!! :thumbup:

Thank you everyone for the compliments :D
Next time I will have a before and after picture :roll:

Sorry Patrice...I should have put up a warning..."Don't Read Until AFTER Your Second Cup Of Coffee!!!" :lol:


Susiequilt, this is a block for MsSage.

I was asked what I used for the darker fabrics topstitching, it is a varigated embroidery thread. The white was a cotton thread that I used for the piecing as well.

If you hadn't confessed we certainly would not have known that was not intentional. It looks great. Probably better than if you had just PP correctly.

Nice save! :lol:

Those purples are beautiful and I love the way you fixed your block. It turned out wonderful.

Looks beautiful!!

Thank you!!! :D

No one would ever know there was a problem Amma, if you hadn't spilled the beans.

I think it is just beautiful and I'm very jealous of your nice straight
stitching----it is wonderful!

Thank you Joan :D the stitches stayed so straight from running the inside toe, of the open toe foot right along the seam and moving the needle over right next to it..it wants to snug up to it and almost does all of the work all on it's own.

That block is absolutely beautiful, Amma!!! :D :D

Beautiful amma and thanks so much for the tute on 'how to mess up a block then rescue it so it looks EVEN MORE lovely than was intended'! :D

PS - re seam ripping when PPing - I had to rip a seam in Joy's block I made - I positioned the piece wrong so that when I flipped it didn't extend to the edge - and I remembered having seen a video somewhere on the net of a lady seam ripping with a rotary cutter - you pull the seam apart ever so gently, just enough to give a little tension in the stitch, then nick it with the (sharp!) blade of your cutter; it worked a treat, was really quick and there was no distortion even though the seam was on the bias. I'm sorry, I can't remember where I saw it to give the link but I hope you get the idea from my rambling explanation! :D

Thank you :D

I remember seeing that on the net too, did not think about it for smaller seams in PP...I was thinking about getting one of those really tiny rotary cutters for that...but then I get chicken and use my manicure scissors LOL I will make up some practice pieces out of scraps and give it a go!!!

I used my tiny one - I think it's about an inch across. :D

omg!!!! it looks like it was intended and perfect!!!! In my first star block, i only notcied after i put it all together, that many of the corners in the blocks wee puckered in some way. I know i could just stich them down, but i threw it in a pile or quilt tops i will one day quilt...jsut because i didnt really want to or know how to deal with it! lol anyway, great jobn fixing it!!!!!