any one ever made a quilt that seems like it is just here to punish you? i decided to try and salvage what was my first attempt at making a quilt. none of the peices are squared or even the right size. they were meant to be 13" squares and some are 12" and others are 12x13. none of the lines are straight. i did painstakingly applique circles on them in sort of a bullseye pattern. they looked ok at that point until i noticed some were not the right sizes. i had watched a video on quilt as you go squares so i tried that. there was a bit of puckering on the backs of some of them but not too bad. i got mad and hid it in a box. well, today i decided to try and get it together and finish it, because as messed up as it is i probably put a hundred hours into already and i was intending to give it to my grandmother for x-mas. i did my best to make them all square at 12" so i didn't have much space left for seam allowances. so i started putting them all together into rows of 5 and that went well enough. i just finished trying to get the rows of 5 together and messed that up. the fabric i was using has a bit more stretch than i thought and it's giving me a really hard time and just doesn't look right. i don't have it in me to take it all apart and find a different fabric to use.. there are a few spots where it had puckered when i quilted each square that are bare and need me to put an applique or something over it but thankfully these are all on the back so it's not so bad. i accidentally sewed two rows together front/back so it was on the wrong way and of course when i was taking that apart i ripped into the fabric with my stitch ripper. now, at this point i only have one row left to sew on, add the binding and fix the spots that need applique and the little spot i ripped with my stitch ripper. i'm pretty upset that it isn't turning out as nicely as i'd hoped it would and really feel like throwing it out and starting over...... i probably won't though, i guess i should probably just chalk it up to a learning experience and finish the dang thing. i don't know if i should give it to her or not though, maybe with an iou for a better quilt when i have the time? i still have 4 more to do by x-mas...sigh
Anyone else have(or ever had) a quilt like this?

I feel your pain! Mine also had circles on it. I had to cut and re-sew the circles, and nothing lined up. I ended up giving away the quilt so I wouldn't ever have to look at it again!

I think your quilt is lovely, and you'll be glad you've finished it when it's done.

I think it is going to look great! It will be eclectic. And warm! If you don't tell anybody, they won't know.

Finish it and give it your Grandma! She will love it and appreciate all of your hard work!

I agree, the color are great, your Grandma will love and appreciate all of the time that you put in it. Another idea would be to use the squares in a table runner, cut apart and sewn back together in a wacky quilt, a background for an art quilt many many ideas come to mind. Just keep at it you are on the right track.

And yes I have one quilt from hell hiding in my closet, someday someday just maybe I will re-visit it. lol

I love that quilt! I wish I had the patience to applique all those circles because I really really want a circle quilt of some kind.

I've never had the nerve to try a circle quilt....good for you! Think we've all had a quilt or maybe a couple from hell...but that's what quilting is about.Learning as we go.

How lucky you are,having a Grma to give your quilt to.Us Grmas love everything to do with our Grkids! Anyway, the quilt is good.Get it together,wrap it pretty & know that it's one of a kind, made just for Grma.

My quilt from hell is on the quilt frame right now. I am trying to get through it and get it done and over with.

Looks like an art quilt to me!

you know, when she receives the quilt she is going to LOVE IT! and she will have no idea there are mistakes in it...only you know your boo-boo's the people who receive the quilts tend to believe everything about it you did because that's what you meant to do.
i know your pain...the quilt i made for my mother-in-law was like that...oh even a year later...i hate that quilt i think it should be tossed! nothing went right with it i put so much time and money into it and it was a nightmare, nothing is square, it is horrible..but you know what it's on her bed and she loves it and (to my horror) shows it to people.
and the first one i gave my mom...i hate it when she shows it to anyone, but she loves it, her second one is 150% better than the first and i can look at the two of them and see how far i had come between the two. i think everyone has those nightmare projects...non-quilters have no idea what we go through :thumbup:

I had a quilt from hell. It was one of my first (for my son). I bought flannel from W.M. (mistake) and could not keep it from bunching on the back. I told my husband that I was going to take it outside and burn it. He helped me quilt in the ditch. I was pushing the fabric through and he was on the other side pulling. Finially got it finished (it turned out nice) and out of the house.

Lynn

I think it's beautiful, I really like your fabric choices. Your grandmother will probably love it even more knowing how much effort you put into finishing it for her. If that doesn't say love I don't know what would.

I am a grandma, and I tell you this, your grandma will love that quilt no matter how bad you think it is. If my granddaughter made something special for me( which she won't, not into making things), I would cherish it, no matter how it looked. I have lots of drawings made by my grands, and I have them out where I see them everyday, and they are typical grade school drawings. Besides that, I like your quilt.!!

To me, every quilt is a "work of art", that develops unique characteristics and a personality of its own. "Wonky" patterns seem pretty popular, so go with it and accept and love it for what it is! Just smile and tell everyone it's an Art Quilt. :thumbup:

I had one like that and finally finished it. Only took me 4 years. I would work on it, then put it back in the "todo" pile. My BFF saw it and fell in love with it, so now she has the monster and proudly uses it.
Your quilt is very nice and no one will know it wasn't met to be like you have it. My BFF didn't, and I was so ashamed of it I never talked to her about the "MONSTER".
Finish it and only you will know where the mistakes are hidden. :thumbup:

That is quite an under taking for a first quilt. Remember each quilt you make a learning lesson. All of mine have been a lesson. I have learned with each one what not to do and what would have made the process easier. You may start liking it after you have it completed.
I think each of us have had a quilt from hell. Infact I have several.

I made a quilt like this and I didn't applique it. I found a pattern in a quilting magazine that showed how to sew the blocks on the round. It took me about 4 weeks to cut and sew the blocks together. I can send you the directions if you like me to.

Please try to finish it! You will be glad you did! Your "learning lessons" will be much loved by grandma!

I understand where you are coming from! I to have had my share of quilting projects from hell, but as others have said, they each represent a valuable lesson and show our growth as quilters (and show how much grit we have to stick with it). I love your quilt. The colors are perfect, the circles are very well done, and it will be so warm! I love circle quilts, but never would have had the persistence to applique all those circles!

Speaking as a gram, I would treasure it, and I just know your Gram will too! Good for you!

I think you are doing a great job and I applaud your perserverance at trying to finish it. I have hell projects stashed everywhere and when I find them, I look the other way! Your grandmother will love it and you for making it just for her.

I have been know to toss it (bad) but yours looks great. I love the colors. I would definetly finish it and call it Circle of Wonders That way nothing has to match. Kudos for sticking with it.

Speaking as a Grandma, I can tell you that anything a grandchild does is perfect. You might see mistakes, imperfections, etc., but a Grandmother sees only a gift from the heart. Please finish this quilt and give it to your Grandma.

P.S. You did an outstanding job on this quilt ... it is beautiful!

I like your quilt. I must say, that is not the easiest pattern to start with for your first quilt. You are doing a great job with it, though.

lol, so i'm not the only one! thanks guys for the compliments. you are right, i should give it to her anyways but i think i will include an iou for a nicer one as soon as i can. i guess my gramma does treasure the things i make her. she still has a needle point on the wall that i made when i was 6. it says 'i love you' on it but it's spelt wrong. i hate admitting i messed things up though, and it's embarrassing to know i messed up one project in so many different ways. but like you said if no one notices then they'll never know. (:

The circle applique' and your fabric/color selections are beautiful! No-one but you will ever see where it fell short of your ideal. I really like it and your grandmother will love it!!!

The colors are gorgeous! I think it looks great and your grandmother will love it--trust me. :thumbup: :-D

I like it hurry and get if finished.

I like it, circles are hard! My little quilt from hell is the attempt at piecing a back together and I just gave up and put it on the shelf. Yesterday I bought some green fabric for it to help the blocks blend in better. Ya never know, I might just work on it again. :)

My first quilt wqas called a crazy quilt. You cut different shapes and sewed them on to a large muslin square then you were suppose to sew the squares together and sew in the ditch to quilt it. My trianges and rectangels and squares and odd shapes never joined to gether as they should have. i was using some Mary Engelbrit material and had paid a lot for it. I got so upset I put it in a drawer and left it for 2 years then last year I got it out and decided to see what I could do with it. It was suppose to be king size. I cut it down didn't worry about points and corners put batting and a fannel backing on it and serged around the edges. Turned out rather nice.

With the already quilted pieces I had left made a pillow cover and had enough left to make a lap top bag for my new lap top this year.

I still call it my quilt from Hell but have got lots of compliments on it as it hangs over a chair in my living room

Your grandmother will love it. We grannies look at the love, not the errors. It will keep her warm and happy.

The first quilt I made was called TDQ (That d---ned quilt). I know what you suffered through! It looks pretty good to me, though.

I would cherish this beautiful work of aart. It is not as bad as you think and she is not going to look for all of the bad points she is only going to know how much love you put into it for her.

I think you need a BIG GROUP hug!! Coo-does to you for finishing it. I think it is very nice. You're just feeling the frustration of working on it for soooo long.

I agree with all the other people. Your grandma will love it, it's beautiful, and you ought not point out what you see as mistakes. Let her love it b/c it was a gift from you. :) :)

I think it's great!