The quilt top you just don't like
 

It's 2 am and I'm not sleeping, so I dug out the quilt top I made last year to have another look. Nope, still don't like it. It needs another border (see second photo), but that still isn't doing it for me. Plus I'll need about 8 yards for a backing and 3/4 yard for a binding. All for a top I really don't like and doesn't go n any room of my house. Should I hide it away some more or try to sell it, or just put it in the donation box for DAV? What would you do?

Turn it into a table cloth? Cut it up for placemats? pillows? Give to another quilter to finish?

I can relate to your post...I have always prided myself on not having any UFOs but I stumbled on a “folded” up project about a week ago. Low and behold, it was my BH Frolic quilt top from 2019 I think. I remember I hadn’t finished it because I was trying to decide if I wanted to add borders so that it would fit a Queen size bed but having looked at it again, I know I won’t be keeping it so I might as well just finish it the size that it is and get it out o of here.

Donate it and move on. Life's too short to stress over a project that just doesn't make us happy.https://cdn.quiltingboard.com/images/smilies/smile.png

Donate it...

just read this. i have a lady on another forum i've sent things to so she could either finish it or cut apart and make smaller quilts out of things. donates to charity then. I even sent her queen size quilt tops. I was glad they were gone and to a good cause. So do what you feel you must so you can get along with your sewing day. (())

I understand your pain. I have had a couple quilts like this. One in particular the colors of the quilt just screamed at me and not in a good way either. I donated it to an animal shelter and they cut it into many dog jackets and quilts to go to forever homes. This quilt looked much better on the dog's bed than it would ever look on a human bed. It made great jackets too.

Somebody will like it. I would donate it or sell it.

When I was trying to learn FMQ, I couldn't piece bed-sized quilt tops fast enough to keep me practicing, so I bought tops on eBay.

I would turn it over to a guild to finish for charity.

The options you have - as I see them from here:

1) Finish it - but then you have more resources - material, time, etc. - tied up in it. Then after you fish it - then what?
The workmanship on your tulip quilt is great. But - - - - if you don't like it, why spend any more "anything" on it?
(If - after you've tried a bite of some new food that you hate - even if it was expensive - do you feel compelled to finish it?)

2) Don't finish it - fold it up and put it away for a "while" longer.

3) Donate it - If I had a guild near me that had people that finish things - I would include "compatible fabrics" for borders and binding if I had them - and send it on it's way.

4) Sell it. You might find a buyer. If not - then options one to three are still available.

5) Discard it - but I only do that with complete disasters.

I come from a family (and era) where it was almost a cardinal sin to discard anything that still had some use left.
So - it is a challenge for me to "just donate" or "discard" - so that would be a challenge for me.

On the other hand, if someone saw it and fell in love with it - as is - I would give them the top and borders - and maybe even backing and batting - to them - so they could finish it!