audsgirl

Just an FYI, her name was Doreen Speckmann. I went to junior high and high school with her. I never knew she would be famous one day. Unfortunately, she died quite a few years ago. I saw her on Simply Quilts with Alex Anderson and was so surprised to see someone I knew!

Leslie

Quiltah Mama

I have never dismantled an entire quilt, but I sure have done my fair share of seam ripping in my years of sewing. If I ever made a blah quilt, or a quilt that I looked at when finshed, thought to myself "what was I thinking", I would donate it and make another one that was more appealing to my eye. I'm a firm believer in that not all of us have the same eye for color or taste in quilts, so even if I feel "blah" or "what was I thinking" about a quilt, there is someone out there that will like it.

bearisgray

Thank you for the correction -

Rose_P

I'm usually too lazy to backtrack too far on a project, but have once or twice changed my mind and redone one fabric that wasn't used a whole lot.

Maybe it could be rescued with some special quilting with variegated thread or with the addition of some appliques. Or another idea might be to find a different fabric to use as cornerstones or a border that would somehow make that background play differently. I love Watson's idea of fabric paint, but would have to wonder how that could be controlled so that it wouldn't bleed into adjacent pieces. Crayolas can be used and provide a pretty stable color, but it would probably be more work than changing the fabric because you have to press the wax out with an iron and paper towels. A really wild approach might be to dye the entire piece in a pastel shade that would not only change the background but put a new "spin" on all the other colors. You'd have to be brave and devil-may-care to try that! I'm thinking of something along the line of tea dying. Probably there are good tutorials online for that process.

zozee

No, I've never unstitched all the blocks of a quilt in progress. Can't imagine. I think I'd cut my losses, give it away as is, and start anew.

mysher

Fortunately I would only be ripping the blocks apart as the whole quilt has not been sewn together, but I've decided I'm adopting the "finish it and donate it" and "someone will most likely love the colors" attitude. We have a women's shelter here; maybe this would be a good home. You all have been great and I'm so happy to be a part of this group. Thank you so much!

quilterpurpledog

Yes, I have endured that experience. In the end, I was glad I did because I did not "waste the resources". I was glad I did it; however, I hope I never have to think about doing it again. You probably need to 'finish' the project one way or another.

SusieQOH

I have done so on old quilts when I wanted to rescue some of the fabric.

sprice

Doreen was a fun lady. She's not totally gone if some of us still think fondly of her. And peaky and spikey still live on, too!

Peckish

Back when I was a baby quilter, I made a top that disappointed me because it didn't look exactly like the quilt in the book. I had wanted to use the same fabrics but of course couldn't find them, so I substituted some that were similar. When the top was done, I didn't like it because it wasn't the same and I was a moron, so I gave it to a friend who makes quilts for terminally ill patients. She quilted it and showed it to me before taking it to the hospital, and it was soooo beautiful!! I was very sorry that I had given it away, but happy that it was going to a good cause. Lesson learned - don't give up on a quilt until it's done done.