Slow Sunday Backward Stitching

I just want to cry.  I know I've said 2015 would be a year of "firsts" but I didn't mean that kind. It's not my day even though it is Woman's Day !!

I have finished row 8 on Take 21 and it is time to do some major fixing as there's only two more rows to quilt.

I have discovered a BIG mistake when I finished row 7 and rolled the quilt lower on the frame. At that time, my heart sank and I wanted to cry.  I still do. Everything that can go wrong has gone wrong with this quilt. :(
Look!

Do you see what is wrong here? How about in the picture below?

If you said no batting and backing behind the quilt in the first picture, you are right. If you think there's way too much backing and batting in the second picture, you are right again.  I have rolled my quilt wrong. It is NOT the first quilt I set up on this frame and yet it's the first time I do it wrong. I did worst than a debutante would have! I am so discouraged right now. Why didn't I see my mistake when I started to quilt it? Because I was in a hurry! I thought I could quilt it before his birthday and had to hurry!! Look where I am now! So depressed.

I unpinned the top part of the quilt and laid it on the floor. Carpet, quilt, batting, backing = wrong order. The backing should extend beyond the quilt, not the other way around.

Don't know if you can see the pencil line on the batting in an effort to cut it straight so I could add to it. It wasn't an easy task as everything is kind of warp by the pinning to the frame.

Tried to piece the batting but my back wanted nothing to do with this idea of working bent over while sitting on the floor...





... and I have such a loooooooooooong way to go still.  What am I going to do?? I didn't want to remove the entire quilt from the frame as I don't think I would be able to pin it back. Since the layers are quilted together, pinning them back on could be quite a task because of the weight. Then I thought "How can I pin the batting to the frame when it is pieced so close to the edge? Won't it come undone when I roll it taut?" See, in this kind of quilting frame, the layers are not basted together. I didn't want to put the batting to the test. So I had no other choices but to remove it completely from the frame.

Then, I sat at the sewing machine, tried to zigzag the batting together.

Then back on the floor to cut the backing straight. I was lucky enough to still have the left over of this backing. (It's the perfect backing for this quilt as the print has the same colours.)

I still had the original piece I had cut off. It was in the flannel scrap box, waiting to be cut into 2.5 inches for the next Crumb quilt. Thank goodness I didn't had time to do that. Then the phone rang. I thought "I don't want to talk to anyone right now. I want to finish this." My son came down the stairs, handed me the phone. I shook my head. He said "she wants to see the house."  Again, I just wanted to cry. I looked around me at the mess. My entire house is a mess because of the new job and the lack of energy in the evening I basically did nothing this past week. Oh! Her timing is so wrong !! And she wanted to come by THIS afternoon! NO! I can't. For the FIRST time in the two years the house is for sale, I said no! Anyway, back to the quilt.

I pinned the monster to the leftover flannel backing. By that time, my back was really angry at me and it was letting me know every which way it could.

Of course, all this excess work deserved a cherry on top, right? So the light in my sewing machine gave up on me. Got myself a lamp and sew on. Then the backing sifted and I was sewing only one layer. Arrgghh! Ripped, pinned some more and sew on. It was hard to move all this bulky fabric around and I had to make sure that the flimsy underneath didn't get caught on the drawers or the corner of the desk or worst, under the needle !

As I was ironing the seam open, I realized another important thing. I should have basted the quilt before doing all this. As I sew the backing and while ironing it. all the weight of the quilt was pulling on my tiny little hand quilting. Oh my!! I tried to keep the entire quilt on the ironing board. Then, I went back on the floor and flattened it out.

Then the cavalry of good friends finally showed up and started to hold the quilt down. I feel so much better now. It took me three hours. Now I go and have some lunch. It's 1:30!

There is something so sad about an empty quilting frame. I have to find another quilt for it to hold in its long arms.

I marked a few blocks and set it up in the little plastic frame.  Tonight, this is how I will be slow stitching Take 21 because I really DO DESERVE a loooooooooong session of slow stitching.  Mind you, I'll be sitting on a straight chair! :D

Hope your day was better than mine :)

Until next time...

;^)  as crying never fixed anything anyway!

Linking up with Kathy for Slow Sunday Stitching.