Friday 29 May 2020

Fixed It and Would You?

This week, I managed to fix the spools blocks. (It was an easy one or three.) They all sport a new "thread" to be tall enough to fit in the quilt. (see last post to know more about this adventure)

Before and ...

after.

Now to fix the bigger problem.

Jacob's! 

If you don't know about my latest migraine, trial, challenge, you can read it here.

This quilt, which had more than one sewing machine making the blocks way back when is totally crooked.

It measures 86 inches long. Every column!
The rows are something else.
The bottom ones are 60 1/4".
The middle ones are 60".
The top ones are 60 3/4". Yeah! I had so much fun. At one point, I considered taking it all apart as I did with Field of Poppies (a.k.a. Good Fortune). But I restrained myself.

I spent 4 hours, measure, unstitch, measure, sew, measure, unst....(Good enough!) and calculate how large the blue border had to be in order to fit the pieced border.

I sew the blue border, added the pieced border and

ended up short. What! Went over the calculations again until I realized that I hadn't cut the corner of the blue border at the beginning and it was 1/4 longer than what it should have been. Unstitch the pieced border, cut the blue one properly, sew back the pieced border. Thank goodness for Super Seams Ripper. I distanced some blocks to reach my goal. Phew. My calculations were right. Yes. Finally got it working!! Whoop Whoop! On to the next side.



On a very windy Friday, I tried to take a few pictures. Most of them look like that. I hung it sideways because it is too long.


For a fraction of a second, it behaved and I was able to snap this picture. I love this quilt. The blue border looks very weird to me but it is what it is.


Now, would you add another border to frame the pieced one?

Or would you just leave it to the binding to frame it?

I think I'll go play with pink. It's less stressful, lol.


Enjoy!
And thanks for all your suggestions. You know I appreciate them all.

;^)


Joining
Sarah at Confession of a Fabric Addict
Angela at So Scrappy
Denise at For the Love of Geese
Cynthia at Quilting is More Fun than Housework
Frédérique at Quilting Patchwork Appliqué


26 comments:

PaintedThread said...

Yay for your fixes. They all look great.

I like the idea of adding one more border outside the pieced one. I bet straight binding would look fine, too.

Fiona said...

I so admire your persistence... but it has paid off... looks fantastic.... what about another border with 1" churn dash blocks? And I love the spools too....
Hugz

Frédérique - Quilting Patchwork Appliqué said...

Magnifique ! Quelles aventures ;)) J'aime bien l'effet de la dernière bordure foncée, plus le binding clair, c'est très beau !

Libby in TN said...

That describes my week, too! Glad you salvaged a beautiful quilt.

kiwikid said...

Well done you!! I admire that you hung in there and fixed the problem, I like the plain blue and think either another border or binding would look good, which is no help to answering your question is it!! 😁😁 The quilt looks amazing. The spools look fantastic too.

Lin said...

Oh yes, I do like that dark blue on the outer edge and I would probably use the same fabric to bind it. Well done for getting that border on, it looks great. xx

Elizabeth V Kelbaugh said...

Love the blue Jacob's Ladder. It may have been a headache but you worked wonders. Great job on both issues.

The Joyful Quilter said...

If the quilt needs to be bigger, another border would finish it off nicely. If the size is right, the binding can just as easily finish it off. I'm SEW glad the "coping strips" worked out for you (because Jacob looks fantastic!!)

Vicki in MN said...

Your JL quilt is so pretty! I think I would add another border to finish it off. After coming that far I am glad you were able to hang in there and get the problem fixed.

maggie fellow said...

It looks lovely - sorry about the borders, but understand it all too well

Cheryll said...

You did well hanging in there... making the "fix" because it was worth it. I would add the last border to frame it too.
Will look wonderful either way you choose...

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

I'm so glad you figured out what Jacob needed and persisted through! It looks great! I think binding would finish it off just as nicely as a thin border. Your spools look great, too!

Ruth said...

I love that quilt!! Personally, I would bind it (if it is the size you want). I rarely make a pieced border, so you did well. I think that type of border is harder than other pieced ones. Good for you!

julieQ said...

What a glorious finish! I should fix it, but maybe I wouldn't...LOL! I Like the idea of an outside border...nice quilt!

Marly said...

Well done beating the maths! I like how half your ladders are dark on light, and half light on dark. I can't help with your border question; I don't know when I last added one!

Cathy said...

Wow, what a lovely quilt! Everyone seems to have weighed in with your options, so I’ll just say I think it would look great either way - a plain border added or just plain binding. Congrats on sticking to it and solving your border issue.

gayle said...

I'd add a narrow plain blue border to it (but you know how I am about borders!), but whatever you decide to do it's a glorious quilt! All your perseverance paid off!

Jenny said...

What a headache you had, but you persevered and got there at the end. Perhaps after all this trauma just finish it with the binding? Or maybe a plain border first where nothing need to match? Whatever you decide, I'm sure it will be fine.

Susie H said...

What a wonderful story. Very inspiring. Way to keep working it out and making it right. I really like the narrow extra border and agree with Lin that the binding should be the same fabric. Love the beautiful spools!

Sylvia@Treadlestitches said...

Jacob is a beautiful quilt! However you finish it will be lovely. Out of the UFO pile and into the sunshine!

Cynthia Brunz Designs said...

Well done! That is one of the problems with a pieced border. But I think they are so worth all the headache. Thanks for sharing with Oh Scrap!

Frédérique - Quilting Patchwork Appliqué said...

Thank you for sharing at Patchwork & Quilts linky party!
Merci à toi !

Cathy said...

Your middle name must be Persistence!

It would be fun to sew with some thread like is on your spools. I love how you left the spool part to look like old fashioned wooden spools.

I'll look forward to what you do with the Jacob's Ladder. I won't give an opinion because I'm usually a borderless girl. I get fewer headaches that way!

Jo said...

Love your little spools....I made spool blocks where the thread part was solid, but I have a lot of short narrow strings so I have to remember this idea!

I commend your fortitude in sorting out that crooked quilt problem, because it is turning out beautifully.

For the love of geese said...

LOVE the blue quilt, the spools are pretty cute too. In the end all the frustration will be worth the work on the blue. I would probably add a thin border so I didn't cut into the blocks with binding. Wither way it will turn our fabulous. The wind got me today too. Thank you for linking up to Put your foot down.

Barb said...

your spools are so great. Good fix on your Jacobs Ladder, glad it wasn't more challenging. I think either way a dark binding or little border will work.