For the past several days I've worked with a Oh-Cherry-Oh Jelly Roll that I picked up at a LQS class. It also came with a free pattern from Moda's website called Sultry. It makes a friendship braid quilt when done, something I've never made before but was anxious to try.
All the Jelly Roll strips are cut to 7 inches and then sewn to alternate sides of a beginning square.
After the braid is sewn, the edges need to be trimmed and then the rows sewn together.
Well, somewhere amongst all this sewing, I should have used some starch on all those bias edges. I didn't have any and was too lazy to go get some. I figured it would be ok. It wasn't.
It is so wonky, so crooked, so bowed! Waah, I've never had anything turn out so bad before!
Trust me, it is much worse in actuality than the pictures reveal. You see that top edge? It should lay right along that tile grout line. I was feeling pretty down on the day it happened, but with some distance I've adjusted and console myself with that little aphorism, "Every quilter has a masterpiece within" and mine just hasn't come out yet!
5 comments:
Hi Marianne,
I am loving your blog. About your jelly roll braid quilt- maybe you have to think like the Gees Bend quilters, border it with uneven width strips and quilt it. It is amazing that it turned out so wonky. I know bias can be bad stuff. Thanks for the reminder. ;-)
Although it is wonky, I just love the colors. I guess this is one of those times you have to chalk it up to a learning experience.
That exact thing happened to me when I sewed a quilt with jelly roll strips, horizontal ones. I took it to the quilt store thinking all was lost, but we stretched it back into shape, I trimmed the edges and it was perfect! Maybe you could stretch yours, from opposite corners. It stretched because it is on the bias.
Maybe if you put straightgrain fabric between the rows it might hide the stretched look a bit. Also I agree with trying to stretch it in the other direction - I was working with half square triangles last night and managed to get a few to go back to the shape I wanted. Or even cut it into smaller blocks with sashing - it would still look good. It is too pretty to give up on.
Had a similar incident happen to me -- I realized the curved strips partway through assembly and kept pushing through, figuring it was one mistake I'd never repeat and that I'd end up with a nice blanket for the dog. My mother saw it, loved the colors and took it home. THEN she started to show her friends what a "great" quilt I'd made!
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