Oops! I Meant to Do That!

I do a lot of string piecing, especially with crumbs and scraps. This means its very easy for me to just keep sewing along for 20 minutes, only to realize I have a pile of unsewn crumbs in front of me. Nothing really you can do about this but gather them all up, replace your bobbin and keep going.

I know it happens to us all, that the ruler slipped, or you read the measurement wrong. It said 5.5" and you did 4.5. What do you do if it's too small? Well, if I needed a 4.5" piece of that fabric, well, there's no problem at all, just cut a new 5.5" piece and carry on! But what if you don't have a piece big enough? What if all the fabric is now only 4.5" wide? Well, this is where I find it good to keep my scraps and off-cuts. Find a piece big enough, sew it onto the edge of your mis-cut piece, press, and re-cut! Just be sure that the new seam isn't 1/4 from the edge. If you cut something just a bit too small, I always add at least an inch and then move the block over a bit, so the seam isn't at the edge. I figure there's enough seams in the quilt that someone probably won't be looking close enough to notice an extra one. Even if you can't match up the pattern or have to sew it on upside down, it'll be fine. Unless this is going to be a show-piece in a big competition, in which case you know what you need to do.

You know how you're supposed to sew "Right Sides Together"? I know I've messed up with that more than once. And I'm not talking about on solid or batiks where you're not really sure which side is right? I'm talking about prints and patterns where the back side is paler than the front. You can tell the difference, but while you were sewing, you just didn't see it. I just did that this week on a my test quilt for Grandma Edith's Rose quilt. You know what I did? Nothing. I kept going. It's not that noticeable, and even if someone does spot it? It just shows that I'm not perfect. Sure, I could find a seam ripper and rip it out and turn it over. It wouldn't even take that long, it was only a 2.5" seam, but I just didn't want to. Sometimes, it might be good to use the wrong side of the fabric on purpose! What if you found nearly the perfect color, it's just a bit too dark? Turn it over! The back might be perfect!

Backwards Block? I did that, and I didn't even notice until AFTER I gifted the quilt and they sent me pictures. It was so noticeable! It was in my Flowers for Betty Quilt. (Below) Do you see what happened?

I can't believe I just did that!

I'm sure we've all done it. No one's perfect. You've messed up. So many things can go wrong!

• You're sewing along, and you found out your bobbin ran out 20 minutes ago.

• You cut the fabric too small!

• You accidently sewed a piece of fabric on backwards

• You accidently sewed a block on backwards!

It happens to all of us, but it's not the end of the world! Here's how I've dealt with some of my mistakes.

Sharing the Joy of Imperfection

If you're feeling adventurous, let’s kick off a lighthearted challenge! Try creating a quilt block using a “wrong” technique on purpose. Maybe you’ll want to sew a block upside down or use that leftover fabric from a mismatched jelly roll. Get silly with it! And for the naming rights, how about something cheeky like “the reverse unicorn block” or “the inside-out pickle dish”? Let your creativity roam wild!

Don’t forget to drop your experiences and images in the comments below. We all have those oops moments, and together, we can celebrate the wonderful world of happy accidents in quilting. Remember, they can lead to unexpected beauty and, often, a good laugh!

I thought something wasn't quite right when I was sewing the rows together. That one row was too short. I didn't know what happened. I was too close to the quilt. I didn't have it all spread out, it was in a pile on my lap. I just added a piece to the end of that strip to make it long enough. Actually that wasn't even the first mistake I made in this one. See that pink butterfly near the top of the quilt? I had originally made it darker pink and it blended in too well to the background. Instead of taking that block out, I just made a new, lighter butterfly and appliqued over the old one. The old one is still inside there, just hidden!