Friday, February 24, 2017

a tale of two quilts

Hello, happy Friday to you all!

I have not just one, but TWO quilts to show you today. I know, a total overachiever here :).  It wasn't planned that way though. The reason I have two versions of the same quilt is that I ruined the first one (thanks to my impulsivity and lack of patience) and then had to rush like crazy to make a second version to meet the deadline.


This is the first version of my Star Bright quilt for Love Patchwork and Quilting magazine. I love working with triangles and I was totally smitten with the design and colors in this quilt top (I used all Cirrus solids). 

And then it was time to baste the quilt. I use 505 spray to baste my quilts and have always loved how quick the process is. This time though, I made it a bit too quick since I decided there was no need to properly shake the bottle before I started basting and, to my complete horror, the glue left tons of tiny spots/ stains all over my quilt top.


I tried spot cleaning them but it didn't seem to help so I turned to my trusty google search and found suggestions to just wash the quilt once finished and stains would be gone, phew! 

Well, not quite! Ever since I designed this quilt I planned on doing some dense quilting as I knew Cirrus solids are less tightly woven than Kona solids I usually work with and I wanted to prevent any fraying. And then, all of a sudden, I changed my mind and decided to machine quilt around large stars only and tie the rest of the quilt.


It really was a bad decision, but I made it even worse when I had less than half the quilt tied (I planned on finishing that later) and I threw it in the washing machine to see if the stains would come out. Yes, the stains did come out, but when I looked closer I spotted some frayed and ripped up seams in quite a few places!

I can't even begin to tell you how mad I was at myself! Seriously!!!

And then I calmed down (mostly because I only had two days till I needed to ship the quilt to the publisher), looked through my fabric and found out I still had enough Cirrus solids for yet another quilt, so I got to work once again.


This time though I shook the 505 can for at least 10 min as I was so freaked out about ruining this quilt also, and I quilted it with straight lines about 1/2" apart.


I'm glad to say I made the deadline and the quilt was featured in issue 43 of Love Patchwork and Quilting magazine, yay!


Plus, I'd also like to think I learned a lesson or two as well :). I really, really hope I did because this was the most stressful quilt sewing ever.


I finally got over my frustration of ruining the quilt and decided it's ok to use it even if there are a few rips in it.  And Lola doesn't seem to mind even one bit. She totally made my day when I found her sleeping in this pile of quilts.

Thanks for reading friends, I hope I didn't bore you to death with my saga of these two quilts :).

Wishing you all a creative weekend. Svetlana


33 comments:

  1. what a story! It's a beautiful quilt. congrats to you!

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  2. I LOVE THESE QUILTS!!! If you ever decide to sell one of them, please let me know!

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  3. its beautiful quilt!!!! I love it, I need to get the magazine soon :)

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  4. Oh you poor thing, I feel a bit stressed just reading that. What a feat making that deadline, well done, super quilt.

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  5. Oh that's stressful, but I do think the hand tying is really cute so I hope you finish that one up too!

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  6. Gorgeous! Glad it turned out ok. Would the magazine pattern list the colors or could you tell me what they are?

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  7. The quilt (both of them) are stunning... and I can't thank you enough for showing that its not always perfect finishes

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  8. That is such DEDICATION to make a second quilt! Um, I didn't know you really had to shake the can. Gasp. I'll get on that. Also, I'm going to try to learn from your mistake and be more diligent about close quilting. I really love the hand of tied and sparsely quilted quilts...

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  9. I'm glad you decided to go ahead and put the second quilt together. It's beautiful! I think we've all had days that you describe. I try hard not to get too stressed with each issue. When I am stressed, I seem to become a magnet for other accidents and/or mishaps. Congratulations on getting your quilt published.

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  10. Would you recommend cirrus solids then? It's a shame they frayed so much

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  11. what a panic you must have been in so well done to meet your deadline with so little time to spare. Wonder if we will see you popping on on the sew quartly channel as a lot of the designers with things in Love patchwork seem to be on it will keep my eyes open for you. Lola looks so comfortable and content in the quilt

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  12. Wow! What a story! Thankfully you were able to remedy the situation! I think the second is far nicer than the original, especially that pretty yellow/green star at the top! Congratulations, and good for you!

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  13. Goodness! Deadlines are pesky things! glad you got there in the end with two beautiful quilts!

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  14. What beautiful quilts, both of them, the one with the little flaws is perfect for the cat!
    KATRIN W.

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  15. A triangle quilt in two days!!! My god, you are a machine. Beautiful, beautiful quilts! Thanks for sharing

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  16. OMG ... what a story, but seriously 2 days left before sending to publisher.. you are such a brave lady yet the quilt is inspiring me... thank you.. looking forward to get the magazine soon...

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  17. Not bored at all reading this story! Wow, I feel your pain!!! But, now you have two quilts LOL. So glad you got your quilt finished before the deadline. I literally laughed out loud when you mentioned you shook the can for 10 minutes LOL!! Love the quilt....it's very lovely.

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  18. Did you get any sleep during those two days of frenzied cutting, sewing and quilting??? Your quilt is a feast for the eyes...wonderful colours. I want to make a triangle quilt some day.

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  19. The quilt is gorgeous! I just bought the magazine on my iPad so I can hopefully make one as well.

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  20. I enjoyed reading this, because I have done things like this before! Thanks! :)

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  21. Being a new quilter frustration is nothing new and the seam ripper is my best friend. Thanks for letting a newbie know that even an accomplished quilter can make mistakes but still come out on top. Your quilt is beautiful, hope you took a deep breath and had a cup of tea (or something) after all the frantic work.

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  22. oh Svetlana, I can not imagine!!!!! What dedication to make an entire new quilt in two days to meet your deadline. I can't imagine the stress of this. You're wonderfully kind to share with us that even someone as talented as you could run into this kind of situation. Your ability to pick up and keep moving forward is inspiring.

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  23. See, cats are good for the mood. And you didn't bore me at all. I try to learn from your mistakes, so thank you for sharing them.
    Best Mareike

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  24. Eek! How frustrating. You did so well to get the second one made on time. Great quilt too.

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  25. That is really weird about the cirrus solids- I am disappointed to learn that you had such difficult issues. That quilt is stunning and I need to hunt down the magazine issue now!

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  26. It's amazing that you were calm while redoing your BEAUTIFUL quilt! My grandmother often (nicely) said "haste makes waste". The memory of her voice always helps me to slow down and deal with a catastrophe I've created. I often wonder how I'm able to carefully redo work when I didn't have the time the first go-round.

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  27. It's amazing that you were calm while redoing your BEAUTIFUL quilt! My grandmother often (nicely) said "haste makes waste". The memory of her voice always helps me to slow down and deal with a catastrophe I've created. I often wonder how I'm able to carefully redo work when I didn't have the time the first go-round.

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  28. I LOVE this quilt. Have had the same experience with 505, but I shook it. I think the can was just old, because I'd ordered an entire case maybe two years previously and didn't use it all very quickly.

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  29. Oh what a complete 'mare! I use 505 all the time too, but have never had this happen to me. Do you spray the wadding?

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  30. WoW! What a story! But the most important part is that this story have a happy end!
    BTW two of your quilts are totally beautiful!

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