WIP Wednesday – The Fully Sick Quilt
How do you spell that noise that happens when you keep your lips pressed together and blow air through them, while they flap against each other? If you know how, insert it here! Suffice to say that rainbow matchstick quilting didn’t go so well.
As soon as I had run up a few test lines it had me saying, “Hmm, umm, well, maybe? but maybe not?” I think this is what happens when you try to work on a sick quilt, when you’re not actually feeling sick. I took to Instagram (IG: molli_sparkles) to get a second opinion …
“The thread is fighting with the fabrics. It could get better but I’m not sure it will.” – (IG: ellascottage)
“Ditch the thread.” – (IG: leebee81)
“The Marrakech is not working on the white background. Tear out thread.” – (IG: urun2bfit)
“There’s not enough Molli Sparkles in this quilt.” – (IG: kmkauckland)
“You wouldn’t like my tea today so I offer coffee instead.” (IG: negligentstyle)
“What I was really looking for was a ‘yuk.’ #notdoinitformemoll #unpickquickmoll” (IG: appliqueensal)
That was only 6 of the 40 responses! After those last two hash tags from Salley, I knew it had gots to go!
See, this is why Truth Tea is so important! If everyone had just been all, “Oh, it’s so pretty! Good job!” I probably would have convinced myself into thinking it was heading in the right direction. Then eighty bazillion hours and even more lines of matchstick quilting later, I would have been the proud owner of one big-butt-ugly quilt. Sometimes, you just gotta be told!
So it has now been unpicked (whew! that was kinda fun!) and I’m starting on some stitch in the ditch quilting. I may stop there because honestly, I’m getting kinda sick and tired of The Fully Sick Quilt. I want my bright colours baaaaaacck! #nowipleftbehind I am learning lots about quilting, FMQ, thread choice, and my overall aesthetic though. Not a total loss, but I’ll show you something this TGIFF that might offer a little bit of redemption for me and this block.
Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced for WiP Wednesday!
Good for you! I'm sure you won't regret that unpicking 😉
I always wonder if the matchstick quilting isn't completely useless for quilts you actually want to use … all the quilting must make the thing pretty hard and unyiealdy and well generally uncomfortable …
But anyway – for the thread – the rainbowcolours don't even begin to pick up any colours of the fabric nor does it contras or compliment them so it should have been a nogo from the start …
Quilt from the back and use the flower circles as guidelines … but then you are probably not into unpicking the square – did you stitch in the ditch or do your customary 1/4" from the seam line?
Good choice 🙂
I hate unpicking, but sometimes it's the best choice. Glad you didn't get too far before realizing that the rainbow matchstick wasn't working.
Yeah…rainbow thread on traditional prints…not my cup of tea, but please pass the scones. That cream colored thread looks lovely though! Can't wait to see how it all looks on the front!
I agree when honest feedback is asked for, tactful honesty is always best. That being said, unless someone is asking for feedback I usually don't offer it if there's something in the quilt that strikes me as off. A person has to be ready for feedback. If they don't ask for feedback I stick to the saying, 'if you can't say something nice then don't say anything at all'.
On the topic of unpicking…..Jacquie Gehring has a technique where she uses her rotary cutter and a dull blade to 'unpick' quilting. She folds back the backing and uses the blade to slice the stitches between the batting and the backing. When I saw her do it on her video on her Craftsy class I literally shouted 'NO!" when she took out the rotary cutter… then I quieted down when I saw she wasn't going to slice her quilt. I scared my husband to death because I was watching the video with my headphones on and he didn't have a clue what was going on. Lol!!
Thank goodness you were able to take all that Truth Tea! If I were an Instagrammer, I too would have advised picking it out (ugh) simply to save you the horror of continuing to quilt a large project with matchstick quilting that tight. Yikes. It makes my shoulders ache just to look at it. 🙂
I'm not sure of the proper name (singers – trill? horses – blow?) but I know when I make that noise in my house, DH shouts, 'Whoa, Silver!' … not nice 🙁
Hate unpicking … not nice either!
I love the coffee comment, and great choice. That quilting really just wasn't working. Why, how, wtf don't I follow you on IG? Changing that now!
I'm thinking the rainbow thread would look lovely on a dark solid, but yes, those commenters definitely talked you off that ledge!
Yeah, that quilting on the Fully Sick quilt was, well, sick, but not in a good way! Smart to seek other opinions when you aren't sure. Modern quilting on such a traditional bunch of fabrics just doesn't work too well…and your arms may have fallen off by the time you were finished!!! I rather like the idea of using a cream thread and quilting from the back and following those flowers – it would fit the material on the front better too. I'm so glad you welcomed the Truth Tea…with lots of love and sugar!!!
As a an experienced matchstick quilter (what? there's such a thing?) I can tell you that while it's an awesome way of quilting, it also makes for a very stiff, heavy uncuddly quilt. I would think a fully sick quilt would be perfect for sick days, and you really need that cuddle factor. Non?
I like where you are headed with the new direction 🙂
Good call. I unpicked once, took me about 5 times as long as doing the crappy quilting had in the first place.
Okay so the first idea didn't work, that's okay. The best way to learn what works is by doing what doesn't! Then you know, right? Learning Curve should be the name of this one when its done. Use it in a positive way to continue that learning you say have been doing. Learning isn't about perfection either so don't get too caught up in that either. Get it done and gift it to a worthy cause if its not your thing, that way you still get warm fuzzies when you're done!