Saturday, June 27, 2009

first quilt - EPIC fail

i've been thinking about the old red barn co. quilt along for a few weeks now. i've spent hours drooling over all the flickr uploads of the beautiful quilts being submitted. i finally decided to go ahead and join the fun. sure, i'm about six weeks late. and ok, so i'm not that experienced of a sewer. i can do this, right? right?

i spent over an hour at the fabric store this week selecting just the right fabrics. the excitement is building. yesterday, i worked for an hour or so cutting all these fun fabrics into perfect little one and a half inch strips. they looked so happy nestled in their box. and today, i was all set to go:

machine - CHECK
ironing board and iron - CHECK
spray sizing - CHECK

happy little stacks of one and a half inch strips - CHE. . .
what? the strips are supposed to be HOW wide??
TWO and a half inches you say?
pardon me while i have a complete nervous breakdown.

9 comments:

Erin said...

oh honey! Nothing you do has yet been an EPIC fail. You'll just find a different way to go about it. I am TOTALLY impressed by your nice neat stack of strips there. Mine would have been a MESS. I can't wait to see what you end up doing with all of it!

gMarie said...

Just soldier on. Using 1.5" strips - nobody will care if the overall quilt is (a) smaller or (2) has more blocks. It's all good. g

Thimbleanna said...

It's OK Melly! Just think of them as miniature blocks! Soldier on -- it will still be awesome!

Ginny Blakeslee Breen said...

Melissa!! Take heart!! In art, the expression is ... nothing is a mistake, it is only an opportunity to be even more creative!!! Somehow, it will be even more beautiful than the "plan" and GIRL ... THAT IS BEING CREATIVE!!! Keep going. Love, Ginny

grendelskin said...

Keep going! 1.5 inch strips will just yield a smaller block. Sew together enough to make a square - I'm guessing you will use 6 strips and make a 6.5-inch square or 8 for an 8.5-inch square but one of the whiz-kids can correct me. The extra bits can be made into a second piece utilizing rectangles or used for the back. Like some others in the group I had FQs instead of half-yards onhand so I made 10.5-inch squares instead of the 12.5 that was originally called for - no problem, it looks fine and dandy.
G'head, it'll come out terrific and you won't kick yourself once you have a fabulous quilt finished. If I can do it, so can you!

Stacy said...

I agree - just keep at it! I am sure it will turn out gorgeous even if you have to alter the plans a little! Not an epic fail at all. Don't lose heart! I can't wait to see how it turns out!

Robin said...

These other fine people are encouraging you to sew with what you have (which I wholly agree with). But what I know you said is "ahhhh SHIT"! (maybe more expletives). Rock on Melly girl...it will be beautiful.
always, Robin

Anonymous said...

Not an epic failure...simply a "design decision".

Sue said...

It's these little unplanned events that make crafters the super people they are. Your quilt will be unique.