Sometimes mistakes happen

/ quiltinggail

Oh yes, they do!

Most of you know that I absolutely LOVE scrappy quilts.  Occasionally, I do sew a quilt with only a couple of fabrics, but for the most part, I love scrappy.  A few years ago, I made a series of quilts with my Grandmother’s fabric.  You can see them HERE.  I used pretty much all of the fabrics, without much consideration to colour.  The only rule was that 2 squares of the same colour couldn’t go next to each other.  There was every colour in the rainbow, shades, tints and tones and they all got mixed up together.  In my opinion, all of the quilts turned out just fine.

Then came the Island Batik January’s challenge to make something scrappy!  I smiled and smiled.  I knew I wanted to make a cover for my embroidery machine and it would just be a small quilt, not shaped or anything.  I have scraps from all the Island Batik projects that I made last year.   I decided to make pinwheels.  I used my Accuquilt Go to cut the pinwheels (talk about accurate!) and was mostly happy with each pinwheel.  Individually, they looked pretty good.  They all went well with the Island Batik grey solid.  Then, when I put them together, it was blah.  Like yuck! gross …  ULK!!!   Not something I’d like to look at every time I walked into my studio!

I quilted it with blue thread (Aurifil 1128), hoping that would add some cohesiveness.  It helped … a little … but … Not doing it for me.  ULK!!!

When I compared this to some of the quilts I made with Grandma’s fabric, I realize that in each of the blocks (some were the same size as the pinwheels in this piece) that the colours were all mixed up together.  In this piece, there isn’t the mixed variety … each pinwheel is only 2 colours.  My conclusions are that:  1.  If I’m going to do scrappy pinwheels, I need to stick to a certain theme or colour.  2. Scrappy quilts work best with lots of variation and a solid, or calm piece, to pull it all together.

It’s LEARNING … and I’m just fine with that!

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When I was looking at this quilt, I was wondering what I could make with it.  I had said on the blog that I had started Secret Project #1 – so, I couldn’t just ignore it and hope that it would disappear.  It was a project started in 2020, and therefore, needed to be finished in 2020.  And, I couldn’t wimp out on my PHD in 2020!  Especially this early in the year!!!

I have always fought with the bag that the Accuquilt cutter came in because it just fits and there isn’t a lot of wiggle room.  AND, to top it off, the bag ripped when I pulled it out to use it to cut the pinwheels.  An AH-HA moment happened.  This piece would be come a bag for the cutter.  A perfect solution, don’t ya think?

Here it is … and I’m thinking that it doesn’t look too bad as a bag.  And the Accuquilt Go fits in it with ease!

This is NOT my official Island Batik scrappy project for January but it is a completed project.  It did use Island Batik fabrics, cut with the HST Cube 8″ Accuquilt die, Aurifil thread and Hobbs 80/20 batting.    I had labelled this Secret Project #1.

There is still time

Screen Shot 2019-12-06 at 11.47.00 AMto join in PHD in 2020!

If you want to decrease your UFOs … and not make your UFO list any bigger, Join me for your PHD in 2020!  Check out this blog post for details … and scroll WAY down for the linky party so that you can join in!  You can join in on the PHD in 2020 until Jan. 14.  Then on the 1st and 15th of each month, there will be a linky party for you to show your progress.

Now, you don’t have to have a blog to join … you can use Pinterest (start a separate board) or Instagram … post the direct URL in the linky party and you’re IN!  Come and join us!

I was Featured

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By Jeniffer at Inquiring Quilter with This POST about 2 works in progress.  Thank you to Jennifer for hosting the Wednesday Wait Loss.  By the way … it’s worth going to her blog to see all the wonderful works that are featured this week.

Disclaimer: The products featured in this Blog post were given to me by Island Batik, and their co-sponsers Aurifil, Hobbs Batting & AccuQuilt!  

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

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31 thoughts on “Sometimes mistakes happen”

  1. Pingback: Lets Get Scrappy! | Quilting Gail

  3. Pingback: Jan. 15 PHD in 2020 Progress Report | Quilting Gail

  4. I think your bag is lovely! I don’t have one for my cutter so now you’ve got me thinking I should make one. Thanks for sharing on Wednesday Wait Loss.

    Liked by 1 person

  6. Pingback: Monday … and I’m off to a retreat! | Quilting Gail

  8. I think your bag looks fabulous! I don’t find it blah at all, but I’m glad you turned it into something you are happy with. So great that you made it for the accuquilt!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Thanks, Anja!
      When I first got the Accuquilt, I thought I’d try to keep it in the original bag … as you know, that didn’t work too good for me!
      I’m happy with the bag!
      Happy Quilting! 🙂

      Like

    • Hi Alycia,
      In reality, it’s only one bag … I just showed both sides.
      I know that you are also a fellow scrap-lover … that’s why I follow your blog! 🙂
      Happy Quilting! 🙂

      Like

  13. Hi Gail, to be honest, your fabric was perfectly fine. It may not have been what you intended it to be (colourful and scrappy) but it’s great. I’m glad that you found a use for it finally. The bag looks great and will be useful. Funny how our expectations affect our ideas of what we like and don’t like! Thanks for linking up to Free Motion Mavericks. Have a great weekend!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Hi Andrée,
      Thank you for your encouragement! Yes, our expectations to play a HUGE part in what we like/don’t like!
      Thank you for hosting Free Motion Mavericks!
      Happy Quilting! 🙂

      Like

  14. Gail, I loved reading your post! Isn’t it funny how you can begin with an idea and end up with something completely different? I agree that your scrappy pinwheels look perfect as an Accuquilt bag. Lovely. Have a fantastic day.

    Liked by 1 person

  15. The quilt looked great but the bag is fabulous. Not being a scrappy quilter I struggled with this challenge….a lot! Not really being happy with my main project I too made a 2nd. Thank you for linking up to Put your foot down. I really enjoyed this post and its outcome.

    Liked by 1 person

  16. Hi Gail! Brilliant. The bag looks fabulous – the cute, little pinwheels just shine, don’t they?! Plus, now you don’t have to use both hands to get cutter and I am 100% certain this bag is much cuter than the old one. This same topic came up on Ann’s blog this week – Laughing Gas, I think is the name of her blog. She came to a similar conclusion. ~smile~ Roseanne

    Liked by 1 person

    • Thanks Roseanne!
      Oh yes, this bag is WAY cuter and stronger than the original.
      I did se Ann’s post (Laughing Gas Quilts) and her conclusion was the colour theme. That worked for my 2nd challenge quilt (to be seen soon). But when I made the quilts with Grandma’s fabric, it was everything and anything. But the pieces were smaller and the colours scattered all over the quilt.
      Ah, but it’s nice to have a finish that we’re pleased with in the end!
      Happy Quilting! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

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