almost threw this one away

[grammaterry]

Yes, three times I made such huge mistakes that I was ready to throw this out but something inside me doesn't let me quit even when I know its going to be a poor quality work. First, the pieces in the quilt kit were not computed correctly for the diamonds and they didn't fit right. So, I thought, well, I'll cut it out again out of scraps and make a back for it. At that time I didn't know that it wasn't my fault that the pieces didn't fit but when I did it again, I knew they had miscalculated the diamonds adding a 1/4 onto the template that wasn't suppose to be there.
So now, I have a back and a front that aren't exactly right. Points don't line up and it ripples a little but hey, good practice quilt for the embroidery machine. I had almost all the corner birds done when I left the machine to run by itself and the hoop came off. When I came back 8000 stitches later, they were all huddled into a 3 inch square. So, I picked it out and of course the fabric was damaged from all those stitches but, I put a flower over that space and it didn't look too bad...right? I was giving up.
But then, Caroline T said she was sending me some rulers as a gift so I thought, hey, howabout I practice a little more. So I FMQ'd the big spaces and I ruler quilted the star and the outside stars and the diamonds. THat was fun.
Today I bound it and ruffle edged it and this is what I got. Maybe it will bring some Shriner $$$. Ya think?

[Caroline T.]

Terry, I am amazed at how well the two sides do match up. That's a really hard thing to do.

Both sides are beautiful, and so is your quilting, both the FMQ and ruler work, I knew you would succeed.

This one is sure to bring in a nice donation!

[jjkaiser]

Both sides of that quilt are just so pretty. It's gonna bring in big bucks for sure. Congrats on sticking with it. That is awful that the kit came with the wrong size template and aren't you smart for being able to figure that out. My eyes must have gotten as big as saucers when I read that part about you ripping all those stitches out! I probably would have thrown in the towel right there. Was your dh standing by to wash your mouth out with soap LOL

[Jean Sewing Machine]

It's hard to get thos diamond shaped pieces not to stretch! I love these, but they are a challenge to get them flat!

[KPH]

Terry, you are amazing! You get another perseverance award. You've lived up to Tim Gunn's "Make it work!"

[chelea]

Wow, just beautiful. This would be a tough pattern to pull off even if the pieces were the correct size. It speaks to your skill as a quilter that you were able to overcome all the obstacles and still create a beautiful quilt.

[grammaterry]

I showed him the mess and told him I couldn't fix it. Then, I proceeded to embroider another block and while it was working...each one was an hour) I decided to try picking it out. Well, I resorted to a single edge razor blade which I skimmed over the backside over and over until I got down to fabric...then onto the front side. Wore out the fabric but at least it isn't a huge blue glob. I was pretty calm...no words...just resignation that this quilt was a throw away anyway.

Both sides of that quilt are just so pretty. It's gonna bring in big bucks for sure. Congrats on sticking with it. That is awful that the kit came with the wrong size template and aren't you smart for being able to figure that out. My eyes must have gotten as big as saucers when I read that part about you ripping all those stitches out! I probably would have thrown in the towel right there. Was your dh standing by to wash your mouth out with soap LOL

[grammaterry]

Yeah, well they were certainly a challenge but not to lay flat. The template made them (the diamonds) fit together but then the diamond it created was too big for the space they allocated for the block. It has some rippling as a finished quilt but a non=quilter might not notice, right?

It's hard to get thos diamond shaped pieces not to stretch! I love these, but they are a challenge to get them flat!

[JCY]

Terry ~ Both look spectacular! Perseverance award for sure!

[KarenC]

Yay! What beauties. You win the prize.