What to do when you bite off more than you can chew
Have you ever been up for a challenge, went with it, and conquered it, but maybe not in the prettiest way? Let me introduce you to my first quilt….still a UFO (UnFinished Object).
We had just moved into our new home a month before when I decided I wanted to start my own quilt. I mean, what better idea to have when the packing boxes are still kinda, sorta, there. I’m full of brilliant ideas like this!
I had previously worked on a quilt with my mom. You can read about that in Passing Down a Quilt Legacy. But with my newfound quilting knowledge, I wanted to pursue one on my own. So I perused patterns
Cutting out my first quilt — the good and the bad
It was October 2009 when I cut out the pieces to my first quilt. I actually took a day off of work and cut to my little heart’s content. While technically, my mom’s quilt was my first one, I hadn’t helped with picking the pattern, selecting fabric, or cutting the pieces. So this was technically my first full-fledged quilt.
I cut lots and lots of pieces, not totally understanding what I was doing (which will become apparent after you see the blocks assembled). I excitedly shared my new project with a few of my aunts who were also quilters. If I recall correctly, they shook their heads while providing loving encouragement…..because apparently, they realized already what I hadn’t….I’d need all the encouragement I could get.
As you can see, this quilt, let me reiterate, this FIRST quilt, wasn’t just a basic set of squares. Oh no! Why would I do that? I wanted character. I wanted challenge. (insert eyeroll) I picked a quilt, that in hindsight, was probably a level 7 in complexity on a scale of 10. That part was fine. The not-so-fine part was that my skill level was at about a 3-4.
So I cut and cut and cut some more. I began piecing the squares together, and well, let’s just say that when you don’t accurately (let me repeat that, ACCURATELY) cut the pieces, the blocks go together a bit wonky. But it was my first one and I was proud.
Piecing the quilt — going all-in on hand piecing
During this piecing process — did I mention I hand-pieced all of the blocks…..again, I wanted a challenge (again, insert eyeroll) — I found a quote that said quilters should always make a mistake in their quilt so that they’re not trying to be God-like. Well, suffice it to say, not only did I make one mistake, but since I’m always up for a challenge, I made enough mistakes for many, many quilts into my future (not on purpose by the way). It was like ‘paying it forward’ in quilt mistakes. I’m generous that way.
The blocks came together. The top came together. The quilt was sandwiched. And as of this writing, I am finishing the hand-quilting. Hand-quilting, you say? Why of course. Don’t you know me by now? Does the word challenge mean anything!?! How about eyeroll? LOL.
Lessons learned (and still learning) from my first quilt
As you can see, the accuracy of this quilt was mostly the result of poor cutting techniques on my part and not-so-accurate seam allowances. But instead of it being a failure, it was a total learning experience. And I am very proud of this quilt. Just a few of the learning experiences, because I know we don’t have time here to go over all of them:
- I learned how to pick a challenging-but-not-too-challenging pattern – obviously an after-the-fact lesson.
- I learned there is a science to cutting pieces….and I learned that I’m still not proficient at it, but getting better.
- I learned that cutting and piecing triangle pieces is a bit different from cutting and piecing square pieces (yes, I know one is 3-sided and one is 4-sided, that’s not what I meant) — though don’t ask me to explain how to do it well, because I haven’t totally learned that part yet….I just learned that there are tricks to making a good triangle, not that I know how to do them yet. 😊
- I learned that a finished “failure” is better than unfinished “perfection”. Can I justify or what?
Once I finish this quilt, I’ll post it up for everyone to see. For now, here are the pictures of it in-progress. As long as you don’t zoom in it actually doesn’t look half bad.
So back to the title of this article: what do you do when you bite off more than you can chew? Well, it you’re me, you keep trudging forward and make the best of it. Learn from it. Besides, there’s no quitting in quilting. There might be tears (LOL) or cursing (or both), but no quitting!
Did you enjoy reading about my quilt experience?
If so, you might want to check out some of my other articles:
- Gifting a quilt – where I write about a quilt I actually finished (and it’s not the quilt in this article)
- Passing down a quilt legacy – the quilt where Mom taught me how to quilt
- A Peek into my Creative Process – for some encouragement in trudging forward and making the best of a project
What was quilt you attempted first? Did you follow a pattern, or did you wing it? Did you make any mistakes or pay it forward in quilt mistakes like I did? Did you finish it? Did you trash it? Tell me in the comments. Please tell me I’m not the only one who finishes an imperfect project. 😊
What to do when you bite off more than you can chew
