To Finish or Not to Finish

I finally finished my City Streets quilt.

It has not been the most happy of processes. I recently read a post by Ashley of Film in the Fridge questioning if she should finish a quilt she’s not happy with. Which got me thinking, at what point do I put down a quilt I’m not happy with?

Let me digress a little. City Streets was my quilt that I sent ahead of our move overseas, so I had a project to work on while waiting for the majority of our household goods to make it across the Atlantic. I picked out the block pattern and fabric, tucked in a small cutting mat, ruler, and rotary cutter, and off it went.

A couple weeks later, I started this quilt. It was then that I realized these were small blocks (6.5 inches) and there was a lot of trimming of fabric. Then my cutting board started to shred. I had never seen this before, so it took me a good week to realize what was happening. Next I dropped my rotary cutter, putting a dent in the blade. That’s when one cut of fabric became 4-6 cuts, while constantly moving around the cutting mat so I didn’t cut all the way through to the table. Me, being the stubborn person that I am, didn’t put the project on hold, nor did I purchase new equipment (because I had the good stuff making it’s way over the ocean.) Add to that my design dilemma mentioned here. And running out of fabric. All I have left are 2 fat-eights of the browns, a small square of dark purple and scraps from the border.

Why did I keep going? Well, one I’m stubborn. Two, it was the only project I had with me at the time. I get seriously cranky if I’m not sewing.

But I did learn quite a few things:

1. READ the pattern beforehand.
2. Make sure I have good quality materials (don’t go with things I haven’t used before).
3. And include a few extra rotary blades. (Seriously, they are not that big.)

What saved this quilt for me was simple quilting (straight-line crosshatching) and a non-pieced backing.

Seriously, is that not the best backing?!

(Not) Planning a Quilt

Do you start a project, inspired by a block or pile of fabric, but don’t really plan it all out? Normally, I’m a planner. But every once in a while I have a lapse. Which is plaguing me right now.

I started this City Blocks pattern by Jenifer at 42 Quilts with a great pile of Cherrywood fat quarters with some stash fabric to match.

So excited to start I didn’t think through to the end.

And then I got about a quarter of the blocks sewn and realized that I needed to figure out the end.

After a week of contemplating, I might have figured it out.

I like the completed blocks with probably two of these “backwards” blocks. I’m hoping to have enough green left over to do a green sashing (maybe scrappy), along with an outer cream sashing. Here’s to hoping this works out. (And it would be great to get some more sunny days for some better pictures.)