We had a snow storm yesterday – a good day for sewing. I managed to get half of the diamond blocks assembled but then I faced reality – if I aligned the left side and the top square on my cutting board I had a seriously wobbly diagonal that can’t be repaired easily! I’ll explain….
Half Of The Top Panel Assembled
I worked hard at getting precise diamond points and I was successful to a great extent. Laid out on batting the slight irregularities in the diamonds would smooth out as the cotton adhered to the batting.
Closeup Of The Diamonds
However the diagonal edge is about 2 1/2″ – 3″ too long!
The Problem With The Diagonal
I could take the whole assembled panel apart and try shaving small amounts from each diamond but then aligning the points would be very difficult.
Wobbly Diagonal
Even with the “dart” the further diagonal edge is still wobbly.
Second Side Of Panel Started
You can see how the wobble is beginning here on the second side – the problem at this point seems limited to the edge triangles but I suspect were I to replace those elements and continue adding rows I’d find the problem with the diagonal developing as the diagonal gets longer.
This has not been my favourite project – it’s been a fight from the beginning. I think it’s time to call it quits. That means actually throwing out the whole thing, not keeping it around as a U(n) F(finished) O(object). Just forget it.
I was thinking about axing the project at 6:00 am after I’d rolled over to register online for an aquafit class next Wednesday and couldn’t fall back to sleep. I was thinking maybe I should just slice the quilt, cut out the fullness, sew a seam across the diamonds, trim the diagonal, then continue working on the second half, maybe do the same thing there if I needed to.
I have a name for the project – “At War With Itself” – I’m doing fine with regard to COVID-19, the mess in the US has had me transfixed for five years. I think this quilt has been a reflection of that angst – my inner harmony seems lost. Do I want to quickly finish the piece with all it’s ugliness? Or should I simply get rid of it and start afresh? I suppose if I’m going to throw it away I might have a go at the splice and see how awful it looks – maybe awful is OK?
jmn 
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how about using smaller pieces of it set on point and turning it into pillows? It’s hard when it doesn’t turn out as envisioned. I don’t know you in real life but i suspect you don’t often give up or throw stuff out so perhaps you will find a way to reuse it. Just a guess.
BernieLynne I don’t need pillows but yes I will do something with the panel – I’ll probably actually construct the other half also being careful about the diamond points and then cut it into something and pull it together with some kind of complementary fabric – shopping bags? Who knows. But right now I’ve moved on to another project. I’ve made almost 150 quilts – this is the first time I’ve ended up with such a disaster. There have been other “disasters” which I’ve overcome in interesting ways but this diagonal that is at least 2 1/2″ too long is a definite challenge.
I’m sorry this has been such a difficult project. I fell in love with your final layout. I hope you can salvage but, you are more experienced than I am at quilting. I would be tempted to change the last upper triangle to fill the gap you show with the ruler and hope I could fudge my way through. Thank you for being so open and honest about your quilting experiences.
I’m not a quilter but I love your posts. Please forgive the ignorance but….. the colours are now quite nice. Maybe going along with the “craziness theme will save this quilt. Cut in random pieces and rejoin? I live in wonder of your seemingly endless energy.
I hope you can salvage it. Sometimes there’s so much gratification in winning!
I believe the project is beyond redemption!