A Cautionary Tale

Several months ago, on something of a dare from my husband, I designed a quilt.

Why yes, that is the Google Mobile logo.

Anyways, I put it all on graph paper, broke it into blocks, pieced them one at a time. And, honestly, the top came together exactly as I planned it, and it looks really cool. I can’t wait to show it to you.

So then I started working on the back. I decided to do it mostly in a very dark gray, with little pops of color from the front, designed to actually line up with where those colors are on the front. The plan is this: quilt it in five different colors of thread – red on red, white on white, etc..  So, on the back, you’ll sort of see the same design as the front. And the color thread would overlap with the colors on the back, so there wouldn’t be any red thread on yellow fabric – the thread would either match the color on the back, or would be on the gray. Make sense? Kinda cool, huh?

And when I pieced the back, it came out pretty much exactly as I had drawn it. I love it when that happens.

Then I started basting. I went to put the top down onto the batting when I realized my stupid, stupid mistake. Have you spotted it, yet? Well, if not, please learn from the error of my ways.

On the quilt top, the blue is on the top left. On the quilt back, the blue is on the top left. But it SHOULD be on the top… right. If I want it to line up, the back should be a mirror-image of the top.

DAMMIT.

Honestly, I nearly had a heart attack. I called my husband in from the other room to talk me down from the ledge.  We talked through the options, but there are no straightforward ways to take the quilt back that I have and turn it into the quilt back that I need. And I simply cannot bring myself to pick out all of the seams.

OH, DID I MENTION that I already submitted this quilt for the Boston Modern Quilt Guild exhibit at the Lowell Quilt Festival? WHICH IS IN ABOUT TWO WEEKS???

Holy. Crap.

Anyways, another four yards of Kona Charcoal is on its way from Sew Fresh Fabrics, and dammit, I am going to try to re-make the back in the correct orientation. I was so psyched about that back, I can’t let myself give up on it.

So, I’ve got two weeks to re-piece the back (the quilt is 60×70″, by the way – it’s no mini), quilt it, bind it, and put a hanging sleeve on it.

By the way, any suggestions for what quilting design/texture I should do would be more than welcome – the whole thing is solids, so I feel like the quilting should add a cool texture, but I can’t decide what to do.

Oh, and my second submission, a mini quilt for the Guild’s mini quilt challenge… also not quite done yet.

Something about counting chickens, I know, I know. Lesson learned.

Now, who wants to come watch my kids so I can sew all day for the next two weeks?