A Challenging Snowflake

I am excited to share the finished mini "Snowflake" quilt for my tabletop quilt stand. This project was a challenge (to say the least). Earlier this week, I made time for an hour of sewing...my sewing time is very precious to me, and I made a point to stop working for an hour to do a little quilting. I have had the kit for this mini quilt for quite some time - it is a called Snowflake TIP (TIP stands for "totally inclusive project") by B's Caprice (a local Iowa designer) - they make kits for fun little quilts that fit my 12" tabletop quilt stand perfectly. This mini quilt had a unique design addition - after piecing the quilt block and making your quilt sandwich (backing, batting, quilt block), you add a piece of organza to the top to give it a pretty shiny sparkle. One of the local quilt shops had a model on display and I really liked it...the sparkly organza gave it a nice snowy winter look.

So with my hour, I sat down to piece the quilt block - as you can see, there are multiple quarter-square triangle units, so I followed each step in the directions very carefully to piece everything properly....taking my time to ensure my triangles had nice perfect points. After making the quarter-square triangles, you assemble them with solid squares to make the four corner blocks - okay, no problem, quilting 101 (or so I thought). Following the diagram in the directions exactly, I pieced all four corner squares, pressing properly - I trim them to exact 6" squares - now I am ready to add the sashing and center square...when low and behold, they don't look right...something was off...I look at the corner block diagram and I made them exact...the problem - the assembly diagram had the corner blocks pictured differently - yep, the diagram for the corner blocks was drawn incorrectly - the pattern directions were wrong - ugh! All four blocks would have to be completely taken apart and redone - I was so frustrated - I just left it sitting on my cutting table where it stayed for several days.

Talking with my friend Lorrie at lunch on Wednesday, I shared this story with her...I told her I was at a loss: do I try to take out all the stitching and fix the blocks? - do I throw it all away and start fresh with some fabric from my stash? - do I buy a new kit and start over? - do I just trash it and forget about it? - I really wasn't sure what I was going to do - the kit was $16.99 and I would hate to just throw it away. I should also mention - the designer doesn't list a website address, an email, or a phone number on the kit, so I could not easily contact them for advice (and of course, the shop where I purchased it- that had a model on display - failed to mention the major error on the pattern). If you are a quilter/seamstress, then you know, once you start using the seam ripper, your pieces become wonky and can lose their shape...I wasn't sure if I would be able to get good points and straight lines if I removed all the stitching and tried to use the same pieces. Lorrie gave me her advice, and I went home still uncertain if I would ever complete the project. However, our lunch had found me in a happy place and that evening, I took all four blocks apart, carefully removing all the stitches. I then pressed each of the pieces using (my favorite) Mary Ellen's Best Press starch alternative, hoping that would help the pieces keep their shape.

Finally today, I sat down at the sewing machine and re-pieced the four corner blocks properly - looking at the assembled quilt diagram and not the "incorrect" corner block diagram. I managed to piece the entire block and only have a couple triangles lose their points - not too bad, I was pretty pleased! Here is the block before adding the organza...

After quilting and binding, I was actually pretty happy with the results...and I was proud of myself for not just throwing it in the trash. There are a lot of sewing projects in my to-do pile and it would have been very easy to work on something new - but there is a sense of self-satisfaction that comes from finishing this particular project. The organza on top really is a nice addition - and it was a new technique for me, which I may try again in the future. So now I will happily change the Valentine quilt in my stand to this Snowflake quilt...and there is even still snow on the ground! Thinking about it - it would be fun to design a St. Patrick's Day block for the stand...you know, in my spare time...well, that might have to wait until next year...