Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Hushabye Sampler Top Finished

I don't know if I should share how negatively I feel about this quilt top. When I told my mom all of my complaints - she suggested I just throw it away - it was her reaction to my vitriole. I don't hate it enough to literally put it in the trash but it's been a serious struggle from the beginning. Here are some of my reasons for loathing this project:

#67. The fabric requirements for the pattern required that I buy certain amounts for the sashing and backing which both ended up being WAY too much fabric. The fabric I had to buy doesn't really go with the rest of my stash - so it's a waste. #88. I cut up two yards of the pink Hushabye owl print that ended up being a waste because my rows and columns of sashed blocks wouldn't fit properly around the panel I had cut. (Totally my fault!!!!)

#92. I hate doing sashing for quilts - it's not as easy as it looks and I rarely can do it right.

#102. I had my doubts about using the saturated brown prints in some of the blocks - and then I went ahead and clustered them all together - which makes it even worse.

#111. I liked Hushabye, but now I can't bear to look at it anymore. I am hanging onto some of my yardage of the owl prints - but the rest is being destashed on etsy.

I totally understand the wisdom of "finishing what you start." But I once read some advice on flickr to a woman who wasn't sure if she should finish up a hand pieced hexagon quilt that she hated. The comment said something to the effect of, "Sometimes we spend too much time and money on projects we aren't enjoying and it's often better to just move on and spend our efforts on things we are excited about/enjoy more."

6 comments:

Jen said...

For what it's worth, i really like the quilt. I hear you on working on a frustrating quilt though. There have been times when I've just put something away and haven't touched it again. I've thought about either selling them or donating it to someone that would finish it to give to charity.

Alexis Deise said...

I think it's beautiful, I love the soft colors. And I think the border balances out the browns very nicely.

Aimee said...

Sorry you don't love it. It turned out beautifully and I'm sure there is someone out there that would love to own it - either through donation or gift.

I think I learn something from every quilt I make. And it's not always about what I love - often it's about what I don't like! But it's still a take-away lesson that I can use in the future. You wouldn't grow as a quilter without stepping outside of your comfort zone, and who wants to pump out a million quilts that all look identical?

wishesUT said...

I know I'm looking at it with an untrained eye, but I think it's beautiful. I think you always come up with the most amazing creations.

MadeByMeaghan said...

I appreciate your honesty about this whole process. We're not going to love everything we do and sometimes I agree it is better to just walk away when we don't like it. Otherwise you might grow to resent the quilt and dread the quilting process. That's no good!

Krista said...

That's a lot of work! How frustrating that you aren't happy with how it turned out :( I think it may be one of those quilts that could grow on you once it's quilted and washed up. But if you don't want to spend any more time on it, I bet a local guild would be happy to take the top and finish it up for a charity quilt. I know one of our local established guilds has members that love to do that sort of thing.