Only I Can Turn Super Simple Into Super Hard

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I am the master of making the simple, hard.  The quilt from Missouri Star Quilt Company is like its name says - Super Simple Squares.




This was that project that broke me and made me want to give up.  But now that I am on the other side of it, I will not be defeated.  To that end, I am moving beyond my comfort zone of baby quilts and am going bigger.  I already have a quilt top that I just pieced together and it is 47 by 47.  I do plan to quilt it using my embroidery machine.

What Went Wrong

I printed the instructions, looked at them one time, and actually thought I had it memorized - NOT.  I ended up mistakenly adding about 9 additional strips in between the rows that made it even longer.

I should have known something was wrong when I had to sew more squares and did not have enough fabric for my borders.  Instead of checking the pattern I forged on, sewed more squares and made my borders smaller.

I added the backing, batting, and pins to keep everything in place and then it sat because I was overwhelmed by its size, knew it  was not like the pattern, and knew I would be fighting with fabric and a new machine trying to quilt it.  At one point I planned to give up and return my brother-in-law's money that he gave me to purchase fabric for this project to keep him from nagging me (it had only been 2 1/2 years since I purchased the fabric and I only missed 2 or 3 promises of when I said it would be done 😆).

After a couple of months I decided I would take quilt top apart and make it right (according to the pattern).  BIG mistake - it took forever to take it apart.

I finally finished pulling it apart and putting it back together the right way (according to the pattern) - NOT.  Believe it or not, I still managed to get an additional strip in between one of the rows😞.  I did not realize it until after I had put the borders back on - I thought I would blow a gasket.

Absolutely no way I was going to pull it apart again - I decided I would live with this mistake.  Why did I split the boarder between solid and stars?  Remember I bought the fabric about 2 1/2 years ago and could not find more star fabric.  I really did want the star border all around but had to make due with what I had.

Quilting it was a nightmare.  I chose a simple decorative stitch but I struggled trying to control the fabric.  The back is a mess, but the front doesn't look too bad.  By the end of quilting it, I finally realized what I needed to do to control the fabric and have much better success next time.

What I learned On This Project

  • I need to read and review pattern instructions frequently as I am progressing with my piecing.
  • I should use a machine that I am familiar with when stepping out of my comfort zone.
  • I must take my time and do a little sewing each day, week or month (whatever time is reasonable for me) when I am working on something outside my comfort zone.
  • I can't let my failure keep me from stepping out of my comfort zone.  
  • I have to learn to see my "failure" as an opportunity to grow and get it right the next time no matter how many "next times" it takes.
  • My "failure" is really not as bad as I think it is.
  • I need to make it a point to step outside my comfort zone so I continue to grow.

Pictures (the good and bad)
































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