So here it is..............
ok, so first... what im giving away??
The First Lucky winner will get this nice little bundle of fabric, the famous Heather Ross' Far Far Away 2 collection. It has 2 Fat Quarters, 18, 3" x 4" pieces, and 12 large diamond pieces and MY just released Sand Castles Pattern!!
I'm also giving away My Sand Castles Pattern to Winner number 2, and Winner number 3....You have 2 chances to enter, and this is how??....
1) Leave a comment and tell me - Your biggest quilting disaster, or biggest mistake on the first quilt you ever made?? ( if you dont make quilts/ whichever craft you do!!)
2) If you are a follower of my blog! Or become a follower... leave another comment!
I am also selling my pattern for 20% off during this giveaway period!! So check out my SHOP section of my blog! I will also reimburse the winners if you have already bought a Pattern!
Good Luck!..
but my very first quilt... I had no idea about lining up seams, What was a 1/4" foot?? Width of borders - one really skinny 1/2" and one really wide 6 1/2" , and no idea about binding!! My binding 2 1/2" wide, folded in half and just hand sewn on tucking under the edges as i went... corners were tricky i would cut and overlap... very dodgy! But hey its the softest quilt I have because its the most used! And really? where would we be without our very first quilt!....
Give Away ends Friday!! xx
Wow what an awesome quilt love the castles, so cute. Oh no I am the first one to comment, how does that verse go, first the worst, second the best, third the (forgot what goes here).........princess. Thank you for sharing.Happy Stitcing
ReplyDeleteI'm brand new to quilting and my biggest mistake so far has probably been getting TOO motivated about quilting, and starting my 2nd quilt before I even finished my 1st one. With so much inspiration around, it's hard to stay focused!
ReplyDeleteBiggest mistake? When I made my first skirt it was too tight because I forgot to count in the seem allowances before cutting. Well, and the next one was too wide :)
ReplyDeleteAnd I just posted an anonymous comment! So sorry for that!
ReplyDeletei love that pattern!
ReplyDeletein my second quilt i used cotton and satin- together! it was so ugly! and all fabrics were so diffarent from one another. some had prints and some didnt and some were shiny- its terrable! i dont know why i did something like that!
im now a follower
ReplyDeletethanks!!!
I love your castle pattern - seems just perfect for the FFA2 range! My biggest mistake was knowing nothing about quilting during my first attempt at a quilt - like using scissors and not sticking to a consistent seam allowance. I still have the wonky cut and unsewn squares in the sewing room as the project was quickly abandoned...
ReplyDeleteGreat giveaway Becky!
ReplyDeleteThe first quilt that I attempted to make was made of polyester material. The fabrics had squares with cute prints in them. I didn't have any quilting tools such as a ruler and rotary cutter so I just cut the squares out with scissors. When I washed the fabrics they must have shrunk slightly differently so the squares weren't the same size...... that's where the quilt finished. I actually still have those fabric squares in a box in my shed and it's a good reminder of how far I've come. It was quite a few years before I attempted quilting again, but I'm so glad I did.
Love the castles quilt.
XO Amelia
Congratulations on your first giveaway!
ReplyDeleteOf quilting disasters I have many, but the 2 most memorable are 1. when making a quilt from a Kaffe Fassett pattern with fabric I sourced from overseas, I cut one of my templates wrong and although I was out by a very small margin I had cut up a mountain of triangles that no longer fit right. There's a lesson in there.
Disaster no 2 involved an intricate appliqued block and an inquisitive child with a rotary cutter..... stack and slash, indeed!
oh, and I am a follower!
ReplyDeleteNot realizing for one square of the quilt that the fabric was backwards (head in the clouds?) and putting it all together and starting to quilt it...Yep ..had to rip it mostly apart! Love the castles!!!
ReplyDeleteMy first quilt I had no idea of a 1/4 inch seam allowance...i was using fabric from my childhood clothing (my mom made our clothes)...polyester, cotton, blends...you name it...just squares...although Im not sure any of the pieces were actually sqaure since these were cut with dull paper scissors...it is the waviest, more hilarious quilt...oh, did i mention i thrifted a matteress pad and cut the padding square to use for the back...yes, that terrible...i still have this quilt tucked under my daughters bed...and it shall remain there.
ReplyDeleteYour sand castle pattern/quilt is fantastic! just gorgeous!!
thanks for my chance..i found your giveaway thru kate's blog!!
Hi - I think my biggest mistake is the usual - did not use the same seam allowances and yikes - very odd shaped quilt! Live and learn.
ReplyDeleteI love your sandcastle quilt! Thanks for giveaway.
Colleen
butler83ataoldotcom
I am also now a follower. I got here through Kates blog. Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteColleen
butler83ATaoldotcom
Quilting rookie mistakes? Let me count the ways! Okay, I'll spare you all the stories but here are a few of my favorite space-out moments. (1) Using gray thread to piece together white fabric. Talk about a dingy look. Good grief! (2)Cutting half-square triangles so off, I had to mark my own custom seam (which was different for each HST) to try to right them. Yeah, it didn't work and clearly this is before I learned about squaring up blocks and trimming them down to size. (3)sewing two pieces of white batting together with gray thread which, of course, you could see once I put the quilt together. Doh. Are you seeing a theme with gray thread?
ReplyDeleteI love your pattern and would be SO thrilled to win it and the fabric. Here's hoping!!
I've been keeping track of your blog through Google Reader but now I'm an official follower. :)
ReplyDeleteHi, Becky. Your blog is in my Google Reader (has been since Kate first mentioned you were starting a blog), so I think that makes me a follower, too. Anyway, I'm still working on quilt #1 (hanging head in shame)...the piecing went pretty well but the basting step has me terrified! So I've distracted myself making clothes for my girls! And shopping for beautiful quilt fabric, too! I'm a pro at that!!! Thanks again for the chance to win and I love your castle patter!
ReplyDeleteI have to say my biggest mistake is loving and buying girly fabric when I only have boys!
ReplyDeleteLove the castles pattern!
I am a follower too!
ReplyDeletemy first quilt was for my daughter and i didnt realize how important it really is to make accurate cuts and consistent seam allowances - the result was frighting!
ReplyDeletei am also a follower
ReplyDeleteWhat a fabulous giveaway! I followed you here from your comment on my blog. Gosh, there have been so many disasters but I am having a hard time thinking of one. I guess the biggest disasters have always been in the clothing making area--things that fit horribly (picture boat necks way off the shoulders, that sort of thing!)
ReplyDeleteI'm a follower now. Your blog looks great!
ReplyDeletelovely sandcastles FFA 2 quilt! I actually used scissors to fussy cut my blocks which ended up being much larger than the pieced blocks and I never trimmed them down, just sewed them all together...obviously my seams did not match and I have to say it is still in my sewing room waiting to be finished...ha ha just can't bring myself to finish it because it is sooooo terrible! I took a class after starting it and have come such a long way! My 9 year old daughter wants to finish it so I am going to let her have at it =0) Thanks for this opportunity!
ReplyDeleteI've subscribed to your blog through my browser via "Atom"!
ReplyDeleteI just became a follower! What an awesome pattern. I love it! It looks so complicated but I want to buy it and try it. My daughter would love this!!
ReplyDeleteLove the fabric and the pattern!
ReplyDeleteMy first project was a small doll sized blanket kit I purchased from JoAnn's. It combined a few different fabrics together including a minky dot fabric. I was not ready to try to sew stretchy fabric with cottons and flannel. I even ironed the dots out of the fabric! Eventually it did get done and the little girl loved it regardless of how horrible it looked.
I follow your blog too!
ReplyDeleteYour Sand Castles are enchanting. I'd love a chance to win. What a great giveaway!
ReplyDeleteBig mistake in my first quilt? When I was on the floor pin basting a large flannel throw, I discovered that a block in the center of the top had some units turned 90 degrees from where they should have been. I didn't change it, but I learned early that some seemingly easy patterns can be a real challenge for a dyslexic quilter.
... And I've just become a follower :-)
ReplyDeleteI love all the quilts I have made and don't consider any of them a diaster. However the first quilt I made was in high school, no quilt books were available and no one I knew had ever made a quilt. I designed it on graph paper, made paper templates and cut it out with scissors, then stitched it on a sewing machine with a normal foot with the seam the width of the foot. Some fabrics were cotton but others were polycotton. But it all worked out and say flat and looks fine, not all the seams meet but hey it's still pretty good considering! I actually left it unquiled and made it into a doona cover (I zigzagged topstitched all the seam so they didn't unravel), and used it all through the rest of school and then uni. When I got my longarm a few years ago I unpicked the topstitching and quilt and bound it, so it is still going strong with a new lease on life some 20 years later :)
ReplyDeleteI just signed up as a follower (and sorry for the length on my first comment :).
ReplyDeleteMy first quilt needed more quilting. thanks for the chance to win.
ReplyDeleteOh Rebecca, the quilt is absolutely gorgeous!!! The pattern is so perfect for the fabrics!!! My biggest quilting disaster happened while I was making my very first quilt, and I don't know what possessed me, but I decided to try free motion quilting. My very first quilt, never done any quilting before, free motion quilting. Yes, it was a disaster. To make matter worse, my sewing machine completed died on me mid way through the horrendous quilting, and I had to go and get a new machine, which had some tension issues that I discovered while I was quilting. And I forgot to set the stitch length to 0. Yeah, it was not fun, but I was so proud that I finished my first quilt!
ReplyDeleteI already follow your blog!
ReplyDeleteThat is a great pattern! I'm adding myself as a follower of your blog.
ReplyDeleteMy first big quilt--or maybe it was my second--was when I was in junior high. My mom didn't sew, and everything I tried was on my own and figuring it out myself and I wanted a red, white and blue quilt. The mistake I made is that I didn't prewash the red fabrics. This was 30 years ago, and I'm quite sure the fabric will bleed if I ever try to wash it. Of course, the hand quilting is only half finished, so it doesn't need to be washed but makes me wonder if I should try finishing it or not.
ReplyDeleteThank heavens we learn from our mistakes, right? I remember sewing muslin patches with a muddy grey thread-ugly! My first quilt was a combo of stiff "craft" fabrics, some cotton and poly, of course! My first hand applique had long, big stitches...but a love of quilting and lots of practice has helped a great deal.
ReplyDeleteYour pattern is so imaginative; I haven't seen anything like it. I know a girl who would like me to make this quilt; and the fabrics are great. Thanks very much.
i LOVE this quilt! this is my favorite quilt design so far with this fabric!!! awesome. my biggest quilting mistake was not jumping in sooner bc i was too scared of cutting, squaring up fabric and just going for it! now i'm more than addicted!
ReplyDeleteMy first quilting mistake was much like yours! I bought a cheap quilting book, and picked one that was WAY over my head, with pinwheels, and much bigger than I should have taken on. I didn't know what a "scant" 1/4" seam was, didn't have a cutting mat (so I drew everything with pencil and cut them out with scissors, very uneven, had trouble lining it up, and knew nothing about coordinating colors/fabrics. It's horrendous!! Nothing matches up well, some fabrics are flannel, some are cotton, the colors don't look well together, etc etc.
ReplyDeleteI am a new follower :)
ReplyDeleteMy first mistake was not to sew blocks together but sew togheter one part to another.
ReplyDeleteI became your follower - I'm really happy that I found your blog (not just because of giveaway!).
ReplyDeleteI'm not done with my first quilt yet - I have finished the top and am piecing the back right now. I will tell you that my stuff isn't exactly all lined up, and I'm totally nervous about the binding!
ReplyDeleteAnd I just started following you on Google Reader!
ReplyDeletethanks for sharing these! I saw this pattern on Kate's blog and LOVED IT! My first quilt has so many issues I don't know where to start. How about there are holes..in the front. Where I didn't line my fabrics up properly. It makes me sad, but my little girl loves it so it stays!
ReplyDeleteThanks again!
And I added you to my list of blogs I follow. Can't wait to see what else you create!
ReplyDeleteMy first mistake in making my first quilt was agreeing to make it. The quilt was a fundraiser "prize." I never had made a quilt but hey how hard can they be? Oh the presure!! I sewed, ripped out seams, sewed some more to rip out even more seams. I am surprised the fabrics held up. Knowing it was to be looked at by hundreds of people made the entire process gueling. I thought every quilter who has ever sewed a seam would be able to pick apart every little mistake (which in the end was probably my bigest mistake) After I finished with not a perfect quilt but a far better first quilt then most (not by talent that is for certain) I couldn't beleive the praise I received...all from seasoned quilters. People who don't quilt saw a nice blanket. Quilters saw the dedication, the late nights, an aching back, 10 sore fingers and something far more then a "nice blanket."
ReplyDeleteI am follower - looking forward to visiting
ReplyDeletethanks for hosting the giveaway, the fabrics are so pretty.
ReplyDeleteme and my friend made a crochet blankie together for a friend's wedding, we each did half of the squares and we followed different patterns.. we had time to correct them and the blankie turned out pretty.
i'm a follower.
ReplyDeleteOkay, the first quilt I attempted to do, I did half of the piecing on a busted up old Brother Machine that I had purchased on eBay... it did the job I needed it to do in finishing my firstborn's baby bedding, but then when I went to make a quilt for my friend's firstborn it started breaking on me! I used it to piece about half of of a quilt top, and eventually I convinced my husband to buy me a new machine, and I used my new machine to finish the top. Of course, I didn't know what I was doing when I sewed on the binding, and ended messing up the quilt so bad I just chucked it away in a bin.. luckily she never knew about it.
ReplyDeleteFast forward to earlier this year. My SIL was having a baby and I decided to try and rescue the quilt top and give it as a gift my SIL. I looked at the back at my seams and realized that it was chancy that it would stay together because some of my seams were very generous, and some were barely 5 or 6 threads. Against my better judgment I used it anyways and made a beautiful quilt top, and bound it into a quilt -seen here: http://wambers-whimsies.blogspot.com/2010/02/my-upteenth-goal-to-blog-more.html-
Unfortunately, when my SIL washed it, some of the seams split! (blogged here: http://wambers-whimsies.blogspot.com/2010/06/wip-repair-work.html) It's currently sitting in my sewing room, waiting for me to motivate myself enough to fix it.. which I'm going to do with applique covering the split seams. I've got a few months, since it's summer here in the northern hemisphere.
I've learned some valuable lessons... some that involve don't switch from a broken machine to brand new one without taking apart your previous work, and prewash your fabrics!
Oh, and I'm a follower!
ReplyDeleteEntering once as a follower! :D
ReplyDeleteMy first quilt was from one of those 'quilt' kits from hobby lobby. It was a small baby one and it didn't even come with batting or binding! It was just a patchwork throw! Ah well, it taught me a lot. It wasn't a disaster at all, but I can't say I was prepared for trying to get the minkee to line up perfectly with the cotton and flannel squares. I certainly don't think minkee is for newbies!
ReplyDeleteBeyond that, I've only made a quilted pot holder and another patchwork throw. I've purchased your sand castle quilt and I intend for it to be my first 'real' quilt! I bought 18 fat quarters of 'castle peeps' fabric in anticipation of this quilt! I can't wait to dig in!
I love that pattern, it's adorable. My first quilt I made so many mistakes, I don't know which is the worst. First I chose a mix or cottons and polycottons. Second I used that Mountain Mist batting that is light as a feather, puffy, and should be quilted very close together. Third, I didn't bind it, I sewed the right sides together and turned it. But I had the batting in the middle so that when I turned it, the batting was on the outside and I had to take all the stitching out. And fourth, I never quilted it, I just used sewing thread and tied it about every 12 to 18 inches. I have never fixed it or washed it but it is one of my favorite quilts. It's on my bed now because it's perfect for summer, it is as light as a feather.
ReplyDeleteI am a follower, love your blog!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous castles! Great pattern for that fabric.Biggest disaster...hmmm...there have been a few! Probably it was the needleturn applique Christmas wall quilt I made after a class with Sue Cody. Looked gorgeous...hours of work...you have the idea. After the embroidery was complete, I noticed a little blue marker was still visible, so I thought I would spray it with cold water. Disaster! I had not washed the red fabric I had appliqued with & it ran, all through the cream background, nothing I could do to help it, unsalvagable! All I could do was throw it out...but I remade it with different, washed red fabric & still put it out each year! Or take a look at my blog to see my current mess! LOL!
ReplyDeleteI am a follower too!
ReplyDeleteThe biggest disaster on my first quilt project was using large knots on the thread when hand quilting - and not using any batting. The knots show through the white background fabric like dirty grey speckles. Oh! my quilting pattern was the Quilted Northern toilet paper grid with little hearts. None of the stitches are straight and even. Live and learn! The Sand Castles quilt is wonderful!
ReplyDeleteMy very first quilt was a baby quilt kit and I accidentally cut some of the squares the wrong size. I had just enough, and I mean exactly enough extra to do it right, but I thought it was a disaster for sure!
ReplyDeleteI follow you on google reader!
ReplyDeleteGreat giveaway! I started quilting after I had been sewing for many years, and I don't remember any major mistakes on them. However I do remember finding the first piece of needlepoint I ever did when I cleared out my grandmother's house after she died - I can't believe she saved it! It had stitches going every direction - angled right, angled left, straight up and down, and straight across! It was absolutely the worst piece of needlepoint you can possible imagine - and my grandmother never ever told me that I was terrible at it! She did beautiful needlepoint, and now, thanks to her patience and teaching, I can do it well also - although I don't enjoy it as much as other crafting (like quilting!!). Be thankful for patient teachers in your life!!
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm already a follower of yours!!
ReplyDeleteI didn't know the importance of high-quality thread when making my first couple of quilts, so I fear they will start falling apart as they age. I've seen pictures online of how poly thread can eat away at patchwork...
ReplyDeleteI'm adding your blog to my reader. Thanks for the awesome giveaway!
ReplyDeleteI am a very impatient quilter. I want to just get them done sometimes and that causes major issues. Especially when matching triangle points. Things always tend to get a little wonky. It works out a lot of times if wonkiness is my intention.
ReplyDeleteJust became a follower in my reader. Awesome.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful quilt! And a lovely giveaway! I have been very lucky (knock on wood) and have not really had any major quilting disasters yet! The quilt I just started cutting I miscalculated a bit. Who would have thought that a plus design requires 5 squares, not 4? Haha. Luckily I only cut into two fabrics before realizing my mistake. :)
ReplyDeleteI am now a follower! :)
ReplyDeleteBiggest mistake was doing machine stitching across the binding with some sort of funky stitch that DID NOT turn out right. So recently ripped that out and slip stitched the back. Looks A LOT better!! When I attached the binding I don't know what I was thinking either:) Funny how we don't really even KNOW what happened when we look at these quilts!! I made this quilt a year ago and my quilting has improved quite a bit already!
ReplyDeleteFollowing you now. Love your design on your log with the orchids and such!
ReplyDeleteI love this pattern! So cute.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest disaster happened just recently when I decided I could sew well enough to make a skirt for myself. I make things for my girls all the time, but never adult clothes. After adjusting the skirt probably 5 times and spending several hours on the crazy thing and never getting anything right, I finally decided to give up and just buy my clothes at the store. What a waste of super cute Heather Bailey fabric. The skirt is currently in my scrap pile waiting to be incorporated into a quilt because quilting is what I'm sticking to. I vowed never to try sewing my clothes again. It really was that bad.
I'm a follower.
ReplyDeleteFun giveaway! My biggest mistake was making a St Louis Star quilt for my little blond haired blue eyed baby girl. Why was that a mistake? Because it ended up looking like a quilt covered in swastikas and I didn't even see it until a friend pointed it out. I was mortified (of course) and packed it away. I laugh about it now but it wasn't so funny then!! I blogged about it here where you can see a picture...
ReplyDeletehttp://tlcstitches.blogspot.com/2008/08/first-worst-best.html
I am a follower of your lovely blog.
ReplyDeleteMy worst i.e. most expensive mistake was when I used to pre-wash. I had a queen size batting to wash and I used to use my washing machine and not let it agitate. Well this day I walked away while it was filling up and forgot to return in time. Mmmmm. Not happy Jan! the only salvagable bits were the edges. Lesson well and truely learnt.
ReplyDeleteI took a class for my first quilt. Because they wanted us to practice sewing the binding we did that before the quilting. Once it was quilted, I needed to remove the binding because it was all bunched up! Oh, well...
ReplyDeleteMy little sister and I were the worst! My biggest mistake was the whole 1/4 inch seams. I was hugely pregnant and desperate to finish. As I was piecing the piecies, nothing matched. I thought that pattern was wrong. I was angry! I stretched and cut and made it fit. I guess you have to learn somehow right?
ReplyDeleteOkay, trying again. ;0p
ReplyDeleteMy seam allowances are what get me in quilting! I chose a very simple quilt for my first and only stitched in the ditch with no binding! I didn't want to mess up. ;0p I read and read about quilts so much before making my first one that it actually didn't go to obadly. Rotary cutting was definitely tricky though, and I spent hours doing it!
I now follow!
ReplyDeleteThe first quilt I started was a pillow case. I cut the squares with scissors (had never heard of rotary cutters then!) then I (machine) stitched around a large print on the fabric to quilt (had no clue about machine quilting either)It was so ugly and I didn't even feel like re-doing it, it is still there somewhere 'hidden'
ReplyDeleteI follow now!
ReplyDeleteMy first quilt, I thought making columns of squares and then sewing the columns together would somehow just match up perfectly at the bottom..
ReplyDeletedid not work out that way :)
I am in love with this quilt pattern! I hope I win but I'd love to buy it anyways! My first quilt I didn't even know what a walking foot was, so I just went for it with my regular foot and that quilt has puckers galore!
ReplyDeleteI am a follower of your blog :)
ReplyDeleteI've done lots of little things, like placing fabric the wrong way around, not allowing enough seam allowance, being too hasty with scissors and cutting through fabric! Ugh!
ReplyDeleteGreat giveaway Becky! I posted about my first quilt here - http://kateconklindesigns.blogspot.com/2010/07/castles-giveaway-and-some-really-bad.html
ReplyDeleteA shamozzle, but loved none the less! I've seen your first quilt - its brilliant!
I'm follow you xx
ReplyDeletemy first - and only to date - quilt (made at high school) was riddled with disasters - I tried to put stuffed applique ducks on the front, and I didn't know about basting, or that the quilting should be done before edging... probably why it's taken me so long to think about quilting again! Love your pattern!
ReplyDeleteI'm a follower too :)
ReplyDeletei follow your blog... and it gives me sooo much inspiration!!! thanks!
ReplyDeleteMy first quilt I cut every block by hand with scissors because I had no clue about rotary mats and cutters and rulers. I'm very thankful that I was educated on that shortly after :)
ReplyDeleteI follow :)
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI love your beautiful quilt!
ReplyDeleteI am still working on my first quilt. The top is fine, but I just can't choose a back and am terrified of the actual quilting. So the top just sits.
I am already a follower! :)
ReplyDeleteOn my first quilt I couldn't get my seam at 1/4 to save my life. I think I tore them out and redid them at least 5 times. Thanks for the opportunity!
ReplyDeletemy first quilt that i made was for my grandmother... i have been sewing for a long time off and on but just now got the courage to tackle a quilt (sewed it up this past spring). i chose a half-square triangle pattern... a bit ambitious for a first quilt but i managed the top okay enough. the tricky part came with the quilting part... i didn't change out my needle and skipped many stitches before seeing my mistake! also, i did not increase the length of my stitches and had a terrible time with the entire machine quilting process. then i had to hand-stitch on either sides of my machine stitching because i didn't secure the stitches enough. i also cut a small hole on the back top part and had to appliqué some small circles to fix my mistake.
ReplyDeletesince then i have a new machine that is made for quilting and have taken the above mistakes and turned them into what to do when you quilt rules. i just finished 2 baby quilts and they were easy to do because of my previous experience!
What a great Giveaway. I have two words for my first quilting mistake. Seam allowances.
ReplyDeleteI'm a follower.
ReplyDeleteNot cutting accurately. Oh, 1/4" off, it's close enough!
ReplyDeleteMy first quilt was too small (seam allowances)
ReplyDeleteIt was a mini quilt to start with but mine was a mini mini LOL
Lesson learned ;)
Love the sand castles!!! Been following for awhile now your stuff is awesome!
ReplyDeleteI just love your Sand Castles pattern! Its perfect for the Far Far Away 2 line!! What fun!
ReplyDeleteOn the very first quilt that I ever did on my own, I had no idea how to calculate how much fabric I would need...so I bought my fabric (what I thought I would need), but then I cut it all wrong and ended up with a big mess. I ended up having to go back to the store to buy more fabric to make up for what I had measured and cut incorrectly. Once I had it pieced, I gave up and had someone else quilt it for me. But you know what? I still use that quilt on my bed. And even though its not perfect, I still love it.
Chanda
I love this giveaway and I looove the pattern :) still waiting on that cookie recipe though :) the mistake that I made with my first quilt was almost finishing it and then waiting over a year to finish it in just one day :)
ReplyDeleteEllen Arthur :)
When your first ever patchwork quilt pattern says "bind as usual" what does one do? Having no idea i folded the back of the quilt toward the front, folded it over and stitched it down. BAD MOVE - The edges of this quilt are all wonky, not a straight edge in sight. Oh what a shame as i hand quilted the entire top and that part is lovely. Like many others I've often thought about redoing the binding but my heart says to leave, we learn from our mistakes and it reminds me of were i was when i started out with this addiction (fabric!!!!).
ReplyDeleteThe first quilt I started was for my niece. I didn't know anything about fabric grain, so some of my pieces started shredding. I ended up putting the quilt away for a year. Once I learned a bit more about fabric, I was able to go back and replace the stringy pieces.
ReplyDeleteI follow your blog and look forward to reading more of it!
ReplyDeleteI am a follower!
ReplyDeleteMy worse quilting mistake was also the seam allowances, couldn't sew a straight seam for anything....took tons of practice and patience and to get it right.
ReplyDeleteWell my worse quilting mistake was trying to "quilt" straight lines with out a walking foot. So I would just switch directions after each time across the quilt....needless to say I had a puckery lined quilt!
ReplyDeleteLove your pattern, wish you well!
Your pattern is absolutely gorgeous! So sweet. My biggest mistake is rather a lazy fact: I like to use the back fabric as binding; I cut it quite larger than the top, quilt and then just sew the back fabric to the front. It is less accurate, but for the three quilts I used it, it really hadn't to be perfect anyway:-) Usually I do a wide border, which I decorated with some stitching on my last quilt.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the give-away!
Daniela from France
I have been following you since I found you via Kate Conklin :-)
ReplyDeleteDaniela from France
It is a fabulous design. Well done. I really like it.
ReplyDeleteI taught myself how to do binding on my first quilt, and I sewed it on the wrong side when I finished it so there was a lot of batting sticking out on the front side. Lol. Lesson learned!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE that pattern! The very first quilt I ever made, I didn't know that I needed to baste my backing before stippling and ended up with wrinkles all over so bad that I had to rip and restitch half a dozen times which eventually wore a tiny hole into the fabric.. I finally restitched it one last time and kept it for myself. I had used chenille and had no idea how to measure seam allowance so none of my squares fully matched up but I still love it.
ReplyDeleteand I'm following! :D
ReplyDeletemy biggest mistake on my first quilt, not finishing it. I didn't know to leave a seam, although I sew clothes plenty and should have, and when I realized what i'd done I got discouraged and shoved it in a bag. I'm only a couple quilts later so still making mistakes, but I think I'll pull it out and see if I can't salvage the squares :)
ReplyDeleteI just became a follower
ReplyDeleteMost of my sewing/quilting mistakes would never have happened if I would have followed the rule: Measure twice, cut once! I think that about covers it. Great giveaway!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous quilt and fabric! I am a newbie quilter and make tons of mistakes. The first quilt I did was a little doll quilt...lots of mismatched seams and bunchy quilting. Still learning lots!
ReplyDeleteNew follower!!
ReplyDeleteOn my very first quilt, I did not know how to bind. There are STILL raw edges at every corner because I just looked at it and said "I THINK this is how you do it!" It never occurred to me to seek guidance on binding!
ReplyDeleteMy biggest mistake in quilting was not getting my finger out of the way as I enthusiastically cut squares with my rotary cutter. It bled profusely and HURT too.
ReplyDeleteBiggest mistake in sewing was when I was sewing for a customer, surging the skirt to the bodice, Very Last Step and I caught some bodice in the seam and slashed it. I had to remove the front bodice, sleeve seams, collar, and skirt in order to replace that piece. Luckily the shop still had more fabric.
Wow, I just love that pattern, it's beautiful! And talk about some beautiful fabric!! I'm a follower. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd my biggest disaster came quite recently - I'm making a Mixtape quilt and completely read the wrong cutting directions for the sashing...I was cutting the sashing for a much smaller quilt than I'm making. Whoops! So I sewed some of the pieces together to make it work out without having to buy new fabric.
ReplyDeleteLove your pattern! This is quite a first giveaway! Very cool. I really just winged the first quilt I made. It turned out fine (and it's still one of my favorites), but I just hacked away at the fabric with scissors. No rotary cutter! I've since bought one, and it has made things SO much easier.
ReplyDeleteNew follower!!
ReplyDeleteI helped my sister in law with her first quilt and without asking she trimmed the batting to the "exact" size of the quilt top, but when we moved it around we couldn't get it to match up again and had to patch the sides some.
ReplyDeleteErin
What a fun giveaway! Let's see, the mistakes are so plentiful it is hard to choose. On my first quilt, it was mixing lots of different weights of fabric together. In the end, it seemed pretty wonky (nothing wrong with wonky, of course, except it wasn't supposed to be).
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic pattern and giveaway! Ugh, can we not mention my mistakes in my first quilt? My mom showed me tha basics and I ASSUMED my machine had a 1/4" foot like hers. It didn't. Once I washed the quilt to give it to my sis-in-law at her shower, I had seams that pulled themselves apart and I had to get on a plane (to go to the shower) that day. I whipstitched them together as quickly as I could so they would hold. Blech!
ReplyDeleteMy biggest quilting mistake?? Using a high-loft polyester batting and hand quilting the quilt. It was my first quilt and I had a huge problem with the batting pulling through to the top {bearding}. I finally got it under control and even though it was a mess, I still love it because it's my first quilt. Thanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteJennifer :)
I'm a follower too!
ReplyDeleteJennifer :)
I will soon be a follower! gmmeenan at gmail dot com
ReplyDeleteMy first quilt never became a quilt because I got bored with it at the young age of about 17, then practically gave the blocks away at a yard sale years later - dumb! Purple and green I remember were the predominant colors.
ReplyDeleteMy first quilt was at an all day retreat. I thought I was beating the clock, but my corners did not line up well. What a cute quilt!
ReplyDeleteMy biggest mistake was when I was making blocks for the top and the first day I remembered to put my machine at a 1/4" and the next day I forgot. My blocks were totally different sizes. It took me a while to figure out how the heck they could be so different.
ReplyDeleteMy first quilt has some very not straight quilting lines, which are especially obvious because I used about three layers of batting to make it "puffier." Think puffy down coat. And I did the binding all by hand without thought of an iron.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the giveaway!
I couldn't tell you all the mistakes I made in my first quilt but one of them was using 5/8 seams. Even if I'm not lucky enough to win, I'm making this quilt! I love it.
ReplyDeleteYears ago, I made a real blooper by cutting fabric that was laying on an upholstered ottoman. You guessed it, I sliced that slipcover to shreds with my sharp dressmaker's shears.
ReplyDeleteOy, the worst was my first zipper pouch - after I finished, I realized not only was the zipper inside out, my outer fabric was now on the side and the print was upside down. Doh! I gave it to the kids to play with and they said "Mama, this pouch looks kinda funny!" Uh, thanks, kids!
ReplyDeleteI was so excited to be making my first quilt, so I bought 3 yards of backing as recommended by a tutorial I was reading. I decided on a lovely gray/silver broadcloth fabric. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a poly/cotton blend broadcloth, so I ended up with essentially unusable quilting fabric :(. I did use some of it for a wall hanging backing, but the tight weave made it a hassle to use.
ReplyDeleteI'm a new follower of your blog. I'm so glad I found it!
ReplyDeleteTwice today I have been led to pictures of your castle quilt - I love it! Little girls would love to jump in bed and listen to amazing stories inspireted by the castles.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest disaster was spending months on my second quilt and taking it to a quilter who used the big fluffy polyfilling. I wasn't clear on what I wanted.
After that mistake I visited many individuals to see their work. It is important for me to complete projects following my vision.
What an adorable pattern! My biggest disaster was pre-cutting a whole bunch of fabric for some pinwheels. I was bringing them to a sewing day but when I went to assemble the pattern I realized I was missing a page and had also cut all my fabric too small for the pinwheels! Ugh.
ReplyDeleteThanks for offering this giveaway!
Lets see my first quilt finished just a week ago. It is a zig zag quilt which when cutting off the zags to make it square something definitely went wrong. Was not square but you know I am still proud of what I accomplished.
ReplyDeletethanks for the chance.
lbroadstreet@tds.net
My first quilt was a baby size Yellow Brick Road when I was expecting my second son. I hand-quilted it, and the stitches are almost 1/2" apart! My mother in law tried to make me feel better by telling me that my stitches looked great because they were really even, but they look horrible! I must say I'm very proud of it, and it is beautiful--it's a bright blue and green with tons of great animal/safari prints--and my son still loves it and tries to fit under it every night even though he;s now almost 4!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE your sand castle pattern! I'm just finishing up a castle quilt for my 6 year old son, and I'd LOVE to make yours for my daughter! I also love Heather Ross' new Far Far Away line (and Far Far Away 1 for that matter!) so I am incredibly excited about this giveaway!
It looks like a disaster now and I barely want to own up making it, but my first quilt had the largest pieces, the puffiest batting and was tied with yarn!! Plus it was red, gold, green and blue! Yikes!
ReplyDeleteI just became a follower, also!
ReplyDeleteI follow your blog!
ReplyDeleteI'm still pretty new to quilting having only ever finished one quilt and I have three finished quilt tops in my sewing room. But the finished quilt was a coin quilt and I couldn't get the 5 coin stacks to match up when i was doing the sashing so I just chopped off the ones that were too long! It was for a new born baby - she'll never know!
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm a new follower (after being sent over here from Kate's blog)!
ReplyDeleteMy biggest mistake so far was not using a small enough stitch when I made a flannel quilt and after a few washings it started coming apart at the seams. What a deal to try to mend it and keep up with the 'holes' Sure learned my lesson on that one!!
ReplyDeleteI am a follower! Nice blog and thanks for the giveaway! Awesome.
ReplyDeleteAwesome giveaway! I was taught to quilt by hand, which was great for half of my first quilt, then I go the idea to use my machine and wa-la! ruined! My stinky little machine ate the fabric, shredding it in most places, and I just kept going, not matching any seams. it's still downstairs along with the batting that has cotton seeds in it...
ReplyDeleteUgh.
♥Duff
I am now a follower. Great inspiration here! Love your blog!!
ReplyDeleteTracy Dawson
dawson.tracy35@yahoo.com
My biggest quilt disaster was not making my blocks squared and evened up to the same size! It made it really hard to finish! I learned!
ReplyDeleteTracy Dawson
dawson.tracy35@yahoo.com
My first disaster was not knowing to measure my border strips before sewing them on. I ended up with a wavey mess.
ReplyDeleteBiggest mistake. Probably my first attempt at knitting a sweater. I was ambitious and tried to do a lace cardigan. Well I messed up on the decreases on one side and it looked kind of wonky so I had to rip it out. So far no quilting woes because I just started my first one and it is GFG with 1in hexies.
ReplyDeleteI keep my first quilt. Not quite a disaster but I can not show it to someone.
ReplyDeleteI am a follower.
ReplyDeleteThe first, biggest quilting mistake I can remember was when I was hand-quilting on a top my mom had started working on. It was priceless to us because someone in her family--her mom, grandmother and/or great aunt--had pieced it by hand, and it was beautiful. I had never handquilted and had no instruction on how to do it. So I was just sewing like you normally do--up and down stitching rather than handquilting stitches. Later on I presented my work proudly to my mom who noticed my willy nilly top stitches and questioned my method. When we turned the quilt over, you can imagine my shock at how bad it looked! So, my poor mom thought I had ruined the top, but I pulled out all of my stitches and started over--correctly! The part I didn't mention was that I did part of this "quilting" in front of my future MIL who is an expert quilter. She never said a word about my error. Kindness or meanness? I'll never know!
ReplyDeleteI am a follower!
ReplyDeleteThe very first quilt I made didn't technically have any huge mistakes, but now that I look back on it I pretty much can't stand any of the fabrics I used (it was a scrapy quilt). So now it hides in the closet to ashamed to show it's face. Thanks for the lovely giveaway and fun pattern.
ReplyDeletespackattak7 at hotmail dot com
I'm still too nervous to start on my first proper quilt incase I mess it up - it's the gorgeous Kate Conklin Dandelion Windows with Saffron Craig's amazing fabrics.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to finish a playmat - it has little motifs with train lines running over the fabric. I thought it would be simple to use the same fabric back and front, use a nice thick batting to be comfy for baby, and then machine quilt alongside the train lines. Yeh! After 57,000 or so attempts at quilting I've realised the lines won't match back and front so I've made do with a little diamond shape in the middle of the mat which isn't too far off. I'm trying to attach some cotton webbing binding to try and disguise the crooked seams. It's a bit of a mess but I don't suppose the baby will complain too much and I'm hoping to finish before he starts walking ;)
I'm now a follower too!
ReplyDeleteI found your blog through Kate Conklin's blog - it's lovely to see a brand new blog and wow, what a fab giveaway. I love your Sand Castle pattern and I can't tell you how much I adore Heather Ross fabrics - all of them!
I am now a follower of your blog. I LOVE your sandcastle pattern! It is fabulous!!!
ReplyDeletebec did you ever think you would have been blessed with such a talent as quilting? well you have and you are so imaginative and creative!...me...not so much, although i have never tried quilting as it is all looks a bit daunting....so if i win ;) would you make it for me? xxx
ReplyDeleteThat is a fantastic pattern! Love it!
ReplyDeleteMy first quilt was made for my niece, out of flannel. It was a ragged edge quilt and I didn't realise while I was snipping the fabric (to make the ragged edges) that I was snipping through my thread. I stuck it in the wash and the whole thing fell apart. Not to mention the loose thread that were everywhere! It was such a mess!! Everyone in the house was sneezing for weeks because of all the loose fibres! Disaster!
Thanks for a great giveaway! My biggest quilting faux pas was not really knowing how to match up seams properly....once I got some tips I now can say I'm much happier with the results of my piecing!!
ReplyDeleteOn the 1st quilt I made I had some experienced help so I didn't make any disastrous mistakes; however, on the 2nd quilt which I did not make from a pattern, I failed to buy enough of the black fabric (design change midway through the quilt). It wasn't a disaster . . . I just had 3 difference black fabrics in my quilt!
ReplyDeleteI'm now a follower! Thanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful quilt! This makes me want to learn how to quilt. I absolutely love it.
ReplyDelete