Catastrophe averted

 Hi everyone! Spring is busting out all over around here, and I have the watery eyes and itchy nose to prove it. I don't mind though! It's nice to be back outside. I even dug in the dirt for a little bit this week. It was to bury a drainpipe, but hey-- it counts as working outside!

So, I have a rescue of sorts to show off today. I know you'll remember this and the tragedy that it almost was:

 

 

Yes! The Snail's Trail quilt, all finished and cuddly! Honestly, I didn't think it would really happen.

If you all recall, I made this from blue and beige scraps, cut using an Accuquilt die I borrowed from a friend. Somehow, it only made a very small dent in my scraps, even after I expanded the size of the blocks with the math help of a very nice woman named Ila. I finished the top last October, and then it aged a bit, until I had a longarming appointment.

And then came the tragic part of our story:

Yep, the tension messed up when I was most of the way through my longarming, after I had quilted almost 3/4s of the way through the quilt. I didn't see it until I advanced the machine to quilt the next section. Two whole rows of quilting, all messed up, and no way to finish the rest of it without fixing the bad section. I cried. I took it off the frame, brought it home, and cried some more. I seriously considered cutting the good part of the quilt and tossing the part that was messed up, plus the remaining unquilted part.

Obviously, I didn't do that. I spent many hours over a few weeks taking out the bad stitching, then took it back, reloaded it on the longarm frame, and finished the quilting. (Pro tip: If you ever need to do this, a seam ripper will not do. Save your sanity and use a very sharp pair of small scissors. Also, keep a lint roller really close by to get all those tiny threads.) I used all the scraps of blue binding that I had to finish it off, so all of it but the backing is scraps.

 

It took some serious work, but it turned out okay! I really love this quilt. If I look at it carefully, I can see where the quilting stops and starts again, but I don't think that other people can tell. It's really hard to get everything lined up exactly the same if you have to reload things. Once it's washed, I think it will be hard even for me to see it.

So there is the happy ending to this almost-tragic story! I love the quilt and I would totally make it again, and I'm saving my pennies for a Snail's Trail die of my very own. I've seen this pattern in lots of different colors, but I think I like my scrappy one best. It reminds me of sand and water, like a nice relaxing beach.

I hope you all are having a good week. This weekend is both Easter and Passover, so much happiness to all who celebrate these holidays, and a happy weekend to everyone!

 

 

Sharing at Finished or not Friday, Brag About Your Beauties, Oh Scrap! and the Patchwork and Quilts linkup at Quilting Patchwork Applique.