A sticky mess

I got this absolutely beautiful fabric in the mail the other day, from Hancock's (it was on sale), and just had to get started on it.

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I sewed the quilt top and added the decorative stitching. All was well and good.

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And then ... a butterfly. I had to add a big butterfly, what would be more girly than a pretty minky-soft butterfly on the quilt? So I made my quilt, Heat 'n Bond, interfacing, minky fabric sandwich of a butterfly and pressed it all together. Voila, all good to go!

And then I started to sew. And the needle gummed up. Hmm ... Clean the needle, keep going. Skipping stitches, gummy needle ... mess. I used Heat 'n Bond Ultra instead of Lite. Got online and googled "sewing heat 'n bond ultra gum help" and got nothing, except for why I shouldn't use the Ultra if I'm going to sew. Oh, and how the machine might be ruined by all the gummy gluey mess. My machine is fussy enough, I'm not going to give it a reason to screw up!

Now I have a quilt with a partially-sewn butterfly sticking to it like a sore thumb. It won't come off, can't be sewn on as far as I can tell, grrr....

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I have a plan though, which involves cutting the good parts of the quilt into rectangles and alternating them with white chenille. It might work, it might not.

I'm frustrated with myself because, even through a fog of cold medicine, I tried to do this right. I really gave it a lot of thought and care ... and then made a silly stupid unfixable mistake.

Hopefully, there will be a Part II to this quilt!

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12 Comment

  1. What a beautiful Quilt! And don't worry, its a totally fixable mistake. I can't wait to see part II.

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  2. That really is a beautiful quilt! Could you handsew around the butterfly to finish it off? Maybe if you waited a while it would get less gummy?

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  3. Charity, that's a great idea! I'm going to go pull out some of the stitching I did and see if I can handsew it instead. Thank you!

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  4. Thank you Ashleigh! I have some ideas brewing.

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  5. I thought of trying handsewing, too. Can't hurt, anyway! I almost bought some of that ultrahold a couple of weeks ago until I noticed that label said (in fine print, I think) that you shouldn't try to sew through it, and I know if I had it around, I would surely use it by mistake some time!

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  6. I don't think 'minky' is a word...

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  7. If hand sewing it doesn't work, you could try cutting out another butterfly that covers this one (add a 'seam allowance' all around the pattern and then pretty the shape outward), and pretend that the underneath one is just padding to make it puff out more.

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  8. An embroidery stitch over the machine stitching line would be very simple...I think...maybe a feather stitch or a simple chain stitch...even a neat backstitch in either dark brown or the deep pink would look great! :)

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  9. Jason...."minky" is a very good word...it's plush, soft, and wonderful...order some and you'll see! :)

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  10. Thanks Kathi and Katherine!

    Jason, you've blown your Superhusband image ... totally blown.
    When I explained to him that minky IS a word (and not an adjective meaning "like a mink" which is what he thought I was saying ... like I've touched a mink) he retorted "oh, so it should be capitalized.". :P

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  11. Love your ideas Cheryl ... and I totally trust your expertise! A chainstitch would be a great idea, so pretty.

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  12. 'Minky' is definitely a word. I suppose everyone slips, but this was a big one...

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