I started this little mini quilt as part of a Quilting Circle that I go to once a month with Abigail from Aby Quilts. In December, we were gifted a kit to bring to make the mini in January.
I’m never one to finish things quite as directed, so mine looked a little different than the planned version, but I was proud of myself for finishing the top, making a backing, attaching a label and getting it ready for quilting. I should add that I did all of this the first week of February – no UFO’s for me!
I decided to use this mini to try out the baptist fan design because it’s such a classic design, but I had not done it before. There are a few things you have to figure out the hard way the first time you do this pattern because it is very obvious if you don’t nest it correctly. I learned a few lessons with this design on my own work which should keep me from making those mistakes on someone else’s quilt.
As a long armer, I feel like it’s my job to be concerned about tiny mistakes that no one else will ever notice, but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy my cute little mini.
I was originally very bothered by the small mistakes I had made in this mini. I was actually seriously considering tearing out all of the stitching and starting over.
Instead, I stopped and asked myself why I made this mini.
Is it for a show? No.
Is it to demo my quilting? No.
This mini will hang on my mini wall as a souvenir of the enjoyable times that I had with a wonderful group of ladies in the Quilting Circle.
I wasn’t even going to share this quilt because the mistakes bother me. But, everyone makes mistakes! It’s so easy to get caught up in the perfect world that we curate for the internet… to not show something that didn’t turn out just how we imagined. I shared this because it’s part of my quilting journey. It’s not going to win any shows or blow anyone’s socks off with its originality, but it’s mine and I like it.
So, I am concluding this project in the same way Angela concluded her post – a finished quilt is better than a perfect quilt top. This little mini will hang in honor of good memories and a good lesson.
Linking up to Linky Tuesday @ Freemotion by the River, Finish it up Friday @ Crazy Mom Quilts, Whoop Whoop Fridays @ Confessions of a Quilt Addict, TGIFF
Coincidence: I am quilting a random baptist-fan sort of design on a mini at the moment. I am awful at free-motion quilting. Luckily, the fabric design is so busy, the mistakes are hiding. I am taking a leaf out of your book and not sweating about the oopsies.
I thought the quilting looked great when I saw your lead in image. I am not going to scroll back and look for tiny errors because I definitely believe in Angela Walters’ quote. I do think that the baptist-fan design is such a nice pattern, and I hope the experience makes you feel much more confident the next time you use it. 🙂
Your Mini Spools quilt is just lovely. The fabrics are perfect, and it is just fresh, and pretty and Oh! So pleasing to the eye! Love it!
I love it. Thanks for showing it and telling about the ‘faults’ (not that I can see any). I am also currently working on baptist fan quilting on a ‘houses’ quilt. I have drawn using a soluble pen, some lines to guide me – using my very sophisticated tools (ha ha) of a dinner plate, a slightly smaller plate, bread and butter plate and bowl!! I hope to complete it this week and will, like you, show it despite the many faults that will be in it. It’s the pleasure of quilting after all isn’t it?
Good for you! I went back up to see if I could find the mistakes you were referring too, but I couldn’t. I remember seeing someone once say in a blog post, “if I can’t see it galloping by on a horse, then it stays.” Love that! Beautiful Mini, Heather!