{plan b}

2009-03-31T19:24:00.000-07:00

Drum Roll Please...

Here it is the great reveal, the finished product, the quilt with no pattern! That was one of Myra's favorite things...going with the flow, writting no instructions, just playing.

We would love to hear what you think of the transformation, the layout, whatever you would like to say.

We would like to send a shout out to Jacqueline Pohl of the Vintage Quiltery in Gladstone Manitoba for quilting this project for us and for Jill. Thanks Jacquie!!

Hey Jill, if you are reading this, add your comments!

~c

2009-03-30T14:31:00.000-07:00

2nd last post

We add some more little stars and staggered them around the border. Now you can see why those little stars were placed in the center of the big star.

~c

2009-03-25T11:01:00.000-07:00

The next step...

Jill's quilt originally was just piecing, so the logically step was adding applique. We drew inspiration from our book All through the woods. Because this quilt had a real outdoors feel we added this little cabin in the woods scene. This became the center of the quilt. Note how the block is not laid out symmetrically.

When we design we use a program by Electric quilt, called EQ 6. We design our quilts in the program which allows us to change layout, color and dimension easily. As with the star block, we can figure out the the dimensions, and we can print applique templates as well. Go to Electric Quilt to take a look at the EQ program. You can also purchase our Town & Country CD Rom by EQ on our website!

Stay tuned for the big reveal!

~c

2009-03-21T18:45:00.000-07:00

The next step

We had a vision for this quilt, the great outdoors! We wanted to keep the it masculine, yet change the layout and style dramatically.

Luckily Jill had lots left over fabrics so we had a lot of options and we added a few of our own too. Myra started taking it apart and re-creating.

This is a photo of half of the original quilt, some of the fabrics and the start of the re-creation. The three star blocks were the starting point. A large star with an off centered star inside. If you know us at all asymmetrical designs are a favorite!

~c

2009-03-21T18:33:00.000-07:00

The chosen quilt for Plan b!
We all have them, quilts that just go wrong. We are not always sure why and sometimes it goes wrong at the very end and we just can't bring ourselves to take it all apart. So what do we do? We fold it up and stick it in a closet and every once in a while we come across it and our heart just sinks. All the fabric and time that went into it and now it just sits there...all wrong! Can anyone relate! I can. Sometimes I think I should just burn the project so I don't have to look at it again with sheer disappointment. But we are glad that Jill hung on to this one...so we can fix it!!

I would say that the biggest problem with this quilt was the "Ivory" fabric just before the borders. It just doesn't lay flat. It could be for a couple of reason's, either the measurements are off, the fabric is ultra stretchy or it was cut wrong. Don't feel bad I think it's safe to say it has happened to everyone.

When we saw this quilt we knew instantly how we would change it. This wasn't a "send us your project and we will rectify the mistake and send it back to you exactly as what you started" contest. But rather a contest to inspire those of you reading this to re-create projects gone wrong and just think of them as something different.

Stay tuned for some progress photo's!

~c

2008-10-27T13:53:00.000-07:00

It's here JILL !!!

We have been busy travelling, and 'retreating', but somewhere along the way, this special parcel arrived. We know what's inside, and in just a few days, we will share it with you. This is the project that we will be finishing, and returning to it's owner this December.

Keep watching!

-myra

2008-09-02T07:15:00.000-07:00

Congratulations JILL PESTI of Fort Wayne, Indiana!

After pouring over all of the submissions that came in, something kept us going back to Jill's project. When we look at her quilt, we have a lot of ideas of what we can do with it. And we hope that she will be OK with the fact that her finished quilt is going to look way different than her original....because this one is going to be cut up, and really changed.

We struggled with almost every entry, because we wanted to help everyone fix their 'road-block' so that they could finish their quilt. Some projects have had small things go wrong, and some projects took a wrong turn without anyone knowing it was wrong until it was too late. We do hope that now that you have pulled these projects out of the closet, that you will take another look at them, and maybe ask a quilting friend to help you find a new direction to take with it. When we worked in a quilt shop for 11 years, we would often find quilters bringing in quilts that needed fixing, and I would suggest this for many of you. And good quilt shop should be able to offer you help and assistance in finishing your project into a spectacular quilt.

And from the entries, we have made a few observations.

1. Free download patterns are not always accurate. These patterns are put out there fast and easy, so that you will buy the fabric to make them, but usually no one has been paid to 'test' them.

2. Large blocks of fabric on point, can get wavy. This was the case in several entries. Sometimes if the 'waves' are not too severe, they can be quilted out. But we have noticed that the larger the area is that is 'on point' the easier it is for it to wave out. This is often because of the long stretch of bias in the blocks is being 'pulled' rather than 'fitting in'. So be cautious of these types of projects, because they can really stretch on you.

3. There is always a Plan b. But you might have to totally let go of what the quilt was 'suppose to look like' in order to finish it. And I totally understand how hard this can be. I have had projects that I have had to walk away from for YEARS before I could see them in another light. But it is a very gratifying experience to go back and finish that project. So keep watching here as we reveal Jill's quilt, and we keep you up to date on what is going to happen to it.

-Cori & Myra

2008-08-18T03:47:00.000-07:00

Deadline - August 31st!

Get those pictures of your quilt UFO entries into myra@bluemeadowdesigns.com. Good luck and DON'T BE SHY, we all have a UFO that makes us just cringe. We want to transform it for you!

2008-08-12T19:24:00.001-07:00

Welcome to plan b! This is were we will follow the extreme quilt makeover.

stay tuned.

~cori & myra