Sorry this project was such a fuss, but it's refreshing to see that even the best have their moments in the quilt room just like me! And I love: "...so much is forgiven once that binding is on. It never disappoints." Words to remember when I face a challenge with a quilt.
Oh no, my dear, you did many of your listeners a favor. One, you are my favorite quilting resource, not only are you the best but because of your honesty, sense of humor, creativity and resourcefulness. I will never have a long-arm machine but you encourage us to stick to it, and I really need that. Thank you. The quilt turned out wonderfully and you're right, we can't see the boo boos. ❤
Oh Karen, what an amazing undertaking! I would never consider sewing an entire quilt on my long arm! But you did and you finished the beautiful quilt. This fabric is so lovely, too! And a wonderful, cozy memory of your Alaskan trip for you snuggle under with a cup of tea. You continue to be such an inspiration with your stick-to-it-ness whether things go smoothly or not. You are so wonderful to show us that we all have some mistakes during our quilting journey, but that’s just fine and dandy. Thank you so much for being you.
Good morning, Karen! Wow this was a large project with so many “moving parts”that I was tired after after watching it. Karen, you are so accomplished with everything you do and I admire you so much that I must admit it gave me pause to see you planning a quilt project that did not go as planned. This has happened to me several times. In the end the quilt looks great and no one sees any goofs. My husband always reminds me that people are always happy to receive a quilt from me. And I tell myself that with every quilt I make. I don’t know anyone else that quilts; so everyone is happy to receive a hand made quilt. Keep up these wonderful, helpful and educational tutorials!
I appreciate you doing this! So many times, all we see are the ones that have been effortlessly done to perfection with all the imperfections and frustrations edited out. We are left to deal with our "not so great" moments and wonky results wondering "why is it so easy for everyone else?" It's great to see that we all have them, we can still produce a great quilt, and perseverance leads to joy in a completed project. Thank you for keeping it real and sharing. I'm sure what you've learned during this process it greater than the hardships. The quilt is beautiful!
As everyone has observed, the quilt is stunning, Karen. It’s all that color that brings it to life. How you forced yourself to forge ahead, I don’t know. But ultimately, well done you!!!!
As I watch this, I'm sewing the last few inches of binding on a quilt that has been a struggle from the beginning. There have been some choice words, plenty of procrastination, and even some tears BUT the binding is on and it's looking good! A friend is gifting it to her son next month and I think they'll be happy with it. Nobody will be happier than I am to see the end of this project!
Love your quilt with its fabulous fabrics! I’m just finishing up the binding for a quilt that has 660 pieces that were cut and sewn together-pinwheel blocks alternating with economy blocks. As I began piecing the blocks, I began discovering all the mistakes I had made: not starching my fabric (bias issues anyone?) not being as precise in my cutting, not using a consistent 1/4” seam, over pressing causing distorted blocks. The problems compounded upon each other, but I stubbornly persisted and got it pieced, noticing some lost points, uneven seams, etc. it was so disheartening. But something funny happened along the way. I stopped complaining and cursing, and I shifted to realizing that I had learned a lot from my multitude of mistakes and…my quilt was actually fun. I now love love love my quilt. Thanks for a good reminder that we don’t have to be a perfectionist with our quilts. They can still turn out to be beautiful.
Isn't that the way it goes? The one you totally dislike comes out the best. It's a beautiful quilt! This is probably my most favorite of your videos. I laughed and awed and cringed right along with you. Thanks for taking us on the journey with you.
The work of illustrator Barbara Lavallee is wonderful in these print fabrics! I recognize her work from the book Mama, Do You Love Me? By Barbara M. Joose. I’ve been a librarian for 35 yrs. this was one of my favorite books to read to my own girls. Your quilt turned out Beautiful!! Love it❤️
Oh, isn't it so beautiful. I love it enough to forgive it if it has flaws. You want perfection but the person receiving that quilt won't see them. Even if they did it was a great learning experiment for you and someone gets a warm quilt. Win, win.
I absolutely love that you showed all of your trial and error with making a quilt. Many times things do go south and your innovative problem solving shows that in the end the project gets completed and no one will really be able to tell once they are snuggled up with the quilt. We quilters need confidence that we can solve issues on the fly and make things work in the end ! Thanks Karen for the unique video of your process.
Even though this project caused you some grief you finished it. Your quilt didn't end up in the "unfinished project box". I commend, Karen, for sticking with it. Great video and keep on sharing....
If you hadn't told this story I would have thought everything went fine in the making of this quilt. It looks great! Thanks for sharing, I'm sure your experience will help me on a future project.
Karen, I feel your pain, but I must admit, your tenacity and determination to make it work gave me a chuckle. I swear every time I think I may have found a better or more interesting way to sew or quilt, the process takes twice as long. Thanks for sharing. We all love you, your quilts, and your honesty.
Thank you for sharing this endeavor with us. Sorry it was troublesome. It does photograph well, and is like the most delightful panel quilt I’ve seen. Harmonious colors and print. I just love the way they’re all stacked up next to each other. I think you have an incredible eye for the detail of this lovely quilt. Again and I’d like to reiterate how lovely your quilt is. Sorry it was troublesome. Do appreciate your candidness. We can all learn. Thank you for taking a leap of faith. Well done Quilty woman. ❤
Karen, despite your woes and aggravation, the quilt turned out quite lovely. Someone I follow has said, "Finished is better than perfect," which is clearly true here. LOL I admire that you have been willing to share this experience with everyone. Others might have chickened out, thinking they needed to look "better". However, as this video shows, showing your trials and tribulations with this quilt is beneficial for those of us, who also struggle on occasion. Thank you. PS I do not own a long arm.
What a beautiful memory of your trip to Alaska. Despite all your trials in the making of it, it will keep you warm and spark lots of conversayions. The fabric is stunning.
The quilt is beautiful. One of the reasons we love you so is your willingness to think and do "outside the box." Thank you, Karen and please explain the custbox(sp).
I've never seen a longarm in action before outside of five seconds of perfect stitches with or without a ruler before in videos. This has been a really educating video that helped me understand a lot better the effort that it takes to do anything on one of those machines. I am really, really grateful that QAYG was invented. I used to wonder if a person had a long-arm, why also have a domestic or industrial machine but I had never seen the process. It's like with sewing clothes. Sergers help with specific parts, but they don't fully replace a domestic or industrial sewing machine. This video helped me to better understand the differences. Thank you for struggling through it.
As a beginner quilter smaller mistakes and challenges than this have me throwing up my hands in frustration! LOL Thanks for taking us through this process. It's encouraging to see you find solutions when things seem to be going awry. It turned out beautiful.
Karen, it is beautiful! Among one of the best panel quilts I’ve ever seen. You are awesome, love everything you do. Thanks for sharing your trials and tribulations with us.
My goodness….YOU ARE ONE BRAVE WOMAN! I was having anxiety for you just watching, I can’t believe you held it together like a BOSS! I would have cried, said words that would burn ears, and more than likely given up. I’m so impressed with the way it turned out, the panel and fabric was just pure perfection. GOOD JOB KAREN♥️🥰♥️
That quilt is amazing, persevering certainly served you well, good job!! One of my mantras in life is "Never Give UP". I am 70 so have been at this journey for a while.😊
Awwww, I love it! I really appreciate your frustrations with this project. I don’t have a longarm, but the fact that you CAN piece a quilt on this machine is amazing. And I think you are too hard on yourself. It is a masterpiece and a good memory of your adventures in Alaska.
Karen, I actually chuckled when you admitted you had to add fabric to your backing. You definitely persevered! All those borders! That is quite a commitment. I admire your determination. Thank you for showing all your successes and misadventures. Love watching your channel.
Thank you for showing this process on the long arm!! And thank you for being honest and showing us what went into making this beautiful quilt on a long arm!! Yes, you had bumps along the way, but the quilt is absolutely beautiful! Bravo!!!
The quilt turned out so cute! I always expect panel quilts to be quick and easy because of that big piece in the middle. But then I add multiple border-usually some of them pieced. And there’s the quilting of the panel. They never end up quick and easy!
Hey Karen, Thank you for sharing your wisdom, painful as it might be. You ended up with a beautiful project. It takes courage to experiment, make mistakes and then figure it out anyway, - all on RU-vid!
Since I owned two Ultimate Ones and now have Lucy I was totally intrigued by the name of this video. My old machines had channel locks both vertical and horizontal. Lucy on the other hand only has horizontal channel locks. After watching this video I still don’t think I will ever miss the vertical channel locks. So glad you saved me from the frustration. I never put binding on with my longarm. I think it always looks better with my machine for me. Thanks for confirming what I always thought was best for me. Btw the quilt really is lovely.
What beautiful material Karen, so fresh and pretty and although you had a 'bit' of a time on your long arm, the end result is just wonderful Thank you so much for sharing this whole quilt adventure with us xx
Karen, I am a longarmer and have tried a few quilt making adventures on my long arm, this video kept me laughing , been there, done that. I have had a some success with strip piecing, and scrap piecing, but in the long run have decided it is much more efficient pieced on the sewing machine. More joy and less frustration has been my result. Love your channel, thanks for sharing.
I enjoyed watching this, the struggles were real and the end result was amazing. Thank you for sharing your experiences with us. Most videos are of people who are perfectly organized, never mess up and make it all look so easy. In the world if quilting that just isn’t accurate. But it’s our passion, we crave the next batch of fabric, the different colors and shades of colors and always are on the hunt for a new pattern or idea. You hit the jackpot here and I am grateful.
Karen, all my eyes could focus on was the ADORABLE quilt. ❤ I know you know where the trouble spots are as the creator, but from an outsiders point of view, it just looks sooooo beautiful. Thank you for showing your process!😊
That has been one of my all-time favorite videos. It is so good to know that even the ‘professionals’ have some less than stellar results. It’s inspirational!
The end quilt is beautiful. I love all the colours. The Inuit women and children are amazing. I can appreciate the problems and frustration I, but your perseverance paid off.
I certainly understand your initial disappointment/frustrations so put it out of sight for a while. When you get it out again and every time you use it remember your trip and how much you love the fabric not the challenges of “just getting it done”. I think it’s fabulous. The material is so cute.
Dear Karen, I admire your perseverance throughout this very difficult challenge. I can't count the amount of times I would have broke down in 😢 tears of frustration had it been me.
I like the Karen from the Future narration. Thank you for sharing this project and the honest commentary on the challenges. I love your wisdom at the end. Great video!
What a fascinating experiment! With all of its "flaws" it is a delightful quilt. I find some time between the finish and looking at the project again usually allows for grace and the memory of the construction gets softened by the beauty of the object. The story of this one will make for great conversation in the future! Thank you for sharing, as always!
Oh my gosh…even though YOU have fallen out of love, my appreciation and admiration for your commitment to complete is twofold. This quilt is just beautiful! ❤❤❤!!! The brilliance of color, your artistic expression, the wonderful indigenous theme…it is beautiful, just beautiful! Thank you for taking us on this journey. ❤❤❤
This turned out so lovely. Sometimes the projects that cause us the most pain become our favorites when finished. My favorite quilting advice about mistakes on a quilt is: If you can't see it as you gallop by on your horse, it probably doesn't matter. :)
Karen, I watched a video on the HandiQuilter channel where they pieced a top on the longarm. I tried it- just on a truly utility quilt (think dirty dogs on a hike!) complete with raw edges, orphan blocks and what ever I wanted to get rid of. It was fun, but a real experiment. I had no expectations! If I tried it again, I would pre-piece in rows and just do a flip and sew. No borders. Thanks for sharing....
It's a really pretty quilt, Karen. When the memory of your frustration has faded, you'll remember your quiz and enjoy it again. Thanks for showing your downs with your ups. 😊😊
That quilt is amazing - filled with so many memories from your trip, and lessons learned. This is an outstanding video. I always learn so much when people share their challenges. It makes me think of things in different ways. Kudos to you for your efforts. I hope a loved one is snuggled under that quilt soon. Thank you!
Karen, you have changed my mind completely about quilt panels! And reinforced my suspicion regarding piecing and binding on the longarm. The quilt is beautiful!
Thank you for showing the good, the bad and the ugly. Keeping it real helps me. Well, miscalculations never happen to me (cough, cough) whether it’s quilting, sewing clothing, knitting, crocheting, tatting…etc. lol PS: I loved this video.
I'm sorry your project was so full of problems, but honestly, it was nice to see another quilter struggle. While I was right there with you feeling the disappointment when something didn't work out for you, I've been there more times that I can count. I know what it feels like to work long and hard and get less than stellar results and fall out of love with a project.
Thanks for sharing the frustrations! I feel this way about most of my quilts, and just press on if at all possible. Once it's done, a lot is forgotten! Yours turned out so pretty!
Thank you for sharing a quilt that did not go as planned. In the end your quilt looks like it would be great to keep warm around the fire. I love the colors and simple design.
I thought it was great that you can reveal your mistakes. I have been quilting a long time and I keep looking for easy projects and I don’t have much fun when major mistakes are made because I am not paying attention. What I do now is “precede on” just like Lewis and Clark!
Thankyou Karen! Your perseverance is amazing! And I love that you kept going till all was done regardless that it wasn't perfect! ❤ What a beautiful quilt! Thanks for taking us along on this new challenge 😊
O h my gosh Karen, it is absolutely beautiful. I love these journeys you take us on. I have put after quilts on my last three quilts to my receivers delight as they feel they have gotten two quilts in one. I would have never attempted this without your videos. You are a wonderful quilter and teacher. I have learned so much from you. Thank you for all you do for us quilters.
The result is really beautiful! Love the fabric! You expected too much perfection so you can't see the result is as close to perfection as can be achieved! My favourite Koran quote is "A thing of perfection is an insult in the eye of God as only God can create perfection!" It why in those marvellous Mosques every tiled room has one tile out of place.
This was an intriguing video. I love that you are so creative, smart and practical. I can relate to how you process things. Question: do you think it would have made a difference to quilt inside your panel and wider borders as you were placing each piece?
My favorite by far. My Mom collected many of these prints, cups, etc. your quilt is awesome. Maybe not what you intended but definitely worth the effort.
You realize that from here none of your problems show. I suspect that even when one is resting under the quilt, none of the mistakes show. What a great learning experience! And how generous of you to share this project so honestly, so that I know to avoid this approach for myself. I have a little 5 foot frame, and the adjustments would be even more tedious. Thank you!
Hi Karen! Despite all the frustrations I sure appreciate you sharing your experience and knowledge with us. I am a beginner quilter and sometimes feel like I am the only one that struggles as much as I do! The quilt turned out beautiful in the end. I agree…. So much is forgiven once the binding is completed. Love the fabrics too. ❤👍🏻
It’s good to experiment. Even if it means you never want to do that again, the experience is rewarding because you learned something. The quilt is beautiful. Great work!
