"Unsewing"

Over the weekend I began machine quilting the Block of the Month quilt, shown in the last post. In only two hours I had outlined each of the 12 stars and put a line of stitching just inside the border. Then I laid it out on the table and had a very upsetting discovery: it was full of wrinkles! Well, too full for me to find it acceptable.

Dear One, for whom it is being made, thought it was still passable. He's very easygoing about many things, wrinkles being one of them. (Thank heaven for that as we grow older!) But it just bothered me. As we were watching the weather forecast, and parts of "Les Miz," I felt more and more upset about this. Up till that point, the BOM had been a really fine project. It felt ruined now.

So I reached the difficult decision that all that work had to come out. I started right in and spent 2 1/2 hours "unsewing." This morning I picked it right up as soon as Jim had his breakfast (I eat an hour later because of my thyroid medication). Another 1 1/2 hours later and 5 of the 12 blocks have been "unsewed." With 12 blocks altogether, the "unsewing" is going to consume several more hours. BUT, it is worth it! In the end, it will be a lovely quilt, and I will be happy with it.

This BOM is the only project I've made in a long time that contains all new material. It's my major project for this winter, and I want to feel good about it when it's finished.