Disaster Averted

You may remember (but probably not because it's been so long ago) the infamous "Rainbow Disaster" quilt I talked about in this post.  Fairly quickly after starting I had to give up on it. Everything was turning out wonky, and I was getting completely frustrated.  I finally figured out it was because the pre-cut jelly roll strips were cut out sooooooo badly.  See?

I had never bought a kit before.  I got as far as having some of the blocks partially made then decided to replace the planned inserts with eggplant colored strips.   The eggplant was included with the kit and was intended for the binding.   

This is the mess I ended up with.  

Into the UFO pile it all went.  And there it stayed.  Until now. Since one of my goals for this year was to complete some of my UFO's (Hmmmm, I think that's a goal every year!)  I pulled it out and decided to just get it done.  In my own way, of course.  

First, I played with the blocks I'd already made to see what I could come up with.  I tried several variations .....

..... then thought about using that eggplant in the blocks instead of just saving it for the binding.  I'll worry about binding later.  You can't think that far ahead when you decide to just play.  

I decided that half-square-triangle blocks didn't actually look too horrible .....

.....but then again, they didn't look so great laid out together on the design wall. 

What to do, what to do.  Play some more, right?  Grab all those rejected insert pieces .....

..... cut up all those strip sets .....

..... and start really playing.  Now this is fun!

After a few days of moving things around, stepping back to look, thinking and re-thinking, I ended up with a flimsy I'm really happy with.  It has gone a long way from this .....

..... to this!

I had a lot of pieces left which I could have used somehow to make it a little bigger, but honestly I was kind of sick of looking at it.  So I offered all of it to whoever wanted them in my online quilting group, and Alice spoke up first, so they are outta here!

The quilt will be a decent size for a throw, about 55" x 55" so that's not too bad.  Plus, as soon as I decide how to quilt it there will be one less thing on the dreaded UFO list.  I can live with that!

I'm linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Can I get a Whoop Whoop?
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Marcus Fabrics Follow-Up

When I got home from vacation the other day I found a package on my porch with a surprise in it.

The person from Marcus Fabrics who called me a few weeks ago sent me a "make-up" gift - ten half yards from their Scarlet Evening line.

I printed off one of their free patterns.  If I can decipher it, I guess I'll give it a shot.

And All is Right With the World!

After I wrote this blog about the pre-cut kit that ruined a whole day of my retreat in June, I emailed both Marcus Fabrics, who manufactured the kit, and Hancock's of Paducah, who sold the kit.)


Within 4 hours I had a response from HoP offering me a full credit in the form of a store voucher, even though they were in no way responsible for the quality of the merchandise they had sold.  I refused their offer for just that reason, but Justin Hancock still insisted I at least take their offer of free shipping on my next order.  I doubt I will take that either, but the next time I am in Paducah I want to shake that man's hand!  What excellent customer service!!

About three days later I received a response from Marcus apologizing, informing me that they were aware of the problem, were cutting new kits, and that I could exchange it at the retailer in August.  I thought the reply was a little cold and impersonal so I told them so in a follow-up email.  Today, I received a personal call from them.  I guess they do want me to be a happy customer.   I'm still hesitant to use another one of their products.  You know, "Once burned, twice shy" and all that.  I did think it was only fair to let you know about their response, though since I told you about the problem.  

I am not the kind of person who writes complaint letters at the drop of a hat, being generally pretty good at giving people the benefit of the doubt.   I would much rather write letters of praise and let companies know how much I appreciate their product or their service, and I often do.  One thing is certain.   It's a lot more fun to be in that position!!

A Close Call

I was all packed and ready to leave for Retreat on Monday morning.  I hadn't really taken as much time to plan projects as I normally do, but I was satisfied with the main idea -- a baby quilt made with really bright solids and a bright white background.  

I had this stack of half yards of Marcus Fabrics which I had purchased at a quilt show.......

.......and this stack of brights that my friend Rose Mary had given me when she was my Secret Quilter.

What gorgeous colors!  I was a happy girl!!

But not for long.  I am normally not a pre-washer, but I got to thinking about how this quilt would be totally ruined if these colors happen to bleed onto that white background.  I had to leave the house pretty soon so I didn't have enough time to properly test the fabrics.  I just chose one from each line, wet the ends with hot water, and laid them out on a paper towel.  

YIKES!

The aqua didn't bleed as badly as the pink, but it did bleed, and there was no time left to set the colors.  

I needed to leave the house in just a few minutes and I only had three pillowcases packed to work on.

I ran into my sewing room, grabbed a Moda Jelly Roll, a stack of muslin, and a box of 2" squares, then threw them into my tote bag with no plan whatsoever and hit the road!

Whew! 

(.......to be continued.......)