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Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Just Patch It!


I’m a clutz.

There.  I said it.

Not that it needs to be confirmed by me, as everyone who lives around me KNOWS –I have zero depth perception.  I’m not even allowed to pull the van into the garage, because while I may miss the driver’s side mirror, I will instead completely take off the passenger side mirror on my way in.

I can’t count the number of times I have hit my hip on a door knob, or a sewing machine cabinet corner even when there is way ample space to circumvent such a painful “that’ll leave a mark!” moment!

Such was the case in the studio the other day when I was at the machine quilting, getting ready to advance the quilt to the next area awaiting stitching.

I turned, got caught in the batting, and left a hole.


It wasn't just a little hole, no -- it was a big, gaping raw edged hole, and the quilt was getting close to being half quilted at this time.

I didn't want to take it out of the machine, and I really didn't want to bother with hand stitching a batting-patch in place.

And then I remembered that I had some of this on hand that had been gifted to me in a quilter's bag of needful things:


Hahaha! I knew I saved this for a reason!


Under-laying a patch in place.

I didn't want lumps.  I didn't want bumps or thick spots.  Since the edges of the ripped hole were slightly feathered, I took a small oval shaped left over piece of batting and I tugged on the edges of it to feather them as well.

My piece was just bigger than the size of the hole, and I laid it under the hole, positioning it in preparation for doing some "if this doesn't fix it, nothing will!" bonding.

Do yourself a favor..


READ THE DIRECTIONS!


Especially follow Step 2!  The first time I tried to fuse I melted the interfacing strips to the bottom of my iron because I forgot to cover with a damp cloth.  Ooooops! Also remember to set iron to MEDIUM heat!  **Add iron cleaning to the to-do list!

Once I got it right, it worked like a charm.


All patched up and ready to roll!

When the fusible was cool, I flipped the batting over and closely trimmed any excess away from the edges of the hole, again in an effort to avoid any thick spots in the quilt.


Can you even tell where the problem hole was?

I can't feel it in the quilt either, try as I might.

You can also cut your own pieces of iron on interfacing big enough to cover the hole, but this was so convenient and I already had it on hand, where I didn't have any other kind of fusible in the studio at all.

This stuff has earned it's rightful place in my quilter's bag of tricks!

It's a strangely warmish and rainy Christmas-eve-eve here in Wallburg, NC.

I'm spending today tying up some loose ends with our Mystery so that is ready to go.  Remember part 5 goes live on Dec 26th -- NOT on Christmas Day.  Please spend that with family and friends and put the mystery on hold for just a bit.  Believe me.  The pieces will be waiting for you after you have loved on your dear ones as much as you can.

Make those memories.  The quilt will wait!

When I'm done here with the computer work I'll be heading up to the cabin for Christmas.

Son Jason arrives TONIGHT.  I can't wait to love on him.  Son Jeff will arrive tomorrow as he works until 9pm tonight --he'll be too tired to drive up, and we'll just see him after breakfast tomorrow.

Wishing you much love and scrappiness from the house of Quiltville!

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37 comments:

  1. Yep, have done all of the same things you just did, including the repair process. Love that peachy background in the quilt. :)

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  2. Well, you may call yourself a clutz (klutz? from Yiddish), but you are no clutz in my book when it comes to the wonderful quilts you make and all the joy you bring to us all year round. Merry Christmas. Enjoy your family time.

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  3. Anonymous8:46 AM EST

    Once took out a truck side mirror with my shoulder. It was pretty obvious it was right there.

    This trick will help me with some repairs where the cat tried to undo the batting and left a hole. Might even help on my design wall where the same thing happened.

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  4. Have not done that as yet but will add the fusible to my quilting tools just because you never know. Thanks Bonnie for the tip. Have a very Merry Christmas and enjoy the family!! God Bless.

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  5. Merry Christmas to you and your family, Bonnie. Thank you for all you do for the quilting community!

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  6. Wishing you a fun Merry Christmas to you and your family and a happy New Year!

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  7. Thanks for the tip.Hope you have a Merry and Blessed Christmas

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  8. I don't think your a clutz, just normal...I always have a bruise somewhere. Merry Christmas Bonnie to you and your family. Thanks for the fabulous mystery quilt. I'm looking forward to fun with my grandson who is 14 months old and becoming quite independent. Have fun with your family 🎄🐾

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  9. Merry Christmas, Everyone ! ! !

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  10. Ooops! Thanks for the great tip on fixing. Have done it myself but handled another way. Like your way better. Have a lovely Christmas with your family. I know it fills your heart to have BOTH your boys together with you and the Hubster. Merry Christmas! Hugs, Allison in Plano. Texas USA

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  11. That sounds like a trick I would do! I'm glad you had a fix for it!

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  12. Anonymous10:43 AM EST

    Great tip, hasn't happened to me yet, but I'm sure my time will come. Now let's just hope I remember! Merry Christmas to all😀
    Diane in N. Florida

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  13. So much for not liking the Batting fusible. It does have a purpose. Nice to add one more FINISH to your 2015 list! I see lots of Re-Cycled Shirt in there. I'm anxiously watching the weather and road reports between my family that is 1 hour away and my house. They are coming just for Christmas DAY. Grandma has a few surprises waiting and yummy food to eat.
    Have a Very Merry Christmas! Yes, The mystery is put away for a couple of days...

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  14. Have a wonderful Christmas with your family. Enjoy your nice weather while it lasts.
    Mary Kunna, from the land of liquid sunshine.

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  15. Welcome to my world of being a "Klutz" as far back as i can recall i have been finding black and blues on my hips, elbows, wherever (;--000) from mis-calculating the distance from "ME" to anything! The car mirrors in the garage are the latest of many hazards--forget about shopping cart totally!! I hope you have a wonderful Holiday and so glad you mended your quilt so creatively...hugs Julierose

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  16. I feel your clutziness lol I too have an astigmatism that makes me that way....not much to be done for it. But thanks for your advice because I'm sure I'll need it one day! Lol
    Enjoy all your boys, have a safe and very Merry Christmas!

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  17. while you may have oops moments you have a great mind that you use to figure out how to fix it. i think that is the reason you are such a wonderfull scrapy quilter. as to mis judgeing distances thats a whole different skill set. I have a fit with my dishwasher door when it is down in the fill me up position either i dont remember it is down and dont see it or I think i have room to miss it but the bottom line is i have marks on my legs from the numberious run ins with that thing

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  18. I want to wish you a wonderful Christmas with your family including of course the sweet Miss Sadie!

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  19. I want to wish you a wonderful Christmas with your family including of course the sweet Miss Sadie!

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  20. Anonymous3:49 PM EST

    I once not only cracked my car windshield, but shattered my quilting frame (old fashioned type -- boards and c-clamps) by trying to back out of the garage with the frame angled out the window and two toddlers fussing at me. When the guys at the lumber yard quit laughing, they not only got me a new board for my frame, but taught me how to load it into my car so I could get in and out of the garage!

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  21. Old quilter4:09 PM EST

    Lol - this is the kind of stuff that gets your brain primed for all the creative things that we so enjoy having you share with us. Aren't some of your most popular designs the result of "happy accidents"? Sorry you have to suffer the bruises, but glad your brain works the way it does.

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  22. Sorry for the repair looks good though. Loving the sneak peak of the quit. Its Christmas eve heate in Australia so wishing you your family and blog readers a very merry Christmas or if they don't celebrate a happy holidays

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  23. Merry Christmas, Bonnie! I Am Working On TUmalo Trail As My Leader/Ender Project This Winter!

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  24. Have a wonderful Christmas with your family Bonnie. Much love from Janet in England.

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  25. Sending you and your family Best Wishes for a family Christmas together. Thanks for all your fantastic tutorials/posts throughout the past year. :)

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  26. My husband always said there was never a doorway wide enough for me to walk through, like i had magnets attached. Disn't realize that was a depth perception thingy.
    Enjoy your family and Christmas together.
    Merry Christmas, Bonnie. We love you.

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  27. Bonnie- I know about your eye issues, and some of it may be depth perception, but also, when you run into things, some of it may be like me, I am always in a big hurry and do not slow down or take the time to slow down. I even had a personal trainer once that was always telling me to slow down. AND when I took a friend with me to personal training Mind you, we were both Army Medical Officers)he asked us both " Don't you two ever slow down"? And we both emphatically told him NO! We always had too many things to do to slow down.

    I always end up with bruises, too. I am just saying, that may be part of your problem. Don't belittle yourself too much!

    Merry Christmas, and Love on your Sons and Husband a lot!

    Donna
    Soldotna, AK Where it is a little below normal for highs and lows this week.

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  28. I'm like you: banging the backs of my hands on doorknobs, bumping into corners as I go past, tripping over things I know are there. A chiropractor told me I have no body sense.

    Thanks for the tip for fixing the hole.

    Merry Christmas to you and your family. We won't be celebrating this year, due to our kids' work schedules. We will be able to get together on New Year's Day, though, so I have a little more time to work on Allietare!

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  29. Merry Christmas to you and yours!! Thanks for all you do for us and the quilting community. Merry Christmas to Sadie too...🐾🐾
    🇨🇱🇺🇸🤓🎄🎄🤕

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  30. We all appear to guestimate ourselves smaller and lighter than in real life 8^{
    That includes our cars, table dimensions, you name it.

    Be sure: it's all this single one and silly conspiration for keeping us down:
    whenever you don't look, stairs grow a few steps, the pavement under your feet grows longer, and while you're asleep some silly troll carves out the wrinkles in your face again we just definitively and painstakingly mended.
    And all the way, only you seem to notice them.....

    Have a nice, piecefull and peacefull Xmas !

    Love from a windy Witmarsum,

    Irene

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  31. Enjoy your family Christmas knowing that you have put a small on thousands of faces this month! Carol

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  32. You fixed THE hole perfect.
    Like you i have no depth perception and only have one good eye. I often see dubbel too and have optic nerve damage in THE other eye. My car has a video in iT and it is so helpful when you have to back up.. I park far away too.
    Wishing you a wonderful Christmas and a great time with your family.
    Happy quilting, Yoka Bazilewich

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  33. Have a great Christmas Bonnie love ya.
    Paula in soggy Destrehan La.

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  34. OLDERGAL10:11 AM EST

    a VERY SIMPLE SOLUTION - YOU JUST BUY A NEW CAR WITH ALL THE SENSORS ON, AND WHEN YOU GET CLOSE TO SOMETHING IT BEEPS (WARNING) THEN THE LOUD CONTINUOUS BEEP WHEN READY TO HIT.
    NOW I MUST REMEMBER TO KNOW WHAT THE BEEPS MEAN - I BACKED INTO A CONCRETE LIGHT BASE, HAD NO POLE ON IT, SO I DID NOT SEE IT IN CAMERA WHEN TURNING. SO OFF TO GARAGE FOR REPAIR. NO GRAY HAIR LADY SHOULD DRIVE A CAR WITH A DING ON IT.
    WE ALL DO IT.

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  35. Haha! When my boys were teens and one grudgingly drove the other to deliver Boy Scout Christmas greenery, the older stomped into the house and upstairs. The younger came in a few minutes later. "Better sit down, Mom. Steve abandoned the car on the driveway, so I put it away myself, .... and you *know* I can't drive!" The car was fine, but the garage? Not so much. The boys did grow up without killing each other.

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  36. Haha! When my boys were teens and one grudgingly drove the other to deliver Boy Scout Christmas greenery, the older stomped into the house and upstairs. The younger came in a few minutes later. "Better sit down, Mom. Steve abandoned the car on the driveway, so I put it away myself, .... and you *know* I can't drive!" The car was fine, but the garage? Not so much. The boys did grow up without killing each other.

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  37. Merry Christmas Bonnie!

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