The Re-Do is Done

Did you ever make a quilt, live with it for a while and then decide that you just really needed to change it? Well, I did. The more I looked at my quilt, Magical Thinking, the areas in the blue background just got to me enough that I HAD to change it--which isn't the easiest thing to do once it's totally finished. I was asked by friends why I just didn't move on and make another one like it and change THAT one or, another friend asked, why didn't I just give it away? I don't know.

This is my original version--except that it doesn't show all of the bugle beads that were finally in the black "figures" situated in the blue background. And it was the beads and all of the machine appliqued and quilted black figures that I decided had to come out. That took about 6 weeks. When I finished that, I machine quilted in the areas that I had uncovered.

Once that was done, I designed the elongated two-colored stars in Electric Quilt, sewed them together and hand appliqued them on top of the quilted surface. And, finally, I hand quilted them through 2 layers of the quilt (I didn't want to come through to the machine quilting on the back) and sewed a gold & black bead in the center of each one. And NOW, I'm finished--and happy.

I know that some people would have a term for the effort I just went to for a smallish return, but sometimes you just have to do what you have to do.