Don't CHEAP OUT !

Every quilt that you make is going to take a certain amount of time.......even if it's machine-quilted, you are going to invest the same amount of time, no matter the materials.   So my advice is, do it right ! 

I spent the entire day on Monday, cutting out and piecing the top and back to this little dolly quilt.  It may look simple, but I debate every size decision, every fabric choice, every placement. 

When I finished the top and back, I was pleased enough with the outcome.  My one disappointment then was that I had made a ruffle for it, (in fact, the entire choice of fabrics was based on the ruffle that I made before even beginning) but I only had a tiny bit of fabric left from Autumn's Awesome Polka Spots quilt, and I didn't realize that the automatic ruffler attachment made the ruffle come out too short for the approximately 20 inch square quilt that I was designing.

Anyway, the cheap part comes in when I decide NOT to use my little bit of remaining cotton batting because I  realize that I could save it, and with other future scraps, actually piece together a baby-quilt-sized batting.  So, I used polyester.   Now this polyester was great for hand-quilting.......I used it on Aunt Edith's Flowers and the golden baby quilt, ....... but I do much better with cotton batting when it comes to quilting by machine.

The quilt is wobbley/wavy, and the edges are distorted rather than square (I sewed the quilt inside out and birthed it just like I would have done if the ruffle hadn't been TOO SHORT !)  I pressed the entire quilt before I  quilted it, thereby rendering it flat rather than poofy.

Oh, well, long-story,short, here's the finished quilt........I do not like it.........and it may remain here in my house as a small table topper .

Of course, this would be the quilt where I got smart and made the label BEFORE I quilted it, remembering to piece it into the back so that I wouldn't have to hand-applique it later !

The best thing to come out of this is learning that I love this pattern of bricks and would like to make it in a bigger quilt some time.,........one quilted with COTTON BATTING, of course !