There is a beautiful quilt I am finishing to give to a couple this summer. The blocks were made by people who love them, and the embroidery and piecing are exquisite. I wanted to quilt it in a way that is worthy of the effort these women put forth, and finally decided on feathered circles. The bobbin thread was an easy decision, since it has a navy backing. But the top has both yellow and blue. I wavered between the two colors, and finally chose blue. For some of them, it did not interfere with the handwork while for others it added confusion. I started marking and quilting, and began to second guess my choice. But I was on a roll and kept going until I had half of the blocks quilted. Then I stopped to lay it out and look carefully,

Yikes. It was a disservice to the women who had put many hours into their work. I set it aside for a few days and tried to get some perspective. In the past I have put invisible thread in the top, but it can be ornery and I haven't used it in over a year. The thought of ripping out ten blocks of stitches made me want to cry. But it had to be done. 

A friend came over to get fabric for a different quilt we are working on, and I offered her tea. She was uncharacteristically not in a hurry and we sat to catch up. I told her my dilemma and she affirmed the need to start over. 

"Hand me a seam ripper. I'll help." Really? 

I grabbed the tool, and sat next to her with another project while she meticulously picked out blue threads without damaging the quilt. We talked for an hour, which is how long it took her to unquilt one block. She tossed the bird's nest of little blue threads in the trash and took her cup to the kitchen. Then she said goodbye. 

That evening the twins heard what had happened and offered to help as well. Since I own multiple rippers we each took a portion of the quilt and worked side by side. By the end of a movie we had finished, or rather unfinished, five more blocks. Only four to go. 

The next night we sat down on the couch together and this time John joined us. It somehow slid from drudgery to teamwork. Each of us finished one block and there it was. Ready for invisible thread. 

Since the people who helped me rip did not sew the original blue thread they had no emotional resistance to taking it out. Their neutrality helped me get over my lack of it. 

There are decision that crop up in life that do us a disservice. They need to be remedied. But it can be hard to undo what we have done. Fortunately there are friends and family who are willing to work next to us. 

What a blessing.