More Parasol Lady woes

My gosh the things that happen when one person unloads their nightmare project and it now becomes your nightmare project!   We left this saga with the girls wanting similar items, not one getting a quilt with handquilting and one not getting handquilting from Grandma in their project.  It was decided that I would cut the piece in half and make 2 smaller lap sized quilts from the one that had the centers hand pieced.   Later, I would do something for all the grandkids with 8  blocks set with sashing.

Well, this plan did not work so well. 

 

 

The plan was to cut through the center of the seam, then I would remove that partial sashing and add back from the yardage of the yellow that was included with the project.  

 

 

Several problems.  #1 being that the SEAMS where the yellow sashing join the Lady block are pressed to the light side and QUILTED into the piece.   I can't just frog stitch (Rippit, Rippit) the sashing and add back.   Two options with that a) applique the new sashing strips on or b) rip out the hand quilting.   Then you still have the muslin sides to deal with because they need to be extended as well.  Making that look planned and hidden...   

 

 

Plus don't forget all the backing and batting issues to be dealt with as well - Backings and batting must be LARGER than the top... not smaller.

 

I have always had reservations of HOW I would add pieces when I can't get the piece smooth or flat, how would I press a seam w/out heat setting in stains.   I'm thinking about appliqueing the yellow sashing section on when it hits me:   I chose my muslin based on how the original muslin looks NOW.   After soaking to remove those awful stains when the piece is all finished - what if there is a huge difference between the muslin colors?

 

That did it, I folded these 2 sections up and started working on the 8 blocks that had been set together with sashing.

 

Again, do I take off ALL the sashings?   Or deal with piecing inconsistencies and just make repairs to where I take this apart.  A part of me really wanted to take it all apart, soak my ladies to remove staining and start fresh.  But another part wanted to retain as much of my MIL's work as I could.   I opted for minimal revisions to the existing piece and removed one middle section so that all the sashings would remain original.  The 2nd set needed to have extensions added to the long vertical strips and new sashings added across the bottom (which were ripped by hand by Grandma and included with the yardage).   Now we have 2 tops with sashing.

 







 

I opted to do straight line seaming.  On solids it seems to blend in more than a diagonal seam.

 

Now I can add muslin to all sides for the outer border and QUILT!   YEAH!    That's the part I was looking forward to.... Except now I have to deal with the Ladies.   They need outline stitching... details stitched in their dresses.   Not one thread color will do either.   Do I keep it traditional and do a crosshatch (18" with lots of stops and starts)  for the background of the ladies - none of which I like doing.   Or do I quilt something "I" like to do?   My gosh - it never stops with these pieces!   But they are getting out of that paper bag one way or another and will become a finished project soon.