Why Be So Tough on Yourself?

Recently, when sewing with friends, I got a little lax on basting a quilt.  I skipped a whole section because I didn't want to walk across the room and get more pins.  I went and started quilting this section first.  Of course, it bunched up on me and the back was all twisted up.  It looked something like sewing your homework into the back of a quilt (for those of you non-sewers).  Traditionally, sewers will seam rip.  That would have taken me about three hours for the 20 minutes of wreckage I'd created.  So, I just went for option B....just cut a row off the quilt.  And none too neatly, I might add.  My sewing friends were shocked.  WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO THAT QUILT?  I am just making it a row smaller.  Me thinks it was too big anyway!
And my mama called me lazy....I am just resourceful.
All the Best to You...jill

Too Grown Up for Easter Baskets

Easter is my favorite holiday of the year.  I love all of Easter but mostly because it is incredibly simple.  When our kids were younger, I would usually start making Easter dresses on Good Friday.   Now, I know that doesn't sound simple, but doing this at the last minute oft forced me to do things simply and efficiently.   Unless you are a sewer, you might not understand this.  But, for me sewing is a way of collecting my thoughts and sharing my love.  So, pulling together outfits in a matter of a few days is a very loving act for me.  Imagine how much energy some people put into preparing a meal for a family get-together, that is akin to what I do as a sewer.  While I always had good intentions of finishing up sewing well before, it never seemed to happen as smoothly as pulling together dresses for the girls and matching ties for the boys.   The boys will likely never forgive me for some of the things they wore but usually by the time they were ready "to go", they'd had an Easter egg fight and had eaten an ample helping of jelly beans and chocolate and were in different clothes for family visits. 

Monica's Craft Room

 Our oldest daughter Monica lives in Detroit.  Like her siblings, she has sewn most of her life.  Her first sewing project was a mitten for her thumb.  She was trying to quit sucking her thumb.  She did great during the days but struggled with the habit in the nighttime.  Her idea to make a mitten to cover her thumb was augmented with having to pin the mitten to her pajama sleeve.  After a while the hand-sewn thumb mitten truly disintegrated into shreds.  Of course, over time, Monica battled the habit away.