That's the minced curse my kids say when something isn't going right, and I have had a week in which I may rightly use that phrase.
I was working on a Dresden Plate quilt. I put together the plate blades very carefully (just about did me head in!) so that when I got back to them, they would be in the right order. I got two of them done and the third one was half way complete when I noticed that it couldn't possibly be right. So now I have 1 1/2 Dresden Plates and a large Wagon Wheel and I have no idea how they got messed up. I had clipped them together in sewing order for the express purpose of not getting a headache!
Determined to make lemonade out of lemons, I took the remaining blades from the ferkachte plate plus my extras and stitched them together in a series of strips instead of a circle. I squared them off, trimming the angled edges and now I'm going to have a totally different quilt than I originally intended.
I had also purchased a hunk of denim at the Mill End GOOB sale that I planned on using as a background. Nope. Wrong shade of blue. On the other hand, I also got a few yards of linen in a strange, orangey shade of tan that works as a background. Huh. I had planned on making a jacket out of that, but I'm liking the look of it for this piece more and more.
I tried stitching the two background pieces together for a throw, but I'm just not getting a vibe from the whole thing. I take that back. I'm getting the wrong vibe from it like that. So, plan "C" is to take them apart and use the denim to make a doggie bed for my mom's arthritic dog when they come to visit (we have hard wood floors, not very comfy) and use all the pieces on the linen for a wall hanging.
Sometimes you really have to step back and reassess.
On another note, Sewtropolis, to which I had been planning to go for a field trip, has closed its doors, becoming a strictly online entity. The woman who ran it is still teaching and (thankfully) still quilting. I'm dropping off the quilt top and backing for my friend, Rachel's quilt with her today. I'm so relieved! I had driven by where Sewtropolis used to be the other day and couldn't find it, so I got on her website and all the pictures of the storefront and the address were missing from it. PANIC ATTACK! I went to her facebook page where I noticed someone had asked if she had closed the shop and, yes, it had closed in December. What a bummer. At least she still has an online presence and I can't begin to tell you how relieved I am that she's still quilting.
Flexibility is a trait that I feel doesn't come naturally to me. I get nervous when I get interrupted or realize that my plans aren't quite working. On the other hand, if someone else's plans get twisted, I'm very good at coming to the rescue and jury-rigging something for them. Like some people are really good at giving, but lousy at taking their own advice.
Going through my stash of fabrics has helped a great deal with flexibility. I've had so much fun with making quilt tops that I've changed my mind with some of the fabrics and pieced together more quilts instead of oh, say, a sundress. There are some things which really must be made into the garment I intended for them. They'd be just too great not to. On the other hand, I'm making peace with not (necessarily) going according to plan.
Your assignment: Let go of one old idea that you feel is holding you back. I'm not even going to make suggestions for this, since it's a very personal assignment. Let your mind be aware of the new-found freedom that gives you, even if you only do it for a day. See how that works out for you. The next day, try a different obstacle. Maybe something you thought was in your way of progress really wasn't and you can use it to your advantage instead?
It's okay to let go, my flowerpots. It really is.
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