Saturday, August 16, 2008

Seam ripper and faulty cube construction

Without deadlines to prompt me, I'd never get anything done. That said, it's irritating when I decide I must finish something and then I just can't. I tried mightily to finish a set of 3 blocks for the Etsy Kids Challenge. I stayed up too late, picking out the 18 sides of fabric and thinking over possible designs. But then the next morning time went too fast and I totally ran out of time, not to mention the sewing machine decided to hate me.

Here is what I experienced:

# of infuriating balled up messes of thread: 15-20

# of needles broken: 1

# of times I had to re-thread: 10-15

# of totally sewn sides I had to rip out and redo: 3-4

# of times the thread broke while sewing: 5


All was going ok, though I was looking at the time and thinking those Project Runway folk are crazy. But then after all the sewing machine problems, I thought I had the first block done and lo and behold I had sewn the cube together wrong. I don't know how I did it, but it was some sort of rectangular-tube shape. I guess a cube is the kind of thing I thought I could just do without really thinking, and then I sewed the sides together all cockeyed. Well, I had to rip out the seams on those and redo it. And then I had to stop to go to work and I knew that was it as far as meeting the deadline.

So, in the end, I had one complete block. The rest of the prepared pieces for two other blocks will have to wait.




For some reason I felt compelled to adapt Moon River in my head to the occasion although I kept in "Huckleberry friend" because it's bizarre to begin with regardless of having it be associated with a seam ripper.

Seam ripper... wider than a mile
I'm tearing out these sides today
You dress maker, you threadbreaker
Whatever you're ripping I'm watching it fray....
Two sewers off to stitch the world
There's such a lot of world to sew
We're after the same ribbon's end
Hemming round the bend
My huckleberry friend, seam ripper...
And me


I've always wanted a Huckleberry friend.... I think....

And last but not least, from stumble upon Modern Life.

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