Yesterday was a terrible, no-good, very-bad crafturday.
To start: my sewing. After two pairs of mostly successful pajamas, I felt ready to move to the next pattern in my book, the Delphine Skirt. This included a few new skills, such as an invisible zipper, and a waistband, and Tilly really encourages you to practice altering your pattern for a better fit.
I had my reservations about this pattern from the beginning. The shape is not one that I would usually wear, as it accentuates my already wide hips. Additionally, I have a very high waist, so this type of skirt sits not-too-far underneath my breasts, which hasn't really been in style since the 40s - and I can't rock the retro look. Thus, with reservations, I went into skirt-making with the attitude of "I will use this as a learning experience.
In the end, I guess I learned to not spend time making something you don't like, especially if it contains so many stupid mistakes that you don't have the emotional wherewithal to try and correct them. The final straw for me was the waistband: after carefully pressing, pinning, and top-stiching the band, I realized that the inner waistband had not been caught by the stitches for most of the band. Thus I had the choice of: (a) unpick the topstitching, re-press, and repeat sewing, (b) hand-sew the waistband, or (c) give up. I picked c. I didn't even get to the hem. Life's too short to sew in anger.
To start: my sewing. After two pairs of mostly successful pajamas, I felt ready to move to the next pattern in my book, the Delphine Skirt. This included a few new skills, such as an invisible zipper, and a waistband, and Tilly really encourages you to practice altering your pattern for a better fit.
I had my reservations about this pattern from the beginning. The shape is not one that I would usually wear, as it accentuates my already wide hips. Additionally, I have a very high waist, so this type of skirt sits not-too-far underneath my breasts, which hasn't really been in style since the 40s - and I can't rock the retro look. Thus, with reservations, I went into skirt-making with the attitude of "I will use this as a learning experience.
In the end, I guess I learned to not spend time making something you don't like, especially if it contains so many stupid mistakes that you don't have the emotional wherewithal to try and correct them. The final straw for me was the waistband: after carefully pressing, pinning, and top-stiching the band, I realized that the inner waistband had not been caught by the stitches for most of the band. Thus I had the choice of: (a) unpick the topstitching, re-press, and repeat sewing, (b) hand-sew the waistband, or (c) give up. I picked c. I didn't even get to the hem. Life's too short to sew in anger.
I will live to sew again, although I must admit, I feel less than confident at this point, and worry about learning to hate sewing if my next project is also a cock-up. I have the materials to start my Megan Dress, but I might take a slight detour to the Hollyburn Skirt. The wonderful Miss Lavelli from Inside Number 23 has a series of sew-along videos, and this skirt is one I envision wearing regularly.
My other crafturday fail was not a true disaster, but it certainly contributed to my creative doldrums. After I emerged from sewing in the spare room, already feeling like a numpty I discovered that the ginger cake I had baked that morning, in an obvious effort to imitate the moon, had developed a ma-hoo-sive crater.
My other crafturday fail was not a true disaster, but it certainly contributed to my creative doldrums. After I emerged from sewing in the spare room, already feeling like a numpty I discovered that the ginger cake I had baked that morning, in an obvious effort to imitate the moon, had developed a ma-hoo-sive crater.
Alas.
Again, it was small change in the grand scheme of life, but enough to make me feel like I needed to quit while I was behind, and just stick to watching Project Runway and Great British Bake Off.
Lest I forget that I'm not always a failure, I did recently complete knitting new jumper, which turned out pretty snazzy.
Again, it was small change in the grand scheme of life, but enough to make me feel like I needed to quit while I was behind, and just stick to watching Project Runway and Great British Bake Off.
Lest I forget that I'm not always a failure, I did recently complete knitting new jumper, which turned out pretty snazzy.
The wool is gorgeously woolly and alpaca-y, and I simply adore the merlot color. While it took me about 7 weeks to knit, I think it was well-worth the effort, and I look forward to wearing it this winter! The pattern is April by Isabell Kraemer, but I'm a flippin' rebel and I knit it in October/November.