3 on Thursday ~ Lessons from Sewing

So, I think we might've talked a million-and-a-half few times about sewing on this blog. I like to sew, something I never thought I'd say. I always hated the sewing section in high school Home Ec. But then I met RadioMan, who introduced me to his mother who is an avid quilter (seriously, the woman should go into business for herself, she's that good)...and I got interested.

And, since today is National Thread the Needle day, I thought we'd marry sewing lessons with my usual 3 on Thursday subject matter and talk about the 3 Lessons (yeah, there are more, these 3 are also writing related) I've Learned from Sewing.

3. Sometimes you have to start over. I can't count the number of times I've 'faced' the front of one fabric with the back of another (normally it's front-facing-front, back-facing-back before you sew)...and not realized it until it's all sewn up. And then I have to get the seam ripper out. Even with our books, sometimes we have to start over. Yeah, it blows...but a fresh start means a second chance to get those details right.

2. A new project is like cotton candy - irresistible. Our job is to resist. I currently have 5 projects going and patterns for...oh, 10 more. And that's with the sewing. New projects are irresistible - I find a new pattern or see some really great fabric and I just have to start. But then the older projects don't get finished. Same with writing - my rule is: finish 1 draft and then start another. I may edit older drafts as I'm writing fresh stories or make notes about future projects...but no starting multiple first drafts. I don't have enough room on my harddrive...

1. Details matter. This picture up top is a checkerboard baby-pink-and-white. The ribbon is pale pink satin and the thread is a variegated pink. That's a lot of pink. When I first started this particular project, I had a darker pink ribbon. It looked bad. Like, baby vomit bad. As I laid everything out, that ribbon did not work. It should have, but it didn't. The same is true with writing: sometimes the perfect motivation is just...wrong. Sometimes the Mr. Right we have picked out for our heroines is...wrong. When we pay attention to the details, we see those little things. And we can fix them.

This, by the way, is the finished product - a pink heart pillow that's currently under bebe's head. We made it
- our first project together - when she pulled the H out of the Alphabet Show 'n Tell bag last spring. H is for Heart...and so we made one.