Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Tension wars

I was supposed to post this last Monday, but after I ripped the stitches out of my lastest project for the third time, I decided to look through my little collection of quilting magazines for an interesting article I'd read on how to cover up mistakes you can't correct... Not that it had anything to do with my problem. I haven't found that article yet, but I did reread many more very good articles, including one that talked about the right thread for the right job. The light went on with such a dazzling display! - I didn't know I had that much voltage left in there. I was using a cute little silk-finish cotton thread that I'd bought for the project. The article suggested that such thread would be better off used with daintier material than what I was using.

So I removed all evidence of it from my sewing area, popped in a brand new spool of bright red Aurifil 50 wt., and voila! I finished sewing my borders. It's not beautiful sewing, but it's not overwhelmingly ugly, either. I'll take it. One of these days I may actually be able to sew a round circle, among other things.
It's comforting to read other blog writers talk about their mistakes, pulling out stitches, fighting with their tension. It's also good to hear how they've "covered up" the mistakes that can't be fixed without taking the entire piece apart. No one likes to show off their mistakes; we only show our successes, and so whether on purpose or not, we may give the impression that our work came together flawlessly without any problems.
I no longer look for perfection, just improvement. I'm getting there.
His Royal Highness
Until next time,

1 comment:

  1. Thank you for leaving the nice comment on my blog. In the book Losing My Mind he does talk about his horticulture business. It sounds like a book you might enjoy reading since you knew about him in a business sense.

    Now, I'm glad you got your tension figured out! There's nothing worse while trying to machine quilt!

    ReplyDelete