Sewing is supposed to be fun. It scares me. When I think about it I start breathing hard. Whenever I see a needle I nearly faint. I have nightmares about encounters with my sewing machine.
Okay, it really doesn't scare me quite that badly. I admit I made the last three sentences up. But I do fear it. I can just never seem to quite conquer it.
I have no clue why except that:
I'm a fearful person.
I fear failure
I fear frustration
I fear difficult learning tasks
And I'm a perfectionist.
It has to be perfect
The first time
And if it can't be perfect then I'm not even going to try
I have to laugh at myself, because, of course, that is a perfect explanation of my problem. I have no need to continue wondering why I fear sewing. Now, what to do about it.
I am not very good at it yet--not much practice--so therein lies the frustration. Lots of new things to try to comprehend. I also lack supplies and the money to buy them.
I have this fabric but no thread to match it, that idea but no pattern, another project I can do without a pattern and with the thread and fabric I have, but I need another kind of needle. (Okay, I do have some money but I fear I will buy the wrong thing or won't be able to finish a project once I have bought the stuff and will thus waste money.) Such a dreadful state of affairs, and I'm sure my entire problem is just a lack of money.
Yeah right. When I took sewing in college ( I got an A or A-, which is clear evidence that I don't have a clue what I'm doing, right?), a lady who could already sew took the class just for easy credit. She was past "college-age" and had been sewing for many years. She showed us some pictures of things she had made. She told us about her first sewing project too, when she was a little girl: she made a skirt out of an old umbrella!
I guess what I really need is some creativity and a good sense of adventure. I had some creativity around here somewhere, but I have looked under every book, between all papers, in every box, and under every piece of furniture, and I have not found one sense of adventure, good or otherwise. What shall I do? I don't have any old umbrellas from which to make skirts!
I guess what I need to do is get the right kind of needle to finish my terry-cloth apron I am making out of an old towel. Except that I don't know what kind of needle to get. I'll have to research that. Thoroughly. Next week. And then compare prices to make sure I'm getting the best deal. And then reevaluate to make sure that is really the project I want to finish next. And then double-check to make sure my research findings were accurate.
See? I face my fears squarely, don't I?
Thursday, November 03, 2005
Fear of the Needle . . . and Thread
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3 comments:
Sewing...now there something I don't like to do, at least not right now. I think I used to but no more. I have a couple of wonderful woman that I take things to be fixed, altered or sewn to and pay them money and get my stuff back all finished. I know that's horrible isn't it? I knew I could sew but it take room and time neither of which I really have. I do like putting in zippers and I made my gramma a little pillow a couple of years ago that turned out pretty cute. Anyway I don't know what to tell you about your inability to make choices, except that I think you should just pick a project and commit to not stoping till it's finished. Otherwise you will have all these half done projects and nothing to show for your efforts. Really I am not sure I see how it can be quite so hard to pick thread, either it matches your material or it doesn't...sorry if I am not quite feeling your pain on this one! I am sure there are important things I am missing in the whole situation. LOL
It's okay to pay other people to sew things for you if what you have is money and what you don't have is time, space, and inclination. Sewing is an important skill, but I'm sure if you suddenly lacked money or people to sew for you you could figure out what to do instead. :-)
About picking thread . . . . I really don't think I would have trouble choosing the thread color (though I might have trouble with the kind of thread, if it was something unusual). It's just that I don't have it here. I would have to go to town to buy it (not easy to get to town, it's painful to spend the money when I'm not sure if I can really do that project or if I don't have and can't find everything else for the project), or have someone buy it (feel guilty for making other people work for me, would they know what to get if I can't tell them because I don't know). It's frustrating to look at my fabric stash (I didn't buy this stuff, it was given to me) and think, "I could make . . ." then have it take weeks or months (or forever?) to get thread to match. And there are zippers too. And remember, I'm not sure I can even do this project! Sigh. By the time even the first opportunity to buy thread comes around, I may have decided this project is not even doable. It's at times like this when I wish I lived in town (though I never do otherwise!). LOL Because of the gas prices, the only time anyone can go to town is when Dad has physical therapy--which is rather frequently but requires some coordination. And coordinating with his "schedule" is like trying to hit a randomly moving target. :-)
Oh, I'm sure there is a solution to this problem. There is the possibility of buying things online if I'm not too concerned about how well the thread matches (which I'm not always). Don't have a credit card, though, so I have to consult Mom about that (I'm entirely unsure of why I haven't yet). I could have her buy some thread on one of her trips to town with Dad (I wouldn't want her to have to try to buy things she doesn't know anything about--because I don't even know--but I'm sure she could buy a basic thread. Duh. She hasn't sewn in so many years that I forget that she knows how!). I could also have Ginger pick something up. She's willing, especially since some of the projects I need to work on are hers. In fact, I did give her a list but she's been so busy.
Ah! Enventually I'll get it. :-)Thread isn't the biggest problem, by the way. For this apron project (which seems like a good one to pick and commit to) I think I need a tougher needle than what I have. Figuring out what is not as simple as matching thread. For me, anyway. ;-)
Oh, dear. I've written an entire letter. If I could only be that prolific with my writing projects.
Alright Tina it's time for a new post!!!
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