I went to JoAnn's and purchased a storage bin with 10 drawers....therefore sorted through all my sewing supplies.What a shock it was to find all these scissors.
Here is the Quandary...I have all of these scissors but where are they when I am needing them?
Next is this drawer of needles, pins, and sewing machine needles. How many do I really need?
When I was in Amerika Samoa I was afraid of running out, what is my excuse now?Next Quandary...... So for weeks now I have been mulling over in my mind, designing and ripping out the same quilt four times. It is for a contest I wanted to enter. Today after the fourth time....I am wondering if I should continue or just quit?
What you see here is the makings of a table runner from the squares I am no longer going to use for this said mess of a quilt!I told my husband I needed to either quit or go and buy more fabric. He almost chokes on his drink.....More fabric "How can that be".......knowing I have tons upstairs. I was hoping to use the same fabrics you see here. Maybe get my trusty Go cutter out and cut my own strips?
What to do? What to do? So as I was sitting in this Quandary.....I wasted the whole evening watching Netflix....licking my wounds. Should I keep going? What would you do? I have spent countless hours on this.....my whole day today and countless others.
There is no making a test block because of the design....there is no block to test....hard to explain.
Oh well....what to do? What to do?
32 comments:
That is quite the collection of scissors and other wonderful notions, Barb. A girl needs to be prepared you know VBG...
I am sure you found the perfect solution using the GO or playing in your fabric or maybe you did go off to JoAnn's for some fabric therapy. I will look forward to hearing how you solved your quandry.
Regards, Anna
I smiled when I saw all your scissors. My mom was a very tidy/clean person in her house so much so that I still rebel about doing some things and put them off! Anyway, I digress, when we were cleaning out her home as dad was moving we kept finding nail clippers and putting them in a bowl. When we were done we had a HUGE bowl of nail clippers. Now who needs a bowl full of nail clippers?! I finally decided that as her kids were growing up (she had nine kids) we'd each "borrow" her nail clippers and never return them so she'd buy more, thus the huge bowl of clippers! Maybe it was the same with your scissors....you never could find a pair! Maybe you could put a pair in your junk drawer, by your washer to cut stray threads or labels, etc. Thanks for making me smile though! When I took over Trav's room for a sewing room I was amazed at the things I found. I promise I've been good the past 17 months and have been using things up though so it isn't so bad. It makes a difference when there's one central place to put everything. Thanks for bringing back a fond memory of my mom with your scissor collection.....even though her's were nail clippers!
Cindy
Oh, you did make me laugh with this post.... but I'm afraid I have no answer for your quandry
Hugz
GIRL - I have two pairs of scissors [excluding embroidery scissors] - one for fabric, one for paper! I have them hanging on a peg shelf, along with my rotary cutter. Hang up your favorite scissors by your cutting area and you won't have to hunt. About the quilt - you did the right thing, walking away from it. FOR NOW. Just keep persevering, if you need more fabric then get it - if it's for a contest, it's worth it! Maybe set yourself a time limit of how long you'll work on it each day? Unless things start to flow, and it comes easily, don't interrupt that flow!
I say you go buy more fabric. But I am an enabler.
Scissors are like umbrellas - one can never have enough. These are "slippery little creatures" - forever hiding and evading! One must always have several backup pair.
I love the pinks in your table runner.
Funny! I think I have a scissor collection just like that. I would quit, but I think you should take a nap, go shopping, use the GO and then continue with it.
Take a break and come back to your quilt later, start a new one to give your mind a break. That is why we always have a ton of WIP's so we don't get burnt out on a certain quilt. I had to do the same this morning. All of a sudden the tension is all screwed up on mine........
I am sure you will work it out. Get that quilt made and enter it.
My goodness! I have never saw so many scissors at one time. lol I think I have 5 scissors? The needles I say you can't have too many. The table runner is going to be beautiful. I did get a laugh over your husband choking on his drink. I say go buy more fabric, but don't tell the husband. lol Starting over might fix your quandray.
Well, I think the answer lies in what the actual problem is.
What is it you don't like about your creation? Why isn't it satisfying? Is it the fabric or how it's going together? You know you have accurate measurements, now, right?
Have you tried drawing this out first to see if it's just the color play that's messign wtih you? Maybe you need to add a color or take one away? I'd say ruminate on it for one more day because if you don't know what the problem is, buying more fabric isn't going to solve it.
As for the scissors and needles, well, hey, it happens. :)
Now that is a lot of scissors but hey they go get dull so you are always prepared with another one .As for the quilt , I went through a similar thing with that mystery quilt and all I can say is that I did persevere and I am glad now that I did , lots of frustration along the way but in the end it was worth it ,I did take a break and made something else in between , probably more than one thing :-0 but anyway a little break is a good thing if you have the time to do that before the deadline . Good luck and I'll be watching to see how you make out.
As for your quilt quandary
I say slice and dice, add a complimentary solid and turn out a truly 'modern' quilt just for the fun of it.
Place a pair of scissors at each of your work spot - file the remainder for the future.
Pins? Make yourself a couple of new pincushions and place those at the workstations where you use them.
Needles, sort to size and store next to your machine.
Now, do I organize just like this?????? Nope, but sounds like I know what I'm spouting.
hugs,
Gerry
Well I'm not sure what to do about your quilt... you will have to jump in with both feet and just do it or something like that...
As for scissors - I'd probably have far more than I think too - they are often stored with a project somewhere.
Good luck with yor decision making - the drawers sound wonderful...
Yep, you have a LOT of scissors but at least you have them all in one place right now so you won't have to go looking for a while :0)
As for the quandry....if you are using only one line of fabric it can be a challenge to make it look right. Go do some fabric shopping but maybe put a surprise kicker fabric in the mix...it may help (unless the contest rules say you can't do that).
Crispy
Always have a backup! lol You had a few...love it...I a starting to do this..it's called forgetfulness!
LOL Barb the collector. I think anyone who has a hobby has a large collection of something. Scissors tend to get scattered all over the house or craft room and then you can't find them when you need them. I have a vase next to me on the couch where I keep some of my crochet hooks and knitting needles. I also 3-6 pairs of small scissors there. I use them for snipping yarn etc. I also allow the family to use them for most anything. I also have a small pair of scissors in each of my project bags. In my sewing desk I hide my good scissors. I use a sharpie and write on the blades what they are used for. I have my junk scissors (denim, cardboard, etc.) my batting scissors, paper scissors, and good fabric scissors. I also have a handful of smaller scissors that I rotate next to my machine depending on my mood. Sooooo.....I guess my scissor collection looks like yours lol.
Quilting is a hobby and is supposed to make you happy. Not guilty. If you really WANT to finish the quilt, go for it. If it is just a should-because-I-already-have-too-much-invested-in-it situation, give it up and move on to a project that will make you happy.
I have a friend who has a whole pegboard full of scissors neatly arranged. I'm always in awe when I see. I'm lucky if I can find one good pair for fabric and another good pair for paper.
Oh Barb, Thank you for the smile!!!!
Walk away from that fabric, yes it is great but you fabrics from the island are stunning. Cut your own and if you really want to enter it go for it. Or put it all away and enter a different contest at a later date. And yes, why do you have that many scissors, I think I need to go and get some more!!!
Well you know the saying like mother like daughter. I think we all came out with a lot of mom in us. But there is nothing wrong with that. We could of picked up some of Dad's habits. lol
What a pile o' scissors! I think I'd be tempted to donate a few of them.
Walking away for a night or 2 is a great idea. I often find that things aren't quite so bad when I come back to it with a fresh mind.
I would start over. If this is for a contest, and if you have already spent so much time wasted, then begin again with the fabric you already have (per hubby) and make a winner. Then you can play with this one that seems to be your nemesis. As for all of the scissors, I need to tell you that I have a pair at my computer, in my bedroom, in the living room, several in the kitchen and of course the sewing room and in the box I use to hold my rotary cutters. Believe me, they are all used:)
Oh ya... I have a scissors thing too! But mine are not all in one place yet, so no one knows but me!! As for the needles I have them all sorted and stored together in cool glass ware and no one dares make a remark (even though I have a lot). As for the quilt, it is a creation, creations take time. If it is not ready to be pulled together yet, it is not ready. Maybe you need to replace the fabrics that got messed up in "round one" (despite the choking episode of hubby!) if they are the ones you really need to use, but maybe that pattern is just not meant to be with those fabrics. I say make a little happy project to get your grove back then reassess. Good Luck...whatever you do will be beautiful...because it is made by YOU (beautiful)!
Hi Barb..I have no answers for you, I think I would walk away from it for a while, no use having something that is fun for you stressing you out, right? And I would just keep all those scissors in your new go to place..pick a drawer and stash (hide) them all in there, and whoever said put the pins in a pincushion, I say good idea!
Thank you for the sweet comments on my Ps blog..the excitement is about boiling over here..no Grace yet..we wait..and wait..
Barb
Good Grief....time to take all the extras to your next guild meeting and put it all on the free table and free your space and energy for better purposes. I took 2 1/2 large plastic bags of fabric to a meeting with lots of other stuff and it all went in no time....I feel much lighter and that was stuff I was not going to use in my lifetime....so it might as well get used up.
As far as the quilt...I haven't a clue...wrong person to reply to that one :)
Kelly
It might be a toss between the two of us as to who has more scissors. I have a drawer in the kitchen with multiple pairs, my husband's office with multiple pairs, my sewing room pairs, one in the garage, and one on our boat and at times my husband is actually the one to say go buy another pair. Plus I have pair of scissors in a quilt bag that is ready to go travel! So, maybe it won't look like you have that many if you find different places for them?
For your beautiful table runner, I think you should get more fabric and keep after it. Love it. But I am curious what is so challenging on this design. You are a great piecer and a perfectionist, so I'm confused on what is off on this pattern? Or, maybe it is that you need to multi-task and have another project going on at the same time....or more netflix.
SewCalGal
www.sewcalgal.blogspot.com
Your posts always give me a chuckle! I say buy more fabric if you need to. You'll always find something to do with what you have now. Have a give away. If those same fabrics are in your tablerunner I'm sure everyone would like to have some. The idea about walking away for a while, letting things work in your mind, sounds like a good thing to do too. Hope things work out for you.
Have you seen the program "Hoarders"? lol!!!
Designing a quilt takes a lot of time and energy and it hardly ever comes out the way you want the first time. Do you have to use a certain fabric line for the contest? Maybe it is your fabrics/colors that aren't working, not your design.
I say, walk away. Been there, done that, and what you wind up with, being persistent (read: stubborn) is a finished product you don't really like that you wasted even more time and money on. If you can identify what you've done wrong and know it will fix it, then you can start over, but without a plan or a definite fix, you'll be 'beating a dead horse'. I've come to realize that quilting is much like reading: Life is too short and there's too manyh books out there to waste time finishing a book you aren't enjoying.
I don't have all my scissors in one place, but do have a lot of them. Great organizer you are.
Why spend your time with that jelly roll/fabric from J..A's that was not cut correctly? I say throw that one in the sack to give to GoodWill and start over. Too frustrating to continue!
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