Or.... you win some, you lose some.........
I'm going through one of those phases where whatever I sew the end result is only "OK". No more than OK. No "hey, that's not bad, I'm pretty pleased with that".......
It's frustrating when you know how you want something to look, but the final thing is a bit disapointing.
Take the bag.
Just wanted to make a vintage sheet bag in a simple shape I hadn't tried before. Reversible. And with a different front and back.
I even used a pattern from a pretty good book that I would have thought would have been reliable - no names no pack drill.
Yes, I know it could've done with some interlining, but even so the shape just didn't work anyway. It's "OK"ish but not how I thought it would be. And I had to alter the pattern to make it fit over my shoulder, it wasn't cut generously enough, so lots of faffing just for it to look "OK".
So now the search for a similar but better pattern - sigh.
And then a cushion.
The cushion is only "OK" too, but that's my fault - I was trying out smaller squares and machine quilting and didn't want to use "good" fabrics in case I spoilt it, so contented myself with using up scraps in colours I wouldn't normally choose, mainly vintage 70's and 80's, and guess what?
Surprise , surprise, it looks like something from the 70's that you'd find in a jumble sale for 50p!
Actually, I rather like the pretty cushion back fabric, and because of the colours I chose I meant it for my daughter's room (oh great, thanks Mum...........your rejects.......) as it would go well with the colours of her room.
And it does actually.
It's growing on me, the more I see it, and after all it was only a try out.
And she says she likes it - good, faithful daughter, lots and lots of brownie points!!!
Thank you, kind blogging friends, for visiting and leaving lovely comments - they make my day!
(especially when it's a "bad sewing" day!)
Surprise , surprise, it looks like something from the 70's that you'd find in a jumble sale for 50p!
Actually, I rather like the pretty cushion back fabric, and because of the colours I chose I meant it for my daughter's room (oh great, thanks Mum...........your rejects.......) as it would go well with the colours of her room.
And it does actually.
It's growing on me, the more I see it, and after all it was only a try out.
And she says she likes it - good, faithful daughter, lots and lots of brownie points!!!
Thank you, kind blogging friends, for visiting and leaving lovely comments - they make my day!
(especially when it's a "bad sewing" day!)
Taking a peek during lunch! Love the pillow!!! Could use it on the back of my desk chair about now!
ReplyDeleteHave a great day, so nice to stop by and be perked up!
Glad I've perked you up Mary!Hope you have a good day too!
DeleteWell I like the cushion Gill! :)
ReplyDeleteCan you not adapt your bag pattern, now that you know exactly how you want it to look! Sometimes things don't go to plan but then something absolutely brilliant comes out of it.
V xxx
Thanks Vivienne - brownie points to you too ;)
DeleteI could adapt it,in fact I usually make up my own patterns anyway, but it would need so much tweaking to get it how I want it so I think I'd rather start from scratch with a different one - or make my own!
I think you are being too hard on yourself, I think the cushion is lovely and I wish I had half your talent!
ReplyDeleteLiz @ Shortbread & Ginger
I've made bags from this pattern and they come out well - http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=177482.0 Lovely cushion! x
DeleteThanks for the link, I'll check this out!
DeleteI think you are being too hard on yourself too. The cushion is lovely and you can always learn from it and move on to something you deem more successful. I know what you mean though, I like things to be perfect or I get a little disappointed :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Sarah, I guess its all about the difference between actual result and anticipated result! Back to the drawing board on this one.
DeleteI'd willingly give the bags and the cushion a home, don't be so hard on yourself, your sewing skills and artistic talent are truly fabulous!
ReplyDeleteLisa x
Thank you Lisa, you are very kind!
DeleteI hate those days - they seem like such a waste of fabric and time! I think your stuff looks good though, and hey, now you have three new re-usable grocery bags that will fit into your glove compartment. Are those the ones from the Liberty Home sewing? I used that pattern for mine, but made it about an inch bigger all around and sewed the handles front to back instead of they way you, and the book called for. Look at it this way: practice is always good!
ReplyDeleteJenn
Hi Jenn, and thanks for your comment!
DeleteIt is not a pattern from Liberty Home sewing, (and in fact is only 1 bag, showing the back, front and reverse - sorry i didnt make it clear!).
You're right about practice - and I wont be satisfied until I end up with the bag i had in mind!
The joys of crafting, we think something is going to be just right and it turns out not how we expected. I find that happens when sewing clothes for myself, grrr. Despite the fact you don't care for the cushion and the bags are not what you wanted, I think they are lovely.
ReplyDeleteAnne xx
Thanks Anne - when you've spent a lot of time and effort on something its frustrating!
DeleteWell, I wouldn't even know where to start so think the bag is great and love the cushion! M x
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteOh, you are SO like me....self-critical! Although, I deserve it but not you! LOL! You make beautiful things! That pillow does NOT look like it came from a sale of vintage things...it looks new and fresh and so pretty...you need to come to the sales around here if you want to see "junky and ugly" ! LOL! I love the fabrics in the purses too and I think you just invented something new...doorknob bags!!!!! I have plastic and junky ones hanging all over my house with "projects" in them....wouldn't it be much prettier to have your "doorknob bags" hanging there instead! See....it's all in the marketing! You just invented a new household accessory! You go girl!
ReplyDeleteHmm you might be onto something here Sam!! But I'll have to perfect the design first!
DeleteWe are always more critical of our own work. I bet if these were made by someone else you would be full of praise and thinking how clever they were. Is that a Laura Ashley fabric called 'Bibi' I spy on the chair? Pretty chair too!
ReplyDeleteMaybe you're right - but it's good to be self-critical I think, that way leads to making better and better things.
DeleteIt is certainly a Laura Ashley fabric although I don't know which one I'm sure you're right - i bought the little chair for my sewing room for a fiver at a charity shop, already painted and covered. It's a little too thin to be used as a chair cover, but it's so pretty and I havent got around to recovering it yet.
I was just going to write that you were being hard on yourself when I read the comment above! I could NEVER make either of the things you've posted here, so you know what they say about the trash and treasure. Not that that exactly fits in this case, but I think you know what I mean to say. Your daughter knows she is very lucky, don't think for a minute that was charity on her part. She can still have the brownie points, though :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Jennie for the vote of confidence! But think of the amazing things you make far harder than these things!
DeleteHello Gill
ReplyDeleteI love your cushion, it sits beautifully with the fabric on the chair, I am sure you will find a use for your little bag..
Happy sewing
Thea x
Thank you Thea, yes it is still a useful bag and it will be put to good use I'm sure!
DeleteYour cushion is adorable! Really!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Deborah! Am hoping to make one in some other fabrics now.
DeleteHi Gilly.....yes I think we all have those feelings....things neverwork out as we would have imagined them........Just as a curiosity do you have an overlocker...only I am contemplating getting one so I can do cushions and bags or what do you do when making cushions for example......Thanks for any info you can give me.....ciao Alison
ReplyDeleteHi Alison, I have replied to your gueries in an email.
DeleteHé Gill it's not bad at all!!!! I love the cushion.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteI think you are wonderful at sewing, Gill! And I think your cushion is lovely! If you fill the bag up with things and look again another day you might really like it! (I think it's pretty!)
ReplyDeleteHelen x
Thank you Helen, maybe you're right, sometimes things do grow on you - it may work well as a storage bag!
DeleteLove the fabrics you've used for your bag - I have always been a fan of pink and orange. (Since I was about 9, I think, and used to wear the two colours together all the time, much to my mum's chagrin.) I think your bag is FAB!!
ReplyDeleteI know exactly what you mean, though, about being "OK-ish" about the things we make. I get like that too. You should see my "Fail Bin. " There are loads of rejects in there - nothing really wrong with them, they just didn't turn out how I wanted them to.
Keep going - soon you will make something so good you won't be able to stop crowing about it! :)
There is something so cheerful about pink and orange together, I agree Wendz, (although I take it your Mum wasnt such a fan!)and I'm loving these vintage sheet fabrics!
DeleteIt gives me heart to know that even someone like you Wendz, with your always beautifully made items, admits to a Fail Bin! I have a "disapointments" pile, and every now and then I re-visit it with a fresh mind, and sometimes end up with something good - but that's usually with the half-finished bits!
Thanks for your encouraging comments Wendz!
Well they're a damn sight better than anything I would have done and I really like the cushion! I would be as pleased as punch if I had done the bag or the cushion!
ReplyDeleteJune
Ah thanks June!!!
DeleteI always envy those who sew the speed of their projects, but at least we knitters can easily unravel and start again when we're not happy. But that said the cushion looks fine and dandy to me ... pretty in pink :)
ReplyDeleteYes that is so true Annie - with knitting and crocheting you can just pull the yarn.... took me ages to realise what frogging was......With sewing unless there are obvious mistakes you tend to keep going to see whether it sorts itself out in the end - sometimes they do.
DeleteAh - there will always be things we're not so taken with in the end, but the thing is that others don't usually see the problems with the finished article that we do! As they say '(S)he who never made a mistake, never made anything'. I love the colour combo on the bag, and the cushion most DEFINITELY does not look like a jumble buy! It looks gorgeous on the pretty chair.
ReplyDeletex
Thanks Alix - anyway, it would be boring to only see the makes that we're completely happy with, and it certainly puts new perspective on it hearing others comments.
DeleteI know you have very high standards, Gill, because your work is always impeccable. There's always going to be a blooper now and then, though of course it's only a matter of taste--see, your lovely girl likes the cushion! I do, too, actually. It looks like something I would have had as a teenager, and good for crying into over boys. Nostalgia! I think the bags are darling, too--bummer that the pattern wasn't up to speed. The second batch will be amazing, I know it. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for your pep talk Kristen!
DeleteThe cushion has come into its own already - it is the perfect size, plumpness and firmness for resting the laptop on whilst sitting in bed against the headboard - the common resting place of the no-spotted teenager during the evening ;0
Oh Gill, I know exactly what you mean, but sometimes I think we are always our own worst critics. ALL your lovely makes look perfect to me!
ReplyDeleteHave a happy weekend,
hugs
xx
I expect we are Gilly - probably the best way to be though!
DeleteYou are very kind me dear!
No, no, NO!! Your cushion DOES NOT look like it's a 50p, 70's cushion from a jumble sale!! D'you hear?
ReplyDeleteIt is just so pretty Gill, and your bags are too! I love those fabrics, and we all have 'off' days...I have them nearly all the time- no seriously I do!
You need another lovely, long walk (shame about those apples by the way :( ) and then to start again with fresh eyes if you're not happy with your makes.
But even though you aren't happy with them dear Gill, they all look beautiful to us!!
have a lovely relaxing weekend dear lady. Take care. xx
Donna you are such a sweet person for saying such lovely things, even though it doesnt change one bit how I feel about them! One good thing is the cushion is being used by my daughter as a laptop support - yay!
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