The Day Sewing Became A Chore...

So if you read my last post, you will know I was giving myself a brief sewing hiatus to get my house in order and just rest a bit. I made 3 (baby) quilts last week for goodness sake. I can't keep at that clip forever. Well, a sweet gal came up and showed me 2 hand painted napkins a friend of hers had done. This friend has limited means and she had made these 2 little napkins with Bible verses, hearts, and angels painted onto them as a way to show appreciation to a person who has helped her out a lot. Sweet, right?

Well, the conversation started with how to set that ink and what to do with it. It evolved into me doing 2 mini quilts. You've been there before, right? I am usually very good with "no" but the particulars of this situation tugged at my heart. The job was small, but the deadline was less than a week. I figured that meant me breaking my self imposed hiatus.

My body was telling me I needed a break. Soon my sewing machine would tell me, too...

I sewed the first one up pretty quickly. I decided to quilt it minimally. I had it bound and hanging on the wall when I realized we had mentioned scotch guarding it since it was probably not washable. I did a test spot. If you know me, this is big. I am usually just a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants type of gal. I don't think I have ever done a test patch of anything...from lotion to hair color. I just roll with it. Test patch was good. Whew. Moving on to coating the whole dang thing.

Spraaaaayyyy...

Black ink starts bleeding.

Oh. My. Gosh. I am in full panic mode. I tried everything. Everything. I decide to hurry up and get the other one done and get it out of my house. With three boys around something that delicate for that long, only bad things can happen. My needles started breaking. My thread was shredding. My bobbin thread would not pick up. I could go on and on. It was one thing after another. I was too tired to pay attention. I just wasn't that into it. It felt like a chore. Let me point out that sewing through painted fabric is not easy/fun/good looking.

I picked up my kids from preschool and the director (who is also a fellow member of my church and a sweet friend) told me she could fix it. I gladly handed it to her and gave her a hug. I'm not a hugger, but this situation called for it.

I am ready for a break. I will probably only last 2 days but I am going to tell those box pillow covers, I Spy doll quilts, and Katie Jump Rope Autumn quilt that are all in my head screaming "ooohh...pick me, pick me!!!" like the chunky kid in gym class to can it for a few days.

I've read a lot of people who say they love sewing because it is the only thing that stays finished. I can agree with that to an extent, but my favorite part about sewing is it's the only thing where I can control the pace. The laundry pile is ever growing, fresh food has gotta be cooked three times a day, and the floors are always needing mopped. Sewing is the one thing I have been able to do at MY speed...not on anyone else's timeline. This little experience showed me I need to keep it that way.