One of "THOSE" Projects

    You know the ones. They sound so easy; they'll be done in no time. Do they even count as a project? And then, somehow, they don't go that way. The measurements are off. That one seam just won't go straight no matter what. Why is the sewing machine suddenly getting jammed? It was fine five minutes ago. . .and now you're out of thread.

    Do you have projects like this often? I do, it seems. There's a harmless-looking skirt in my closet known as 'The Cursed Skirt'. And a floral blouse nicknamed 'The Pink Menace'. The latest one is far smaller. It's a 5" padded case for my smallest pair of scissors. It looks simple. Cheerful and seasonal, even. It started out that way. 

    I got the idea to draft a few small patterns several months ago; I wanted to make some cases for several pairs of scissors so they wouldn't poke holes in my knitting bag or get smooshed in my 'everything I don't have another place for' drawer. The drafting part was fun. I enjoyed getting out my pencils and doing some sketching, and it wasn't especially difficult to figure out the sizes. Transferring those sketches to my computer also went well. There was one small snag, when I realized that I wouldn't be able to sew directly over the uncovered batting without the foot getting tangled in it. But it was easily fixed with an extra layer of muslin. Problem solved!

    But then. . . .I had no orange thread. The snaps I had were the wrong size. I couldn't find the right button. I couldn't find time to go to the craft store to pick up these things (the closest craft store is about a 35 minute drive one way). Suddenly an afternoon project was going on two weeks and still not done. At that point, I decided to start another project. . . . . or four. (Spoiler: they also have some problems.) This week, I finally finished that little orange padded case. It took me three tries to get the snap sewed on in the right place. It's actually still a bit off, and I'm convinced it was closer to centered after my very first attempt. If it starts to bug me, I mentally repeat 'wabi-sabi' a few times, to resist the urge to try re-doing it one last time.

    You might be wondering where I'm going with this. These things are part of sewing. Not every project goes off without a hitch. Or seven hitches. Crafting in general requires a lot of problem-solving and flexibility. One of the things I'm learning to accept is that my projects aren't going to be perfect, but that doesn't mean they're not good. It's very frustrating. But. . . . 

    The scissors fit! The case closes, so they won't fall out. I'm really happy with the color/look. I'm currently finishing up a 2nd, slightly larger case, and planning to do a short video of how I line up the snaps when I'm sewing them on, especially when there's no hole in the center to stick a pin through. I'm not an expert, and sometimes have a lot of trouble. Things might not turn out the way I hoped or expected. But I don't want to let that keep me from doing something I enjoy (even though it does make me want to give up at times). In the end, "those" projects usually still work out.