Supid, Stupid, STUPID

You know how it feels when you start something big? There are lots of details and loose ends that seem as though they'll never come together. You keep at it and suddenly you realize that your big complicated task might not be so big after all, and things start falling into place. You start to get into the groove, things are humming along, you have visions of your project completed quickly and beautifully and then WHAM! it hits you. You've totally screwed things up and it's back to square one.

Or maybe that only happens to me.

I've been waiting for so long to start a project from the Alabama Stitch Book. While I was busy pulling a bar mitzvah together I enviously watched other crafty types dive in and make gorgeous projects. For me, it's been all about the skirt, a stunning double layered reverse applique garment stitched entirely by hand. I wanted to make it so badly that my fingers twitched in anticipation.

Any normal person would have gone out and bought the fabric and gotten started already, but I couldn't find anything affordable that I liked. My problem was solved when one friend gave me yards of cotton jersey and another friend gave me a bunch of dye so I could just make what I wanted.

And I did. Dyeing was a kick. I had yards of sunny gold and deep almost-cranberry red finally ready to go yesterday. The Spouse was roped into cutting a stencil for me since I'm a klutz and have no business using an x-acto knife. I was ready to start transferring a design on to my skirt panels tonight when I realized that I had cut the panels with the fabric running in the wrong direction.

Since there is a grain line on the pattern and the instructions mention cutting the fabric on the grain I figure this is a pretty important step. Of course I didn't realize my mistake until I'd cut up most of the fabric. The wrong way. I was tempted to just use push on through and hope for the best but, for once, I actually thoguht it through. Because I really didn't want to spend weeks stenciling and stitching this skirt and seaming its five panels together by hand only to have it pucker, stretch, and hang on me like wet newspaper. I really do want to do it right.

So now I have to order more dye and re-dye my fabric. Luckily I have plenty left. But I have to wait. Again. Which I really hate.

In the meantime, a quick fix. I had a plain white jersey dress for The Princess which I threw in the dye pot. It came out a lovely sunny yellow but struck me as just a bit plain. So I gussied it up with a bit of embroidery using the Chinese lantern design from Sublime Stitching. Not the best photo what with all the cream cheese, but the embroidery both perked up the dress and filled a need.

Anyone out there with patience to spare, can you send some my way until I grow up?