Monday 21 December 2020

The People's Choice SAL: Stitching Disasters

 As we are inching (or rather, rushing!) closer to Christmas, I try to get caught up with everything on my todo list, and after ornament finishingand  gift wrapping, there are also a couple of blog entries left to write! Some still need preparation in terms of crafting, but this one is ready to go. I don't plan on producing any more disasters this year, after all!

So, this is Jo's brainchild, a lovely low-maintenance SAL with a different theme every month. This month we are talking about stitching desasters, and thankfully, there is only really one that comes to mind, and that turned into one of my buggest successes - Fire and Ember!

It was that most classic tale of stitcher's woe - I set to work on this big project, my biggest to date, and a SAL too, worked on it for a couple of months, got some pages in and then I started to realize that I was getting awfully close to that edge...hm...what might have gone wrong?

...

...

Of course I had done the rookie mistake of not double checking the rotation of my fabric before starting, and now it was not going to fit! It wasn't just a matter of cutting it close with the border, either, the fabric literally ran out an inch before the stitching was done. I was frustrated and set it away for a bit, contemplating what to do. A fair bit of ranting and test stitching later, I had figured out my plan of action - I cut off the excess fabric from the bottom of my piece, pinned it to the right side, and started stitching over the intersection:

I proceeded to work down the right edge of the design to secure it all, which got me here:


And once it was all finished and framed, it was hardly even noticable anymore!

So yeah, I guess I averted the worst possible outcome. But you can still bet I double and triple check the rotation of my fabric with every new start!

4 comments:

Rachel said...

Oh no!! I can't imagine how your heart must have almost stopped and deflated when you realised, but thank goodness you were able to correct it. I can just about see the join now you've pointed it out, but otherwise would not have known. I expect you double and triple check the orientation before putting in the first stitch now?!
When I cut fabric I always make a little mark in the top left corner. That's always prevented this mistake. :)

Carol said...

Oh, that's an amazing finish, Leonore--thankfully you were able to make it work! Well done (and Merry Christmas!).

Pamela said...

Beautiful! Double and triple checking - good advice!

Jo who can't think of a clever nickname said...

Thanks for taking part in The People's Choice for December. I'd forgotten about that particular disaster, you certainly did a good job of averting it and having a lovely finished piece.