The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Lets get straight to the point, I like nice things. 

I like it when things just go right and I end up making something that's got all the right stitching, everythings straight and it all looks like I had imagined it would when I started. 

I don't like it when this doesn't happen. I'm sure everyone knows what I mean when I say that sometimes its just easier to stand up from your station and walk away. 

Well that's what I did last night. Making some simple purses, nothing too fancy, something that is normally so straight forward and problem free just would not go right! 

I make one from start to finish and every step seems to go wrong, nothing lines up even though I'm certain I cut everything perfectly, even straightforward pleats look just a little off. 

Finally it's finished and despite the frustrations and rework the outcome is still great and I'm pleased with it.

Then came The Zip... 


The zip is attached and looks perfect, all the stitching looks great and the whole thing looks like I imagined it.

I close the zip, all works well. I open the zip...nothing. I pull it again and it moves a little and then....snag. 

The zip is completely broken and has no intention of moving whether I force it or not! At this point I just look at the purse, wondering why it's not playing nice and just opening. After 10 minutes of trying to furiously get the zip to work I decide that the best thing to is to put down the instigating item and walk away.

So as I sat in the living room still frustrated I came to realise that there are three ways to get the outcome I want. 

• The Good Way - Do things properly and don't rush, never think you're too good to have to think about what you're doing and always put whatever you're doing down if its not going right and come back to it later. 
• The Bad Way - Keep trying to make things work no matter how angry and frustrated you get to the point that its a battle of wills between you and the item you're making. If you're at the point of talking out loud to your sewing machine for example and telling it "you may have one this battle but I will win the war!" You may want to consider reverting to the Good Way to reach a better place. 
•  The Ugly Way - This one should be avoided at all costs. Put simple if you're at this point you're willing to get to the end whatever the result. This normally means that the item you end up with will look like its been dragged through a hedge and dropped in a puddle because you simply refused to do anything other than push on through when you really should have stopped and come back another day.

I know I'm not alone in this so let's hear your stories of frustration!

Thanks for reading 

Jacqui