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Saturday, September 23, 2006

We plan, God laughs

or something like that! Interesting way to start an entry right? But I am having a week! I don't know about anyone else but I seem to be incapable of sewing under pressure!!! This week I needed a garment immediately and made quickly in a very short time frame and I was just unable to produce it! Has that happened to anyone else?

I am okay if I have time to plan something out. I am even okay if I have time to take a day off and get something completed. But working full time and caring for my family does not leave alot of time for "emergency" sewing. And I faltered this week. So what did I need ~ a "real" business suit...a matchy matchy jacket and skirt combo that is worn for really important meetings or interview type situations. I started out well, I mean I had two evenings. I even left work early on the second day to get some quality sewing time in...but as the title states, we plan and God laughs.


Not only did I not leave the city at the time I planned (2 hours later which greatly affected my ability to get home quickly) but then traffic was bad. I was tired from a particularly emotionally draining week and my feet had started to swell. Yeah, I wasn't in the right frame of mind to be working near a sewing machine. But see, I needed the suit. I had to have that particular type of garment and I just don't know how to find this in a retail store anymore after years of creating what I need.

Plus I already had it cut out. It just needed to be sewn together. But have you ever noticed that when you are sewing under pressure the steps needed to complete something seem infinite as compared to when you are sewing for pleasure and you seem to just fly through the steps! Yeah, that's how my sewing was Thursday evening ~ like walking through heavy duty mud in too big combat boots. And you know what happened right? At 12:45 a.m. I admitted defeat and then I cried as I combed through my wardrobe trying to come up with an appropriate solution! How can a woman with as many pieces of clothing as I own have this problem? How did I never think to make a "matchy-matchy" suit and have it waiting in the back of my closet?

Well, I ended up wearing the brown suit featured in the post, "Snapshots from a Journey" and it worked out okay. I attended the meeting, was actually very professionally dressed and didn't see too many of the "matchy-matchy" suits that are just not in my lifestyle anymore. But it got me to thinking about sewing under pressure and why I can't do it?

Can you? Are you able to turn out a "quality" garment sewn in one or two evenings under pressure? Are you able to complete all of the steps necessary to have a wearable, finished garment or do you take shortcuts? And in taking shortcuts does some of the quality go missing in your garment?

My jacket is still hanging in my bedroom waiting for the necessary pieces to finish it. Which I will do this weekend...because besides learning that God laughs at our plans...I also learned that I have a hole in my closet that needs to be filled. So not only will I finish this outfit but I see a new black "matchy-matchy" suit in my future. And I also learned something new about myself, actually re-learned it...I don't sew well under pressure!

11 comments:

  1. I've had plans. And, after frantically trying to finish, I too haave had to comb my meager wardrobe. I have also finished a top an hour before I was to wear it. But the pants made to go with it should be lengthened 1 inch, and I need to work some more on the pattern for the top. Oh, well. Your brown suit was great, by the way.

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  2. Deadlines make me dig my heels in like a rebellious 12-year-old. "You can't make me, you can't make me!" While some people flourish and find their inner creative genius, I find other things to do - laundry, dishes, bill-paying, (ahem) tv-watching. After that, I go through my closet, teary-eyed and sorry for myself. I don't think I'm a design candidate for Project Runway; the pressure would kill me. Here's hoping that you find the interest and energy to finish up your match-matchy suit.

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  3. Sewing under pressure is tough, but did you ever realize that we are the one who create the pressure on ourselves? I learned this lesson about 10 years ago while trying to complete a handbeaded jacket to wear to a Christmas party. About two days before the party, I realized I would never complete the jacket in time if I was to fit sleep somewhere in the equation. I decided to just stop and wear something else that I had worn to the party before. Suddenly all the pressure went away and I felt much better. I use this lesson whenever something just isn't going fast enough for a deadline I created, when I stop it make do with what I have, all the pressure goes away. I did finish the beaded jacket long after the party when there was no timeline to deal with.

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  4. I'm the same about sewing under pressure...I'm going to a wedding today with a new outfit...but I've been working on it for 3 weeks....and still had to make changes at the last minute cause the skirt was a mess. Good post!

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  5. My daily work life is filled with deadlines and pressure which I seem to manage just fine (well, most of the time). Put me in the sewing room with a deadline and I just fall apart!

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  6. To me, the deadline wouldn't make me freak out, what would hinder my performance is having to stop and take care of other things in the house (i.e. cooking, laundry, etc...). I guess if it's something I really needed in a hurry, the DH would pitch in and either cook or pick up something. On the other hand, if it was a situation with a lot at stake like "Project Runway", I think I'd probably crash and burn.

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  7. i can do it, but i don't like it, and it's not fun at all, which is why i sew. the house will look like crap and we'll eat cold cereal for supper (and breakfast, and lunch!) too. not worth it.

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  8. I don't do well sewing under pressure. I seem to make so many mistakes or else I wind up disliking the garment when I'm finished because I just didn't enjoy the whole process.

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  9. I don't sew well under pressure either. I had the same experience about a month ago. I needed a nice "matchy-matchy" black suit for a media event and figured I could whip up something with a couple of easy patterns. Of course everything went wrong and I bought something to wear the night before the event. (I still haven't gone back to finish that jacket.) When I sew because I have to, the joy is gone and it I don't have fun.
    Good topic!

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  10. Like Gigi, my work is deadline driven and I am organized to meet those deadlines with time to spare. I don't want that in my sewing life. That is my creative time which for me means go at my pace and enjoy the journey!

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  11. Oh yeah, I have had similar experiences. Boy do I sympathize! The way I phrase your saying is, "If you ever want to hear God laugh, tell Him your plans." It really seems to play out that way, doesn't it? But at least you have identified the hole in your closet.

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