Tuesday’s Tip June 29,2010

Because I taught in a Catholic school, I could say things that were otherwise unacceptable in public schools.  I expected my third graders to always do their best but I would remind them that “only God is perfect”.

Which brings me to the topic of unsewing.  It is something that I do often as a quilter.  Unlike those mythic quilters of the past, my sewing skills do not require an obvious mistake so that I am not competing with God.  Flaws abound in my finished projects. But how much unsewing do we really need to do?

I always try to correct obvious mistakes:  an upside down triangle or misplaced section of a block.  It is those little mistakes that require a decision.

If a point is chopped off or a seam is mismatched, I will go back and fix it.  However if a point appears to be “floating” (that is, a little ways away from the seam), I will leave it.  Likewise if a seam is off by a thread or two I will leave it.  BUT, if I have tried to correct it at least 2 times and the match is still a little off, I will stop.  Too much fussing causes distortion in the seams which can make matters worse.

By the way, if I am sewing late at night (and into the morning) and I start making lots of mistakes, I know it is time to stop and get some rest.  But here is a little tip: You may be tempted to just stop and fix the problem in the morning.  But before you finish up and go to bed, do your unsewing and then stop for the evening.  It is sew much nicer to start the day ready to sew!

(A sneak preview of my next post.  Ooh….are you excited??)