There is a point in life when you decide that sitting on the sidelines just isn’t enough. I decided this Spring that it was time to learn how to quilt. This isn’t a sew by hand kind of quilting, I do want to quilt more than one. So, I signed up with some friends for the first class. It was a bunch of fun.
Lesson #1
Buy the exact supplies that the class supply list calls for. I brought a bag of scraps from my sewing room for my first log cabin quilt. Â While it was great that I used up my scraps, it made the quilt unnecessarily difficult. It was harder to keep track of which part of the pattern I was working on. So the first life lesson is not to make life more confusing than it has to be. Don’t add in activities until your schedule is packed full all of the time. Leave down time.
Lesson #2
This time I bought exactly the correct amount of fabric needed for the second quilt, in fact I bought a bit too much. I couldn’t get the teacher to contact me before class so I could see if I could use my scraps. so I bit the bullet and bought fabric. This quilt is quite a bit more expensive than the other but it should be easier to cut and sew. Off I went to quilt class number two with just the right amount of fabric. However, I jumped ahead at a certain point as I was waiting on everyone else to catch up. I then missed a short cut that simplified the process of cutting and sewing. So the second life lesson I learned here was to not run ahead of the teacher but to slow down and enjoy the process. Learn to enjoy being a beginner at something. Allow others to be the experts sometimes.
Lesson #3
The third life lesson I am  learning is not to be afraid to start over. I can’t tell you how many times I have ripped out my sewing to start over. When you are learning a new skill, many times your work looks awful. If you don’t like it, then don’t be afraid to rip it  out or frog it and start over. No one says that you have to keep the bad looking sewing around  staring at you. The same thing applies to life. If you make a mistake own up to it, ask forgiveness or do what you can to make it right. Then move on, putting the past behind you.
talk to you later,
Karen