I was this close to having a quilt done today. How close, you ask? This close:
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| Two-inch binding strips cut and ready to be sewn together. |
But today is Dreadful Tuesday, and another project took its rightful place at the head of the line.
Back in June I'd made 2 prototype Swing Jackets for the chorus's costume committee, with the promise of the remaining 4 sizes to come "soon". But there was a show to put on, holidays to sing for/about, and I quite successfully ignored those 4 jackets for several months. Until today. Rehearsal starts up again in two days and I really wanted to have these done and off my conscience!
I started with the hardest bit: attaching the sleeves. I'd learned long ago to save the final side seams for last, whenever possible, when dealing with inset sleeves. So although they still required constant checking, alignment, rechecking, realignment, they went in quicker than I thought they would and I had completed all 8 sleeves by early-early afternoon.
So I rewarded myself with some sewing of all those teal strips into one long binding strip (the fabric is so loosely woven that this may well become my next Dreadful project!) Then I decided to attach all the lined collars to the jackets. Another chorus member had volunteered to help me sew, and since she was leery of her own serger I assigned her the task of assembling these pieces, which worked much better sewn on a regular machine. (She had them done and delivered two weeks ago.)
By 4pm all the collars were on (almost as fiddly as the sleeves, it turned out). So, why not sew up the final side seams on these bad boys and get 'er dun?
I managed to completely complete one jacket (2 of the 8 side seams) before my back finally screamed "ENOUGH!!!!" I was veering on the stupid side of pain, and could easily see myself sewing wrong seams together simply because I was trying to finish something when I really should just take a break. There's no going back when you sew something wrong with a serger, so I've been taking long breaks in my comfy recliner (playing sudoku) before pinning and serging another jacket's side seams. I see a light at the end of this tunnel, and have a darn good idea of how many jackets I can feasibly make per day, should the costuming committee be considering the idea of having these Swing Jackets on our backs by Competition in March.
Wise woman: quit (well, pause) while you're ahead. Do you have performances scheduled during the winter or just rehearsals?
ReplyDeleteAfter the holidays (and the 2-week break until January) we concentrate on gearing up for the Regional Competition in the Spring (March or April). There are several rehearsals/weekends devoted to coaching, there's a retreat (with more coaching), and generally little time or spare energy to do much of anything else.
DeleteOf course, this is the first I've sung with Chisholm Trail Chorus in over a decade, so they may have traditional early-Spring gigs they like to do. I guess we'll see!
C
Sometimes you need the pressure of guilt to get you started.
ReplyDeleteIt was guilt that got me started with Dreadful Tuesdays lo these many years ago. I was tired of all the nagging, guilt-inducing chores piling up, mentally and physically, and the higher they'd pile, the less inclined I was to do anything but stew further in my guilt-steeped misery.
DeleteEventually a vicious cycle has to break--I decided I'd devote my day off (I was in the position at work by then to take a paid day off every week, and I chose Tuesdays so I could recuperate from Mondays' rehearsals) to tackling one thing I'd been dreading, and doing it to completion. And I kept my promise to myself! It didn't take very long to whittle that pile to "All Caught Up!", but the concept remains and is very handy for guilt-free procrastination. I keep honoring my promise to myself, and things keep getting done.
C