Hope, pray and cross my fingers.

Here are Zaria's new deers.
I started cutting and sewing Zaria's deers together in the post holiday bliss a couple of weeks ago. The deers and I were getting along ever so well until I realised I had cut the sleeves on the deer side too short, two inches shorter than the little birds. Urgh...

The deers and I were not to speak or even look at each other for another week or so, while I came to terms with cutting new sleeves out of that beautiful long rectangle I managed to save as leftovers.

Every time I have cut out this pattern, I have made a major mistake. I have lost a piece, I have cut out sleeves upside down (the curse of using fabric that has a right way up!), I have cut into a piece that was sneekily laying under the fabric I was cutting out. I don't know if it's because I sew when I'm tired, or I'm too rushed and enthusiastic to check or if, like last week, there are just some things in life you don't look for until you've been hit in the face with them. Either way, I am learning to take a deep breath, tell myself it's all part of learning and try not to beat myself too hard with that imaginary stick.

So this week, I decided to make peace with the deers and, as a compromise, cut a small rectangle to lengthen the sleeves. I was pretty proud of my simple idea. It's amazing how a time of calming down and letting the disaster fade allows for creativity and resourcefulness. But when I went to measure, the difference in length had disappeared! I checked and double checked. Yep. The deers had either remorsefully fixed themselves, or the fabric gods had come to visit, or maybe it was just that tired thing again.

Whatever happened, next time I come into conflict with my sewing, I will definitely be letting it sit for a week while I walk away, hope, pray and cross my fingers that when I come back with fresh motivation and patience, the disaster has either been miraculously averted or just shrunk to a very small, manageable, un-disaster-like situation. :)