My undoing.

This week, the most wonderful thing that can happen on a daycare day did happen. I heard a knock at the door, looked through the coloured glass and there, in her fluro yellow coat was Postman Pat! (Yes, Postman Pat is a lady in these parts.) I let out a shriek, opened the door to a smiling lady who must have heard my excitement, and thanked her enthusiastically for what I knew was my first arrival of birthday fabric!
Remember in my last post I was awaiting said fabric to finish this little project? Well after it arrived, I was so excited and too impatient to wait for the fabric to go through the wash before I could cut it up and use it, that in a flash of inspiration, I ended up finding the perfect fabric for the drawstring from my stash. Silly me!
So, to the satisfying swish, swish, swish of the new pretty colours in my washing machine, I sewed up a drawstring and quickly threaded it around the drawstring mat.

I hated it.
Oh! (whingy voice)
I didn't like how it sat awkwardly, how it pulled on my hand-stitching, how it looked like a birthday party hat when turned the other way round. I sat down at the computer, as I always do when I'm disappointed with something I've made. I went looking up blogs I follow to distance myself from it for a while.
I found Jennifer at Ellison Lane Quilts who was writing about her holiday in the mountains. Just looking at the photos made me breathe a little deeper. Then, without much fanfare or fuss, she mentioned she wasn't happy with her blocks for a quilt she was making, so she'd taken out the seam ripper to pull them apart and start again. Just like that.
Isn't it great how reading other people's stories can connect with us so strongly and help us feel ok about our story. I think that's why I'm so motivated to share mine. I hope the things I'm thinking through and learning can encourage you.
Anyway, I realised I thought the drawstring mat was a finished deal. I would have to do it different next time. I'll have to throw this one in the cupboard. I don't even know why I thought that way. It sounds so silly writing it 'out loud'. Having Jennifer so simply remind me of the seam ripper reminded me that creativity is a process and that process involves mistakes, changed minds, pulling apart and starting again.

So, I took to that beautiful hexagon with the seam ripper. And it's still sitting there in pieces on my sewing table. But, I did finish this one and I'm so happy with it!

Thanks Jennifer!