Relax(ing): (apparently I) don't do it

I've been so inspired by all the great summer clothes I've been seeing on the Me-Made-June Flickr group, I decided to spend my day off doing some sewing.  This sundress pattern has been in my stash for quite a while, as has this fun, summery lawn chair print.  It was time for these two to meet and become one.  Woo-hoo!

Well.  Things did not, um, go as planned. There was, shall we say, an incident.  I thought about taking photos of the ugliness, but really had no desire to relive it again later.  Trust me when I say it was a hot mess.  Two things that weren't supposed to be sewn together, were.  Right in front, of course.  So there was seam ripping, resulting in a hideous hole, and there was frustration and anger and oh, yes--crying. Nice.

As I mentioned the other day, it's been at least six months since I did any real sewing.  Why did I think I needed to jump back into it with a dress that has a gathered bodice and a type of sleeve I've never made before?  Why couldn't I have eased back into sewing with a simple A-line skirt or something?  And why did I have delusions that maybe I could be wearing this dress by the end of the week?

I don't know.  This is how I am.  I like challenges, and I'm NOT a perfectionist.  I'd rather make a complicated project with some flaws than a simple project that's flawless.  (Now, what happened today was not a "flaw"--it was bordering on ruining the project.  I hope I salvaged it, but can't tell for sure yet.)  I set arbitary goals and deadlines for myself, which puts unnecessary pressure on me.  WHY?  I really don't know, but I NEED to change it, because I've been working six or seven days a week for the past eight months and it makes NO SENSE for me to spend a precious day off getting stressed out about something that's supposed to be FUN and RELAXING.

Enough of that.  I'm stepping away from the sewing machine for today.  Let me introduce you to my icy pink friend here.  It's called a Salty Chihuahua--tequila and pink lemonade, rimmed with lime juice and salt.  I know it's early in the season, but I just might be ready to declare this my official drink of Summer 2011.  I'm going to sit in the shade and drink one of these and do something that's not important or complicated AT ALL, like paint my toenails or flip through a magazine.  It's my day off, dammit.

Comments

[Stacy]

Thanks, everyone.

KC--I do have hope that I'll be able to salvage the dress, at least to the point where the problems are noticeable only to me. I adore the fabric too!

Jo--Yeah, unfortunately, I think screwing up is a common part of the handmade process for everyone. And I'm aware of that, but being aware doesn't make it any less frustrating!

[KC]

Aww, too bad. I hope you can salvage the project, or at least make a nice skirt or top, because I absolutely love the fabric! Cheers!

[Jocarter7]

Thanks for posting this. I don't sew very often, and at least part of the reason is that I feel like I'm supposed to already know how. That "people who sew" don't make mistakes, and that maybe the mistakes I make (or the places in the work where I just don't know what I'm doing) is a sign that maybe I should leave this to the big girls and go play with my Fisher-Price castle.

But see, I've admired a lot of the stuff you've made, and so if YOU get frustrated and have those days, then ... maybe I'll give it another try sometimes soon. Thanks.