Thursday, March 13, 2008

Fear of Finishing

I admit it! I'm a finishing chicken! I'm terrified that I'll take some lovely piece that I spent hours stitching and completely ruin it by trying to turn it into a pillow or pinkeep! So I decided I needed some practice to build up some confidence. I pulled out an old round robin that didn't really have much of a theme (unless it was "Cross Stitch from the '90s") so the motifs didn't go together very well. I still cringed when I took the scissors to it, and cut away one of the squares; Victim #1 was in my shaking hands! With the hardest part behind me, I got to work making a little hanging pillow. I had to sew the entire thing by hand because my machine is still being cranky. And I learned some lessons. Number one: Don't forget your seam allowance! What a newbie mistake! My second lesson concerned the hanger part: If you want it to be on the outside when you're done, don't sew it to the inside! I'm also going to have to learn how to be neater about sewing up the "stuffing hole". It came out a little lumpy. Other than those few things, WOOHOO! I did it! And I have to say, I couldn't have done it without the inspiration I get from other stitchers who share so many lovely finishes on their blogs! Thank you all!

6 comments:

melissa said...

How wonderful that pillow looks to me. Perfect as a hangy thingy. I have to ask if that's from one of the Round Robins we did 'way back when'!???!

Your work (as I've seen in person) has always been great. You put yourself down, but you're one keen stitcher. :)

staci said...

Wonderful hanging pillow finish!!!

Ruth said...

lol OMG now I simply HAVE to go stitch myself a little chicken to be my very own Finishing Chicken. I soooo understand!

Despite the seam allowance and hanger on the inside things, your finishing is lovely! You should pat yourself on the back.

Thanks for sharing your adventures in finishing :)

Anonymous said...

It's beautiful! Congratulations on a lovely finish!

Sharon said...

You have got to be kidding? It looks fantastic! I love it. Great job!

Hearty Bakes said...

This is a very beautifully pillow for decor. Love the flowers and its colours.