Quilled Thoughts

Stuff

noreply@blogger.com (meg) — Fri, 31 Oct 2014 05:16:00 +0000

I'm planning on moving soon from my condo to an even smaller place and that has forced me to assess all the stuff I have. And, boy, do I have a lot of stuff.

So lately I'm busy going on a purging binge and, as advised by numerous home organizers, segregating things into piles of "keep", "throw", "sell" or "donate/give away". Surprisingly, my "keep" pile only has less than ten items as of now (besides what I am still using at the moment). Majority of them end up on the "sell" pile which tells a lot, doesn't it?

I'm still not finished but I can already feel the change. I am more relaxed and feel like my head is getting clearer. It's like how when you're vacationing at a hotel and you get a good rest because you aren't constantly surrounded by your stuff that, in the back your mind, you have to do.

Less stuff = less worrying about all the unimportant stuff and more focus on the important stuff.

Any cleaning and purging tips you want to share?

Meg

A while

noreply@blogger.com (meg) — Mon, 06 Oct 2014 11:48:00 +0000

It's been a while since I've written on this blog. Or written anything, for that matter. At some point I wondered why am I writing a blog in the first place. It's not as if there is something special that I needed to say or share to the public. I wasn't some expert on a subject that my blog could focus on. I was all over the place with posts about fashion then film then music then whatever.

So, yes, my last post was 2012 and here I am starting up again.

What would be different? I'm not sure, but I hope it would be different. Two years have passed and it would be depressing if I am still the same person I was then. I contemplated on deleting the whole blog, and maybe I still will, but right now I think I'll keep it to see how I was then and how I am now and who I will be and the changes in between.

Meg

Holiday Homemade Gift #4: Lavender Sachets

noreply@blogger.com (meg) — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 16:32:00 +0000

I almost forgot about these because they were so easy to do it didn't feel like work!

Making lavender sachets barely takes time at all when you have all the materials on hand. It's perfect for putting a dent on that fabric stash which, if you're like me, is more like a pile rather than a stash. The dried lavender buds were a little hard to find, but fortunately I found someone selling them online. I think you can find them from soap-makers or candle-makers too.

There are a different options on how to make them, but I opted for the simpler route which was to use my pinking shears. I was worried about fraying so I put a little fray-stopper on the edges.

Put a festive ribbon and tag and you have the perfect stocking stuffer! Bonus: it leaves the stocking smelling good, too!

The artful dabbler,

Meg

Romantic Book Clutch

noreply@blogger.com (meg) — Sat, 18 Jan 2014 12:07:00 +0000

About two days before my friend's wedding, I was faced with a dilemma: to buy or to make a clutch bag for the wedding. The first choice will be expensive - about Php 500 at least if I buy from Landmark and I was covetously eying this glittery thing from Kate Spade. If I do DIY, I will be pressed for time and there was no guarantee it will turn out well.

Eventually I decided to go the DIY route, telling myself if it fails I can always buy a ready made one with time to spare. Now the question was - what design should I do?

There are a lot of DIY clutches peppering Pinterest, but one of the most popular is the book clutch. I love the idea because I'm a bookworm myself. Kate Spade also has her version but sadly it's not available here in the Philippines.

Most tutorials suggest using an old hardcover for the project, and I did see one months before at a used bookstore which had this beautiful green and gold cover. I regret now that I didn't buy it then. A part of me cringes at the thought of defacing books, though, so I got an idea of using this bag/diary that I saw in National Bookstore. It's for kids and costs only about a Php 100. It's pretty cute - I actually gave something like this to my goddaughter for her birthday. The bag part is perfect, since it was already a bag shape, with a hidden magnet for closure.

I cut the excess board to get the book shape. It occurred to me later how easier it was if I would have separated the "box" from the cover instead of trying to retain the shape in the first place.

For the cover, I scoured Pinterest and finally came upon this site - the University of Rochester. They have a collection of absolutely beautiful vintage book bindings. I picked one and did some trial and error to get the right size for my book clutch cover. I printed it out and mod-podged it. I do recommend printing a bit larger so you can sort of wrap it with a bit at the back.

For the sides, I found a picture of book textures and did some experimenting with the size on that too. I mod-podged it to the sides so it would look like a real book.

Before I put it all back together again, I put in a black ribbon on both sides for the tie closure. I put some black felt paper (which I already had) to serve as the lining on both the inside of the cover and the box before gluing all the parts back together.

And voila! I had my book clutch for the wedding. I got lots of compliments over it. I personally love it because it was DIY, cheap, unique and most of all - sort of romantic with the cupid on the title and, well, books are kind of a romantic notion now, aren't they? It's all about e-books nowadays.

I flirted with the idea of putting some dimensional glaze over it, but I was afraid it wouldn't dry on time. Still thinking if I should do it, though. Maybe on another clutch.

The artful dabbler,

Meg

Gifted

noreply@blogger.com (meg) — Mon, 13 Jan 2014 12:20:00 +0000

"It is better to give than to receive."

Yeah, probably true. But it does feel nice to receive some gifts, yeah?

So this past Christmas, I received some awesome gifts. I love that the people who gave them knew my taste - which was basically art and kawaii stuff. Give me something I can draw with and something cute and I will love it. Bonus points if they're both artsy and cute.

So here's to an artful 2014!

The Artful Dabbler,

Meg

Holiday Handmade Gift #3: Clay Ring Plate

noreply@blogger.com (meg) — Sun, 12 Jan 2014 11:51:00 +0000

(Not their rings - just used random rings as example)

As I've mentioned before, a friend of mine got married a few days ago. So as a Christmas present, I decided to make her something that she could use for the ceremony as well as for after.

I saw this ring plate in Pinterest and thought it was easy to do so I went for it. I had to look for some air-dry clay because I had no experience with that medium so I didn't want to experiment with oven-bake clay for this one. Most of the stores I went to only had the oven-bake one and the air-dry were out of stock. It was just chance that I went by Hobbes and Landes in Rockwell and found some.

Next I bought the alphabet stamps from Invitation House. There are a lot of stamps on sale everywhere right now, but I wanted this specific style. I used a vintage plate I bought at a second hand store as the mold for the size and an Arizona bottle as a rolling pin.

It was supposed to be a plain round plate but when I put the clay in a punch bowl to get the hollow curve, the edges slightly folded. I just went with it because it ended up looking like a seashell and since they were going to have their wedding by the beach, I thought it was serendipitous. The ribbon was just something I already had, which was fortunate because I think it went really well and gave a seaside feel.

I had some extra clay left so I made a couple of small plates. Still don't know what to do with them, though.

They used it during their wedding and can be seen on their wedding video, so I'm really glad that I did this project. I still have about half a bar of unused clay that I would love to get my hands on so I'm on the lookout for projects.

Meg

Holiday Homemade Gift #2: Bottlecap Magnets

noreply@blogger.com (meg) — Sat, 11 Jan 2014 06:32:00 +0000

I know, I know... it's a super late post. It's been a busy couple of weeks with the holidays and my friend's wedding just soon after. I've been DIY-ing left and right but didn't find the time to post.

One of the gifts that I was able to make were these bottlecap magnets. I'm proud of this one because I used recycled materials. The bottlecaps were from a small canteen we run and had them save some for me. The magnets I had lying around because from the time I bought them at the Daiso (Japan Home Center) store... just because I thought I might need them - a couple of years after. And the picture inserts were from an old calendar which I still kept because the fairy pictures were too cute to throw away.

Basically all I needed was the 3D crystal lacquer which I bought at Shmily's in Rockwell and the heavy-duty glue from Ace Hardware.

And the white organza pouches I also had lying around in the house. Yeah, I know. I could run a craft store here.

It turned out pretty, but I think the magnets were too strong and they kept on sticking to one another and some of the pictures were damaged as a result. But other than that - they look great. I have one of them on my refrigerator right now.

It feels good getting rid of some of my craft stash and recycling to give as pretty gifts at the same time!

Meg

Holiday Homemade Gift #1: Glitter Jars

noreply@blogger.com (meg) — Mon, 16 Dec 2013 07:30:00 +0000

I've always wanted to give homemade gifts but, well, events happen and you end up buying something overpriced from a store a week (or days!) before. Well, this year... is sort of the same. Most of my gifts are still store-bought, but I did find some time for little projects.

One such project is for my friend who is really into makeup now. I saw this project in Pinterest and thought they were so glam and pretty and perfect for holding her makeup brushes. I had some jars, ribbon, and the mod podge already so all I needed was the glitter.

One note about the glitter... It is a headache to buy glitter during Christmastime. I swear. I don't know if the stores just secreted away the small containers of glitter and only put out the big, more expensive containers so they will sell or glitters are really just on high demand this time. So, note to self: buy glitter before December hits.

Back to the project... I think that I need to use more glitter and less mod podge because I ended up having lots of the mixture dripping down so the jars aren't as covered as I wanted them to.

I love this project not because it's handmade, but it reuses an empty mayo jar. And how many jars do we use up a year? Let's make them all pretty!

I'm still working on something right now so I'll post them once they're finished.

Meg

Jumper Joy

noreply@blogger.com (meg) — Thu, 14 Nov 2013 08:00:00 +0000

Well, since I'm in a naming mood...

I'm renaming the chambray jump-skirt into Jumper Joy. Hee.

And it totally fits with this little girl's mood. :)

Meg

The Little Tuckling Dress

noreply@blogger.com (meg) — Tue, 12 Nov 2013 17:38:00 +0000

I mentioned it a while ago but I made a dress for a little girl back when I first started and it was the first garment that I ever made. I also mentioned that I don't have photo evidence of that, but maybe it was for the best since there were still a lot of flaws in the making of that dress.

However, being the perfectionist, stubborn person that I am, I decided to make another one of that dress - and remembered to take pictures this time.

Ta-da!

You know how sometimes clothing lines have names for specific dresses? Well, the book that I got the pattern from merely called this dress Front Tuck One-Piece (if my dwindling Japanese knowledge is correct).

Kind of boring, right? I wanted to call it by the name of the little girl, but ultimately decided on: The Little Tuckling Dress.

*groan*

I don't know if I'll change my mind later, but right now - I'm pretty amused. LOL!

So there you have it, The Little Tuckling Dress made by yours truly...

Meg

Birthday Dress

noreply@blogger.com (meg) — Sat, 14 Sep 2013 11:05:00 +0000

I turned 30 today. 3-0. Yes. The idea has sort of sunk in, but really - there is no difference between who I am today and was yesterday.

I did want to do something special for this "landmark occasion" which was to make my own birthday dress. I had a design in mind and bought the fabric and supplies, but I haven't even started making it yet. I'm not going to reveal what it's going to look like now so you'll just have to wait when I finish it - hopefully before I turn 31.

Segueing for a moment... I'm finished with my beginner's sewing class! *applause, applause* I finished last Tuesday with the last project being a bias-cut dress. Not to be a perfectionist, which some Virgos like myself are reputed to be, but yes - there are still a lot of things I could have made better. It is wearable, as long as you don't notice the sort of uneven bottom and the bunched up zipper. That's why there are sweaters right? ;)

But I did make one dress from my class that I am a little proud of. It was Project 5 and was a lined dress. I fake-cried to my teacher when the seams matched as I sewed it. For the first time! It all lined up!

So since I wasn't able to make my ideal birthday dress, I decided to wear my Project 5 dress today.

My teacher's pattern was a size 6 and I'm (probably) a size 4 so the dress was a little big on me. I used a belt and covered it up with a denim jacket to complete the outfit.

Not too shabby, huh?

Sewing machine = 12,000

Sewing class = 11,000

Zipper = 12

Thread = 25

Fabric = 350

Telling people you made your own birthday dress = Priceless

*Prices are approximations only!

Meg

Chambray Jump-skirt

noreply@blogger.com (meg) — Tue, 03 Sep 2013 11:38:00 +0000

I had some leftover fabric from one of my sewing class projects and the size was just enough to make another kids dress. I looked through my growing collection of Japanese sewing magazines and decided on, what my limited Japanese knowledge told me, was a jump-skirt.

I've actually finished this a while back, but I only just got the picture of it being worn in Instagram. I wasn't there when it was worn so I couldn't instruct the father how to put it on. Thus...

One thing I was proud of in this project is the buttonhole which I successfully made using my sewing machine! I'm still not confident on making it again, but thankfully on this project I did it right.

And, yes, I made the bias tape trim! High five! I'm still not sure I sewed it on properly but it's a big improvement from my earlier attempt when I didn't even know what bias meant. Whenever Yeshia (the little girl I gave my first dress to) wears the pink dress I automatically criticize it even though I made it. So many mistakes! I want to get it back from her and repair it but they said it was fine the way it was. So kind.

This project is relatively easy to do except for the top part which I am still not sure I got right. The instructions are in Japanese so I made the best out of understanding the illustrations. I also need to make the straps a little bit shorter and put pockets next time. At the time I gave up on the pockets because I thought it was too much work. But maybe it's okay too because without the pockets, the jump-skirt can be converted to a top when it becomes too small for the kid.

Still learning...

Meg

Bride & Groom T-Shirts

noreply@blogger.com (meg) — Mon, 26 Aug 2013 08:16:00 +0000

One of my friends is getting married early next year and we're all pretty excited about it. She's the first one among us who will be having an elaborate ceremony so there's a lot of planning going on the past few months, and more so in the coming months definitely.

On her list of things she wanted were Bride and Groom t-shirts which, I suppose, they are going to wear as they prepare for the wedding on the day itself or on the bachelorette/bachelor party.

I thought that this was a waste because you only get to wear it a few times and then what? It will be relegated to the back of the closet or worn inside the house.

So I decided to design something that they could wear that doesn't scream "BRIDE & GROOM T-SHIRTS" and wouldn't get old.

First, I made a monogram for them. It's really fortunate that they will have the same initials after getting married. They're literally sharing their names. How awesome is that?

I wanted a university-type of t-shirt - the ones that have the initials of the school and the year below it. I used the font Varsity for the monogram and Cooper for the year they will get married below.

For the back of the t-shirt, there's an option to put words like "bride", "groom", or even "Team Bride/Groom" to be used by everyone on the wedding party. Another idea would be to use different colors like pink for bride and blue for the groom t-shirt.

Here's a sample of the final design:

How cool would it be to wear this year after year until the t-shirt and the "est. 2014" becomes vintage?

Meg

Skirting the issue

noreply@blogger.com (meg) — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 04:00:00 +0000

I finally did it! I made a dress!

Unfortunately, you'll just going to have to believe me because I forgot to take a picture of the finished project before I gave it away.

It was just a little girl's dress that I patterned from one of my Japanese sewing books. It was pretty simple and cute and I had a lot of fun doing it. The only thing not fun was the bias trim. I do not know how to attach those things so I just winged it. I'll have to learn that from my instructor when we get to the dress project because as of now, all we've finished are skirts.

I gave the dress to my employees' daughter. They said that the little girl liked it and wouldn't take it off even when she went to take her nap (thus the no picture thing). I haven't seen it on her so I couldn't check the fit. I'll update when I do.

To be fair, I also made another piece of clothing for my other employee's daughter. But since I didn't have enough fabric, I decided to just make a skirt.

The instructions for this skirt I got from Dana Made It. I loved it so much that I'm planning to make a grown up version for myself.

Meg

Little projects

noreply@blogger.com (meg) — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 07:01:00 +0000

I've been busy the past few weeks so all I had time to do were little projects - mostly scrunchies, headbands and hair ties. It's okay. I still learn a lot doing these things and I get better looking results with each attempt.

Here are some of the finished projects:

Tutorials that I referenced:

Scrunchies - Fabric Scrap Scrunchies from Duni's Studio
Headband - Double Sided Fabric Headband Pattern from Happy Together
Hair Ties - Rolled Rosettes from Happy Together

Meg

Sewing pattern books

noreply@blogger.com (meg) — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 04:00:00 +0000

I've always seen it before in the bookstore, but I never saw the need to buy one until now. In the shelf by the craft section are Japanese clothing books with patterns included inside.

Sure, I can't read or understand Japanese (yet), but the instructions are more or less self-explanatory.

I got the children's clothing books because the one for women were all winter edition and that would absolutely get no use over here in my country. Makes you wonder why they even had that in the bookstore.

Anyway, I figured that the important thing was to get a feel for the designs and pattern so I could adapt them to grown women's sizes. In the meantime, I will be sewing a lot of dresses for my friends' children.

While I was there, I also saw a local book - Basic Course in Pattern and Dressmaking by Yoko Shirane Venzuela.

Now, this I could understand. And yet, I don't. LOL. Okay, not exactly. But that is why I go to the institute and attend my sewing lessons.

Eventually I'll get it. ;)

Meg

Owl print zip pouch

noreply@blogger.com (meg) — Fri, 31 May 2013 04:00:00 +0000

When I bought materials for my sewing classes, one of them was a zipper for the skirt. What I didn't know (and what the shop assistant failed to tell me) was that I was supposed to get the invisible one instead of the regular one. Oh well. At least I now know the difference between the two.

So now I had a regular zipper and nothing to do with it. Nothing to do with it? Nonsense, right?

I knew exactly what to do with it and it was relatively easy for little 'ol beginner me: a zip pouch.

After browsing through Pinterest, I found an easy tutorial from Sew Delicious. There was a beginner's zip pouch but I went for the lined one. Call me ambitious!

Predictably, a few things didn't go well. I think I might have burnt my fabric a little and the zipper and fabric suddenly didn't match up. Thank goodness that I just laugh at my mistakes. Go ahead, laugh with me too.

I will have to try this one again sometime. I plan to make lots of this to give as gifts maybe at Christmas. About six months before that so I have time to perfect it. :)

Meg

My first DIY tote bag

noreply@blogger.com (meg) — Thu, 30 May 2013 04:00:00 +0000

One of my favorite brands is Kate Spade. I love the mix of simplicity and quirkiness in their designs. I love all their stuff - the clothes, the jewelry, the watches, the shoes, and - of course - the bags.

For my first DIY tote bag, I was inspired by one the Kate Spade designs - the Grove Court Floral. I love that it's very summery and just adds that cheery pop of color to your outfit.

My tote bag wasn't orange, but I did have a similar (in theme) floral fabric around just waiting for the right project. I also bought some canvas to use for the base.

My rating for this project is full marks for design but poor execution. LOL.

There are many thing that I should have done - like using a thicker floral fabric and finishing all the edges and maybe put some lining inside. I made a lot of mistakes doing this one. A LOT.

Nevertheless, I had fun doing this project. I still have some canvas left so there may be more tote bags in the near future.

As it is, this bag will be put to good use as my sewing bag when I go to my sewing class because it's roomy enough to hold all fabrics and my sewing kit.

Meg

A simple gift from my cousin

noreply@blogger.com (meg) — Wed, 29 May 2013 10:33:00 +0000

I came home one night and saw this package on top of my desk. I went out and asked my cousin what it was and she told me that it was a gift from her.

Excited (because who doesn't love gifts - especially spontaneous, no-reason ones), I opened it up and saw this precious measuring tape.

Needless to say, I LOVE IT.

I'll be carrying this one in my purse all the time. You never know when you need to measure something. Anything.

Meg

Pretty Throw Pillows

noreply@blogger.com (meg) — Thu, 16 May 2013 09:42:00 +0000

Beginner sewers (seamstresses?) like me can do little wrong with making throw pillows as one of their first sewing projects. It's easy to do - maybe less than 30 minutes when you get the hang of it. This tutorial that I used from Sew4Home didn't have those pesky zippers that I still have yet to master.

I bought this fabric way before I started my sewing lessons because I planned on using it as a lampshade cover. The pattern didn't work so I just stored it in a box down in my closet. So happy that I was able to make use of it now. The fabric is just so pretty to be kept away.

As you can see, it really doesn't match the other pillows so I guess - more throw pillow cases to go?

Meg

Last Minute Gift

noreply@blogger.com (meg) — Mon, 06 May 2013 04:00:00 +0000

One of the few things I thought of before I slept last Saturday was that I was going to spend Sunday making my first sewing project - a drawstring bag that I found while browsing the internet.

But plans, as they always seem to go, have a tendency to change.

I woke up with a text from my friend asking me to come over to her house to celebrate the first birthday of...

her dog.

Yes. It's pretty frivolous, but she's a first time pet owner (at least I think so) and it wasn't really that serious. It was just an excuse for people to get together and eat.

My mind automatically thought of the sewing projects for pets that I passed through when I browsed. I didn't have a pet so they were irrelevant to me at that time. But suddenly, I got the idea of making a birthday gift for her dog.

I found one easy project from Sew It Love It - a dog toy made out of fabric scraps and I thought - great! Fabric scraps! I have a lot of those.

So off I went to my sewing machine. My execution was a bit messy, but I think it ended up okay - overall.

I was nervous since I didn't know if the dog will actually like it. It is flowery, and the dog is male but the main point is that it was colorful. Color = Cool for dogs, maybe?

After a few moments of ignoring it, the dog finally played with it. And the other dog did too.

Made me so happy and proud. Heh.

Not bad. Not bad at all. :)

Meg

Book Haul

noreply@blogger.com (meg) — Sun, 05 May 2013 06:59:00 +0000

I've been visiting the fashion aisle of my neighborhood bookstore lately. Here are some of the books that I took home with me.


(L-R) Paris Street Style, Fashionary, and Drawing Fashion & Style

I love French women's effortless sense of style which is most commonly described as je ne sais quoi - something that cannot be defined, but it is attractive or pleasing. How do they do it? Paris Street Style is filled with interviews and tips so you can achieve even a little of that certain something that makes French women chic.

Some pages from the book

The Fashionary is something that I've wanted to buy for the longest time but, like learning how to sew, took ages for me to actually do. In my mind, there's a certain level of commitment that was involved in buying it - meaning that I am definitely going to learn fashion design/sewing.

And how cute is the pink cover and the mint ribbon?

I got the Fashionary first and then the drawing book a few days later because I thought I needed help in doing fashion illustrations. I definitely have to make some time reading and practicing that book.

Meanwhile, I did a page on my Fashionary - copying the three outfits from Paris Street Style that I posted above.

I haven't colored them in yet because I'm not sure if the paper will stand up to watercolors or colored pens.

As a side note, I am thinking of taking a watercolor class for beginners. I already know the basics but that was a long time ago and I haven't been practicing so this will be like a refresher course for me.

Never too late. :)

Meg

Meet Katie

noreply@blogger.com (meg) — Sat, 04 May 2013 12:30:00 +0000

My Katie

I did it! I finally bought my first sewing machine! And I am beginning to wonder why it took me so long to do so.

I have a habit of naming my machines/gadgets like my computer, my phone, my hard drives... This one I named Katie - inspired by one of my fashion icons Kate Middleton aka the Duchess of Cambridge.

It's a BM2600 and the exterior is white with violet details, and since violet is associated with royalty, I thought it was really fitting.

I am so glad that I figured out how to set it up on my own. You can't imagine how excited I was when I successfully winded my first bobbin!

My first few stitches using Katie

Now I am really itching to do more sewing projects. Perhaps I can scour the 'net for those that are targeted for beginners like me. :)

Meg

Progress

noreply@blogger.com (meg) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 13:46:00 +0000

I learned how to use the edging machine today. I found that it was relatively easier to use than the sewing machine, but I still made a lot of mistakes before I got the semi-hang of it.

Edges

It does help that I had light, comfortable flats on. I think the reason why I had such a big problem with controlling the pedal on the sewing machine during my first day was that I was wearing my Converse sneakers which were kind of heavy. So, I'll keep that in mind from now on.

Love these flats from Forever21

This was my third lesson and I hope my instructor isn't too disappointed with me because of my lack of progress. In my defense, I don't get to practice my sewing skills besides the once-a-week class. That's why I decided to finally take the plunge and buy myself that sewing machine this week. I'm already in the pot, so why not go all in, right?

We're going to do the first project next week - an unlined pencil cut skirt. So excited! I already have an image of it and will probably go crazy at the fabric store later on picking out materials. Sewing it will be a different story, though, cause I still haven't mastered the locks and zippers and all that stuff. Hopefully when I get my sewing machine later I'll be able to practice and improve my skills.

Meg

Happy to fail

noreply@blogger.com (meg) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 14:00:00 +0000

Failure. It's a scary thought, right?

When I told my friends that I was thinking of learning about making clothes, they were supportive, of course, but I remember telling them a throwaway comment about "what if I sucked at it?". Here I am, almost thirty, and most people my age already got careers and family and their lives sorted out. Me? I'm embarking on something totally different from what I envisioned myself being or doing years ago.

And, yeah - what if this wasn't my thing? What if I learn that I have absolutely no talent or skill for sewing?

That hesitant first press of my foot on that sewing machine pedal was exactly like pressing my foot on the gas pedal of a racing car with no brakes and you didn't know whether you would crash or survive the drive. Like a drunk, I couldn't sew a straight line, broke a needle, and lost my thread at least five times. I even accidentally sewed part of my measuring tape to the fabric I was working on.

I know it's ugly, but somehow I feel like they are the prettiest stitches I've ever seen in my life.

Thoughts of leaving the class flitted through my mind. The air-conditioning in the room was arctic and I'll work better next time when I bring my cardigan. I've already tried my best today - let's go home now.

But there was also a part of me - the better part of me - that reminded me that nobody expects me to be perfect the first day. I was there to learn and not to prove that I was a genius at sewing. I wasn't.

It made me happy, in a way. Being perfect means that there's nothing else to do. Perfect is easy and boring. Failing and working hard afterwards to succeed is more interesting. Knowing that I have some goal to look forward to is better than whiling away all of your time with fruitless pursuits and empty distractions.

So I might not get it right this moment, but I still have six months to go. And, as I learned today - both in sewing and in life - slow and steady wins the race.

Meg