Thursday, November 12, 2009

I am scared of finishing my stitching but I still buy stash!

I love stitching- don't get me wrong. But what is it about finishing off a piece that makes me drag my feet? I procrastinate every time. I leave it to the very last moment to turn my stitching into a finished piece.

It could be the thought of ruining a piece that I've enjoyed stitching, maybe cutting the excess fabric away to much (hence my bulky seams). Could be the thought that my vision of the finished piece and it's reality will be completely different.

Now that I think about it (seeing something written helps me sort things out) I'm thinking it's my fear of cutting away too much of the fabric.

Take my Victorian Bushfire ornament finishes for example. They were due last Tuesday. Last Tuesday I hadn't even started finishing them off, well, I had finished Daffcat's reindeers but not the others. I had to rush through making them into ornaments and increased the chance of making a mistake! I mailed them Wednesday, so hopefully Nise received them Friday, but more likely on Monday. Only a week late, the shame, the shame.

Here they are anyway!





I stitched also some non-Christmas ornaments for those who don't celebrate Christmas.






Circle of love by Lizzie*Kate
Home is wherever my family gathers by Moi


And here is my beautiful son standing in front of Tira and Michael's family and friends, reading the poem they had chosen. I was so proud of him, he spoke clearly and confidently!

Some stash arrived too-sorry about the pic, it's too hot outsdie so had to take it inside in the dark with the curtains drawn





It's A TimeTo Reap by Plum Pudding NeedleArt. I love this design because it's a creative way to make something out of needlework, the design goes all the way around in sections, and it comes with the stem, wool and leaves to finish it off (now how did THAT get through customs?)

I also bought PS Blackwork Angels, but I'm gonna stitch them in pink! I won't blind your eyes by posting the pic I took of that chart lol!

Does the making part of finishing scare you? If it does, what part makes you procrastinate? If it doesn't, what is your secret to not worrying about 'spoiling' a piece (apart from having it professionally finished!)?

5 comments:

Love to Stitch said...

Pauline you did a beautiful job finishing those pieces! My fear about 'finishing' items is all the hand sewing. I need more practice on blind stitching, so that it doesnt look like a 4 year old did it. I love to death the stitching part, but anything that requires 'finishing' I have to put into a draw, and hope someday I will learn! Keep up the great job, you know what you are doing!

Deb said...

First off, I think that you did a wonderful job of finishing these off, so you should have no fears.

But I cracked up at your title because I am the same way. I've sewn for years, but when it comes to finishing off a piece of cross stitch, I absolutely freeze up. I'm so afraid that I'm going to mess up hours and hours of stitching. Like you - will I cut the edges too close, not stitch it right? It's a dilemna. But practice makes perfect, right?

Daffycat said...

Excellent finishing, Pauline! I especially like the way you finished my little reindeer design...they made darling ornaments!

Don't get freaked out at finishing! There are SO MANY great tutorials out there. If you see a finish you really like on a blog don't hesitate to ask the author where they learned to do it. A lot of times they learned from seeing a tutorial and they can direct you to it.

CindyMae said...

Your finishing looks fabulous!!! I am always scared when finishing that I will rune the stitched piece and that would be awful! Looks like a gorgeous wedding and your son looks so handsome!

Candace said...

Don't be scared - your finishes are wonderful!! And those reindeer on hangers with fringe -too cute!!