Testing it out

Important policy that was overlooked in the coaster debacle of '07? Test Things Out.

Ask my PIC, and she'll tell you that this is a long-standing policy with me. It's not her style to test things out, and about half the time, she regrets it. But the other half, she gleefully races past me toward the finish line of her project, mocking my snail's pace at every turn.

So what happened to me and the coasters? (Me and The Coasters, autobiography, due out Spring 2008) Well. Every now and then an Act of Hubris comes along and challenges the very essence of the Test Things Out policy. I've made these coasters before! Wasn't that testing out enough? What am I, Testmaster 3000?

Racing ahead without contemplation is never a good idea. Never. (Wanna scroll down to those coasters photos again?)

Oh. I also like to make mistakes just the once. Learn from it, and don't make the same mistake again. It's what I prefer. You may prefer to make the same mistake multiple times. For what reason, I can only guess. But I rock it just the once. (Huh. There's that hubris again.) (Oh yes, and: Rock It Just the Once, album to be released on major label, Summer 2009)

Ok. So, to the issue at hand. I usually hand-quilt my items rather than machine-quilt them, unless the items are small. This makes no sense, I realize. But, for the small items, I usually just zip them through the machine a few times -- some straight lines of sewing -- and I'm done. The machine does the majority of the work.

I'm considering machine-quilting these coasters, and that would be fine. But, I'm also considering free motion quilting. What is that, you ask? Well, this is not just zipping it through the machine with straight lines, with the machine feeding the fabric right through. This is making it so that the machine does none of the pushing of fabric. It's all up to you to move the fabric around willy-nilly to create the design of the sewing/quilting.

But I am NOT going to just start free motion quilting on my precious coasters. What am I? A glutton for punishment?

So! Free Motion Quilting Test: Numbers 1 and 2:


The first was just me squiggling around, trying not to get the thread all tangled. On the second, I was seeing if I could follow a pattern drawn on the fabric.

When I was done, I thought it looked a little like that doggie sniffing a flower.

That's a stretch, but I need this, people. Confidence is shaky over here.

Huh! Isn't that amazing? Hubris comes in and gets you doing things against your better judgement. Then, when things don't go well as a result, your confidence is shot, leaving the door wide open for Hubris to come sweeping right in again with its promises of Confidence and Power! Wow. What do you know? Hubris never pays.

(Promises of Confidence and Power, manifesto, to be self-published, Summer 2007)