Just In Case

Just in case…

Dear Lola (my sewing alter-ego),

Deciding to join a Block of the Month Club – may seem like no big deal to others – but this is a huge commitment for me.  Not only, must I complete a block each month, but I must step completely outside my sewing comfort zone.  I usually like to complete easy, simple, instant-gratification type projects.  These blocks are hard for someone like me.  They include things like HST and QST (half-square triangles and quarter-square triangles) and even flying geese!  (A new mantra for travelling on the yellow brick road is born:  HST, QST and flying geese, oh my!)  Quarter inch seems are imperative and finished blocks have exact measurements.  This project is not fudgeable – is that a word?  There is no fudging the results!  This project will take me more than 12 months to complete and ultimately cost me way more than I’d like to think about!  It will lead me to find a professional quilter and possibly a psychiatric chair! lol!

After 4 finished blocks, I can honestly say, Lola, you’d be proud of what I have accomplished so far.  The fabric for block number 5 is sitting on my worktable, staring at me at this very instant.  This fabric is daring me to get started! This month’s block includes my first-ever flying geese.  I’m a nervous wreck, but I have hedged my bets – I have purchased extra fabric – “just in case”. 

This “just-in-case” strategy appears to be wide spread in the world of sewing.  I can honestly say that whenever I am standing in line at a cutting table in a fabric store waiting for service, I always hear the customer in front of me saying something like, “well the pattern calls for ½ yard, but you’d better give me a yard – just in case.”  Fabric store employees are also excellent in chanting their mantra, “it’s always a good idea to buy extra.”  The support for just-in-case fabric is everywhere.  I hear sister-shoppers saying, “You’d better get it now, or you’ll be sorry” or the very scary, “I once didn’t purchase enough fabric and I couldn’t finish my project.”

The “just-in-case” fabric wards off cutting anxiety.  I love having this insurance; it’s almost as good as sewing super powers!   This is all leading up to the earth shattering, sewing-life question: 

Will I ever get beyond needing “just-in-case” fabric?

My intuition tells me – probably not!  The “just-in-case” strategy is part of my everyday life in all I do! It is who I am! I always prepare extra food; purchase the family size; keep an umbrella in my car; keep extra toilet paper hidden in my closets; ask for extra napkins in restaurants, and carry “mad” money in my wallet.  I always bring more supplies to sewing classes than are required, and I keep my gas tank filled to the top.  I am definitely a “just-in-case” type of person!

As my Michael Miller Clubhouse quilt progresses, and I hope ultimately gets finished, I am glad to have my “just-in-case” fabric.  Because without it, I think I would be too paralyzed with cutting fear to tackle my monthly blocks.  And besides – I may just have enough “just-in-case” fabric to make a matching set of pillows!

Hugs and stitches,

Sew Sleepless