A SOMEWHAT LONG, DRAINING STORY ON MY MOST RECENT SEWING/QUILTING PROJECT! (don't let that title discourage you though, lol)

It's late Thursday afternoon and I really should stop and put dinner in the oven, but I am going to try and whip this post out as fast as I can.  But if it is anything like my latest sewing project then it will be at least 3 more days before I finish, lol.  I am linking up with Quilt Story and Fabric Tues.  You can see all the other projects that others have been working on HERE

It started out with what SHOULD have been a simple little project.  I wanted to make a scripture pillow as a 40th birthday gift for my older sisters' daughter Michelle.  I found out (discreetly) the colors she has in their bedroom, and decided to try and make a pillow that could go on their bed.  I already knew that her favorite verse is Philippians 4:6, and I had found the PERFECT design for it several weeks ago, and had already purchased it and downloaded it onto my machine, (or so I thought!).  As it turned out, I had NOT done so after all. Honestly I am not sure what happened, as I feel soo sure I had done it.  Anyway, OF COURSE when I went back on-line to find it, I couldn't.  I just looked everywhere.  Typed in everything I could think of, and while I found OTHER designs with that verse on it, not the perfect one I had found before.  When I was just about to give up and just go with another design, I found it!!  Only I had spent well over two hours looking for it, and now felt I was a little behind.  Not willing to let that bother me I set down at the machine FINALLY ready to print out the design.  At the start of every design there is a little print out telling you how long the design takes to embroider.  Now truthfully it ALWAYS takes me longer then it says.  Not sure why as I can whip along pretty fast in my opinion, but I have learned to add on at least 15 - 30 minutes extra. Maybe it means "actual" sewing stitch time, and doesn't take into consideration that you have to change the thread several times.  I thought this design when I looked at was going to require maybe 3 or 4 color changes and I was all ready with my selections.  However I soon discovered that it required 11!  AND! They were saying it took 90 minutes to embroider as well!  Which meant I was looking at around 2 hours! Very long compared to most things I embroider.  But I got busy and got on it.  However, I wasn't really ready for the 11 color changes, and as I was going along I began to feel more and more that I didn't like the way it was turning out.  I pressed on.  But after it was all said and done.....I hated it!  lol  The colors did not flow together as they should have, and it was just NOT the look I was going for.  I decided to run to the store, select some different threads carefully, and do it over again the next day.  Now it's Tuesday afternoon and I sat down again to embroider for what I KNEW was going to be another 2 hour and 10 minute piece of time.  But as I watched it coming together this time, I knew doing it over again had been the right choice. It was beautiful!  I finished up very late in the afternoon, and as I stood ironing it I realized it was crooked. Not ALOT, but enough I was very afraid it was going to bug me.  I have been known to be a bit of a perfectionist, lol.  I was sooo tired at that point I decided I would look at it again in the morning when I was fresh and decide what to do.  So now it's Wednesday morning and as I picked up the design to look at I knew there was NO WAY I could not do it again.  It was crooked plain and simple.  Sooo this time I got out all my measuring tools (no dead eyeing it this time!) and did everything meticulously slow and careful and set to work.  Sure enough close to 2 hours later I could tell it was perfectly straight, the colors were beautiful. and all that was left was the actual lettering...about 25 minutes of time.  That's when I suddenly noticed and thought, OH NO!!  and sure enough, "somehow" I had caught the upper right hand corner of the fabric UNDER the design!!  A rookie mistake!!  Only I am no longer a rookie!  Honestly, I could have just burst into tears, lol.  I honestly didn't know if I could bear to do it again.  Maybe the whole thing was just not meant to be.  But then suddenly it occurred to me...I will just cut that corner off, and make the pillow front smaller.  Problem solved.  So I finished the design, and I honestly just loved it.  I cut the mistake off and squared the pillow front up to 14 by 14 instead of 16 by 16.  Not really a big deal.  However, NOW as I stood looking at it, it just didn't look right.  It looked like a big white piece of fabric with a small colorful design "smallishly" (not a word I know, lol) in the center of it.  Again, I just didn't like it.  Soo now I had a fresh dilemma.  Whatever was I going to do?  I decided I would look for fabric to add to the front of the pillow front and cut the design down and put it in the center.  Sounded simple enough huh?  So I drove over to the quilting store, very quickly found some beautiful fabric that matched perfectly, decided what my design would be and came home to set to work on it.  (hang on I am going to put chicken in the over!) OK, where was I?  However I quickly discovered I would need to work my math to figure out how to do it...never something I am good at!  I honestly can't tell you how long I messed with it.  How many times I ripped it out because my math was off.  Or because my seams were smaller or larger then I thought they'd be (according to my math).  OH MY GOODNESS....I felt soo frustrated, and sooo dumb to tell you the truth. I even at one point stabbed myself with my sewing machine needle (which I haven't done in years!) and was bleeding everywhere.  Suddenly however, it was right.  The squares were on there in the right size, and the design was centered perfectly in the center of it.  And more to the point, it was GORGEOUS! Just the look I was going for in my head. However I didn't finish it up until almost 6 so I put it away for the night and figured I could quickly finish it up today.  sigh....Yes, the story goes on.  I soon discovered that the size of the pillow front was not going to work with my pillow form I had already bought, and I did not have any matching thread to quilt it, AND I was out of white thread as well.  Soo I headed out to the store AGAIN, got everything I needed AGAIN, and got home and decided to get busy quilting the front of it.  I was going to be REALLY careful as a mistake at this point would mean I would be done with the project for sure.  That's when I discovered I had left my i-phone at the store!!  I decided I would just leave it and finish my pillow first and try not to think about it.  I am happy to report at this point, ALL went as planned.  I quilted it up and even added a little decorative stitch around the design itself, made the piping and got it on there and finished the thing up.  It's officially done!!  YAY!!  But I still had to go back to the store AGAIN, and get my phone. And that's why it's late and I am just now typing this up and cooking dinner.  I am thrilled with the way it came out.  I am soo glad I pressed on as I don't like to admit defeat.  It doesn't look like much though to tell you the truth.  I am very certain NO ONE would ever imagine the hours of time, sweat, tears, and yes blood that went into that one little pillow, lol. i am also certain that an experienced quilter could have figured out the math quickly and lickey split put it together without the help of a pattern or instructions... So let me show it to you......

TA DA!!  (I FEEL LIKE ALL OF THIS IT WAS A DEFINITE "TA DA" MOMENT, LOL)

WHO WOULD EVER GUESS THERE ARE 11 COLOR CHANGES IN THAT DESIGN?!  THE OUTSIDE OF IT WAS DONE BY ME DURING THE QUILTING PART.  IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY YOU CAN SEE THE REST OF IT.   I JUST DID A 1/4 INCH SEAM AWAY FROM THE OTHER SEAMS AROUND THE SQUARES

THE BACK...AND TO THINK I HAD BRIEFLY CONSIDERED MAKING THE BACK A PATCHWORK TOO....SOO GLAD I CHANGED MY MIND ON THAT ONE, LOL  SURE HOPE IT GOES WITH HER OTHER COLORS WELL.

So for those of you who stayed around to finish this long, draining, complaining and whining post, thank you for hanging in.  lol

I have a few cute grandkid pics to show you, but decided I would save those for another time.  I need to make my rice and cook some asparagus.  Hubby should be here any minute. Tomorrow I will wrap up my quilt, and this pillow and give them to my nieces on Sunday afternoon.  I will smile and be glad that they have NO IDEA how many, many mistakes I made getting these gifts together, and hope that SOON I will get better at all of this!  I can honestly say, I DID enjoy every minute of it...well, most minutes anyway! Blessings to you all!  Debbie