A common human weakness is pride. Becoming puffed up in one’s own abilities. Believing one knows more than another. It is often said, “Beware of pride.” Why the warning? Because pride goes before the fall.
Sometimes the fall is great and sometimes the egg on one’s face is not so bad. Falling is embarrassing regardless of how hard.
As a teenager I remember biffing it while water skiing. Standing on the water was such a strange sensation. I really didn’t like it so most of the time I would ski around for a while and then give up somewhere. There is a difference between giving up and actually crashing and burning. This particular time I bit the dust. On the bottom of the lake!
I hit the water so hard and was launched into the depths so deeply I didn’t know which way was up. Normally after a crash I would immediately bob back up to the surface. Maybe have to adjust my swimsuit a little but it was never a big deal. Just a small dazed moment. Like I said, this time was different. I didn’t bob back up. In a panic I started flapping my arms trying to propel myself to the surface. After a couple pushes I had a terrible thought. What if I was going the wrong way? I didn’t know where I was! Luckily my wimpiness was no match for the life jacket, and I was probably swimming in the right direction anyway, but I finally surfaced.
My current follies aren’t nearly as dramatic. The creativity bug hit hard today. First I made a denim skirt for Gwen. The last one I made is long enough but it doesn’t fit over her child bearing hips very easily anymore. Hard to believe the denim came from a pair of jeans Parker wore in first grade! A pair of size 7 jeans made today’s skirt. This time she has some room to grow with the adjustable waistband.
I didn’t have enough scrap fabric until I had a brilliant plan. I picked off the ruffles from one of the t-shirt dresses I made a year ago. The dresses are too short so I was going to give them away. The wider ruffle worked perfectly on the skirt. It is so cute. I may even silk screen something on the pocket.
Tomorrow Gavin has his Pinewood Derby. We’ve put off making his car, I’ll admit it. Then we resented having to make his car because we didn’t want to give up any more weekends and we were out of time. Thanks to our neighbor who is a master carpenter on the side, we got the car ready to go all except the paint. I was in charge of getting Gavin to paint the car today. This wasn’t anything I wanted to do since I was suddenly on a roll with my dress.
Gavin painted the car. I only took over at the very end. I deserve props for my patience with him lately! There’s that pride thing again. But really, I sat with him for an hour the other day making him rewrite every word in his passport for a family history assignment. I never once got exasperated. Heath was so impressed he relieved me by helping Gavin flesh out his speech some more. He knew my patience only lasts so long. Gavin and I are so similar that we have virtually no patience for one another.
The car painting was going well. My perfectionism took over and I finished the sides and bottom for him. The kids were happily rotting their brains in front of Phineas and Ferb Across the Second Dimension and Heath is playing basketball. His pride may be bruised a little along with his aching muscles. At any rate, I went back to my dress. With each completed step I felt more and more strongly that I may be able to wear this thing on Sunday even though I just started sewing today.
Then the fall.
Several pieces had the same instructions so I got a little overconfident and moved on to another piece without reading first. It’s not the end of the world. Unfortunately I can’t unpick fusible web. I will have to recut the pieces. Apparently I was supposed to put the fusible web on the dress piece and not the lining like all the other pieces. Actually, I messed up another piece but I think I can get away with it. I hope so anyway!
At one point I actually thought of how great it was that I hadn’t had to unpick or redo any steps. I congratulated myself on how good of a seamstress I’m becoming. Unpicking is annoying but it’s a very forgiving.
I’m not mad at myself for messing up the fusible web. I have to laugh. First of all, I asked my visiting teacher to help me make the dress. The pattern seemed so confusing until today I realized enough time had passed and it all seemed to click. I had told her I wanted to read a book and then I would call her. Well, pride kept me from calling. I thought I knew what I was doing! Not that I don’t, it’s just that I got a little ahead of myself.
I have learned that being creative is fun, fulfilling, and tiring. After a while, I better swallow my pride and take a break or I will regret it. The dress will still be there tomorrow. What trash is on TV?
Don’t worry. As long as I have been sewing I still make mistakes. I have more than one seam ripper since I keep leaving them all around. Good thing I don’t have kids to find them and do who knows what.
Heath and I had the same problem as you and Gavin. I don’t know how we made it through some days of homework and projects.
I remember one pinewood derby, I think it was one of Kirk’s, where they could not make a car they had to make something else. He decided on a covered wagon. Okay, easy enough EXCEPT for the weight. Because we did not cut any wood off of it it weighed too much. Barry was out of town that week and I drilled as many holes in it as I could to lighten the load. I even made multiple trips to the post office to weigh it but they still judged it too heavy to compete. He did win some kind of prize but that was the year I swore off pinewood derby’s.
Knowing that the Quintessential Crafting Queen still makes mistakes while sewing helps. I guess this is why I bought 3 yards of lining and interfacing. I don’t have to go to the store to fix my mistake.
I did not know that you and Heath had a hard time working together. I wanted to swear off the pinewood derby this year but somehow we still made a car. Heath knows I won’t go so he is planning on taking Gavin alone again. What a great guy to let me stay sane at home.
Hi Tristan,
That was a very scary story. My near miss experience with water happened years ago. I decided to swim out to a distant buoy because, you know, I can do anything. Ugh. My friends shook their heads at my plan, but I paid them no mind. I was about 3/4 of the way there when I realized that I couldn’t make it and that turning around would have been worse. As I flailed, I remember my thoughts alternating between fearing that I would drown and cursing myself for being so dumb. Somehow, I reached the buoy and hugged it for as long and as tightly as I have ever hugged any person. The swim back was okay. I still don’t know why my body quit on me on the way out.
That line between confidence and prideful thinking is pretty thin and easy to cross. When we do cross it, we hope that the result isn’t fatal.
Where’s the photo of the car? I’m always up for seeing the results of a perfectionist’s work.
Hi Ray,
The pressure is on! I haven’t taken a picture of the car because it’s not finished yet. Heath wants to spray it so it’s all shiny and I’m not allowed to put the googly eyes until that’s done. The pinewood derby is tonight so I’m not sure when we’re going to do all this! I will definitely take pictures of Gavin’s Perry the Platypus car.
Your water story was much more scary than mine. I had a life jacket on so I doubt I could have gone too deep before it kicked in. I’m glad you were able to make it through your daring swim. Did you feel more or less invincible when you were finally safe on shore again?
Hi Tristan,
Good question. I don’t know, but as I think about it I can see how feeling either way would make sense. A quandary.