Now over all these years and hundreds of clothing items sewn, I have become accomplished enough to be able to adapt a pattern, add a pocket here, alter a sleeve length there, delete an extra zipper here, add an accent color, place a buttonhole here, or slip in a welt there. But I must still operate within the overall guidelines of the instructions. My own creativity must fall within the overall bigger picture of the instructions.
And the crazy thing about detailed sewing projects is that almost everything you do is inside out, reversed, or upside down. Deep in the heart of many of my projects, my head spins as I read the directions but struggle to follow what I’m told to do. Nothing makes sense and I get caught in the detail of a waistline, a zipper, or pocket welt. I often just stop in frustration! “How is this ever going to turn out! Nothing makes sense!” Caught in the minutia of specific inside out, backward detail, I get lost and lose hope. How will this frustrating and confusing situation ever turn out?!
Most of us have been living in a year of incredible frustration and confusion. We wonder each day, how is this all going to turn out? In the midst of all the COVID craziness, racial tensions, insanely polarized politics, capitol rioting, online schooling, income loss, or _________________ (add your own personal life struggles), many of us are shouting at God with our fists clenched in the air; “How is this ever going to turn out! Nothing makes sense! I visually can’t see how this all comes together!” “God, your plans, from where I sit… just don’t seem to make sense to me!”
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