Do Overs

I started another Mini-Puzzle Ball a couple of days ago, this time cutting out pieces for two different ones at the same time. That way I've got another one ready to go when the first one is finished.

All those tiny stitches can actually be a sort of therapy for me. It's as though I'm channeling all my perfectionist tendencies into those stitches. My living room/crafting workshop is a disaster area...but, by golly, those stitches sure are neat, aren't they!?!

It used to be that I would sew all the little sections together before starting to trim the seams, turn them inside out and stuff them all, then assemble the ball. These days, though, particularly with the tiniest ones, I've decided to trim, turn & stuff the first section I finish. That gives me a better idea of what the finished product will look like.

This time, though, I trimmed it a little too close. When I used the pointed end of a pair of scissors to work the corners out, I had a blow-out. I had trimmed the seam too close and there just weren't enough threads left to hold it together there. Here's what I mean:



Determined to keep from making the same mistake again, I picked up the next pieces of fabric in my prepared stack and kept stitching. After I had successfully completed the second attempt at my first section of this puzzle ball, I cut out two more pieces of fabric to replace the ones I'd wasted on my first attempt. Of course, with a project this small...it's not much waste!



When it's finished, this Mini-Puzzle Ball will be available in my etsy shop.