How to make lemonade!

You know the old saying, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade?"  Well, today was a perfect day for making lemonade.

I was so excited about the paper doll book for my granddaughters (see this post).  I read the directions twice, carefully cut out all the fabric for the pages and for the dolls.  According to the directions, you need at least 13 paper dolls.  If you are lucky (and I wasn't), the fabric in the kit will be cut so that you can get even more paper dolls out of it.  If you get more dolls, you can put more than one doll on a page.

Another timeless saying comes to mind:  Plan ahead!

The cute, cute, cute picture on the kit label shows two dolls on the cover of the fabric book.  I think, "Perfect!"  The gift is for both of my granddaughters, who are sisters, so two dolls makes sense.  I happily start fusing the dolls onto the fabric and get to my Bernina right away to start stitching the buttonhole applique.

The cover came out great, and my machine buttonhole stitching was the best I had ever done.  Wouldn't it be nice to have another page with two girls on it?  They could be sisters, they could be friends, schoolmates or playmates.  Adorable!

You know where this is going, don't you?

I don't have enough dolls for every page in the book!  Stupid with a capital "S."  How do I keep doing these things?  Arghghghghgh .....  I'm not particularly fast when I sew.  I take my time.  In fact, I think it takes me lots longer to complete projects than the average sewer.  I still make dumb mistakes.  I've been sewing for over 50 years - I shouldn't make these kinds of mistakes!

Thought process on the road to making lemonade:

1. Run out and try to find some more of this fabric.  Nope - not enough time and it's raining in Southern California.  Don't want to be on the freeways in the rain unless you're going to the hospital to have a baby.
2. Cut out the remaining pieces of the dolls from the fabric and piece them together trying to match head to body to feet.  Nope - would look horrible!
3. Wait - there are a few "bodies" left on the fabric!  I could cut out those bodies, print a picture of the grandbabies on printable fabric, cut out their heads, and stitch them to the doll bodies!  Last night, I really liked this idea.  This morning, I said to myself "no, no, no, no - too much like a Grade B horror movie!"  My daughter would kill me .....
4. Go with two blank pages in the middle of the book.  Who would know it wasn't in the original plan?  Hmmmmm ... nope, that's like a flashing arrow saying, "Look here to see the mistake!"
5. Cut out all the little flowers on the doll fabric and fuse them to the blank pages in the book.  Tell Talia and Tasha that the paper doll friends are playing in the garden together looking for lemons to make lemonade!

Interestingly enough, I was watching an episode of Fons and Porter's Love of Quilting tv show and they were talking about how many mistakes they make.  They said they think one of the reasons they rose to prominence is because they made more mistakes on camera than anyone else!  These things do happen.

Okay, I'll stop beating myself up.  The goal is not perfection.  The goal is for two little girls to have a special gift from their Oma who loves them best in all the world!