Help Me, Tim Gunn

You know the saying - sometimes the best laid plans of mice and men go awry. (That's how my day is going; I can't even get the quote straight.)

When I'm building a dress, I play with the placement of fabrics trying to achieve a balance of color and print that pleases my eyes. Sometimes I'm very successful such as the red, black and yellow dress I posted earlier in the week. By successful I mean it makes me smile. But, for the last 2 days I've been struggling with a combination that just doesn't seem right even though on the table it flowed. In completion it looks like Little House on the Prairie has collided with Roseanna Danna.

As the dress emerged in the sewing machine, I slowly realized that it just wasn't what I had visualized on the cutting table. So I conjourned up Tim Gunn and tried to "make it work." Now I'm finished and teetering between love and hate.

It happens sometimes. A project begins in optimism and slinks into disappointment. Perhaps I need some distance from the dress. At times the artist holds his intent and inward vision so close, he can only be disappointed with the finished piece when it is not true to said vision. But after a little time has passed, and he has let go of the original plan, he can see with new found objectivity the beauy and validity of the offending piece. Occasionally the piece even becomes inspiration for a new direction.

So I hang the new dress on the door waiting to be photographed. Not sure if I will come to admire it. Or if it will come to make me smile. Any more words of wisdom, Tim?