Learning the difference -
 

Sometimes I think experience is the most effective way of learning the difference between

- "good" fabric and "not suitable for quilting" fabric

- when a sewing machine is working well and when it is not - and how to tell if it's something that one can adjust oneself, when it needs to be repaired by a professional - or if the machine is not worth bothering with

- what equipment/tools are "necessary" and which were "a good idea at the time of purchase"

- when someone is being snobbish/elitist/showing off with their comments/suggestions and when they are trying to be truly helpful (remember Marie Antoinette and her "let them eat cake!" comment?)

- well written instructions/directions and poorly written instructions (or to discern if the mistake is in the directions/pattern or if one misread the directions)


If only I would have known then what I know now - - -

But then I would have missed the learning curve!

Anyone else?

I guess we all have to learn everything from experience. I remember 100 years ago, when I was a child, I thought I knew how so many things worked and how I didn't listen to advice. Goodness, I remembered when I was first married and I still thought I knew everything and refused to listen to older, more experienced people.

And, now it's happening in reverse. I try to tell (or to suggest) the easier or more way to do something to someone younger and get the cranky "I know what I'm doing" response... or the remark I got that I really 'appreciated',.. You don't know what you're talking about!" Ahh, youth! They have to find out for themselves... the hard way... like I did!

And sometimes the “new” method is much better !

Learn from the school of hard knocks.

What's important in life and what isn't.

Sometimes it is a "minor" thing that sticks in my craw more than a "major crisis" - not always logical or reasonable - but there it is for me.

The first several times I tried sewing, I tried to make something hard like a silk shirt and when it didn't turn out right, I threw in the towel. It took me until I had children to find the patience to do something, do it wrong, keep trying, and learn from my mistakes. I sure wasn't like that when I was younger.