Monday, July 27, 2020

The Grim Ripper

I'm sure that most of you know about Jack the Ripper.  He lives yet today in the form of the Grim Ripper.  Perhaps he thought he could change his name and it wouldn't be noticed.  Well *I* noticed it.  I even caught him in the act of ripping and captured his image.  Here it is.


This small and seamingly innocent character lurks around the sewing area just waiting to pounce,  Sometimes it hides and calls its relatives to join him so that there are more than one around.  I think it would be safe to say that all quilter's, as well as anybody who sews, has at one time or another been introduced to The Grim Ripper.  Jack, my name for Grim,  is well known to me.  I shouldn't be surprised.  Early on I learned that the dark side is your friend.  You are always being told to press towards the dark side.  Perhaps that was the beginning of my relationship with Jack.

This mug rug/small hanging was going along so well until Jack appeared.  I give three strikes to a project before I set it aside.  The first strike in this project was when I was quilting it, I didn't notice my backing fabric folded over.  Ok.  That's not TOO bad since it was black fabric and on the back.  It was trike two and three that got me.  Strike two was when I was trimming the top and batting before folding the back fabric over for the binding.

There I was, minding my own business and watching to make sure that I didn't cut the fabric where it wasn't supposed to be cut.  Then I thought I heard something.  Wasn't sure what it was, but now I think it was one of Jack's relatives in the other room laughing.  I stopped what I was doing and went to look.  There he was!  On the floor was Jack's cousin.  He had jumped down from my couch where I was stitching earlier.  I stared at him, shook my finger at him, and told him to stay put as I laid him back on the couch.  You'd think that he would like having it easy just laying on the  couch.  After putting Cousin Jack on the couch, I went back to finishing up dealing with Jack...or so I thought.

That's when I discovered strike two and three.  Everything was going along ok at first.  I was sure that Jack wasn't going to seduce my fabric to go and meet him.  Surely little polka dots could resist the dark side.  Sigh.  No, they couldn't.  As i was folding over the binding on one side, I saw it.  Up in my face, was a hole.  A HOLE!  Where did that come from?  Yeah, you know what I'm going to say next.  It came from Jack calling to my fabric to go to the dark side.  Given in and fall down that rabbit hole.  What was one to do?  I did what I usually do when I get an ouchie.  I put a band aid on it.  Oh not a true plastic band aid.  I took some of the cutting from the black fabric and laid it UNDERNEATH the binding and then stitched it down.  Would that like darning?  Anyway I was sure that was it.  Nope.  Jack had also seduced another section to go to the dark side.  This too was on the same side as the band aid and right in the corner.  Luckily it wasn't as bad as strike two but it was hard enough to stitch since it was right in the corner.  So that was Strike three.  

I almost threw it out but I knew that somewhere deep down in that worm hole of all thrown out projects Jack was thinking he had won.  I am either keeping this project or sending it to a friend who was with me all along the journey into the dark side.

It's a good thing I have other small projects that I can send in place of Jack.  I hate to say it, but Jack is sort of growing on me and I smile knowing that ultimately I won!  If I say that often enough it must be true....right?



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