Looking from a new perspective...

If you have read my recent blog updates, you're aware I've been boo-hooing over not spending time at the sewing machine for the purpose of quilting.  I have projects with deadlines.  I NEED to get over this blockage.

I was having a conversation with a quilting friend.  My frustration must have been very apparent.  My friend Judy gently reminded me that my family life has been quite busy lately.  My daughter is a senior in a residential highschool.  Just that alone has taken a lot of my energies.  And Judy also reminded me that I do a lot of other crafts, like tatting and knitting, not just qulting.  

At the time, I heard my friend's words but they didn't sink in until I was putting the last stitches into the latest sewing item - a bed skirt for my Sweetling's dorm room.  She and her roommate decided to set up their beds bunkbed style and my Sweetling claimed the top bunk.   

I often help her carry her laundry and some groceries up to her room when dropping her off each week.

Their room has a homey feel with a feminine touch. Soft cream colored shear draperies hang in the window. They are dotted with small pale pink rose buds.  A small dorm-sized fridge tucked in one corner and a futon set along the back wall with a couple of decor pillows.  One of which, my Sweetling made last year. She drew a simple design and embroidered herself 🤗.

 I love those itty bitty flowers!

The painted cinder institutional walls are covered with photographs and posters.  It's quite evident these girls have incredible interests and big dreams for their future.

As I put down the grocery items I've carried up for her, my  eyes quickly scan her dorm room.  I try not to be obvious about observing their living space.

  The girls keep the room neat.  Except for maybe homework and a few items, everything is in its place.

  I'm especially impressed when I see the top bunk.  It's a reflection of my Sweetling's personality.   The carefully chosen duvet has been smoothed flat.  The top sheet perfectly folded over the duvet.  The pillows are propped just so. And bedding neatly tucked under the mattress.   Everything is looking so sweet..
.... Then my sensibilities are assaulted.  The hard violent contrast of the metal frame under my Sweetling's beautifully maintained sleeping area is just too much for me to handle.

Now, mind you, she hasn't said anything about this bothering her!  Not even when I mention a bed skirt would cover it up nicely.  She half-heartedly agrees when I offer to make one.
Knowing her the way I do, I HAD to make the bed skirt for her. Her only request was that it be white.
I immediately bought 10 yards of white perma-press muslin.  I know it's not going to take that much yardage but I can use 40% off coupon and what quilter can't use some more muslin in her stash??? (😉 That's always my thinking when buying fabric, "more will be a good addition to my stash.")
I pretty much immediately got to working on this project.  It took about a week from start to finish, getting measurements and figuring out my plan.
Ok, finally, we come to the real point of this blog update!!...
The perimeter of the frame is 240 inches.
I figured that the ruffle should be at a 1.75:1 ratio for a perfect gather to her eye. 

That equals to 420 inches of ungathered ruffles!
The sewing adds up like this:
420" of hem,
420" (times 2) of gathering lines,
240" attaching ruffle to the base,
240" zig zag over the raw edge to prevent fraying,
240" of top stitching...

That = 1,980" of stitching!!
Ok ok, turns out it's far less than the mile I was sure I had reached by the time I clipped the last stitching thread.  But believe me, when you're making ruffles, yards seem like miles!! It's a total fact, lol 😉.
 But that's when Judy's words sunk in.  I have to see everything I do.  Progress looks incredible different from a new perspective... Sometimes it takes "miles" of ruffles and a good friend to see it more clearly. 😄

Now.  THAT makes a total difference.
(Thanks for the before and after pics, Sweets. Love you!!)