Lesson Learned, Karma Burned is a cross stitch sampler derived from an idea that’s been hanging around my design folder, in various forms and stages of completion, for about two years. I sent preview versions to Sue from time to time asking for her judgement. And, her lukewarm reception to each echoed my own ambivalence about them, to be honest. I’d put the latest version away for awhile to work on other projects, and come back to it again to find that I pretty much hated what was on the screen.
*groan*
*click-delete*
*new file*
But you know, that it’s just a normal part of the design process. Few creators or designers are ever happy with their first drafts, and there’s no rule that says they have to be happy with the fifth. Or the fifteenth, for that matter. What matters is to wait until we know it’s ready, and not to let the end result be rushed by external forces, or by the fear of them. Things take the time they take, and it’s worth taking the time to get them not perfect, but right.
Good things take time
Not perfect, but right. Learning that lesson — and I do mean, learning it all the way down to my bones — took me much too long, stitchy-kin. But, I gained from it a couple of things:
- First, better control over the creation process.
- Second, complete confidence in the work I publish.
It’s not even a weird stretch to say that the karma, or “consequences,” were the flame-outs of creative relationships that relied on my previous people-pleasing passivity to thrive. This included a collaboration that relied upon my energies, skills, and talents disproportionately to the other collaborators—usually without credit given. Once I stopped cooperating with that kind of power theft, the power thieves drifted elsewhere. Consequently I found so much more energy and enthusiasm for everything else in my life that it was like a revelation!
In the end, the version of Lesson Learned, Karma Burned that I liked was the one that caused me to change my mind on its status as a Karma Charm. It could easily be stitched as one, because it’s not a slogan reserved for creators. Basically, it’s a design for anyone who’s had to come back from tough choices, no matter how many times they’ve had to do it. It strikes me as a fun, snappy, clap-back style project rather than a work of contemplation. Or even better: a victory lap worked over fabric in green and gold, stitch by happy stitch.
Declare your colors!
I chose green and gold for the border because they were easy reaches. As you can see, those colors echo the flames and the lettering. And that’s nice—but it’s also true that they are Sue’s favorite colors, and I love her a lot. And you can use the same reasoning with the colors you choose for your stitched version of Lesson Learned, Karma Burned! If green and gold aren’t working for you, pick the pair of colors that does!
And don’t forget to change the color of the lettering to match! Team colors, “house” colors, flag colors, clan colors — the choices are very nearly endless! Tag us on Instagram with your finish to show us how you did!
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