Intro:  This is a day-in-the-life post about working late at the office and the results of such effort.

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I felt foolish for working late to embroider a tunic.  The design was almost a two hour commitment to embroider. And there was no way to be certain the two designs were aligned properly until finished.  And to compound the challenge, I’ve never tried this level of complexity in my embroidery projects.

But I had to try.

And I also had to reach my step goal for the day.  I did what I thought was logical:  I combined the two tasks.

I got my steps by marching in place while embroidering.  I kept a close watch on my garment as the machine stitched.  I also watched my step counter increase.  Talk about multi-tasking!

During this time I brainstormed on cutting edge ideas:  like a combination Treadmill-Embroidery Machine.  The machine could be powered by my steps!

Almost two hours of this activity made me thirsty.  I reached for my water and that’s when the machine ate my shirt.  (Not the machine’s fault, it was user error).

To add insult to injury, I still hadn’t reached my step goal.

I was defeated.  I went home.

I let a week go by without touching the tunic.  During that time I was trying to resolve the tunic problem.  Once I had a plan I stayed late fully resolved to fix the tunic (or ruin it beyond repair!)

But it must’ve taken an hour of trial and error to get the shirt and design aligned.  To keep my mind entertained I played “I dreamed a dream” from Les Miserables on repeat. I employed every element of logic I could to align the embroidery design.  And my efforts were rewarded. I finished my embroidered shirt.

The shirt is not impeccable.  But the critical elements are aligned.

I can see the misaligned stitches that fortunately are not the focal point of the design.  But none of that matters.

I finished the tunic!

And as a secondary point of satisfaction, despite the imperfection, my project was chosen for the cover!

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Notes:  If you’re a bit skeptical about a Managing Editor’s project being featured on the cover of the magazine, read on.  The cover of our magazine cannot be purchased, traded or guaranteed in any manner.  I had no idea my project had a chance of being on the cover when I started or even finished.  The decision is based on the discretion of a team of individuals.  A variety of factors determine what goes on the cover – among them, visual appeal on a cover, colors, themes, mass appeal, etc.

The last time my work was featured was Volume 23 Nov/Dec 2003.  And my projects were “filler” in my mind, not the focal point.

So… 15 years later, my work is on the cover!

 

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