After sewing together the sides of this drawstring bag and discovering one side was an inch longer than the other, I wondered if anyone had come up with the idea of a game show called something like "Wear My Dare." In this show, new sewists would show their latest projects, and more experienced…

P stands for "Pisces" -- as well as for "Poof goes the pin cushion project when one fails to properly plan."

Two weeks or so ago, I watched Youtube videos in which sewists seemed to effortlessly create those cute, round pin cushions from scraps of various prints and colors. By Jove, if I could…

Hurray! As a beginner sewist, I like my latest attempt, in all of its wonky glory, at quilting -- in this case, a fabric coaster large enough to hold a tea set. Who cares if no one needs a tea set fabric coaster? I made the coaster that size because I didn't feel like measuring fabric small enough to hold a mug. I like it because all the material came from my scrap heap. Last year, my husband spotted my heap, expressed a mixture of surprise and dismay, and extracted a promise that I would…

At least, I like to think that eventually, I will be able to cut a straight line and sew one, to boot. I've tried to follow those guide lines on the sewing plate. If sewing a zigzag, meandering line is an improvement over a line that slants toward a 45 degree angle, then I'm on the right track for sewing a straight line. The experienced fabric artists in the group probably think 'That isn't possible.' Alas! Where there is a will, there is a crooked way.

What has my lack of skill have…