I Wonder If…

• First, I didn’t sew the lining in quite correctly, so the inside looks a little wonky. I chose a solid red fabric for the lining because there are touches of red throughout the kitty print, and I thought the two would look good together.
• Second—and this was the mistake that bothered me the most—I didn’t pay close enough attention to the fact that I was working with directional fabric. My poor kitties are turned the wrong way! UGGGhhh…
• Third, I quilted the fabric first before assembly. My stitches are straight, but the rows aren’t measured perfectly evenly. Fortunately, I don’t think it’s very noticeable because white is the dominant color in the fabric and I used white thread for the quilting; and finally,
• The finished bag is wider horizontally than I intended. I had envisioned more of a vertical project bag, which means I didn’t cut my fabric large enough in the right direction when I started.

Nevertheless, I kept going, and you know what? I love the bag! It’s functional, my zipper ended up exactly where I wanted it, and I even embellished it with a cute glittery cat key chain.

But then I made one more mistake—and this one had nothing to do with sewing.

I never shared it.

I finished the bag, hung it on my craft cart, and barely looked at it again until I started putting this article together. Why didn’t I share it? Honestly, I was embarrassed. I thought everyone would immediately notice my biggest blunder: those poor kitties going the wrong direction. This is one of those fears about sharing my work that I still struggle with from time to time.

But today I’m sharing it anyway.

Because when I look at the bag now, I don’t just see the mistakes. I see what I learned. I learned to pay closer attention to directional fabric. I learned that I need to think through my measurements before cutting when I’m changing the size and shape of an existing pattern. 

I learned a little more about quilting and lining a bag. And most importantly, I learned that making mistakes while trying something new doesn’t mean the finished project needs to be hidden away.

Those lessons will make me more thoughtful during the preparation stages of future projects, but they won’t stop me from experimenting. I’ll ask myself again: “I wonder if…”

Experimenting has taught me a lot about my own creativity. I tend to see supplies as possibilities rather than strict instructions. Something may have been sold for one purpose, but that doesn’t mean my brain won’t immediately think of three other ways I could use it. That’s especially true after years of working across paper, fabric, fiber, and felt. Ideas have a way of jumping from one craft to another.

The nice thing about an “I wonder if…” project is that success doesn’t have to mean the idea worked perfectly. Sometimes the answer to my question is simply, “Nope! That does not work.” And believe it or not, that’s still useful information. I learned something without needing the experiment to become a finished masterpiece.

Other times, one little experiment turns into a project I genuinely love. That’s the exciting part. I can start with no expectations and end up surprising myself.

I think sometimes we forget how valuable that kind of play can be. We become so focused on results that we want to know exactly what we’re making before we begin. We want the supply list, the measurements, the finished photo, and reassurance that the time we’re about to spend will produce something worth keeping.

But creativity doesn’t always work that way.

Sometimes I need to touch the supplies, move things around, try a stitch, cut a scrap, put two colors together, change my mind, walk away, come back, and ask another question. That’s not wasted time. That’s part of creating.

And because I don’t depend on every project to become content, inventory, or something I have to sell, I can let curiosity lead once in a while. 

BellaArt Creates has given me a place to celebrate that kind of creative life. I can make because I’m curious or because something caught my attention. I can make because I simply want to know what happens next. And now I can even share the projects that didn’t turn out exactly how I imagined.

So when those three little words pop into my head, I won’t dismiss them too quickly:

I wonder if…

Maybe it will work. Maybe it won’t. Maybe I’ll change the idea five times before I’m finished. But every now and then, that tiny question becomes one of my favorite projects, and I never would have discovered it if I hadn’t been willing to experiment, make a few mistakes, and try.