Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Scarf with a Scar

In my virtual absence, I have composed several posts in my mind.  I am waiting for the invention of the microchip that will transfer them seamlessly to my blog.  Until then, here is the first, and most pressing one:

Today was another chilly walk to work (about 1.5 miles), but one that I thoroughly enjoy.  I wear J. Crew black hiking boots (from about 20 years ago), a glossy navy down jacket with a zip-up turtleneck collar, a navy beret (comme toujours) and a lime/light-green paisley pashmina for a scarf. 

The pashmina is a favourite of mine, as it is an odd enough color combination to be both arresting and unsettling at once.  I wear it both outdoors and indoors.

As today was particularly chilly and snowy, I zipped up my jacket completely about five minutes into my journey.  When I got to work, however, the zipper would not move. 

A quick inspection in my mirror revealed that I had zipped the pashmina into the zipper (really underneath the widest part of the zipper) and I could not dislodge it.

As I had about 15 minutes before I had to greet my public, so to speak, I tried to remove the scarf from the zipper; when that failed I tried to remove it from my neck.  Failure again.

I did not wish to strangle myself in my office by attempting to climb out of the turtleneck puffer while still wrapped in a scarf.

So I (gasp) took my scissors and cut my favourite pashmina out of the zipper.

After my public appearance, I inspected the damage and entered repair mode.  At home I knew I had some beautiful ribbon from the textile designer Laura Foster Nicholson, so I shall sew a sliver to my wounded pashmina, scarring the once flawless scarf.

But I shall keep in mind something that my grandmother taught me while painting: don't fret about mistakes; incorporate them into your work and it will be all the more beautiful and unique.  That's my plan.

Have gentle readers ever improved something via a mistake/accident?

2 comments:

WendyB said...

I have more than one jewelry piece that came out differently than expected...but I decided to go with the look anyway. And generally the features I didn't plan on have turned out to be the ones that win over the most customers!

K.Line said...

Egad, that's bold. I'm trying to think if I've ever improved anything by making a mistake with it. Hmmm, very good question. Nothing comes to mind right now but I'm sure I have.