Murphy's Cousin

There are a number of 'laws' that affect us, both real and perceived. The most famous 'law' I think is Murphy's Law: the idea that anything that can go wrong will go wrong. My favourite is the Murphy's Law of Assignments: the speed and severity of your computer crash is inversely proportionate the the urgency and importance if your assignment. So true, so true.

My skills are at that middle stage where I can generally thwart Murphy in most projects. But I am also good enough to think I can experiment without mishap. The size of a variation is directly proportionate to what I don't know about what I'm doing.

For instance, in a recent project I sewed on the soles of some baby shoes separately, instead of with the side seam as instructed. It added an hour to the project, and was tricky.

So, in the interests of creating a short hand for future kerfuffles, I propose a new law...

Murphy's Cousin: if I can make a project longer, or compromise the final product, by attempting a variation on the instructions for whatever reason, I most certainly will.

Coz I'm foolish that way, good intentions and all.