"Sewing" Novice

I learned something that maybe I should have known before starting out. Sewing has very little to do with actual stitching. It's pretty much all cutting, pinning, and ironing. All of which are very time consuming and immensely important if you want your finished product to even remotely resemble the pattern. I got a sewing machine for Christmas 2010. So of course I set lofty goals without the slightest thought toward feasibility. Having not used a sewing machine since my early teens (maybe even before that) I decided that since both mine and Matt's sisters were having baby girls in 2011 the most appropriate gift for a novice sewer would be baby quilts. Now obviously these won't be ready for the girls' birth. I gave myself plenty (novice...) of time and set out to have two baby quilts completed and under the tree for Christmas. One day I went on an eBay spree and bought some charm sets. I only bought one of a bunch of different fabric lines (novice...). So I settled on making each niece a quilt from a different charm set. Then bought more charm sets, because 1 is pretty much worthless. My friend Lynda turned me onto a patten that I felt I could tackle. Then started the "sewing". Cut. Pin. Iron. Pin. Cut. Iron. Pin. Iron. With a little bit of intermittent sewing. Here are some things to know: 1. You actually need 472842 straight pins. 1 box, or even 2, is never enough. 2. Measure twice, or three times. Cut once. 3. Chain sewing saves a lot of thread. 4. You need a lot of thread. 5. Fill a slew of extra bobbins ahead of time. 6. The seam ripper is your friend. 7. Apparently the backing should be bigger than your quilt top. I did not attempt to quilt these and definitely got some "notes" on my invoice from the quilter. 8. Everything takes longer than you would expect. And then a little longer. 9. A hot bath or back rub should always follow hours of "sewing." With a little blood, a little sweat, a few more tears, and a lot of hours I actually completed my quilts with hours to spare before Christmas.


Front of Elise's quilt.


Back of Elise's quilt.


Front of Cala's quilt.


Back of Cala's quilt. I am very pleased and both sisters seemed very happy with them. Oh but that's not it... I'm the queen of overcommitting myself. I thought that everyone should get a sewn gift this year. For my birthday my friend, Julie, got me a pattern book, One Yard Wonders. Something from a one yard wonder book can't be too complicated right? So I bought various yards of fabric and made a plan for my homemade gift bag/basket this year. (I usually make a bunch of sweet treats to give to family & close friends). For 10 separate households I made: A Loaf of Rosemary Beer Bread A Bottle of Rosemary Olive Oil A Hot Pot Holder & Oven Mitt Set Those holders & mitts were more detailed than I ever imagined. Which leads to the next thing I learned this Christmas season. 10. Always read all the way through (first word to last) instructions before starting a project. And just for a little added self abuse I also made everyone (including my lady coworkers) a set of coasters. -These were tiles bought from Lowe's covered in fabric and then spray painted. Hopefully I learned my lesson?? (Aside: Everyone liked my homemade gifts and appreciated my hard work. It was totally worth it.) - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Old Troup Hwy,Tyler,United States