Sew Awesome

So, I love to sew (ha ha!)

But seriously, I just picked up sewing and I am really enjoying it. I "zone out" when I sew and I am having so much fun using sewing as a stress reliever (besides exercising, which I've recently started doing quite a bit again).

In July, I bought my very first sewing machine--- without any idea of how to use it! I mean, I sewed a quilt for a Laurel project, but honestly, I think my mom did most of the sewing. So here's my awesome baby: I picked this lovely machine up from Hancock Fabrics for about $5o off it's normal price. So far, I love this machine (not like I have anything else to compare it to!)

My mom, since she's not here with me in Mississippi to help me learn how to sew, sent me a book for my birthday, and it's an awesome book. It's called Sew Everything Workshop and it's by this lady named Diana Rupp. It's a great beginner's guide to sewing. She covers not only sewing and stitching, but material, embellishments, patterns, preparing your fabric, handstitching, etc. And she also has about 60+ patterns in this book for you to try.

My very first project was sewing a hand towel. Very easy. The point of it was to try the different types of stitches on your machine, and since my machine has about 20 different stitches, I had a ton of fun doing it! Sorry no picture!

My second project was making a pin cushion. I had one of those super tiny tomato ones, and in my book, she gives you directions for making your own pincushion. The bottom fabric is denim (from Rick's old jeans). The top fabric is cotton. It's embellished with embroidery floss and a button. Sorry if it's a little blurry!

Then, I just spent a few hours today making myself a shoulder tote bag. It took me forever to find the material that I really wanted, but I persevered, and in the end, I came up with this: Love it. I am so glad that I chose these fabrics, because I can definitely see myself toting this around! My mom is going to help me with the embellishments when I go to DC and meet up with her at my sister's place later this month. One of the pieces of advice that Diana Rupp gives in her book is to only buy fabric that you love. I spent about an hour and a half choosing these fabrics and I am glad I chose the ones that I love!