I started sewing about 4 years ago and am pretty much self-taught. My mom and grandmother sewed and my other grandmother liked embroidery and cross-stitch, so I grew up with a concept of what sewing was, how it was done, and what it could be used for, but never really did much with it until my husband and I were married and I wanted curtains and pillow for our new apartment. My trusty Kenmore sewing machine in hand, I made those cream-colored muslin tab curtains and red and green pillows. I know what you're thinking - red and green pillows? Really? Well, yeah. The curtains still hang in our living room, though we're fortunate to have a home of our own that is at least slightly larger than the apartment. The red and green pillows have been recovered countless times (thank goodness!), so much so in fact that I believe they are at least an inch larger now than when they were first covered. Current colors: chocolate brown suede, heavily-textured cream and white upholstery fabric, and tiny navy floral cotton print. Wow, somehow writing that description made them sound a lot uglier than they actually are. Maybe I'll describe better over time, or maybe I need to affix a disclaimer to each post similar to what you see in your car's side-view mirrors: "object in picture appears prettier than described." Hmmmm.
So, over the past four years I've sewn pillow covers, slipcovers, adult clothing, children's clothing, bed linens, toys, and probably some other things I've forgotten about entirely. I make a practice of purposefully messing up at least one seam in each item I'm making just because I love using my seam ripper THAT MUCH! Okay, not really. (I think it's one small way the Lord keeps my pride in check.) But being self-taught means that I learn as I go , and that usually means I learn from my mistakes. I've been asked to teach some others how to sew, but to tell you the truth, the idea of me teaching someone else how to sew makes me really nervous. I'm thinking I might need to take lessons before giving them, but we'll see.
Right now, I'm sewing a lot of children's clothing and toys. Our church (we are very blessed to be a part of Twin City Baptist here in W-S; check us out at www.twincitybaptist.org) keeps the local Labor & Delivery department in business so there's always a baby to make an outfit, blankets, or toy for. I particularly enjoy making matching outfits for older/younger siblings, but have found getting the sizing just right for both siblings to wear the outfits at the same time is tricky.
Our son turned 1 year old in May and loves all manner of fasteners (zippers, buttons, laces, velcro, etc.), so I made him a cube-shaped toy that had a different fastener on each panel. Turns out, he thinks it's more fun to throw, land on, or squish the batting-filled cube than play with the fasteners. I'm hoping it will turn out to be a useful teaching tool as he gets closer to the stage of actually dressing himself. I'll let you know how it goes.
Pictures of things I'm making will come. Bear with me for now, nap time is over.
