My Journey into Sewing... and ???
By no means am I a true sewist -- in fact, in every sense of the word, I'm still a beginner. Sure, I took two semesters of sewing classes from the local Continuing Education program (Kathleen Swanson is a fabulous instructor if you're looking for a recommendation) and I actually made a skirt and started to make a dress. I signed up for a third semester, where I was really going to hunker down and make some stuff when we decided to move to North County, and thus, nearly 50 minutes away from where my classes were held. Making it to a 9 a.m. class on a Saturday at a place kind of far away when you've often got photo sessions and personal obligations to contend with was just NOT happening, so I never finished my third semester.
After I had to give up on my class I let my new found skills wane a bit, and thought that maybe I just really wouldn't be someone who could say they sew. The desire to sew was still there, but I didn't own my own machine and my skills still needed work. But, I decided to not give up.
In January, using Christmas money from my mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law, and after much in-person shopping and online research, I bought this machine from Hancock Fabrics: Janome 8077 Computerized Sewing Machine
. I found some coupon codes online and got the machine for under $230 shipped to my home. I love Jerome the Janome [it's pronounced Jer-ohm-eee to match with the pronunciation of Janome... I imagine the machine has a personality similar to that of Jay from the first season of Project Runway] -- yes, my sewing machine has a name. So far I've made a party garland, some cloth napkins, a few baby blankets and am about to sew some valances for our bedroom, but now it's time to expand my horizons.
Later this summer I will be attempting to make a tunic from this book: Built by Wendy Dresses: The Sew U Guide to Making a Girl's Best Frock
given to me by my friend, Shannon. [The Palm Beach tunic on page 118, if you must know]. But first, I will be undertaking something surprising and quite different for me: a quilt.
Now, I don't think I'm a traditional quilter, or even a modern quilter by nature. My style is pretty contemporary and even modern quilts tend to have a pretty traditional feel to them. But I wanted a vintage-looking quilt to use with clients on photo sessions, as well as for personal picnics and visits to the park... so I started looking online. I went to eBay where I bid unsuccessfully on several quilts, which made me start wondering if there was a way to "fake" a quilt of my own. I wanted something that had a colorful, family feel to it and would connote heritage, but still blend into the background. Most of the quilts I bid on were cathedral window quilts, so searched for a tutorial assuming the pattern would be way to difficult to even attempt.
And that's when I found these: Hyena in Petticoats Cathedral Window tutorial and it led me to several other posts including this one. It was after looking at these that I decided that I'm going to try and make my own Cathedral Window quilt. FIRST, however, I'm going to try just making a pillow, to make sure I really get what I'm doing and want to undertake the larger quilt size. Here are the fabrics I'm contemplating using for my pillows:
I'm using the chocolate brown fabric as the main fabric, and the prints and green solid for the windows, I think. I'm not decided on how many fabrics I want to feature in the windows yet, but obviously my obsession with fabric has given me plenty of options.
If the pillows are a success, I will likely buy this
book for more guidance as I undertake the bigger task. Wish me luck. I'm not sure I have the patience for all the folding, but then again, I surprise myself sometimes and if I can end up with a finished product half as good looking as the ones in the tutorials it will be worth it to me.
But, for this weekend, I will be finishing the valances, making a card to give to my brother after his confirmation tonight, photographing one of my lovely friends and her family and hosting a BBQ featuring ribs and some new recipes from Smitten Kitchen that I'd like to try.
Happy Memorial Day Weekend everyone!
After I had to give up on my class I let my new found skills wane a bit, and thought that maybe I just really wouldn't be someone who could say they sew. The desire to sew was still there, but I didn't own my own machine and my skills still needed work. But, I decided to not give up.
In January, using Christmas money from my mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law, and after much in-person shopping and online research, I bought this machine from Hancock Fabrics: Janome 8077 Computerized Sewing Machine
. I found some coupon codes online and got the machine for under $230 shipped to my home. I love Jerome the Janome [it's pronounced Jer-ohm-eee to match with the pronunciation of Janome... I imagine the machine has a personality similar to that of Jay from the first season of Project Runway] -- yes, my sewing machine has a name. So far I've made a party garland, some cloth napkins, a few baby blankets and am about to sew some valances for our bedroom, but now it's time to expand my horizons.Later this summer I will be attempting to make a tunic from this book: Built by Wendy Dresses: The Sew U Guide to Making a Girl's Best Frock
given to me by my friend, Shannon. [The Palm Beach tunic on page 118, if you must know]. But first, I will be undertaking something surprising and quite different for me: a quilt.Now, I don't think I'm a traditional quilter, or even a modern quilter by nature. My style is pretty contemporary and even modern quilts tend to have a pretty traditional feel to them. But I wanted a vintage-looking quilt to use with clients on photo sessions, as well as for personal picnics and visits to the park... so I started looking online. I went to eBay where I bid unsuccessfully on several quilts, which made me start wondering if there was a way to "fake" a quilt of my own. I wanted something that had a colorful, family feel to it and would connote heritage, but still blend into the background. Most of the quilts I bid on were cathedral window quilts, so searched for a tutorial assuming the pattern would be way to difficult to even attempt.
And that's when I found these: Hyena in Petticoats Cathedral Window tutorial and it led me to several other posts including this one. It was after looking at these that I decided that I'm going to try and make my own Cathedral Window quilt. FIRST, however, I'm going to try just making a pillow, to make sure I really get what I'm doing and want to undertake the larger quilt size. Here are the fabrics I'm contemplating using for my pillows:
I'm using the chocolate brown fabric as the main fabric, and the prints and green solid for the windows, I think. I'm not decided on how many fabrics I want to feature in the windows yet, but obviously my obsession with fabric has given me plenty of options.
If the pillows are a success, I will likely buy this
book for more guidance as I undertake the bigger task. Wish me luck. I'm not sure I have the patience for all the folding, but then again, I surprise myself sometimes and if I can end up with a finished product half as good looking as the ones in the tutorials it will be worth it to me.But, for this weekend, I will be finishing the valances, making a card to give to my brother after his confirmation tonight, photographing one of my lovely friends and her family and hosting a BBQ featuring ribs and some new recipes from Smitten Kitchen that I'd like to try.
Happy Memorial Day Weekend everyone!
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