Free Patterns

If you sew and you want a free pattern go to http://www.sew4home.com/. I found patterns to make this towel and hot pad set to match my mom's newly decorated kitchen for her birthday. These are pretty basic. I am definitely a beginner.

Exteme Chair Makeover

So I tackled a very daunting project. Something about sewing a beginner purse pattern made me feel very ambitious, and so I decided it was time to reupholster a glider Trey's mom gave us. I actually drove around with these cushions for two months last summer in hopes I would remember to find a place to reupholster cushions for a reasonable price. Of course, I would inevitably forget they were in the back of the car until it was time load groceries, ughh! I eventually gave up and returned the cushions back to the chair, but every time I passed this chair it called to me, "Please give me a new outfit. I feel so old and dingy." So when I saw JoAnn's was having a sale (60% off home decor fabric), I was convinced it was time. I wish I had a picture of the before, but this will have to do.

This is the original fabric from the cushions after I attacked them with a seam ripper. Did anyone have a childhood flashback? This is the same color as the shag carpet in my neighbor's house growing up. I used the fabric pieces as my pattern and tried to remember how it was all sewn together. And the final results...

I'm not sure how to rotate images yet, but I was quite proud of the piping and tufting for a first time job. This chair is no longer ashamed to greet your fanny!

Sew Much Fun

Thanks to my friend Rachel, I have rediscovered sewing. The last time I touched a sewing machine was in 7th grade in a Home Ec. class. (Am I writing that correct, what the heck is the "ec" in home ec?). Honestly, when I think of sewing, I think of elastic waistband jams (I made 3 pairs), floral jumpers (yup, I wore mine in public), and clown suits. Nope, not clown costumes, but the big puffy-sleeved, puffy-legged, one piece outfits. I never had one, but I picked out the fabric for one. My mom was going to make it and never got around to it, so later a friend made me a quilt out of it for college. I'm really thankful now that I never had the clown suit. Pictures of me in my homemade floral jumper are quite enough. We even had a fashion show in our class to model all our creations for our parents.

All that to say, the world of sewing has come a long way. There's even fabric that doesn't scream, "Make me into a clownsuit!" So, with some money I'd stashed away from past birthdays, I bought a sewing maching and this week made my first project. The Birdie Sling from Amy Butler.

Rachel and I worked on these together one afternoon, then I brought it home to finish up. I think it's pretty darn cute myself. The green is actually reminscent of some neon green, elastic waistband shorts I wore in the '80's. It looks toned down in the pics and when I ordered the fabric online. It frightened me a bit at first, but has grown on me.

Oh, and here's my helper (this is not Rachel)!

My sweet Maggie. She just learned a new trick. She can now shake hands, err paws, hmm...paw to hand. Next, we'll work on operating the sewing pedal.