Monday, March 8, 2010

Variations on a Theme: New projects, familiar look

As time allows, I’ve been trying to keep up with my sewing. I am definitely still in the learning stage, though, and I sometimes have trouble figuring out whether my mistakes/difficulties are the result of inexperience, an old machine, or pure user error. I suspect it’s a blend of all of the above.

Difficulties aside, I’ve completed two new projects in the past couple of months. I had quite a bit of fabric left over from the first apron I made, so I’ve been using it for my new projects (it’s a good thing I like the colors!).

The first thing I made was a coaster for my bedside table. Dave has been using a coaster we got as a wedding favor, but I had largely been using whatever piece of heavy paper I could find laying around. It seemed like time to find something a little more permanent.

Coaster

The coaster came together quickly. I think I made it from start to finish in a single morning. I pieced together the top and then sewed three of the edges to a bottom piece. I added a very thin layer of fluff filling (left over from my “LOVE” pillow) between the layers, sewed up the bottom, and “quilted” the filling in place. Quick and easy!

My most recent project was to create another apron. Even though I really liked the first apron I made, I decided to play around with another design for apron #2. I knew I wanted a full apron, but I struggled for awhile with how to incorporate both fabrics. In the end, I was inspired by a wall hanging that my friend Erica made. For her wall hanging, Erica used a pretty color fabric to make her own binding around the edge. It gave the outline of her picture such a pretty finish. I thought the same look might look nice on my apron.
Full apron Self portrait in apron

I’m fairly happy with how the apron turned out, though the edge binding did make it a little more awkward when it came time to attach the ties.

I’ve never been much into wearing aprons (perhaps because I’ve never had a good one to wear?), but I’m looking forward to doing some baking in mine. We’ll see how well the apron holds up to the wear and tear of kitchen life!

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Slacker

My husband told me last week that I needed to update my blog more often.

He's right, of course (but don't tell him I said that!).



Off to look for inspiration...

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Ready for Spring

Is it spring yet?
Beautiful Flowers

Don't get me wrong. I love snow and sweaters as much as the next girl, but this winter has been cold (well, by North Carolina standards anyways!). The pretty weather this past weekend was just enough to remind me how glorious the weather can be in this part of the country. Just in time for the threat of more winter weather. Boo.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Best Wishes

I'm sending out best wishes to my big brother today. Today is his first day at his new job at CNN! My parents and I helped move my brother, his wife, and their daughter to Atlanta over the weekend. It was a rocky adventure (no heat in February = no fun), but I think they'll do well once they get settled. Good luck, Benjamin!

It's a sibling thing

Monday, January 25, 2010

The Sidewalk Fairy

For a number of reasons, we use the back door of our house instead of the front door. For the most part, this works well and is more convenient...except when it's wet. Unfortunately, the driveway doesn't quite meet the back patio, creating a muddy gulf that has to be crossed when it's raining.

But not anymore!

Sidewalk

A couple of weeks before Christmas, I was visited by the sidewalk fairy! No more muddy gulf for me!

Thanks, Dave! I love it!

Friday, January 15, 2010

Project #2

For my second sewing project, I wanted to make something special for my friend's birthday. I thought about making another pillow, but I really wanted to try something different. When I stumbled upon this apron tutorial, I knew I had my project!

Apron Apron

The apron came together fairly quickly, and while I wouldn't look too closely at some of the seams, I'm happy with how it turned it. I might just have to make one for myself!

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Enrichment To-Do's...Did they get done?

Last January, I created an "Enrichment To-Do List" of things that I wanted to accomplish in 2009. Now that it's January 2010 (2010?!?), let's see how I did....

1. Read some books.
Successfully completed. I read 26 books in 2009 (17 actual books, 8 audio books, and 1 short story). That averages out to be a little over 2 books a month.

2. Scrapbook.
Decently completed. I finally finished our engagement scrapbook. Maybe I'll actually get the wedding photos scrapbooked sometime this decade! :-)

3. Figure out the sewing machine.
Successfully completed. I'm still learning, but so far, I've made a pillow and an apron. I'm happy with that. (And currently trying to decide what my next project will be....)

4. Cross-stitch.
Nope. Still sitting untouched. I'll add my cross-stitch projects to that new decade list.

So, there you go. Three out of four projects completed in 2009. All things considered, I think that's pretty good. I enjoyed working on all of them, and I am excited to get things underway in 2010!

Happy new year!