Almost There But Not Quite...

I was hoping to have the skirt ready for our trip to Arizona last weekend, but as the time grew short, I realized that was not going to happen. 

Instead, I decided to take my wonderful sewing book with me on the road trip to read through.  Along the way I thought "I want to actually wear that skirt...maybe I should practice on some scraps first."  That's what I did when we got home.

Practice
I cut a couple of squares from my extra fabric, chose a color that I never thought I'd use (found a use for it...check back later to see what I've done), and turned on the machine to make my first seams.


The Neon Orange Thread

The square turned out better than I was expecting.  The most important thing to remember is to put the presser foot down before stitching...apparently that's easy to forget.

Pin Cushion

Then it was on to the first project...a pin cushion!  I found that this was pretty essential to the process and would need one sooner rather than later...so why not get more practice in while making one.  I definitely need to work on managing my seam allowances since it turned out smaller than it was supposed to, but that's why they call this practice, right?

Tokyo Tie Bag

I'm currently working on a handbag that I plan to finish today, before I start the neon orange thread project (any guesses what that might be?).  This is where I had my "Oh crap" moment yesterday. 

• Get Materials (fun cotton fabric for outside, lightweight corduroy for inside, pattern paper, thread, and a sew-on snap), check
• Instruction book, check
• Create pattern for bag, check
• Cut out pieces, check
• Sew sides, check
• Sew top and handles, check
• Sew bottom, check
• Tie knot for handles, not working...where did I go wrong

Oh crap!  I re-read the directions and realize the bottom was supposed to be sewn with the side seams in the center rather than on the sides of the bag!  What I love about sewing is that it's fairly easy to fix mistakes (as long as the fabric holds up).  Last night I was able to use my seam ripper for the first time to remove the bottom seam, and will hopefully redo it (correctly) today.