Sew Shall I Begin

Ahhh, this sewing adventure I've embarked on. You must understand that it has been a very, very long time since I've sewn anything. When I was a little girl, my mom sewed everything. Whatever elaborate costume we needed, super cute Sunday School dresses, matching Sailor suits for all of us kids and eventually many of my prom and formal dresses. I never had to worry about someone walking in wearing the same thing. I wanted to be able to sew just like her. Most anyone who knows us thinks that I look just like her...but let me tell you...there are many differences. For instance--she is a perfectionist. I...am not. I am a teacher. To be a primary teacher and a perfectionist is asking for a very early and painful death. My work in every area of life is full of mistakes, and I'm pretty much okay with that. But for a perfectionist to teach her 9 year old mistake-making daughter how to sew would have been a nightmare. And I thank her for recognizing that. So, two different times she paid for me to take summer lessons at local fabric stores. I had so much fun! I loved sewing and I loved making things. We even made a dress for ourselves in my second class. But then I fell away from sewing when some other thing gained my attention.
That dress is not exactly the last time I sewed anything. When I first started teaching I had grand vision for my classroom. The blank slate I had been dreaming of was finally awarded me after years and years of waiting to, working towards, and dreaming of teaching first graders. I wanted very cozy reading nooks for my kiddos. I wanted pillows to lay on during silent reading. I wanted a lot of things that would have cost of a lot of money. But hey, pillows are easy to make--my mom has a machine, I knew the basics...so I resurrected the rusty skills and threw together some pillows. I've searched my computer--but there are no pictures. I didn't want to spend money on fabric so I found all my old t-shirts that I was done with and stitched up the end of the arm holes, the neck hole and the bottom and stuffed them. T-shirt shaped pillows--the kids loved 'em and I didn't have to pay for anything besides the stuffing. I also cut up some old shorts and used the back pocket portion along with some other piece of cut up clothing to make more traditional rectangular shaped pillows. I didn't feel so bad throwing those pillows away when I traded in my teacher's hat for my mommy hat either (There was NO WAY I was keeping those germ infested things and by the time I go back to teaching some day way off in the future I'm sure I'll have more t-shirts to sew up).
Now THAT was a loooooong story to bring you up to par on how long it's been since I've sewn. But somehow, the bug bit me again and I thought it would be fun to get back into it. So, my dear husband bought me this for Christmas:



And while in the San Diego area I visited Maisonette. I wanted to get the best fabric I could to mess up on my first few projects : )

This is a little kit Madeline sent me away with. It has some cute little baby projects that I can start cutting my teeth on.


I wanted to make a baby blanket for the new little one on the way. I figured I'd pick out fabric for a boy and a girl since we don't know who this little one is. So many choices--I took a very long time to decide. But this is what I came away with for a boy:

And this for a girl:

I opted not to buy rick-rack for the edge this time around. I kind of wish that I had. But I was trying not to go too crazy with all that I was buying. These fabrics are so beautiful that I thought they could speak for themselves. The ultra-soft backing is in white for both blankets. I debated about how to sew them up...and after consulting my mom finally opted to simply pin them wrong-sides out and do it the simplest way. They are not perfectly square and fairly puckered, but someday my child will understand this is a good representation of his/her mother!


And...voila. I've considered buying some satin blanket edging to stitch around the edges. But I think we all know that this is how they'll stay. Now for a softer than silk, warmer than warm, grunting, wiggling, rooting, make-me-fall-head-over-heels-before-I-can-take-a-breath-Baby to wrap it around. One month from today is the due date, you know.