oh, if mrs. boyle could see me now

as i'm sure you know by now, aaron bought be a sewing machine for my birthday (june 2, only 98 shopping days left). it arrived in december, and we made it operational in january (we had to buy a transformer to get it to work here).

here it is in all it's glory:

in my new sewing nook:

i never would i have ever guessed that i would not only own a sewing machine, but be this excited about it. i do not come from a long line of seamstresses. in fact, the only time my family even saw my mom use an iron, we had to take a polaroid of it. it is a cherished memory.

i do not have a good history with sewing. in my high school home ec class, we had to sew a garment using a pattern. i had my doubts about my ability, but i plunged into it. a week or two later, i asked mrs. boyle, if anything could be done to save my jumper. she quickly looked to make sure no one was within earshot, and gently told me that i should just throw it away and she would give me an "a" for effort. fail.

there seems to be so much to learn. it's overwhelming. but i am determined. after all, knitting was intimidating to begin with, and now it easy, relaxing even. my first project went really well. splendidly, really.

it is a much needed pin cushion. much needed, because the only pin cushion i could find here was $45 and magnetic. i like this one much better than a stupid tomato anyway.  a few other mending endeavors have went nicely as well. i have fixed a few shirts and a pair of pants. however, my second main project, a tote bag, didn't go extremely well. in fact i sewed a pin inside it and can't get it out. oops.

mainly i have the most trouble with the exactness of it (which is why i am not too good at baking as well, also and exact science). the measuring, the cutting, sewing straight. 1/4 inch seams, 1/2 inch seams, 3/4 seams. so precise. i need a lot of practice.

right now i'm taking fabric scraps, cutting them into 3 inch blocks and sewing them into strips. if you look closely, or not even closely, you can tell that these two strips to not measure up to create a checkerboard effect.

i need a lot of practice before i can begin making my own clothes. although, i've been reading sew retro, and it's an incredible inspiration. it combines my love history, vintage fashion, and sewing. pluse it includes a few patterns. wish me luck as i practice and learn.