Here’s another project I fished out of the attic recently. It was shamefully close to being finished. I have NO idea why I put it aside. The only theory I’ve been able to come up with is that these cats look an awful lot like Zora, the kitty I was forced to give up because my husband and son turned out to be terribly allergic to her. I know that was the smart thing to do, but I still grieve over her.
Whatever my reason was for burying this project in the deepest recesses of the attic, I pulled it out and resolve to finish it off. I spent some pleasant time this weekend embroidering the cats’ faces and then tackled sewing on the mitered borders. I don’t think I’ve ever done that before and the thought of all the folding and careful stitching had me in a nervous fit, but I eventually took the bull by the horns…and…the first two went on like a dream. You would have thought I knew what I was doing! But then my pride got the better of me and I struggled with the last two corners. Eventually they succumbed to my bossiness. I proudly displayed my finished quilt top to every unwary person I could back into a corner. (Incidentally, my son has taken to saying that everything I show him is “beautiful.” I’m not convinced he means it. Rather, I think he knows that’s what I want to hear and is happy to oblige, lol!)
Right now the project is back on hold. I can’t decide how I want to go about quilting it. My mother, who is far more experienced at such things than I am, will be here in a couple of weeks and has agreed to give me some tips.
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I started sewing these pajamas for my son ages ago, but put them aside in frustration. For the life of me, I could not understand the instructions for creating the button placket and was scared of sewing the buttonholes.
I found the partially finished PJs when I was cleaning out my attic storage space recently. Sam tried on the pants and they were a good four inches too short. Well, that was a simple problem to solve! I cut off about six more inches and voila! Shorts!
But still, there was that daunting button placket to face…what to do? I emailed some photos to my mother and she sent back the following pithy instructions:
Open up flat like first photo! Mark and sew button holes. Fold over as in second photo and sew across the bottom. Put on buttons.
It’s funny how so little can turn on the light bulb, isn’t it? In little over an hour, I finished off that troublesome spot. I sewed on the cute star-shaped buttons during my lunch break yesterday and my son had some jaunty new PJs to wear to bed last night.
There’s nothing akin to the satisfaction you feel when seeing someone you love happily wearing something you made for them.
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1. Apron, 2. Domestic Bliss
On a whim, I bought a copy of In Stitches by Amy Butler. Although it’s full of many wonderful projects, I knew right away that I was going to make the apron. It seemed like the perfect project for getting my toes wet with sewing. After all, it’s just a bunch of rectangles.
The thing practically made itself. I couldn’t believe how easily it went together, especially considering I barely remembered how to thread my sewing machine. I believe the credit is entirely due to Ms. Butler, whose explicit instructions were very easy to follow.
I love this happy little number. It makes me feel like dancing around the kitchen…and hopefully it will inspire me to do more than boil water!
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