It's Sew Much Fun

Monday, February 1, 2010

We should all listen to our mothers. Mine has tried to get me interested in sewing for, oh, forever. While I did appreciate the basic skills I had (sewing on a button, fixing hems, making a pillow or a simple curtain), I never really got excited about sewing stuff from patterns. Having tried making clothes, it didn't seem worth the time and effort, generally speaking. But in the past year, I've started to see some practical, non-clothing applications and have slowly been expanding my skill set. Last October I took a beginning sewing class. While most of it was review (thanks, Mom!), it did spark an interest in sewing for me and made me realize it was something I'd like to pursue. I went crazy when Joann’s had a $1 pattern sale and rationalized that I'd figure out how to make the stuff eventually. Around this time, I also realized that my double stroller had NO PLACE FOR MY WATER BOTTLE. Anyone who knows me knows that me and my water bottle would be surgically connected, if that was possible. So I considered kicking Duke out of the stroller and using his spot for my water bottle. But that wouldn't always be practical. Some other mommy friends told me about things they had bought for their double strollers that held their water, keys, etc.
I ordered one. It didn't fit. Returned. I ordered another. Didn’t fit. Returned. Enter the pattern sale, where I saw a pattern for a stroller organizer. I had no idea they had such practical stuff available! I bought my fabric, which requires a side note:
*Another thing that has really kept me from sewing is that I have problems making decisions. When sewing, yes, you have the whole world open to you, but that can be a little too much for someone like me. Going to the store and selecting fabric has been one of the hardest things in the past when my mom and I have made stuff. I just can’t seem to find something that I definitely want to purchase and that I definitely want to see my thing made from. But not this time!!! I found the most perfect fabric and I knew instantly it was just what I wanted. Glorious feeling! I couldn't wait to get started so that I could see my fabric selection in it's glory.
Fabric in hand, I set out to make this thing. I read "Sewing for Dummies" cover to cover. I signed up for a level 2 sewing class. It got cancelled. So, I forged ahead on my own (with some consultation work done by my mom.) After cutting out my fabric, I awoke one morning at 5 am with the realization that the pattern made something to hold a small water bottle, not my ginormous size. But isn't that what sewing is all about? Customization for your every whim?
True, I wasn't qualified to make these kinds of adjustments, but since I didn't have really high expectations of my ability, and since in sewing you can always "unsew" (the new PC term for ripping out your seams. Must have evoked too violent of images.), I figured what the heck. I set about creating my own pattern pieces to accommodate my large water bottle. Turns out I also like large sunglasses; modification # 2. And since my other pieces were so large, modification #3 was required to get everything onto the main piece.
At this time I had adult supervision; I had finally been able to get into another class and the excellent instructor allowed me to work on this project instead of the one scheduled for the class. With her help and guidance I forged ahead and finally this weekend, I finished!!!!
One reason I am so surprised that I liked sewing is that I like instantaneous results. I do not like to wait. I do not like delayed gratification. I do not like the process of anything. I just want it done. And sewing projects take FOREVER. I don't care how simple and easy they're supposed to be, between washing fabric, pinning, measuring, cutting it out, ironing, sewing, piecing, sewing, ironing, ripping out sewing, etc., you cannot finish a mildly easy project in less than 5 hours.  And this was a little less easy than mildly so.  Add to that the fact that I only get small increments of time on some days to work on it and it's like a life-long endeavor.
But I found it to be fun, to see the progress, and to anticipate the next steps. (It also helped that I had several other small sewing projects to work on in the downtime that I could accomplish and be finished with).
So what was all the fuss about?

Here are some shots of my finished product. It's not perfect, but it's a world away from what I bought from the store. It's made just for me, and by me.