Back to the Box for you!

Finished my sewing project!

Only after working on it for a few days, seeing it in the corner of my room for a few weeks, then on the dining room table for a week, it has finally arrived at it's final destination, my bed!

Now of course, I didn't take pictures of the near quilt-like bottom side, with mismatched buttons in uneven buttonholes. It's *much* better this way, trust me.

The important thing is it is done, and fits (somewhat).

and now the sewing machine is going back into the box, in the closet, in the office.

That baby won't be in use for awhile.

And a little thank you to my Aunt (who doesn't read this) and her family for taking me to church with you this morning!

It was lovely!

aaaand I got to wear my new shabby apple dress!

think OUTSIDE the box

So sewing is kinda complicated. I mean I literally had my dad come over and help me thread and spin the bobbin, thread the machine, or solve some other problem ten times each.

Besides learning how to maintain the machine, I have been working on sewing my duvet cover the last week or so, and it has been kinda complicated to figure out how all the pieces will fit together.

When I first laid my comforter on the floor and then stretched the sheet over it i realized that it was both too short and too thin to adequetly cover the comforter.

Awesome.

So I took the fitted sheet, cut it in half, and sewed it onto either side of the main sheet. Not to mention taking the stitching and elastic out of each corner of the fitted sheet. I then realized that the sheets are so thin that I could see colors from my comforter through them. So of course now I need to make the top side of the duvet doubled by sewing the extra sheet from the sheet set that was to be the bottom side of the duvet.

Following me still??

And of course the whole time this is happening the sewing machine keeps getting messed up and I am spending more time rethreading and taking stitches out and trying to figure out what is wrong. Did I mention what a *natural* I am at this?

Ok, it gets better. I figure out that if I just have my comforter upside down in the duvet the colors don't show. Whew! Because I think that I had sewed it wrong to do the double-layer thing.

So now I just have to sew a bunch of pieces at the bottom and top. I was explaining this to my mom a few hours ago, and she was saying how she thought this would be just an easy first project. "Just sew two sheets together" Yeah, thanks for the advice mom. So I was ranting to her about how it was too short and too thin. THEN she said "Well why didn't you get king size sheets?"

Wait, what? What is it that you just said?

They actually make bigger sheets? oooh that's right, they do!!!

doh! C'mon Michelle. Next time think outside the box.

P.S. Isn't this an awesome sewing machine? It would totally match my Hello Kitty toaster!

First Sewing Project

ok, it's not really a "project" per se, but I *was* practicing today and decided to make Callie a ruffled collar with the scrap I was working on.

Ta Da!

Like her crazy alligator face? She kept trying to rub it off, so I only made her suffer through it to show everyone and take the pictures.

It was made from the unused material pattern choice from my sister's dance costume from the summer. I even sewed a button on!

It's quite couture don't you think?

umm thanks?

Today while buying wayyy too much stuff at origins, my sister was trying to figure out what shade of foundation to get with the help of the sales woman. My sister remarked on the fact that she had been using my foundation and the woman was very suprised and remarked on how different of skin tones we have.

(to my sister) "You are much tanner than her! It doesn't match your skin color!"

(now turning to me) " You are white! you are REALLY white! you are so white!"

Me "gee thanks..."

I mean what do you say to that in a society where being tan is prized?? I thought we, and by *we* I mean society, was beginning to move past this skin-killing fad and going for a more natural look.

Oh well, I have embraced this pale-ness since I stopped playing soccer and hopefully in twenty years this shunning will pay off!

P.S. I am trying to sew a new duvet cover because the comforter I am using now was meant for my dorm room and matches NOTHING in my room. Trying to be thrifty, but knowing me it will be *way* more expensive and not even be usable.

The frilly apron is pretty much as Donna Reed as I get.