to begin at the end

of the last post, that is...sewing!

the desire to sew had been growing inside of me for some time, but in all honesty i lacked the confidence to jump in.  i don't consider myself an inherently creative person and i like things to go well the first time.  i am a recovering discouraged perfectionist, so i didn't want to start unless the results were fantastic.

months passed.  my sewing machine languished in the corner.  

until i stumbled across something i could not resist.  

one day when perusing the world wide web i found cloth birthday banners.  they were so perfect, so adorable, so perfectly approachable, that i thought: i can do this.  

we were gaining on my son's 5th birthday, so i began.  

i studied several different online patterns 

(you can see the one i used the most here: birthday banner), 

came up with a basic plan, raided the local fabric store and was on my way.  

i fired up my singer for the first time.  as it hummed, so did my brain...

i love sewing, i love sewing, i love sewing!  what a surprise!

i whipped out the birthday banner, as well as name banners for all three kiddos, in no time.

i'm pretty proud of the results.

birthday banner with my beautiful birthday roses.

my next project was similar, but i added my own flair.  

it hangs in my bedroom and is one of the first things i see every morning.  

what a wonderful reminder.

yesterday i got inspired and upcycled some old clothes into some delightful and practical little bags.

i also found a forgotten remnant i had picked up for the boy boy.  

made him a little pillowcase.

ahhhh...sewing success.

so what's next?  i have a few projects in mind...

even toying with the idea of using a pattern.

so far, i've pretty much been flying by the seat of my pants.  

yeah, that's how i roll.

i'm contemplating a skirt, perhaps an a-line or a yoga skirt?

considering curtains.  i mean, who can't use a little more color?

stay tuned.  a great project can't be far off...