I have a crafting confession
I have started a new hobby
Nearly two months ago, on Jan. 11 I purchased my first (second) sewing machine. I had a bonus from work and decided what a better way to spend it than on a machine I had been thinking of purchasing for months.
It is a brother CP100X and is predated by a vintage machine I purchased a few years ago that I’m not sure if it works. I never sewed with the vintage one, I mostly keep it for when I feel ready to dust it off and get it serviced.
To me it felt like a natural progression to go from knitting and crochet to sewing. I had always seen the beautiful quilts my grandma had from her relatives and I wanted to make one. I had waited so long to bite the bullet because it never felt like the right time.
This year I decided that it was a long enough wait and I just needed to do it. Then right after I purchased that machine – Joanns announced they were closing.
I do feel bad for people who are losing a massive store and for many their only retailer for craft supplies. I myself will need to find an alternative for my fabric needs now and am expecting to get burned with online retailers. I have a local quilt shop but unfortunately for me – it’s only open Monday through Friday when I’m at work.
My first project was to finish a quilted table runner for my grandma. My husband found a very nice keepsake calico from Joann Fabrics that paired really nicely with a sunbonnet sue print she had given me. When she gave me the inherited wips she also gave me some panels of a sunbonnet sue mini quilt and pillow. She had four of them and I was able to make a long table runner and 8 mini placemats.
I had purchased a section of queen sized 100% cotton batting and used that for all of the projects. The table runner and placemats took a few days of multi hour sewing during the weekend.
From there I started a hoodie pattern I got for free from Mood fabrics. I got a pre quilted fabric my husband really liked to make for him. I cut it a bit too wide and need to take it in and add the hood. I didn’t purchase enough to make the hood out of the body fabric so we went back and got a solid color of the same pre quilted fabric. My husband also requested a zipper in the front.
The hoodie has been put on hold for a bit while I finished a lap throw to give my brother and his partner for their wedding. I had once again overestimated fabric needs for the project so I have a lot of leftovers.
I picked four fabrics in a burgundy, brown, white and floral for the main bit. I cut them into charm squares and then with some fat quarters in a yellow and gold to make a wonky star block. It was my first time using a nonpanel so it was exciting to try piecing. I cut some of them a bit off so the seams don’t all match but it finished non the less.
Needless to say, I am obsessed. I am having fun trying this new found skill out and while I could end up putting it away in a few months, I can see this becoming a craft I pick up every once in a while.
Kali Nelson has left her new sewing machine on her dining room table since it came out of the box and currently has no intentions of putting it back in.