A LOOOOONG Hiatus from Sewing

So I took a looooong time off from sewing because of a certain (adorable) someone:

Henrik Born May 5th 2013

But after a long break my return to Sew Ann Arbor, after about 7 months off, prompted me to get back into it.  I finished up a pair of pants I started before he was born:

I finally have a model to show my creations off with!

And I also sewed the Kimono Style PJs from Amy Butler's Little Stitches for Little Ones in Made by Rae's Fanfare flannels for Cloud 9 Fabrics!

I used my bias tape machine to make the bias tape for the sleeve and top edge seams.  This adorable outfit has me DYING from cute!

He opened his Christmas presents at home in it!

For actual Christmas we met up with my family in Pennsylvania where my dad rented us a really beautiful house to stay in in the Poconos.  I worked on starting another strip quilt, this time for Henrik!

Feels good to be back!

My Sewing Start

For Christmas of 2009 I asked for and received a Singer Traditional from my husband.  I bought myself a couple of books and some fabric and got down to it.  I was never the type to get into a hobby slowly.  I believe in immersion.  When I started scrapbooking I nearly bought out the local Michaels stocking up on paper and embellishments.  When I started playing with mod-podge I swear I had more glass and wood covered in thin paper than I knew what to do with.  Sewing was no different.  


When I began sewing I didn't look for easy patterns, nor did I read a book or take a class.  I sat down with a pattern I liked and tried.  The first few had straight edges that weren't so straight, pieces that didn't quite match up.  I made mistakes like making shirts out of upholstery fabric and didn't line dresses that were made of lightweight quilting cottons.  I'm still making mistakes, especially when trying to hem difficult fabrics and making sure sleeves line up perfectly with the shoulders but I'm learning.  Each pattern has different things to teach and I think of those patterns as a replacement for an educational book or a class.  


I'm hoping to show that it's not that hard to sew!  I see so many people post about how they wish they could learn and how daunting it seems.  I'm in no means an expert but I'm incredibly proud of what I produce, it's always enjoyable and sometimes maddening.  I'll tell you about my mishaps as well as my triumphs and hopefully we can have a good laugh together!