Apron

How have I made it this far in life without my own apron?  When my sister Brittany was home for the Christmas break she mentioned that she wanted to sew one and so we decided to do a sister project and sew aprons together.  We tried to make up our own patterns and so we ended up making it a lot more complicated than it needed to be.  So my lesson from this project:  Use a pattern when you can.  If you want to adjust or add you own embellishments to make it your own than you definitely can.  This is  something that I need to apply to more areas of life than just sewing.  Sometimes I tend to make things too complicated for myself because I want it be unique.  If I keep it simple to start out, I almost always find someway to still make it my own.

Thanks to my sister Darci for modeling for me.  And so real-like since she was currently cooking when I asked her to do it. 

The pictures don't look that great because I used it and threw it in a drawer and so it is all wrinkly.  That's another lesson...try to use a wrinkle free fabric when you are making something that is likely to get used a lot.  Basic cottons usually have some of the cutest prints but they don't always work the best for some projects.

"I have not yet acquired the skill..."

I was once in an art class at BYU-Idaho with Brother Samuelson...one of the greatest and wisest people I have ever met.  He taught us that we should never say things like "I can't draw" or "I'm am not a good painter."  Instead we should say something to the effect of, "I have not yet acquired the skill of _____."  The only thing that we are limited by is time.  In this life we only have a certain amount of time and so we have to pick and choose the things that we learn to master.  In the next life, we will not be limited by time, and therefore will be able to acquire all and any talents that we desire.  It brings me great joy to think that someday I will be able to create a masterpiece painting or be an expert gardener.  Haha...maybe I'll even be able to play basketball.     

Boppy Cover

My old boppy cover was not exactly my taste.  It did the job, but why not have something that I like looking at.  Plus, I think I would use it more if it was something that I made and liked.

  Some people (like my two sisters) don't like sewing because there are so many mistakes to be made...taking out a seam can be tedious and annoying when it takes you three times longer to undo than it did to sew it in the first place.  I also get frustrated at some point during every project and end up just having to take a break.  But sewing and making mistakes has been a great learning experience.  I have never taken a sewing class...my mom has only given me a few basic pointers (she doesn't claim to like sewing either).  I have learned everything but trial and error or by searching the internet for understandable instructions.  I have noticed that without fail, every single project that I have done requires me to learn and do some kind of sewing technique that I have never done before (this is not on purpose...it just happens).  For this boppy, it was installing a zipper.  It doesn't quite line up but it is good enough and is not too noticeable to someone who doesn't actually try to use the zipper (it should only be used when I take it off to wash it anyways).  The important part is that I know what I did wrong with the zipper and so next time I have to do one it should be cake!

So with each of my posts, I am going to try to emphasize the new things that I learned from completing the project.  I am definitely still a beginning seamstress...I have yet to complete a flawless project.  Hopefully I can inspire other beginners though and people can see that you can do anything that you want to learn to do.