Sewing

When I got married, my mother insisted that she make my wedding dress. I had found a dress I liked, the dressmaker wanted $700 for it (pretty reasonable), and I was willing to pay. However, typical of our family, my mother looked at it and said "I can make that". So she did.

The unfortunate thing is I had cancer and I didn't know it. I continued to lose weight and I believe I was around 90 pounds when Lance and I got married. So, my mother travelled to Santa Fe and found I had lost more weight (I was perhaps 95 pounds at the initial measuring) and was forced to alter my dress, which meant buying a sewing machine.

My grandmother was the one who made the purchase and gave it to me as a wedding gift. I took it with a smile knowing that it would remain in my closet for years to come.

My mother is great seamstress and I helped her cut and pin several projects growing up. However, sitting at the machine and pressing the pedal was beyond my abilities. My reluctance to sew stems from a deep fear of needles and it has been with me long before I ever saw designers get injured on "Project Runway".

I had longed to conquer this fear of the sewing machine, but unfortunately my usual strategy of not looking at the needle when I am near it does not work for this activity. It is all well and good to turn away when you get blood drawn, but one must pay attention to the position of the needle when sewing.

When I learned I was pregnant, I was excited (for some reason) about sewing. But where to begin? I selected fabrics, I purchased patterns, and even showed them to my mom. She was more than willing to sew all of it for me, but I really wanted to do it myself. Part of the reason might be that it is a skill I would like to pass on to my children. I learned how to crochet and embroider from watching my grandma and mom, so surely sewing could be something I could pick up on sight.

That turned out not to be the case. My mother would guide me through the process, but I was still quite frightened of the machine. I freighted over what I would do with all of this material and notions I had purchased -- it seemed like a waste.

Happily, my friend Emily Lorelli was more than willing to help guide me through the process. Some how working with her helped me conquer my fear of the machine. Perhaps I needed to view more than one person operating it without harm to convince me that I too could sew.

This afternoon I forced myself onto the machine. Taking a few scraps, I tested out my skills - I am not very good at keeping the stitches straight.

"Whatever," I internally said, "I'm getting this finished."

Emily had pieced and sewed most of the crib sheet last Saturday and the only thing it needed was three more corners of elastic. And so I sat down, stretched the elastic, pinned it, and sewed it!

And here is the finished product!

The crib is from Peg and Gregg - they purchased it at Land of Nod for us. I like it - it is very simple.

I wanted a gender neutral pattern not only because we are not sure of the gender of our child, but I am not into frilly, girly stuff.

Hurray for froggies! I used this material in my classroom, and I washed TWICE before I sewed with it. Here is the pattern up close.

It is a bit blurry, but one gets the gist - it is colorful and cute!

Next up is a dust ruffle for the crib, which will take a bit of time. The nice thing is knowing I have Emily as in-state tech support and a book to reference. Onward!