Adventures in Sewing

What a weekend it has been. I have pretty much been sewing since Thursday afternoon. Ok, well that's a lie. I have been sewing on and off since then. Melissa finally got me off my butt and into my sewing/craft room. =) That was an interesting afternoon...

You see, a few weeks ago I had attempted to wind a bobbin for my machine. Well, the thread wasn't tight enough so half of it ended up under the bobbin winder (which is on the top of my machine, by the way). So I had to basically take it apart to get all of the thread out of places it shouldn't have been in. After that, I just could not get the machine to wind a bobbin! It wouldn't spin...nothing. I consulted the user's manual several times. After being really frustrated for a while, Melissa convinced me to call the maker of the machine. Of course they were closed. =P So, I put the computer up where she could see my machine and she figured it out... I had put a very important piece back upside down when I had put it back together last time. *sigh*

So, I wound a bobbin and got to work. But it couldn't be that simple... I kept sewing the wrong blocks together! Seriously! I took 2 strips apart and put them back together in the right order. This may seem simple, but ripping stitches out is very tedious. Anyway, after I got that straightened out I started sewing the strips together. Aaaand then I realized that I'd sewn them together the wrong way!!!! At this point, I was certain I'd lost my mind. I did not want to take all of that apart though. Melissa didn't really want me to either, lol! So, she convinced me to do some rearranging. I think it turned out nicely.

I got about halfway done and finished the rest up on Friday. It's a rag quilt, so I attempted to snip at the hems (to make it fray) with my normal-sized scissors. That was a no-go. After about 10 minutes, my hand was killing me!!! I attempted to do it again this afternoon while dying on the couch from the world's worst cramps but it didn't work out. I got frustrated within seconds and decided I needed to go to WalMart. Once I got to feeling better and had some lunch, I got ready to make the trip. I ended up buying way more than I thought I would too.

My original list was:

Snippers (small scissors)
Pins with bigger heads
Milk
Pumpkin spice cookie mix

This is what I came home with:

Snippers
Cutting mat
Ruler
Pins
Small piece of Christmas fabric
Milk
2 cans of pumpkin
Frozen pizza for dinner

Don't you just love how that happens?! So, I came home and got to work on the quilt with my brand new, spring action scissors. Praise the Lord for those! It took me infinitely less time than it would have with the normal scissors. Seriously. Wanna see the finished product? *listens for the round of "yes"s* Ok! Here it is!

This is pretty much the run-down of the process.

Closeup of the front of the quilt, all frayed and pretty. =)

Closeup of the back.

Doesn't it make a great throw quilt?!

Do you think my mom is going to like it?! I think she will. It matches the decor of her house (to a degree), it's warm (not so good for me - sitting under it all day...), and it's "mom-sized!" My mom is 5'0". Seriously. I think it will be a perfect quilt for her to cuddle up with this winter. She's always freezing to death, so hopefully this will help. I'm kind of proud of myself for this! It's certainly not perfect, but I think it's great for my first quilt!

This evening, I made a little something for myself. Nothing big, just a potholder - Christmas style. Melissa gave me some fabric she didn't want anymore and I was more than happy to take it. =) Thanks, bestie! So, here's the potholder:

Side 1

Side 2

Cute, right?!

In case you're wondering, I did use a tutorial. This one is really easy. I don't think a potholder really required a tutorial, but I used it as a "what do I do next" guide. =) I have enough fabric to make one or two more...and maybe embellish some tea towels. We'll see what I come up with next, I haven't quite decided yet. I may even make some for my Nana for Christmas. Maybe. Haven't decided...but I should probably get on that one, huh?!

So, that's what I've been up to lately!! 

Oh, and a last-minute Happy Anniversary to Melissa! She and her hubby have been married for 6 years and are expecting a little bundle of cuteness in January. =) She has a blog too, if you wanna check it out. 

I hope y'all are having a great weekend!