Sewing Experience

Today was the day that my offering at the Spring Carnival Auction got "cashed" in.  My Carnival Experience was a 2-hour sewing lesson with a pillowcase as the product.

The little girl was not one of my students, but is in a class down the hall.  A while back she had bought herself a "kiddie" machine which it turns out you don't even need a bobbin for.  She was so serious about sewing that her mother bought the auction package for her and a real sewing machine.  We waited for her sewing machine to arrive so that the lesson would be more practical.

Sewing the accent band to the top.

The machine has tons of fun stitches and at first she wanted to test them out.  But then we got settled into the basics - making a bobbin, threading the machine, the "spider" (which I teach early on in all my classes), and seam allowance.

Wrong sides together for the first step of the flat-felled seam.

As she went along, she got straighter and straighter.  There was just one short stretch that needed to be unsewn and resewn, but I did that.  I rarely have kids rip seams on their first try.  They need to fun stuff to start off with and get hooked. 

Tada!!!!!!!!!  I love the colors.

Yesterday was Day 7 in my goal of something sewing related Every Day in the Month of May.  Last night I worked on the preparations for this class as well as a bit of sewing on the hexagon quilt. 

Day 7 was the first day I have had to really make myself sew.  But I realized that if I have something ready to go - the never-ending hexagon project - I can just sit for a few minutes and be done.  I don't mind at all.  It is so therapeutic, but the thinking about everything else I should be doing is what slows me down.  Once I have sewn a bit I am relaxed and ready for anything - maybe even making a new resume.

Today was Day 8, and I did plenty of sewing today!!  It has been a while since I have taught sewing and I realized how much I enjoy it.  It combines my two favorites - teaching and sewing - and kids!