Why is it that whenever I try to learn something new I always start out with a heck of a lot of frustration?

The olders were at school and the baby toddler was quietly napping. This morning was the perfect time for me to do something just for me. Today was my day to sew. I was going to finish the patchwork quilt I’d started for my girl oh so many months ago.

After spending two straight hours trying to stitch just a few simple pieces this morning I had to admit defeat. It’s the same thing I ran into with Miss M’s machine. For some reason the thingy where you put the little bobbin in keeps getting mucked up and I end up with a tangled, snarled, and ugly mess. I’ve dis-assembled, and re-assembled the monster too many times to count, but enough times that I actually understand (I think) how the mechanism works.

Google is not helping me any this time around so I think it’s time I got one of my friends with skills to come give me a hands-on tutorial.

Plaid Skirt!, originally uploaded by VeroC.

Next up on the party list was a skirt for Miss M.

{I can’t believe I made this!}

The fabric had a nice fringe on the finished side so all I did was cut it to the length Miss M desired (adding a couple inches for the waist-band). We ended up sewing just two straight lines (I could handle that!). First the waist, folded over about an inch to accommodate an elasticized ribbon. Second the length. The last step was to thread in the ribbon. Voila!

I highly recommend using checkered, or striped fabric if you are a novice seamstress like I am — all you have to do is sew along the lines!

After twirling around in a bit, my girl informed me that I had to blog this. She also thought I should "do this for work."

I am so relieved it worked out, I was terrified to mess this one up. Note to self: perfectionism isn’t worth the stress.

Miss M is passionate about creating. Anything. She loves choosing her elements and imagining what they can become. And then she goes and does it. How great is that?

These days she is all about preparing for Christmas (though she is very careful not to say anything about who presents are for or from ’cause B still believes in Santa. So, shhhh!).

A couple nights ago she asked if she could make a Lavender Sachet. All I had to do was hand her the supplies: fabric, needle, thread, lavender, rice, ribbon.

Her brother saw what she was up to and asked if he could sew, too. Of Course! He chose to make a wallet (this is Monopoly Boy, after all). I set him up with the fabric (he wanted the same as hers), threaded the needle, and showed him where to sew. When he was done, we stuck on some Velcro to hold it shut.

They are both incredibly pleased with their creations. I am, too.

I’ve mentioned before that I don’t sew, and that my Mom is a Very Talented Quilter. I’ve started doing little projects here and there and finally began a quilt for Miss M. I think (hope) she’ll like it. My entire life, I’ve never liked reading instruction books, always preferring to figure stuff out as I go — maybe not the best, but the information seems to stick that way. Maybe I’m just lazy…

Anyway… I started this project by just cutting two fabrics I liked into 4.5 inch squares and started piecing them together with the machine. Added on, and connected my blocks. I can tell already that I’m going to be needing to do quite a bit of math to get this thing to a size where she can actually snuggle under it.

I’m also going to need to figure out how to assemble the thing with the batting and backing (both of which still need to be purchased!).

We did it!

I figured out why the sewing machine wasn’t cooperating (thread was too taught, so I re-threaded it — somehow that did the trick), and M and I were able to complete our Caterpillow project. Hooray!

I made things a little harder on myself than they needed to be by sewing the length of the body before attaching the head and tail, but at least I’ll know better next time. We’ll also add legs — this one is more of a worm that a caterpillar…

Miss M chose all the fabrics and put a lot of thought into every step of it. The ends are green to match the middle band. And she drew the mouth for me to sew on, and found flowers on a scrap of fabric that she liked for the eyes. She did do some of the sewing, but found it a bit tedious. Much easier to have Mom do that part.

She decided that we should give this to Little T for Christmas since it’s so special, so it’s been hidden waaay up high in a closet.

Quite a nice Mommy & Me collaboration!