Monday, July 23, 2007

Ino the unknown

I mentioned in my last post that I would show you something that you have never seen before. Are you ready?

This is my sewing machine. I have owned a sewing machine for two and a half years and have never used it. It scared me. There are buttons and pedals and it plugs into an electrical source, none of which knitting does. But recently, Allison posted about a pattern that she was going to sew for her daughter and I fell instantly in love and I knew that it was time to overcome the fear of the sewing machine.

My mother-in-law, Anne, has sewn since high school and when I showed her the cute patterns I had found online, she was more than willing to sit next to me and hold my hand (and occasionally the fabric) while she taught me how to sew. We went to Wal-Mart at 9pm one night (yes, we're crazy) and picked out 2 patterns, some fabric from the clearance section (this particular outfit cost $1.00 in fabric), and the notions we'd need. The next day the fabric was washed and after the men folk went to bed the three girls stayed up and did some sewing.
As you can see, Ailish was more than pleased to be up helping us even though it was really late. She wanted some creative input in the process since she would have to wear the final product. Poor girl didn't make it to the finish line, though, and decided to call it a night at 11:30pm. Anne and I worked until 1:30am and then collapsed in bed ourselves.
The next morning we finished things up and found that we had successfully made a very adorable outfit. Anne helped me a lot, with everything from cutting out the pieces to some of the actual sewing. She also taught me that your sewing will look a lot better if you have the foot down while you're sewing... and she was right!
The next outfit will be completely done by me but Ailish is proud of what I've learned so far and excited to wear her outfit once it fits her in a couple of months.

1 comment:

Lana said...

Totally adorable!! Sewing fever is going around. When Eric was little I used to make matching father/son shirts. I haven't touched my sewing machine in about 2 years but it's nice for a diversion. Great job with the very cute outfit! Hi Ailish:~D