sing low, sweet sewing machine....

my beloved sewing machine arrived via UPS on friday. it was a little shining bright spot in an otherwise bleak end of a week.  i hid out for much of the weekend in my pajamas and bathrobe with my two pups and cranky old cat. 

saturday i got my new Singer 1507 sewing machine out of the packaging and set up. following breakfast i made a trip to joann's for supplies. i picked out a few swatches of fabric from the bargain bin for my maiden sewing voyage.

it's a pretty basic model. seven built in stitch patterns, nothing digital, nothing fancy.  it has been many many years since i have spent much time with a sewing machine. i went through the directions step by step to get as familiar as possible with this machine. i loaded a bobbin with thread, loaded the bobbin into the machine, threaded the needle, and sat down with my fabric to sew.  i decided to make a little accent pillows with the fabrics i had purchased. they were the perfect size. 

my first sewing project on my very own Singer being stuffed with cotton fill!

pillow #1 complete, this one is a gift for my dearest BFF kim

pillow #2 is a gift to myself for my own darned sofa!

pillow #3 was delivered to one of my favorite gals at starbucks this morning

i definitely got a little more decorative on the second pillow & third pillows and a little more confident by sewing tabs on either side. upcoming pillow adventures will include piping, square/cube shapes, and maybe even zippers.  i hear those are important to learn how to sew....

happy wednesday my loves,

xo

coin purse - version two

ah, the coin purse revisited.

my second stab at knitting a coin purse turned out interesting. mostly because i was either drinking, watching tv, or up way past my bedtime while working on this little gem. the result was me repeatedly forgetting what type of stitch i was supposed to knit. this type of thing results in erratic and sometimes interesting patterns...and holes, when you mess up and don't fix it correctly, you end up with holes. i did manage to make this one bigger than the last (it really was quite tiny). i'm working towards a 'one size hopefully fits most'...

i'll let the pictures tell the story:

knit to the approximate length you deem appropriate. 

stitches in order by row: knit, ribbing, knit, stockinette, reversed stockinette, stockinette, knit. this photo shows a pause in the 'threading' process along the knitting kneedle, where you create a loop at the bottom of the coin purse.

like so, then pull it as tight as you can.  

 

see, pulled tight and knotted. then turn inside out and sew down the sides.

viola! coin purse version two!

coming up: adventures with the new sewing machine...

xo