Sunday, January 9, 2011

Why am I starting this blog?

"Everybody's doing it!" Writing a blog, that is. Am I just submitting to Internet peer pressure? Did all my Facebook "friends" persuade me that all the cool kids have their own blogs nowadays?

If I'm being totally honest, I have this fantasy that my life will end up like the infamous Julie Powell, wealthy and well-known from having her own blog published in a novel and transformed into a glamorous film. As an English major (with an emphasis in Creative Writing), there is always the hope in the back of my mind that someday I'll be a famous author. I'm constantly tucking away stories in my mind that I will one day use in my New York Times Bestseller. I'm pretty sure that's not going to happen with this blog, but it will be an interesting way to record my latest venture into the domestic sphere: sewing.

Let me quickly recap my life for you: I got married 6 months ago, we moved into our first house 8 months ago, and I made significant progress in my attempt to get a classroom teaching job by landing a part-time reading instructor job at an elementary school. All of my "mothering" instincts are in full bloom. Minus the baby part, of course.

And I already know how to bake and cook (though, admittedly, not to Julia Childs' standards).

So I've got free time each weekday afternoon, a husband and 2 cats to take care of, and a brand-spanking new Singer 7442 (one of my favorite wedding presents). In this blog, I'm going to record how I learn to sew.

Now, I've no ambition to be on Project Runway, and I'm not sure that I'm going to create a whole new wardrobe for myself, but sewing seems like a useful hobby to have. And now, at the ripe old age of 25, I've got the time and the motivation to master using my own sewing machine. I have rudimentary skills in using a sewing machine. As a child, my mother sewed costumes for myself and my sister, as well as dolls clothes and curtains. I made a few attempts at sewing some things myself, but I always cheated by making my mom set up the sewing machine for me. I would cut out the fabric and put my foot down on the pedal. She did all the hard stuff for me, mainly threading the machine (which will be my first objective in this task).

Once I've figured out how to thread the machine, and use it, I've a couple projects in mind to sew. I'll start out real basic with a square pillow. I've already got some remnant fabric (leftover fabric which the store doesn't have enough of to sell by the yard) that I got for cheap at Joann, some batting (or stuffing), and this totally cool sewing starter kit by Singer! I'll post a picture so you can see it in all it's glory. It comes with everything you need to sew things (since I'm starting from scratch), including pins, scissors, and tons of thread! The thread is the most important thing, since I was worried that I'd have to spend $100 on spools of thread in order to have enough. Using the sewing machine requires more that a tiny sewing kit's worth of thread; that much, I do know. My fingers are crossed that everything is good quality since it's made by Singer.

So, I'm off to watch the instructional DVD that came with the sewing machine. How cool is that? I don't have to stare at the instruction manual and try to decipher it as I sew my fingers together! I intend to watch the entire DVD with the utmost care. And then go on YouTube if I still can't figure out how to thread the machine.

Sew long until next time! (wink wink, nudge nudge)

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