it has sprung!
i laid down to take a nap on saturday afternoon, and i heard birds chirping! and as i look out my window now, the snow sits in scattered patches, only where the shade touches, instead of in mountains on every street corner. i can see the grass and the sidewalk. it's a miracle!
amidst the coming of spring this weekend, i shopped for fabric. a first. as i expected, the sewing section made me feel a fish out of water. but thanks to grant, i came away with a few yards to play with and my nerves still intact. i have yet to pick out my first project, so that made the shopping difficult, but at least i really like these colors. any ideas for an ultra simple starter project? am taking all suggestions.
this is one of those days where i cannot fathom being bored. i will surely never be done thinking through the thousandsome thoughts in my head. there are just too many good things to do. too many things to be better at. too many recipes to try. and too many pursuits to fit in one afternoon. all at once i want to be baking brioche and going for a run outside in the sunshine and phoning my mom and reading my camera manual and folding bleached whites and brainstorming for a big event and picking out a sewing pattern and writing up our menu. which, by the way, is going to be a whopper. grant agreed to my indulgent scheme of doing variations on breakfast for dinner all week long! i'm so pumped.
must go. the day is too nice. and there are nice things to be done.
20 comments:
hmmm...how about new placemats or a table runner with that springy fabric?
Nothing can be simpler or more fun than throw pillows. Plus they're so easy to experiment with and embellish later on when you're feeling more confident.
Absoutely throw pillows. I got my first sewing machine a year ago and I make pillows and pillow covers like a crazy person. As a matter of fact I have two pillows on my couch I just made in that EXACT grey fabric. I love it.
Were you planning to do a home-decorating kind of project, or clothes? Basic skirts can be really easy, but it's the closures that are tough--zippers and buttonholes are the worst.
Also, I hate gathering, but I'm told that's just me.
I'm looking forward to see what you end up with! The most important thing is perseverance (says the girl who is in the middle of seven different sewing/knitting projects!).
Such lovely fabric. I second the place-mat idea.
Bfast for dinner is a favorite in our home.
Place mats or table runner or pillow cases sound great. My suggestion would be an apron as you seem to like to cook and bake. There is an easy pattern on marthastewart.com
Adorable fabric by the way.
Enjoy the nice day.
beautiful photo. you did an excellent job picking out fabric :] i have been really into grey & mustard yellow lately.
oooo...breakfast for dinner all week sounds like fun! I'll have to do that for my breakfast-food loving guys sometime.
How about cloth napkins? Cloth napkins were my first real sewing project. They are super easy and environmentally friendly. Plus they always make me feel so grown up and like an elegant hostess (even though I use them everyday).
Or I like the pillow idea too. I'm addicted to sewing pillows. My couch and guest bed are covered with them. Soon I'll have to start setting some!
yes, yes, agreed on so much to do, so much to plan. love that spring is full of loveliness and new ideas and i love that you are doing breakfasts for dinner. how cute are you!? you make every day more fun.
summ, those are such pretty fabrics! with so many possibilities. i like the idea of a long table runner, a pretty tote bag, a pouch for an ipod, a simple skirt, curtains, or perhaps something for easter gifts. if i had that fabric, i'd rip it into strips for tying onto gifts. of course that wouldn't be much of a sewing project! can't wait to see your work. enjoy your productive week.
I agree that throw pillows are always a nice and easy place to start... Here's another idea: learn how to fold and hem by hemming around the edges of a few yards of fabric to make a springy picnic tablecloth! It's super easy and you can sew a couple fishing weights or hardware washers into the corners so the wind doesn't blow it away!
What lovely fabric. Our local fabric store had its roof cave in due to the snow. How terrible is that?! All that wasted fabric. I would agree with the apron. A simple one, especially since you enjoy being in the kitchen. Happy Spring to you!
Oh those fabrics! TO DIE FOR! Love them. I would suggest a simple shirt or dress. If you pick the right pattern, they can teach you a lot about sewing without becoming too complicated. Good luck!
P.S. Thank you so much for your blog. I always look forward to it as my daily inspiration.
A wrap skirt, you could use the fabrics together or not...it would be easy and it's always fun to wear something you made! :)
what beautiful patterns! love the colors. i agree, pillow covers or napkins. you could even do curtains-same stitch as the other two projects too. i think you can do it! design sponge always has great sewing tutorials! here's a curtain one:
http://www.designspongeonline.com/2010/02/sewing-101-curtains.html happy sewing summer!
ooh, love those fabrics. gorgeous colours
my first thought was pillow covers, mainly because i felt like it would look great in your house... but a lot of the other ideas sound stellar, too!
gorgeous choices. gorgeous photo.
my first projects were scrunchies back in the '90s...then so so cool, now impossibly lame. please don't make those. ;)
you're always safe making anything that involves straight lines placemats, cloth napkins, or maybe a cute little pouch or simple apron?
good luck. can't wait to see the finished project. it's not as intimidating as it looks. trust. now go show that sewing machine who's boss!
Summer, The yellow mustard fabric would be cute in your kitchen and south window off the kitchen as a little valance. Anything with just straight sewing is the way to start out. Have fun being creative! It is only the beginning. You've opened up a whole new world.
You can't go wrong with throw pillows. Or maybe an apron. There are a lot of simple patterns for aprons and you could wear it while baking that brioche!
I'm making a springy skirt.
ahem, I am ATTEMPTING to make a springy skirt. I don't sew. But if YOU sew--you should make a new skirt!
Love the fabric!