Pretty Pink Pillows

So #3's 4th birthday is coming up. It's a princess theme (of course) and all the little girls will receive a wand and crown as a parting gift. Sewing 16 pillows is a lot of work. Measure... Measure... Cut.... repeat. Trace the template (I used a large square trivet) and line up the two patterns.


Next the fun part... I get to use my sewing machine for the very first time! Thanks to my neighbor who I bought the machine from and gave me an hour and half tutorial on how to use it, I was able to start right away. It took a while to spool the thread. Then a while to get the thread properly threaded. But once all the prep work was done I was ready to sew. Eeeeek! So fun!

It took the whole day, but I did it! The sewing then began. Then stopped because I kept jamming the spool. Make sure to completely cut the excess string after you spool your thread to avoid this. Sometimes I went to fast and pulled on the fabric too much which left some of my pillows with loose stitching. I went back and redid them- they need to look perfect for my pretty princess.

Lots of work, but my first sewing project is nearly complete. All I have left is to stuff and hand stitch the last opening. 16 pillows sewn and stitched. I also made 6 boy pillows using green plaid and car themed fabric. They turned out really nice although they could have used more stuffing.

For the next few weeks, I'm going to practice making straight stitches. Repetition is key when sewing. I saw so many cool and well done projects on Pinterest that I thought sewing would just be a breeze, but it really requires a lot of practice. The key to making straight lines is

1. Straight cuts. Using a cutting pad and roller blade makes that easier.
2. Don't pull on the fabric from the back as it goes through the machine. I know it's tempting but it screws up your line. Gently guide the fabric through the front as you feed it into the machine.
3. Slow and steady wins the race. No really- go slow. Going fast guarantees you'll need to resew. Grrr....

My next project which will require plenty of straight lines as well as arcs is.... CORD WRAPPERS. They're small, cute and ever so useful. You'll never have cords strewn all over the floor. Stay tuned friends!

Welcome to Forever and 16 Stitches

I’ve always wanted a hobby. I tried to be a work out fanatic…that was tiring and I was always sore. Then I tried cooking and baking… great idea but not if you’re not exercising. I moved on to scrapbooking… I liked this one- maybe I should get back into it. I was actually pretty good too and made my husband a scrapbook from the kids that I add a page to every year (I’m two years behind but I swear I’ll catch up this year…..)

In the meantime, life got busy. I have 3 kids, worked a full time job or was in school. Then we moved from the US to London (awesome I know!) and within a year of that move we were relocated to Shanghai, China. This move made my life less busy… a lot less busy. My 3 kids are now in school for an amazing 7.5 hrs a day and I have full time help at home. This has left me with lots of free time. After 5 months of lunches, luncheons (food with a guest speaker) and shopping I decided it was time to find a hobby… again. I started doing Pilates 3 days a week (love it and won’t quit this time) and while I love to cook the process isn’t as easy as it is in the US and London. Western ingredients are expensive and not always easy to find.

My sister-in-law tried to get me into mosaics, but tiles need to be cut perfect, glue needs to dry (yawn!), and my biggest problem was space. I needed somewhere to do it where glass can fly around and my kids won’t step on them. So that ended my attempt to be a mosaic goddess.

Well back to what I do best, shopping and lunches. But ugh… I need something else to do. The Shanghai Community Center offers classes like mosaics (no thanks!), cooking (I can read a cookbook), and quilting…. What?! Quilting? Years ago in the US I used to sit at my kids karate class and watch my son’s best friends grandmother quilt. (Maybe I should have been watching my kids perfect their kata’s but that’s neither here nor there) Her quilts were lovely but working a full time job and raising 3 kids meant my time and patience for a hobby like this was limited. But NOW, NOW I have time! Inspired by fond memories I enrolled in the class, ready and eager to learn.

Unfortunately or maybe fortunately, the class wasn’t what I was expecting. We learned how to hand stitch patchwork pieces and that was about it. My first piece, a pin cushion is truly nothing to bag about.

The first thing I made… it’s terrible but I’m determined to get better.

I made a pillow which was quite a bit better.

Looks really good I think, but the middle didn’t make 4 even corners so I put my flower there.

There was a silver lining though, I was INSPIRED! Hand stitching is relaxing. It doesn’t require a dedicated space, I won’t get fat doing it, and fabric is ridiculously cheap and plentiful in China.

(Quilting sounds like fun, but I’m pretty sure I’ll need a lot of practice with other techniques before I venture on to quilting.)

EUREKA! I found a hobby! I always considered myself mentally artsy, but realistically I’m not what you would call an artsy person. Can I be creative? Maybe. Yes! The answer is YES! That’s my goal here folks. I’ve always wanted to be creative and now is my chance.

I headed to the fabric market and filled up a bag of scraps for less than $15, bought thread, needles, and tailor chalk then set out to practice my hand stitching technique. Check out a few of the things I’ve made so far:

This was made for #3′s teddy bear (Bruno). Totally uneven squares hence the button in the middle.

#2′s Pillow. I like doing straight lines- it’s easier

#1′s Pillow. Woohoo! The corners matched up! It’s great! He loves it and I love it! Mission accomplished!

I worked on hand stitching at home for about a week. I got the hang of it rather quickly, but I’m definitely not a professional yet. Even though hand stitching is a slow process, I really didn’t mind it. I made a Pinterest board of Patchwork Inspiration. I downloaded some cool apps for more ideas and tips. So far so good.

On Monday, during Pilates (I think we were doing squats) I had an idea! My youngest is having a 4th birthday party- each girl is getting a princess crown and wand… that will be presented on a hand made pillow! 16 pillows- Talk about a good way to get a lot of practice in. I could do it by hand but I knew it would be faster with a sewing machine. 2 problems.  #1: I don’t have a sewing machine. #2: I’ve never used a sewing machine… like EVER! So I sent an email to my neighbors in search of a reliable used one (no need to invest in a brand new one at this stage) and got a hit right away. I bought a Brothers GS3700 and they even threw in a bunch of accessories like scissors, A2 self-healing mat, a fabric cutting wheel, and tons of thread.

So happy! Every house should have a sewing machine!

My hobby has officially begun! Please follow me on this new adventure. Give me ideas of what to make and your thoughts, tips and suggestions for improving my projects. I know I’ll thrive with your encouragement…

Next post: #3′s Birthday Pillow Goodie Gift Set